Kalinga Lancers beat Dabang Mumbai to clinch Hockey India League 2017 title

Chandigarh: Kalinga Lancers, who had made to final last year, made amends to lift their maiden Hockey India League, defeating Dabang Mumbai 4-1 in the final on Sunday.

Dabang Mumbai, who were table toppers of the league stage, conceded to Kalinga Lancers, who emerged victorious to claim the purse of Rs 2.5 crore. The runners-up received Rs 1.25 crore.

Australian player Glenn Turner helped Lancers to take a 2-0 lead with his 18th-minute field goal while Lancers captain Moritz Fuerste scored in the 30th minute to extend the lead to 3-0.

Both the teams began their match by playing aggressively. After the first quarter was goalless, Turner opened the account in the 18th minute, deflecting a shot from the right of the striking circle. Fuerste converted a drag flick in the 29th minute to extend the score to 3-0.

Dabang Mumbai pulled one back through Affan Yousuf’s penalty corner conversion in the 33rd minute (1-3). They raised hopes of making a comeback in the dying minutes of the match when the umpire awarded a field goal and the scoreboard displayed 3-3. But celebrations were short-lived as the goal was disallowed after Kalinga sought a video referral.

Kalinga skipper Fuerste then converted another penalty corner in the last minute to seal the match.

Mumbai Dabang’s Harmanpreet Singh, who was part of the Junior World Cup winning squad and was among the nominees for the FIH Rising Star of the Year category, bagged the award for emerging player of the league, which carries a cash award of Rs 20 lakh. Harmanpreet scored seven goals.