CHENNAI: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, and Punjab emerged victorious in their respective quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals of the 13th Hockey India Senior Men's National Championship 2023 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium. Karnataka and Punjab were dominant in their wins, while Haryana went through a tense penalty shootout to make it to the top four. For the locals, Tamil Nadu's thrilling comeback victory against UP was the highlight of the day.
In the first half, UP made most of their chances via penalty corners to get a two-goal lead. Under pressure, Tamil Nadu came back swinging in the second half with J Kavin Kishore (33rd minute) scoring the first goal. Captain J Joshua Benedict Wesely's two late goals (52 and 59) secured the semifinal spot against Haryana.
"Even in the last few minutes, we were still in the match. We told players to remain calm and we will get our chances. I had a belief in the boys that they would create the opportunities at the last minute," Tamil Nadu coaching duo T Charles Dixon and N Muthukumar told This Daily after the match.
"It has been a very interesting tournament because international players are playing for their state teams. Youngsters are getting to play with them and now they will know how to develop from their side and understand how the hockey is played at that level. We hope to see a lot of players coming up from Tamil Nadu. The hockey fever that started with the Asian Champions Trophy is going on and it will continue for a long. We will learn a lot from this," the duo added.
In the third match of the day, defending champion Haryana added two goals with the India international Sanjay (8 and 15) helping them take the lead. Odisha came back strong with two goals of their own courtesy of national team duo Amit Rohidas (22) and Shilanand Lakra (43). In the sudden death, forward Abhishek stepped up to score and seal the victory for Haryana.
On Monday, Karnataka will face Punjab in the semifinal, while in the rematch of the previous edition's final, Tamil Nadu will face Haryana in the second semifinal.
Result:
Karnataka bt Jharkhand 4-1 Tamil Nadu bt Uttar Pradesh 3-2 Haryana bt Odisha 2-2 (3-2 SO) Punjab bt Manipur 4-2
