Rourkela, Feb 1 (PTI) JSW Soorma Hockey Club secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Tamil Nadu Dragons to claim the bronze medal in the Hockey India League men's competition here on Saturday.

Goals from Gurjant Singh (12th minute), Harjeet Singh (19th), and Prabhjot Singh (57th) scored for Soorma, while Blake Govers (15th) and Jip Janssen (59th) found the net for the Dragons at the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium here.

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With the win, JSW Soorma pocketed a prize money of Rs 1 crore.

JSW Soorma took the lead in the opening quarter when Gurjant received a pass from Jeremy Hayward and fired it into the net. Soon after, Soorma earned a penalty corner but couldn't convert as Harmanpreet Singh's attempt was deflected out.

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In response, the Dragons launched a swift counter-attack, with Karthi Selvam weaving past defenders before delivering a perfect pass to Blake Govers, who dived to his right and slotted the ball between Soorma goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch's legs to equalise in the final moments of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Soorma regained the lead when Harjeet was left unmarked in the circle and chipped a deflected pass from Gurjant over Dragons' goalkeeper David Harte, making it 2-1.

JSW Soorma maintained their attacking momentum, creating multiple circle penetrations to keep the pressure on the Dragons. In the final minute of the first half, Soorma won three consecutive penalty corners, but Harte's brilliant goalkeeping and the Dragons' solid defending kept them at bay.

Tamil Nadu Dragons put Soorma's defence under constant pressure with their relentless attacks in the third quarter. Soorma, however, managed to earn three penalty corners in quick succession although they failed to capitalise on any of them.

Both teams created scoring opportunities in the final quarter. After few missed opportunities, Soorma managed to extend their lead when Gurjant Singh made an excellent run, dribbling past defenders, and set up Prabhjot Singh for a simple finish, making it 3-1 in Soorma's favour.

Late drama unfolded in the final minute as Tamil Nadu Dragons won a penalty corner, and Jip Janssen unleashed a powerful shot to cut the deficit to 3-2.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)