Biratnagar, February 6

Gandaki Province and Province-5 advanced to the final of the second Girija Prasad Koirala Memorial Men’s National Hockey Tournament here today.

Gandaki hammered Sudurpashchim Province 5-0, while Province-5 beat Tribhuvan Army Club 4-3 in tie-breaker after a goalless draw in the semi-final matches. The third-place playoff and final matches are scheduled for Friday.

In the day’s first semi-final match, TAC and Province-5 failed to score in the regulation period. Sanu Lama, Manish Gurung, Rohit Lama and Shashi Darlami scored for Province-5, while Mohammad Siddiqui failed to convert his shot. For TAC, Pradeep Rajbanshi, Dev Singh Dhami and Roshan Chaudhary scored from the spot, while Roman Rana and Dipendra Ayer wasted their attempts. Kartik Gurung of Province-5 was named the man of the match.

In another match, Gandaki Province took the lead in the 13th minute through Pitambar Thapa’s goal, while Sumit Kumar Kami completed his hat-trick with goals in the 22nd, 31st and 5nd minutes.

Rajan Nepali also scored for Gandaki in the 42nd minute.

Ganesh Thagunna of Gandaki Province was named the man of the match.

A total of six teams took part in the tournament. Top three teams will receive Rs 50,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively, while the player of the tournament, highest scorer, best goalkeeper and emerging player will get Rs 5,000 each.