Chhattisgarh Hockey League: Mainpat Titans beat Sanskardhani Strikers 4-2 to win inaugural title

The inaugural edition of the Chhattisgarh Hockey League (CHL) concluded on Sunday, November 1, with Mainpat Titans lifting the CHL trophy by beating Sanskardhani Titans with a scoreline of 4-2 at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Hockey Stadium in Raipur, according to a release.

Organised by the Department of Sports & Youth Welfare, Government of Chhattisgarh, and sanctioned by Hockey India, the league brought together six franchise teams representing different regions of the state. The competition aimed to provide a platform for hockey players from Chhattisgarh and strengthen the states sporting ecosystem which was visible in the 12-day tournament.

Played in front of a packed Raipur crowd, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Vishnu Deo Sai, Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Mansukh Mandaviya, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Sports & Youth Welfare Chhattisgarh Arun Sao were amongst the dignitaries who saw Mainpat Titans lift the title via goals from Abhishek Yadav, Prahalad Rajbhar, and two from Mohit Nayak.

It was a rapid start to the match by MT, who came up with a few chances in the opening minutes. They ensured they got circle penetrations early on, which is always a good sign for any side. But on the counter, Shahrukh created a chance, where his shot was blocked by a defender.

SS received a stroke, but the tournaments highest scorer Ashish Tani Purti missed it when he came up against the one of the best keepers Alfaz Khan. But then, just in the dying minutes of the first quarter, Abhishek Yadav made amends when he scored through a reverse flick, on the rebound from a PC chance. While the second quarter largely remained uneventful, the pair of Sandeep Kumar & Prahalad Rajbhar produced magic to equalize. Sandeep dished out a solid pass from just outside the circle in front of the keeper, and Prahalad came up with a feather touch on the ball to send it inside the goal.

Mainpat tried to turn the tide in the third quarter, with Sandeep converting a PC, taking the score to 2-1, but their lead did not stay for long. Strikers got another PC; Ashish failed again, but Sarikh Ahmed scored with the ball still in play. That took the score to 2-2 at the end of the third quarter.

The winning move of the final came from Titans Mohit Nayak, when he created space for himself in the circle, despite being marked, and then guided his tomahawk to the top left corner of the post. The same man scored a field goal in the dying seconds, taking the tally to four.

Unfortunately, for Strikers, Ashish not being able to convert any PCs in the 60 minutes was their biggest failure on the night. Abhishek from Sanskardhani won the Striker of the Match Award; Mohit deservedly took the Player of the Match Award.

The tournament carried a total prize pool of Rs 21 lakh, with Rs 11 lakh for the winning team Mainpat Titans and Rs 6 lakh for the runners-up team Sanskardhani Strikers. Notable performances during the league were recognised with the tournament awards, with Shahrukh Ali being adjudged as the Player of the Tournament; Ashish Tani Purti bagging the Top Scorer award for scoring 13 goals; while Himanshu was adjudged as the Best Goalkeeper of the CHL. Local boy Mohit Nayak showed moments of brilliance across the tournament and was awarded the Best Chhattisgarh Player award. Sandeep Kumar, who looks like a promising talent, was awarded the Emerging Player (U-21) Award.

Having witnessed the live action of the final match, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Vishnu Deo Sai went on to praise both the captains and the teams in action for some brilliant hockey on display.

CM Vishnu Deo Sai was particularly ecstatic to see the 108 local players rub shoulders with stalwart Indian players like Pradeep, Shamsher, Lalit Upadhayay, Yuvraj Walmiki, Chinglensana Singh, Surender Kumar, and SV Sunil.

The inaugural season of the Chhattisgarh Hockey League proved to be an initiative to encourage participation in hockey, provide emerging players with competitive exposure and strengthen the states contribution to Indian hockey given the number of local Chhattisgarh players who were able to rub shoulders with the best players from India. (ANI)