Punjab colts beat Haryana, enter semis

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 27

Punjab boys continued their dominance in the 7th Junior National Hockey Championship 2017 (Men) ‘A’ Division as they drubbed Hockey Haryana 2-1 to book a place in the semifinals at the Aishbagh Stadium in Bhopal today. 

After a high intensity start, Punjab broke the deadlock in the 30th minute of the game through Dilpreet Singh.      

Twelve minutes later, Kawaljit Singh struck to put Punjab 2-0 ahead. 

Vishal Antil pulled a goal back for Hockey Haryana in the 68th minute through a penalty corner conversion, but it wasn’t enough as Punjab sealed a spot in the last-four stage of the tournament.  

Earlier, Amit Chirmako and Sudhir Kujur scored hat-tricks to help Hockey Odisha dump Hockey Maharashtra 7-3 and march into the semifinals.

Amit Chirmako opened the account in the 7th minute and added two more goals to the tally (37th, 67th) even as Kujur struck in the 17th, 50th, 56th and 70th minutes to ensure a victory for his side.

Namdhari XI rout Hockey Puducherry

In Bengaluru, Hanspal Singh scored seven goals as Namdhari XI routed Hockey Puducherry 15-0 in a 7th Sub Junior National Hockey Championship 2017 (Men) ‘B’ Division match.

After scoring in the fourth minute of the match, Hanspal struck at regular intervals (22nd, 29th, 35th, 44th, 45th and 59th) to decimate the Puducherry defence. 

In another Pool B encounter, Sports Authority of Gujarat - Hockey Academy beat The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd 5-1.

The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd opened the scoring in the 4th minute via Mohammad Tousif Qureshi, but a determined Gujarat Academy side rode on a brace each by Nikhil Jamboktkar (33rd, 52nd) and Sahil Katiyar (46th, 51st) to seal the victory.

Hockey Madhya Bharat, meanwhile, beat Goans Hockey 5-2 with strikes from Mohit Tatawat (6th), Abhishek Yadav (9th, 68ht), Irbaz Khan (65th) and Mudassar Qureshi (69th). 

For Goans Hockey, Sahil Chari scored a brace (32nd, 63rd).

In a Pool C game, Bengal Hockey Association drew 1-1 with Citizen Hockey. 

Lorik Pal opened the scoring for Bengal Hockey Asociation in the 15th minute, while Zainul Samar scored the equaliser for Citizen Hockey in the 58th minute.

Andhra eves off to a winning start

In the 7th Junior National Hockey Championship 2017 (Women) ‘B’ Division, which started at the Aishbagh Stadium today, Hockey Andhra Pradesh beat Bengal Hockey Association 9-2, while Assam Hockey got the better of Hockey Bihar 2-0.

Jyothi Pilligoila scored seven goals (4th, 9th, 16th, 31st, 51st, 55th and 63rd) for Andhra.  

Hockey Mizoram, meanwhile, rode on Lalrindiki’s five goals to floor Jammu & Kashmir eves 10-0. Lalrindiki scored in the 10th, 21st, 25th, 53rd and 67th minute of the game. 

In another match, Hockey Puducherry registered a 1-0 win over Vidarbha Hockey Association, while Hockey Bengaluru played a 3-3 draw with Hockey Madhya Bharat.