Jarkhar Academy clinches both senior, junior titles at Olympian Prithipal Singh Hockey Fest
Ludhiana: In a stellar display of skill and dominance, Jarkhar Hockey Academy triumphed in both the senior and junior categories at the 15th Dabur Olympian Pritipal Singh Hockey Festival 2025.
The event, hosted by Mata Sahib Kaur Sports Charitable Trust at Jarkhar village, concluded with thrilling finals played under floodlights on the blue astroturf at the Mata Sahib Kaur Sports Complex.
In the senior final, Jarkhar Academy edged out Neeta Club Rampur in a nail-biting 5-3 win to lift the Olympian Pritipal Singh Gold Cup and a cash prize of Rs 81,000. Locked at 3-3 until the final minutes, the match saw Jarkhar seal victory with two quick goals.
The defending champions, Dr Kuldeep Singh Moga Club, defeated Kila Raipur 6-3 to claim third place. Pawanpreet Singh Dangora and Manavdeep were named 'Dabur Hero of the Match', while Gurinder Singh Guri (Jarkhar) and Jagjit Singh (Rampur) also earned match hero honours.
Among individual accolades, international hockey player Harjot Singh Jyoti was declared 'Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament', Rampur's Milkha Singh was named 'Best Player', and Jagjit Singh Jaggi of Kila Raipur won the title of 'Best 40+ Player'.
All top performers were honoured with high-quality bicycles.
In the junior final, the first match last evening, Jarkhar Academybagged its maiden junior title by defeating RoundGlass Kila Raipur Hockey Centre 1-0 in a closely contested battle.
Earlier, Nanakana Sahib Public School Amargarh defeated Ek Noor Academy Tehing 4-3 to claim third place. Dilpreet Singh, the goalkeeper from Jarkhar, was awarded 'Dabur Hero of the Match', while Rajveer Singh from Kila Raipur was named 'Best Player of the Tournament'.
Gurmanwadeep Singh Chahal took home the overall title of 'Hero of the Tournament'.
The closing ceremony saw cultural performances by children from Dragon Academy, Ludhiana, who mesmerized the audience with choreographed dance routines. Dabur Company provided refreshments to all players and spectators in a grand gesture.
Chief guest on the occasion, Malerkotla MLA Mohammad Jameel-ur-Rehman, appreciated the infrastructure and efforts of Jarkhar Academy and spoke about the Punjab govt's achievements. He interacted with all participating teams and encouraged the youth to pursue sports passionately. From the USA, Jung Sher Singh, owner of JST Trucking Company, provided financial support to the academy and attended the event as the guest of honour.
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