RSPB women win senior hockey nationals

Representational Picture

Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) today lifted the 8th Senior National Women's Hockey Championship title, thrashing Madhya Pradesh 4-0 in the final to finish the tournament without losing a game. Playing in front of a boisterous crowd at the Astro Turf Hockey Stadium, RSPB brought their A game into play.

They put up a structured defence to prevent Madhya Pradesh attackers from making successful circle entries while the team's attack, led by forward Vandana Katariya, frequently threatened the rival defence.

RSPB's first goal was scored in the third quarter through Vandana's field goal in the 36th minute. The two teams were goal-less in the first two quarters. Vandana scored yet another splendid goal in the 41st minute to take their lead to 2-0. Later, Priyanka Wankhede, who is second in the goal-scoring chart behind teammate Anupa Barla, scored a scintillating field goal to not only put the RSPB 3-0 ahead in the 43rd minute but also took her tally to 12 in the tournament.

A good finish, with an improvised attack, saw the winning team end their campaign with Vandana scoring a fine goal in the 59th minute. In the bronze medal match, Haryana beat home team Jharkhand 2-0. It was experienced players Rani (19') and Deepika (41') who scored to help their team win after a disappointing outing in the semifinal against MP.

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