Uttarakhand eves blank Sikkim 9-0 at senior national meet
Hockey Uttarakhand defeated Assam Hockey 9-0 in a Division ‘B’ match on the fifth day of the 15th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 3, Panchkula. The day also saw Division ‘A’ matches, as Hockey Madhya Pradesh and Hockey Jharkhand emerged victorious.
In the first match of the day, Hockey Uttarakhand defeated Assam Hockey to win three games in a row and ended on top of the Pool A standings to earn promotion to Division ‘A’ in the next season. Preeti Sharma (16th, 18th, 52nd) and Vartika Rawat (23rd, 35th, 45th) starred in the team’s win by scoring impressive hat-tricks. Captain Mamta Bhatt (4th, 57th) and Hema Singh (19th) also scored in Hockey Uttarakhand’s dominant win.
In the opening Division ‘A’ match, Hockey Madhya Pradesh edged out Uttar Pradesh Hockey 2-1 in Pool D. Hritika Singh opened the scoring for the winning team in the first quarter. She netted the goal in the 7th minute.
After a tightly contested second quarter, the game opened up again after half-time as Uttar Pradesh Hockey captain Rajni Bala scored the equaliser in the 31st minute. In the final quarter, Neelu Dadiya scored the all-important winner as she converted a penalty corner to give her side a crucial three points in the 51st minute.
In another Division ‘A’ match of the day, Hockey Jharkhand defeated Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 9-2 in Pool C to kickstart their tournament. Elin Dungdung (13th, 24th) and captain Albela Rani Toppo (17th, 34th) scored braces, while Promodni Lakra (15th), Horo Sanjna (27th) Rajni Keketta (39th), Sushma Kumari (50th) and Nikki Kullu (60th) also featured on the scoresheet. S Soniya (31st) and Vairavi M (51st) scored the two consolation goals for Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu.
In the Division ‘C’, Hockey Andhra Pradesh defeated Le Puducherry Hockey as Lotia Mary (50th) and Patan Mujiya Begum (58th) scored late goals to win the fixture.
This was followed by the last match wherein Hockey Arunachal played out a goalless draw against Hockey Jammu & Kashmir in Division ‘C’.
