Punjab defeat Madhya Pradesh 3-2, advance to quarterfinals of hockey championship

Punjab triumphed over Madhya Pradesh 3-2 in a hard-fought encounter to advance to the quarterfinals of the 15th Hockey India Junior Men’s National Hockey Championship.

The championship, being organised by Hockey Punjab at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium, saw intense competition in both divisions. In the A Division, Odisha and Haryana won their respective league matches, each securing three points. In the B Division, Bihar and Bengal also emerged victorious in their league matches, each earning three points.

Punjab was given a tough challenge by Madhya Pradesh. Early in the match, Punjab’s Om Rajnish Saini opened the scoring with a field goal in the third minute, giving Punjab a 1-0 lead. In the 14th minute, Lavnur Singh extended the lead to 2-0 for Punjab. However, Madhya Pradesh responded with a goal by Mohammad Anas in the 19th minute, narrowing the score to 2-1. In the second half, Jharkhand’s Suhail Ali scored for Madhya Pradesh in the 39th minute, leveling the score at 2-2. The match took a decisive turn when Punjab’s Japneet Singh scored a penalty stroke in the 41st minute, putting Punjab ahead 3-2 and securing the win.

On the third day of the championship, Bihar defeated Assam 4-3 after leading 3-2 at halftime. In the second match, Bengal triumphed over Uttarakhand 4-1, having led 2-0 at the break. In the A Division, Odisha edged past Karnataka 2-1, while Haryana dominated Manipur 5-0, leading 2-0 at halftime.