Kovilpatti (Tamil Nadu), May 30 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh Hockey defeated Hockey Chandigarh 2-0 in the final to successfully defend their crown in the 12th Hockey India Junior Men's National Championship 2022 here on Sunday.

Hockey Haryana claimed third place in the competition with a 3-0 win against the Hockey Association of Odisha in the 3rd/4th place match.

In the final, Uttar Pradesh Hockey defeated Hockey Chandigarh 2-0 in a tightly-contested affair. Sourabh Anand Khushwaha (4') and captain Sharda Nand Tiwari (33') scored a goal early in each half for Uttar Pradesh to seal victory in the contest.

Speaking after the final, Uttar Pradesh Hockey coach Vikas Pal said, "We are extremely happy to defend our title in this tournament. We added some new players to the team from the last time, and I am happy to see that the team galvanized together quite well. Overall, I am quite happy that the team played according to the standards we had set for ourselves regularly in training."

In the 3rd/4th place play-off match earlier in the day, Hockey Haryana secured a 3-0 win against the Hockey Association of Odisha. Shubham (10'), Toshant (44') and captain Vikas (58') scored the goals for Hockey Haryana.