Bhubaneswar, 17 March 2021: Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy, Markandeshwar Hockey Academy and Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre registered victories in their respective matches on the opening day of the 1st Hockey India Sub Junior Women Academy National Championship 2021 here in Bhubaneswar today after the inaugural ceremony of the competition, which was attended by Hockey India President Shri Gyanendro Ningombam and former India captain Padmashri Shri Dilip Tirkey.
Roundglass Punjab Hockey Club Academy registered an emphatic 20-0 win against Dhyan Chand Hockey Academy in the opener of the tournament. Namneet Kaur (18′, 22′, 38′, 40′, 49′, 55′) and Sweena Rani (11′, 23′, 35′, 47′, 51′) wreaked havoc against their opponent as they scored six and five goals, respectively in the opening game. Captain Satvir Kaur (43′, 54′), Gulnar Kaur (16′, 34′) and Gurpreet Kaur (8′, 39′) scored two goals each while Komalpreet Kaur (26′), Dilpreet Kaur (28′) and Amanpreet Kaur Batth (59′) also scored a goal each in what was a goal-fest.
In the second match of the day, Markandeshwar Hockey Academy outclassed Mumbai Schools Sports Association by a dominant 13-0 margin. Savita (10′, 24′, 40′, 51′) netted four goals whereas Sajiya (5′, 37′ 57′) and Kajal (27′, 44′, 46′) each registered hat-tricks to their name. Navroop Kaur (8′), Anjani (17′) and Kamaljeet Kaur (29′) also managed to get their names on the scoresheet in the Pool A match.
In Pool B, Jai Bharat Hockey Academy and Olympian Vivek Singh Hockey Academy played out a hard-fought 3-3 draw in what was a topsy-turvy third match on the opening day. Payal Sonkar opened the account for Olympian Vivek Singh Hockey Academy in the fifth minute of the match, but their opponent Jai Bharat Hockey Academy made a strong comeback and earned a lead in the second quarter, courtesy two marvellous field goals from Jiya (19′) and captain Navneet Kaur (25′). Sindhu Patel drew parity in the 53rd minute for her team Olympian Vivek Singh Hockey Academy, which was then capitalised by Payal’s second goal of the match in the 55th minute. However, Snehpal’s late strike in the very last minute of the match helped her team Jai Bharat Hockey Academy snatch a point from their opponent by denying them from posting a win.
In the final match of the day, the hosts Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre registered a comprehensive 5-0 victory against Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy. Captain Munmuni Das (15′, 58′) and Elani Tuti (4′, 20′) scored a brace each while Babyrani Sandam (52′) scored one goal to help the hosts start the tournament on a winning note.
