Odisha missed its first-ever National medal in water polo as the State girls team lost the bronze-medal match against Maharashtra by five points (8-13) in the 51st Junior National Aquatics Championship in Bengaluru, Karnataka today. Kerala won the gold medal, defeating Karnataka 14-8.
Earlier, the 14-member Odisha girls team won and lost one match each at the league stage to qualify for the semifinals, where they went down to Karnataka 12-21. In the league competition, Odisha beat Bengal 6-4, but lost to Kerala 2-11. Krushna Priya Nayak was the top scorer for Odisha with 11 goals to her name.
Odisha boys team also put up impressive performances, but missed a quarterfinal berth narrowly. The 14-member boys team played three matches, won two and lost one at the league stage. They defeated Haryana 12-4 and Manipur 17-3, but lost to Karnataka 5-15. Bengal boys secured the gold, while Maharashtra and Kerala claimed the silver and bronze respectively.
ODISHA JUNIOR WATERPOLO SQUADS:
BOYS: Raju Kishan, Mangal Tudu, Rohit Bhatra, Gopinath Hembram, Jyotibasu Munda, Pradip Padiami, Jitu Sabar, Laxmon Soren, Dinesh Bariha, Sarbeswar Birua, Diamond Kisan, Swamyajit Behera, Sri Yash Paikaray, Soumya Ranjan Munda. Coach: Dipankar Das, Assistant Coach: Sayan Mondal.
GIRLS: Sukamani Kishan, Rinky Murmu, Sunita Munda, Krushnapriya Nayak, Smita Smruti Sahu, Subhasmita Majhi, Renuka Tiriya, Nitu Singh, Sualmani Marndi, Puja Padhan, Reshma Majhi, Digij Soren, Ashika Toppo, Manisha Naik. Coach: Dipankar Das, Manager: Hemaprava Kanhar.
ODISHA RESULTS:
BOYS:
4 August: Odisha (Rohit Bhatra 4, Jitu Sabar 4, Gopinath Hembram 2, Jyotibasu Munda 1, Pradip Padiami 1) beat Haryana (Raman 3, Kartik 1) 12-4.
5 August: Odisha (Rohit Bhatra 7, Pradip Padiami 4, Jitu Sabar 3, Sarbeswar Bariha 2, Diamond Kisan 1) beat Manipur (Khagemba Sarungbam 2, Salainganba Koijam 1) 17-3.
6 August: Odisha (Pradip Padiami 3, Rohit Bhatra 2) lost to Karnataka (Chinmay Pai 7, Surya Chandra 3, Pavan Mohan 2, Jayanth L Reddy 2, Nihar Rajesh 1) 5-15.
GIRLS:
4 August: Odisha (Krushna Priya Nayak 1, Renuka Tiriya 1) lost to Kerala (Ardra S 2, Karthika Satheesh 2, Abhinanda V 2, Ruddra MR 2, Gopika J 2, Nivya M 1) 2-11.
5 August: Odisha (Krushna Priya Nayak 2, Renuka Tiriya 2, Reshma Majhi 2) beat Bengal (Anwesha Halder 2, Diya Sekh 1, Ishita Sardar 1) 6-4.
7 August (Semifinal): Odisha (Krushna Priya Nayak 5, Puja Padhan 4, Reshma Majhi 2, Rinky Murmu 1) lost to Karnataka (Nithya C 6, Roshini S 5, Manya R 4, Ishani Kiran 4, Lavanya Yogesh 1, Tanvi Ravi 1) 12-21.
8 August (Bronze-medal match): Odisha (Puja Padhan 4, Krushna Priya Nayak 3, Smita Smruti Sahu 1) lost to Maharashtra (Rushada Patil 5, Reet Kulkarni 4, Nirmiti Wankhade 2, Bhumika Giri 1, Devayani Yelwande 1) 8-13.
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PHOTO: Players, coach and support staff of Odisha boys and girls water polo teams pose before leaving for the 51st Junior National Aquatics Championship.