Lucknow/Ranchi, Sep 7 : SAI Shakti secured a grand double by lifting the men's and women's trophies with fine wins in Ranchi and Lucknow respectively in the 1st Hockey India Junior Men & Women Inter-Zone Championships 2024.

In the women's section, SAI Shakti lifted the trophy by beating East Zone in Ranchi while its men's team defeated North Zone in the men's category, in Lucknow. Meanwhile, West Zone and SAI Bal finished third in the women's and men's categories respectively.

In the women's final played in Ranchi, SAI Shakti defeated East Zone 3-0. Kajal (7', 13') led the goal-scoring efforts for SAI Shakti with a brace. She was joined on the scoresheet by Laltlanchhungi (52') to seal their first-place finish.

West Zone defeated SAI Bal 3-1 in the Women's 3rd/4th Place match. West Zone built a solid lead after goals from Captain Gupta Palak (24'), Khushi (27'), and Parmar Ronak (36'). SAI Bal's Karuna Minz (38') scored a goal from the spot in the third quarter but failed to change the scoreline any further.

In the men's final played in Lucknow, SAI Shakti beat North Zone 5-1. The goalscorers for SAI Shakti were Shivam Patel (10'), Sachin (20', 54'), and Ashu Maurya (37', 51') while the only goal for North Zone was scored by Ujjwal Pal (46').

SAI Bal defeated East Zone 6-4 in the Men's 3rd/4th Place match. Ansh Kamboj (8'), Dhanush Shane D (11'), Kushal Bopaiah Cb (23'), Captain Rahul (43'), Suraj Kumar (51'), and Asim Ekka (55') got on the scoresheet for SAI Bal. Meanwhile, Ricky Tonjam (4', 39'), Bijay Shaw (22'), and Amit Tirkey (59') found the back of the net for East Zone.

/IANS