Bhubaneswar: Sundargarh emerged champions in the Odisha Junior Hockey Champions beating Deogarh 1-0 in the final played here Friday. In a play-off for the third-fourth place KIIT/KISS were victorious defeating Sambalpur 4-0. The tournament was organised by the Hockey Association of Odisha. Over 500 players from 30 teams participated in the championships.
After the final ended Friday some individual players were also presented with awards for their outstanding performances in the tournament. The winners of the individual awards were:
Best Goalkeeper: Milan Bhuyan, Sundargarh
Best Defender: Salim Kula, Deogarh
Best Midfielder: Asit Lakra, Deogarh
Best Forward: Amrit Dung Dung
Player of the Tournament: Premchand Horo, Sambalpur
A large number of dignitaries were present to witness the final on the last day of the event. Among those present were Olympians Lajrus Barla, Lilima Minz and Sunita Lakra, officials from the Sports and Youth Services department, Sidhartha Sankar Sahu, OAS, OSD, Sailendra Kumar Jena, Joint Secretary to government and Dr Gaganendu Dash, Director General, Sports and School of Yoga, KIIT University.
Newly-elected Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey congratulated the winning team. “Congratulations to Sundargarh for becoming the first champions of the Junior Men’s Hockey Championships. They have added to the many accolades that Sundargarh has provided for Odisha hockey. We will continue to host such tournaments which will enable players to showcase their talent and help develop the game,” Tirkey said.
Players selected from the tournament will be asked to attend a camp from which the Odisha team for the junior national championships will be selected.