Raipur, Oct 26 — Sandeep scored twice through penalty corners as Mainpat Titans handed Chakradhar Champions a 3-1 defeat in match No. 9 of the Chhattisgarh Hockey League (CHL) and moved into second place in the points table on Monday.
Former India forward Yuvraj Walmiki was the lone scorer for them as the Chakradhar Champions suffered their first defeat of the season.
The first quarter between Chakradhar and Mainpat went on unexpected lines. Clearly, goal-scoring is their prowess, but no goal was scored in the initial 15 minutes of the match. The teams were testing the waters in a way, where not many chances were created, and no PCs were attained.
What was even more surprising was that the dynamic duo of SV Sunil & Walmiki were kept in check. But not for long, though. In the second quarter, the latter broke the shackles, dodged past a couple of Titans defenders and beat keeper Alfaz Khan to score his first of the night.
Sandeep Kumar scored for Mainpat four minutes later, ensuring his team didn’t fall behind in the match.
Against the run of play, Titans managed to create magic, which handed them the lead heading into the last quarter.
Defender Anand Lakra scooped the ball from his half, which was to land just in front of keeper Vaibhav Singh Chandel, but Sahil Xaxa deflected the ball into the goal. That left Chakradhar in utter disbelief.
Sandeep sealed the match for the men in red & white when he converted his second PC of the match. It was the point of no return for Chakradhar, who succumbed to their first defeat.
At the end of the day, what really proved the difference between the sides was the way Titans marked Sunil in the midfield. The veteran was not allowed to feed balls to the forwards, and every time he moved close to the circle, he was surrounded by at least four defenders.
Jaskaran Singh’s five goals save the day for Bailadila Bulls, play out draw against Sanskardhani Strikers
The Chhattisgarh Hockey League witnessed one of its most gripping matches on Monday, where the Sanskardhani Strikers and Bailadila Bulls played out a 5-5 draw.
Bulls’ Jaskaran Singh waged a lone battle against Strikers, who alone scored all the goals for his team. But despite this effort, Bulls remain sans a win in the tournament; Strikers are also winless in CHL 2026.