Hatton National Bank (HNB) emerged champions of the inaugural Mercantile hockey men’s nine-a-side Championship at the Astro Turf, Torrington in Colombo.
HNB ‘A’ beat Commercial Bank ‘A’ 1-0 in the ‘A’ division final with the winning goal scored by Damitha Bandara five minutes into the second half.
Hayleys ‘B’ clinched the ‘B’ division title defeating Commercial Bank ‘B’ 2-0 in the final. J Wijekoon opened the scoring in the seventh minute while Bodhika Dias doubled the lead with a goal in the eighth minute of the second half.
Sampath Bank ‘B’ won the ‘C’ division final when they beat HNB ‘B’ on a penalty shootout 2-1 after the match ended goalless.
Isanka Samaranayake scored a brace for Sampath while Indika Hewawasam scored for HNB. Asanka Maduranga was adjudged the Best Player.
Browns Group defeated Airport Aviation 1-0 in the ‘D’ division final thanks to a goal by N Kahingala in the first half while Pathum Proboda was adjudged the Best Player. This was the first tournament conducted by the Mercantile Hockey Association after the Covid -19 outbreak while Swisstek Aluminum was the main sponsor with Alpha Global Shipping Service as part sponsor.