Defending champions Jharkhand will meet Karnataka in a repeat final of the 7th All-India BSNL Hockey Tournament at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar tomorrow.
In the semifinals today, Jharkhand humbled NTR, Delhi 5-0, while Karnataka overcame a fighting Orissa 2-1. After Manoj Pradhan drew first blood in the 10th minute, a brace by Thomas Nag (13th and 15th minutes) gave Karnataka a commanding 3-0 lead at the half time. Lalit Panna incresed the lead further with a field goal in the 42nd minute, while Sudhir Vengra completed the tally with penalty corner in the 59th minute.
Host Orissa played with a plan to deny formidable Karnataka any goal in the first half of the second semifinal match. But the team from South struck two field goals in the second half through right-winger R B Vinod (43rd and 51st minutes) to seal the match in their favour. Orissa pulled one back through Rabibar Ekka in the 59th minute, but could not stop Karnataka from winning the exciting match.
The match witnessed a bit tenstion as Orissa`s Maga Munda suffered a head injury after being hit by Karnataka`s Prafulla Kujur. Both the players were punished with yellow cards.
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