CR to take on arch rivals WR in Women’s category, Mumbai Customs, India Rush SC to vie for glory in Men’s category

Reigning champions Central Railway  and Mumbai Customs Red, both progressed to the Women’s Open and Men’s Open finals respectively in the Bandra Gymkhana Annual Open Rink Hockey Tournament 2024, played under floodlights at the Bandra Gymkhana Tennis Courts late on Friday evening.

The Central Railway outfit were dominant in their semi-final match against the visiting Kangleipak team from Manipur and stormed to a fluent 4-0 win. Captain Hlunte S. struck a brace of goals while Jivan Kishori and Anuja Singh chipped in with one each to complete the win.

In the women’s final scheduled on Saturday night  Central Railway will clash with arch-rivals Western Railway who defeated Warriors Sports Club by a 4-1 scoreline. For Western Railway Lily Chanu scored a brace while Priyanka Nnkhede and Akanksha Singh scored a goal each. On the other hand Mamta Pasi scored the consolation goal for Warriors Sports Club.

Earlier in the quarter-finals Warriors Sports Club riding on hat-trick by Wilma Kanan and  Akshaya Shetty had shocked last edition losing semi-finalist Steel Plant SC 10-9.  Manisha Dhawal scored the third hat-trick in the fast paced match for Steel Plant SC.

 In the men’s open last four match , Mumbai Customs staved off a spirited fight from Central Railway by snatching a tight 1-0 win. Seasoned centre-forward Jayesh Jadhav scored the all-important winner to seal Customs' win.

In the men’s final, Customs will meet India Rush who defeated fancied Mumbai Port Authority 5-4 via the sudden death penalty shootout after the match finished in a goalless draw.

Earlier defending champions Mumbai Customs Red produced another strong dominant performance and recorded an authoritative 3-0 win against spirited Companeroes SC storm into the semi-finals

However, Mumbai Customs White were not as fortunate as they went down fighting 3-4 to a determined Mumbai Port Authority in another last eight encounter. For Port Authority outfit Harish Shindgi scored a brace of goals while Laxmikant Kawale and Stephen Swamy struck one each to seal their win while Mumbai Customs scored through Dharamveer Singh’s double strikes and one from Girish Pimple.

In another last eight match, India Rush were in impressive form and scored a stunning 5-3 win against CTC (Champions Training Centre) ‘A’. Leading India’s fighting performance was Pranit Naik and Shrikrishna Chaurasiya both striking two goals each and Raj Solanki adding one to complete the win. For CTCm Bhim Batala scored two goals and Kunal Gohil got one.

In the fourth match, Central Railway snatched a tight 2-1 win against Union Bank of India to advance to the semi-finals. Shiromani Mouraya and Anup Walmiki were bang on target with a goal each for Central Railway who enjoyed a 2-0 lead before Union Bank of India pulled one back through (Navin Kheratkar’s efforts.

Results:

Women Open (Quarter-finals)*: Warriors SC 10 (Wilma Kanan 3, Akshaya Shetty 3, Meenakshi Pandey 2, Bhagyashree Agarwal, Yogita Passi) beat Steel Plant SC 9 (Manisha Dhawal 3, Sanjana Raikwar 2, Naziya Rand 2, Sonali Dhaiya 2).

Men’s Open (Quarter-finals): Mumbai Port Authority 4 (Harish Shindgi 2, Laxmikant Kawale, Stephen Swamy) beat Mumbai Customs 3 (Dharamveer Singh 2, Girish Pimple);  Mumbai Customs Red 3 (Nikhil Pardeshi 2, Iktidar Ishrat) beat Companeroes SC 0; India Rush 5 (Pranit Naik 2, Shrikrishna Chaurasiya 2, Raj Solanki) beat CTC ‘A’ 3 (Bhim Batala 2, Kunal Gohil); Central Railway 2 (Shiromani Mouraya, Anup Walmiki) beat Union Bank of India 1 (Navin Kheratkar).

Women Open (Semi-finals): Central Railway 4 (Hlunte S. 2, Jivan Kishori, Anuja Singh) beat Kangleipak Blue (Manipur) 0; Western Railway 4 (Lily Chanu 2, Priyanka Nnkhede, Akanksha Singh) beat Warriors SC 1 (Mamta Pasi).

Men Open (Semi-finals): Mumbai Customs Red 1 (Jayesh Jadhav) beat Central Railway 0; India Rush SC 5 (Kishan Chaurasiya 2, Raj Solanki 2, Rhythm Mamla) beat Mumbai Port Authority 4 (Rahul Shinde 2, Stephen Swamy 2).