Sr Men’s National Hockey: Punjab, Rajasthan, Odisha, Bengal win on Day 5
Chennai: Teams from Punjab, Rajasthan, Odisha, Bengal and Mizoram won their respective matches on Day 5 of the 14th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here on Friday. In a clash of two strong teams, Hockey Maharashtra and Hockey Jharkhand played to a competitive draw.
Hockey Punjab defeated Chhattisgarh Hockey 10-1 in a Pool A encounter. Gursahibjit Singh (5’, 35’) and Balwinder Singh (41’, 55’) scored braces for Hockey Punjab along with goals from Ravneet Singh (15’), Pardeep Singh (16’), Angad Bir Singh (52’), Maninder Singh (53’), Gurjinder Singh (54’) and Sudarshan Singh (58’). Chhattisgarh Hockey’s Captain Tarun Yadav (44’) scored their only goal.
In Pool E, Hockey Rajasthan edged past Hockey Arunachal 4-3. Keshav Pandey (26’, 45’) and Captain Vijendra Singh (31’, 40’) netted twice for Hockey Rajasthan. For Hockey Arunachal, Sandeep Pathak (2’, 44’) and Abhinav Singh (33’) were the goal scorers.
In another Pool E fixture, Hockey Association of Odisha defeated Le Puducherry Hockey 6-2. In a comprehensive team effort, Amandeep Lakra (11’), Nilam Sanjeep Xess (18’), Sudeep Chirmako (34’), Pratap Lakra (37’), Rajat Akash Tirkey (43’) and Kerobin Lakra (55’) netted a goal each for Odisha. Meanwhile, Nabin Kujur (21’) and T. Arun Kumar (45) found the back of the net for Le Puducherry Hockey.
Hockey Mizoram defeated Hockey Himachal 6-3 in a Pool B encounter. Trishul Ganapathi (34’, 39’) top scored while Mohit Kathoute (5’), Stalin Abhilash (18’), Zothanpuia (27’) and Lalramhlua (58’) also made contributions for Hockey Mizoram. Harsh (41’, 46’) and Dharmesh Singh (37’) were the goal scorers for Hockey Himachal.
Hockey Maharashtra were locked in a 2-2 draw against Hockey Jharkhand, in a Pool G clash. Sayyad Niaz Rahim (35’) and captain Devindar Sunil Walmiki (60’) scored for Hockey Maharashtra while Captain Simon Bodra (23’) and Love Light Kujur (34’) scored for Hockey Jharkhand.
Hockey Bengal secured a 12-2 victory against Hockey Bihar in Pool H. Hockey Bengal’s Nitish Neupane (22’, 36’, 41’) struck a hat-trick while Captain, Rajendra Oram (2’, 44’), Amon Mirash Tirkey (6’, 45’) and Alsem Lakra (12’, 49’) scored two goals each. Additionally, Raushan Kumar (4’), Tarun Adhikari (20’) and Santosh Baxla (60’) scored goals as well. Meanwhile, Saurav Kumar (24’) and Anuj Raj (55’) scored a goal each for Hockey Bihar.