The Sports Authority of India (SAI) Academy claimed a nail-biting 2-1 win over Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy in the finals of the first Hockey India junior women's Academy National Championship 2021 to become the winners of the inaugural edition of the competition. Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High-Performance Centre defeated Khalsa Hockey Academy (Amritsar) 5 - 1 to claim the third spot.
On Friday, both teams entered the final with a 100 per cent record in the competition, winning all of their matches en route to the final showdown. SAI Academy got off to a quick start in the Final, with Sanjna Horo giving her team the lead in the seventh minute of the first quarter. Sanjna Horo then doubled her tally and gave her team a 2-0 lead when she found the back of the net again in the 23rd minute. Yogita Verma then got one goal back for Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy in the 25th minute to set up a nail-biting contest in the 2nd half.
SAI Academy retained their one-goal advantage and saw out the remainder of the match professionally to become the champions of the Championship. In another game, Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High-Performance Centre defeated Khalsa Hockey Academy (Amritsar) 5-1 to clinch third place in the competition. Taranpreet Kaur gave Khalsa Hockey Academy (Amritsar) a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. However, the home side Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High-Performance Centre rallied together to rack up five goals from that point onwards, with goals from captain Jyoti Chhatri (21', 48'), Tanu Kishan (28', 38'), and Kamla Singh (31'). (ANI)
