Teams from Dadra & Nagar Haveli And Daman & Diu, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh came up with strong performances to secure victories in their respective matches on the opening day of the 14th Hockey India Sub-Junior Men National Championship at the Astroturf Hockey Stadium, Sports Complex, Sector 42 here on Monday.
The first match of the competition was a Pool G clash that saw Dadra & Nagar Haveli And Daman & Diu Hockey defeat Goans Hockey 9-0. Mithlesh Singh (6’, 25’, 27’) led with three goals while Jitin (14’, 53’) and Sagar (36’, 49’) scored braces. Pawan Yadav (29’), and captain Ravindra Pratap Yadav (56’) also chipped in with contributions.
In another clash, the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu defeated Hockey Gujarat 10-4. Sugumar M. (10’, 22’, 37’,) and Renjit (43’, 50’, 60’) were the top scorers for Tamil Nadu while captain Sundarajith M. (33’, 48’), Gowtham (28’) and S Lakshmanan Sri (45’) scored as well. For Hockey Gujarat, Tushal Sosa (5’, 18’) and Parmar Rajveer Bhupatbhai (9’, 51’) scored braces.
Hockey Punjab defeated Hockey Karnataka 8-2 in a Pool E fixture. In a comprehensive team performance, Hockey Punjab were powered by braces from Mandeep Singh (13’, 56’), Charanjeet Singh (14’, 47’), Gurwinder Singh (30’, 55’) and Amandeep (41’, 60’). Meanwhile, Nitesh Sharma (3’) and Suprith G. (27’) scored for Hockey Karnataka.
Manipur Hockey defeated Hockey Bihar 6-0 in another Pool E encounter. Manimatum Malbam (18’) and Gerik Ningombam Singh (22’) gave Manipur the lead in the second quarter before Vishal Warimbam (43’), Konthoujam Sanjit Singh (45’), Khetrumayum Borish Singh (53’) and Nishi Saikhom Singh (58’) found the back of the net as well.
In Pool F, Hockey Arunachal defeated Hockey Jammu & Kashmir 9-0. Kumar Shashank (1’, 48’), MO Sahran (22’, 58’) and Mohd Atif (39’, 60’) scored twice each while Suraj Chaudhari (34’), captain Yuvraj Das (38’), and Mohd Imran Khan (45’) scored a goal each.