Sports2 min
Mainpat Titans win first Chhattisgarh Hockey League title, beat Strikers 4-2
A goal with 10 seconds left sealed a comeback-flavoured final in Raipur, as the Titans toppled the team that had ruled the league stage.
Mainpat Titans are the first champions of the Chhattisgarh Hockey League. They beat Sanskardhani Strikers 4-2 in the final at Sardar Patel International Hockey Stadium in Raipur on Sunday, flipping the script on a side that had dominated the league stage.
The Strikers began brighter. Ashish Dani won a penalty in the fifth minute, but the Titans goalkeeper stopped it with a sharp left-hand save. Abhishek then broke through with a reverse-hit penalty corner to make it 1-0 in the 13th minute.
The Titans answered in the second quarter. Sandeep and Prahlad worked together to set up a field goal in the 14th minute, and the teams went into the break level at 1-1.
The third quarter turned tense. A Titans penalty corner early on ended with Nishant of the Strikers injured after Sandeep's attempt. Sandeep then converted a later corner to make it 2-1. Ashish hit back in the 11th minute from the Strikers' third penalty corner, making it 2-2. He scored 13 goals in the tournament, and he was again his team's main threat.
The Titans went 3-2 up early in the fourth quarter. The Strikers had a chance to level through a penalty corner in the eighth minute. They asked for a review after the ball struck a Titans player, but nothing came of it. Their goalkeeper made another save in the ninth minute to keep them alive. Then, with 10 seconds left, Mohit made it 4-2 and ended the contest.
Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya and state sports minister Arun Sao watched the closing moments. For a first-ever season, a packed finish and political attention suggest the league has made a lively start in the state's hockey calendar.
Read the original report: Times of India.
