Uttar Pradesh defeated Maharashtra in a tie-breaker to enter the men’s hockey final of the 36th National Games at the Dhyan Chand Stadium here on Monday.
The teams were eventually tied 3-3 in a close match, with Sumit, Sunil Yadav and Manish Yadav scoring for Uttar Pradesh and Aniket Gurav (2) and Syed Niaz Rahim scoring for Maharashtra.
Darshan Gawker and Yuvraj Valmiki scored in the shootout for Maharashtra, while for UP, Rajkumar Pal and Rahul Kumar Rajbhar drew 2-2 after the tie-breaker.
Indian Lalit Kumar Upadhyay scored for UP after Maharashtra’s Pratap Shinde failed, giving them a 6-5 win in the final.
Maharashtra also saw a better team on the field in the match. But Uttar Pradesh impressed when it was most important to keep the match alive till the end.
In the second quarter, Uttar Pradesh voluntarily attacked Maharashtra. He soon earned his first goal.
The third quarter was the most exciting, with three goals being scored by Uttar Pradesh twice and Maharashtra once.
However, Maharashtra struggled to level the score and take it to the tie-breaker. However, luck did not favor him in the tie-breaker.
