Punjab Hockey League: Naval Tata Hockey Academy stun Roundglass Hockey Academy as SAI Sonipat takes top spot

Jalandhar (Punjab) [India], September 18 (ANI): Naval Tata Hockey Academy, Jamshedpur, stunned table toppers Roundglass Hockey Academy 5-3 for their first loss of the league on day 10 of the second edition of the Punjab Hockey League (U-21), which was played here on Thursday at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium.

RGHA's loss made way for the Sports Authority of India National Centre of Excellence, Sonipat, who themselves made a 4-3 comeback victory against PIS Surjit Hockey Academy to climb to the top of the table with 27 points from 10 matches. RGHA have 26 points from the same number of matches, while Naval Tata moved into third place with 17 points, as per a press release from Punjab Hockey League.

RGHA took the lead through Sukhpreet Singh in the 16th minute. Naval Tata then stunned the hosts, scoring five goals in the space of 19 minutes. Sabian Kiro scored a brace while Ganga Topno, Mohit Nayak and Ashish Tani Purti scored the other goals for the winners. RGHA tried to make a comeback in the final quarter, scoring twice through Japnit Singh and Anurag, but it could only soften the score line.

SAI Sonipat came back from a 3-1 score line to win 4-3 at full time to leap into top spot. They took the lead in the 11th minute through Happy Singh but were pegged back by three back-to-back goals by Surjit Hockey Academy, scored by Manroop Singh, Abhishek Gorkhi and Ajaypal Singh. Navraj Singh converted two penalty corners to bring the scores level to 3-3 for SAI. Harpal converted a penalty stroke in the 57th minute to give SAI Sonipat the lead and the win.

In the first match of the day, SDAT Hockey Academy came from behind to beat Namdhari Hockey Academy 2-1 for their third outright victory of the league. Goals from C. Shibi Yuvaraj and S. Vishal gave SDAT the victory after Gurpreet Singh had given Namdhari the lead in the 9th minute.

SGPC Hockey Academy, Amritsar, scored a goal in each quarter to beat Ghumanhera Risers Hockey Academy 4-3 in the third match of the day. Sukhveer Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Harmanreet Singh and Jarmanpreet Singh scored for the team from Amritsar, while Nikil, Dinesh and Duvish scored for Ghumanhera Risers.

Punjab Hockey League is organised jointly by Roundglass Hockey Academy and Hockey Punjab, aims to provide extensive match exposure to players from the grassroots level and contribute meaningfully to their professional and personal development.

Tomorrow's Matches

SDAT Hockey Academy vs PIS Surjit Hockey Academy - 9 AM

Namdhari Hockey Academy vs SGPC Hockey Academy - 11 AM

SAI Sonipat vs Roundglass Hockey Academy - 1 PM

Ghumanhera Risers Hockey Academy vs Naval Tata Hockey Academy - 3 PM

The Punjab Hockey League is a first-of-its-kind junior hockey competition launched by Roundglass Hockey Academy and Hockey Punjab to nurture young talent and strengthen grassroots hockey in India. Featuring 8 academy teams from across the country, the league offers a professional platform for players U19 and U21 along with a prize money of Rs 30 lakh, which is the largest ever for a junior hockey tournament in India. PHL reflects Roundglass' vision of reviving Indian hockey by giving young athletes the opportunity to grow, compete, and dream of representing the nation on the global stage. (ANI)

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