Punjab to take on Haryana in semis

NEW DELHI: Defending champions Haryana will take on a star-studded Punjab in the semifinal of the 2ndJunior National Men Hockey Championship being held at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in in Lucknow.
Meanwhile, last year's finalist Odisha will compete against SAI Bhopal for a berth in the final.
In the quarterfinals on Friday, Punjab thrashed MP Hockey Academy (Bhopal) 7-1 and Haryana beat Himachal Pradesh 4-1.Odisha came from behind to steal the match 2-1 from Karnataka. SAI Bhopal, secured a hard-fought 3-2 verdict against hosts Uttar Pradesh in the last match of the day.
Gurjinder Singh was the top-scorer for Punjab. Akashdeep Singh, Talwinder Singh, Jaitinder Singh, Satvir Singh and Harjeet Singh scored a goal each.
In another quarterfinal, Gagandeep Singh emerged as the top-scorer for Haryana with two goals. Amit Kumar and Gagandeep Singh scored one goal for Haryana while Gaganpreet Singh is the only goal-scorer for Himachal Pradesh.
Odisha skipper Amit Rohidas converted penalty corners in the 48th and 59th minutes to beat back Karnataka's challenge. His rival captain Aiyappa PR Pardanda had put Karnataka ahead in the 38th minute. In another match, Affan Yousuf, Ajay Prabhakar and Neeraj were the goalscorers for SAI Bhopal while Sanjeet Singh and Arjun Yadav scored for Uttar Pradesh.