Haryana Come From Behind to Beat Madhya Pradesh 2-1 and Win the Senior Nationals

Fourteen minutes into the final, Madhya Pradesh were ahead and dreaming.

Mohammad Zaid Khan’s field goal put them 1-0 up in Jhansi, and for a few minutes the 16th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship looked like it was going their way. It didn’t last. Haryana levelled before half-time, sat in, waited, and then nicked it in the 50th minute. Final score: Hockey Haryana 2, Hockey Madhya Pradesh 1. Haryana are national champions.

First, a correction we owe you

Our final preview had Uttar Pradesh in this final, off an early report from Jhansi that said the hosts had beaten Madhya Pradesh 1-0 in the semi. Hockey India’s official semi-final report says otherwise: Madhya Pradesh beat Uttar Pradesh 5-3. Haryana’s half of the story was right — a 3-3 draw with Punjab and a 4-2 shootout win over the defending champions. But MP, not UP, were the other finalists. Sorry about that one. The record’s straight now.

Two penalty corners won a national title

Haryana didn’t score a field goal in this final. They didn’t need to.

Navraj Singh converted a penalty corner in the 21st minute to cancel out Zaid Khan’s opener, and after that the game tightened up the way finals do. Nobody wanted to blink. Then, ten minutes from the end, Joginder Singh stepped up to another penalty corner and scored the winner.

There’s a lesson in there somewhere. Haryana’s route to this trophy went through a shootout against the defending champions and a final where they trailed early. Nothing about it was pretty. All of it was earned.

Spare a thought for Madhya Pradesh, too. Beaten finalists last year against Punjab, beaten finalists again this year, and this time they led the game. Losing one final hurts. Losing the next one from in front is worse.

The hosts still got their medal

Uttar Pradesh didn’t get the final their crowd wanted, but they finished the job in the bronze match, beating Punjab 3-1.

Akash Pal scored twice in six minutes, field goals in the 15th and 21st, and UP were 2-0 up at half-time. Pawandeep Singh pulled one back for Punjab in the 41st, then Chandan Yadav killed the game off with a penalty corner in the 58th.

So the defending champions finish fourth. Punjab came to Jhansi as the team to beat and leave without a medal, while the hosts take bronze in front of their own people. Not the colour UP wanted on Monday night, but it’s something, and Akash Pal’s brace made sure of it. Every score lands in our Live Centre.

Final word

Champions: Haryana. Runners-up: Madhya Pradesh. Third:Uttar Pradesh. A shootout semi, a comeback final, and a title decided by two penalty corners. Jhansi got a proper championship week, and Haryana got the ending that matters.

Sources: Hockey India official final report, hockeyindia.org, 21 Oct 2026; Hockey India official Instagram and Facebook result graphics, 21 Oct 2026.