National Games 2022: Darshan Gaonkar scores ‘3D’ goal as Maharashtra beat Haryana in Bronze medal match

National Games 2022: Maharashtra’s hockey team on Tuesday defeated Haryana’s hockey side in the Bronze medal match of the hockey event in the National Games. The match went down the wire and into a penalty shootout where Maharashtra prevailed by 3-1. What also caught attention in the match was Maharashtra’s player Darshan Gaonkar’s ‘3D’ skills to score a goal. 

The match got tied in the regular time and both the teams went into a penalty shootout. Gaonkar took the field to find a goal for his side. He did find the goal but in a pretty unique way. Gaonkar carried the ball on his hockey stick, surprising the goalkeeper. He then lofted the ball past the keeper after reaching close to him. 

After winning the match, Gaonkar said, “This is said as 3D skills generally. I used to practice this skill and used to think about what innovation shall I add to this. Today I tried it and it got successful.”

He added that the team wanted to win Gold but are fine to get a medal. Gaonkar added that he dreams to play for India. The youngster said he was in the junior World Cup camp but could not find his place for the World Cup. Gaonkar stated that he went into the India A Commonwealth camp but as his sister died, he went back to his home and could not get available for the selection. 

The Maharashtra side was defeated in the semifinals by the Uttar Pradesh team. The match was an even a more closer one where UP edged past by 6-5. In the regular time, both teams were at 3-3 and in the shootouts, it remained 2-2. However, in the sudden death, UP scored, while Maharashtra failed to do so.

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