The 2018 Defense Service Hockey Tournament concluded yesterday at the Astro Turf where the Army Hockey team took the Men’s Hockey championship and Navy Hockey team grabbed the Women’s title.
Army Vs Navy (Women’s Final)
Both teams seemed to be very confident as they entered the field. However when the match began the Navy team took control of the game from the maiden quarter. Madura Darmarathne of the Navy team employed a very balancing game which made the forwards play a very tight offensive game. The Army team naturally therefore gsve more attention towards their defensive aspect. However, in the 53rd minute Chathurika Wijesooriya scored the first goal against the Army team through a penalty corner. This brought more excitement to the final game. The Army played a nervous game and as they focused on the defending aspect no offensive strategies were implemented throughout and Navy were brave enough to take maximum advantage and put more pressure on their opponents. Another Navy assault in the 65th minute resulted in goal number two scored by G.G.P. Nilmini. With this goal, the match came to an end with a 2-0 in favour of the Navy team.
Army Vs Airforce (Men’s Final)
The game started in an aggressive manner by the Army players and in the very first minute C.C. Welagedara of Army scored the first goal of the match and this brought in a lot of excitement. Army managed to secure an early lead taking advantage of their offensive strategies while Airforce struggled to make their shots successful. In the 27th minute another successful shot was taken by C.C. Welagedara for the Army team. It seemed like the Airforce team lacked coordination and this resulted in them making too many bad passes throughout the game. Another goal was scored by Heendeniya through a penalty stroke which increased the score for the Army team and this brought the match to an end with a final score of 3-0 in favor of Army.
- Best player of the match (women’s) – Chathurika Wijessoriya (Navy)
- Best goal keeper of the match (women’s) – PKWH Premathileke (Army)
- Best player of the match (Men’s) – CC Welagedara (Army)
- Best goal keeper of the match (Men’s) – HMTK Heendeniya (Army)
- Best player of the tournament (Women’s) – GGG Damayanthi (Navy)
- Best player of the tournament (Men’s) – KMRD Kulathunga (Army)
