By Our Hockey Correspondent

CHENNAI, FEB. 21. What better way can there be to conclude a competition than through a golden goal. Chandigarh achieved its maiden triumph in the junior National hockey championship with an immaculate shot off a penalty corner from Mangra Munda, two minutes from the end of the first half in the extra-time against Mumbai at the SDAT- Radhakrishnan Stadium here this evening.

The contest was worthy of the occasion, with the teams displaying tactical skill and temperament. What added to the element of excitement normally associated with the final was the early goal that Chandigarh scored. Interestingly, Mumbai came back twice after being in deficit, but in the end, finished on the losing side.

Chandigarh, profiting from the opportunism displayed by Mandeep Singh, forged ahead. It came after a defence splitting run by Mangra Munda that paved the way for the lead. Picking up the pass on top of the circle, Mandeep Singh veered to his left delectably, drew the goalkeeper, Bishnoi out of the range and flicked a backhander into the boards.

Touched to the quick by the turn of events, Mumbai regrouped its forces and attacked with vigour. Vijay Alphonso was the king-pin in the frontline, supported well on the flank by Joseph Mathew and Prem Kumar Singh on the inside. In the mid- field Junaid Jada and Vikram Pillai ensured a steady stream of passes for the frontline. An attempt by Jada was stopped neatly by goal-keeper Maninder Singh midway though. But success for Mumbai could not be delayed any longer as Alphonso hit in the equaliser from a pass provided by Prem Kumar Singh. The teams crossed over with one goal each.

Mandeep mesmerises Mumbai defence

Chandigarh struck again shortly after resumption, Mandeep Singh, arguably the best striker in the competition, slotted the lead again. Mandeep tore through flummoxing the deep defence and had the goal-keeper Bishnoi, not in his best elements today, under his mercy. Joseph Mathew, wing- half, made a gallant effort to intercept but Mandeep Singh had the last laugh.

Enhancing the pace and with increased ardour, Mumbai, which forced six penalty corners, levelled midway through when a good bout of passing between Sunil Singh and Vijay Alphonso ended with the former scoring the equaliser. Chandigarh forced its first penalty corner three minutes before the hooter, ended up forcing four, the last one paving the way for the match winner by Mangra Munda.

Mr. Niranjan Mardi, Member Secretary, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, presided and gave away the prizes. Messrs. K.R. Suresh Kumar, Chief Divisional Manager, IOC, and Mr. R. Chidambaram, Manager, Corporate Communications (IOC) representing the co-sponsors, Indian Oil Corporation, gave away the trophies and mementos. Mr. K. Jothikumaran, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Hockey Association and Indian Hockey Federation, welcomed the gathering.

The teams:

Chandigarh: Maninder Singh (goalkeeper), Gurudeep Singh, Bharath Kumar, Jatinder Kumar (captain), Sarabjit Kumar, Jaswinder Singh, Inderjeet Singh, Mangra Munda, Rajpal Singh, Cyril Ekka, Gurpreet Singh, Yuvaraj, Gaurav Tokhi, Prabjot Singh, Ramanvir Singh, Mandeep Singh, Baljit Singh, Amardeep Singh.

Mumbai: Sairam Bishnoi (goalkeeper), Conroy Remedios (captain), Sunil Singh, Rajeneesh Chaturvedi, Vikram Pillai, Junaid Jada, Rajeev Bhatkar, Girish Pimple, Shivendra Singh, Satish Kumar, Vijay Alphonso, Prem Kumar Singh, Joseph Mathew, Joseph D'Souza, Harpreet Singh, Ryan Sequeira (GK), Gurpreet Singh, and Shakti Singh.

Umpires: Balwinder Singh (Railways) and Mohammad Munir (TN).