Odisha won the 12th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2022 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, beating Karnataka 2-0 in the final.
The final match pitted Karnataka against Odisha in a tight battle. Both teams got off to a good start, creating multiple scoring chances.
However, both teams' strong defensive performances ensured that the game ended at 0-0 at halftime. Odisha took the lead in the third quarter when Punam Barla (34') scored the first goal. Odisha won the championship 2-0 over Karnataka thanks to a late goal by Ashim Kanchan Barla (59').
Expressing his delight after the title win, Odisha head coach Edgar Joseph Mascarenhas said in a statement, "We did not take Hockey Karnataka lightly. Even though we missed a couple of chances, we played well and had a lot of ball possession which was our game plan. We dominated the ball in midfield. We scored a goal in the third quarter to put them under pressure and then we closed the game with a late goal."
He also went on to credit the senior players in the team for holding the team together in crucial situations. "We had set ourselves very positively coming into this tournament. We practiced really hard, twice a day in the heat of Odisha. We played to our strengths throughout the entire tournament. The senior players really held the team together and our goalkeeper played magnificently on the field," he said.
The first game of the day, on the other hand, pitted Haryana versus Jharkhand for 3rd/4th place. Dipti Toppo (28') scored the first goal for Jharkhand, which was followed by goals from Albela Rani Toppo (40') and Betan Dungdung (43'). Haryana took the game to the wire with goals from Amandeep Kaur (55') and Bharti Saroha (56'), but Jharkhand came out on top 3-2 to capture third place in the competition.
