Shilpi dabas

Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda: The last Pool stage match of the Women’s Hockey India League (HIL) 2024-25 witnessed Soorma Hockey Club defeat Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers 4-2 at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Astro Turf Hockey Stadium here on Friday. With this victory, Soorma Hockey Club set up the Final clash against Odisha Warriors on 26 January.

Charlotte Englebert (1’, 17’, 47’) dominated the game, scoring a superb hattrick while Hina Bano (9’) pitched in with a goal for Soorma. Captain Vandana Katariya (48’) and Shilpi Dabas (58') found the back of the net in the last quarter but were unable to change the outcome of the game. Charlotte Englebert took the Tigers by surprise as soon as the game began by picking up a loose pass from the top of the circle and thundering a shot past the goalkeeper Grace O’Hanlon. Soorma, after gaining the early advantage in the game, maintained the pressure high up the pitch in the minutes that followed.

Halfway through the quarter, Sharmila Devi found Hina Bano from the right wing, who dashed across her marker in front of the goal and squeezed the ball past Grace to double Soorma’s lead. The high press by Soorma rewarded them with multiple goal-scoring opportunities and a penalty corner as the quarter came to a close but they were unable to find the back of the net again. The Tigers struggled to play out of their defence as the second quarter began as well. Within minutes, Englebert received the ball on top of the circle and picked out the bottom right corner with a reverse shot and made it 3-0 for Soorma.