Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Bengal, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh Hockey and Hockey Maharashtra earned victories in their respective matches on day six of the 11th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship Pimpri Chinchwad 2021 here in Pune today.
In the day’s opener, Hockey Association of Odisha beat Goans Hockey 14-0 in Pool F. Sushil Dhanwar (5′, 6′, 9′, 12′, 12′, 45′) scored as many as six goals, while Mangra Bhengra (7′, 22′) netted twice and Captain Abhisek Lakra (28′), Patras Tirkey (20’), Prakash Barla (36′), Prasad Kujur (47′), Biju Ekka (58′) and Ajay Kumar Ekka (60′) contributed a goal each for Hockey Association of Odisha.
In another Pool F match, Hockey Bengal beat Hockey Gujarat 19-0 to advance to the Quarter Finals of the tournament. Abhishek Pratap Singh (2′, 12′, 14′, 25′, 34′, 37′, 39) starred with seven goals, while Nitish Neupane (21′, 35′, 53′) bagged a hat-trick and Raushan Kumar (9′, 38′), Kunjan Topno (18′, 30′) and Taranveer Singh (47′, 54′) each netted twice to help their team Hockey Bengal finish on top of the Pool F basis higher goal difference than Hockey Association of Odisha. Avoy Ekka (16′), Sanjay Paswan (26′) and Saurabh Kumar Singh (44′) also got on the scoresheet for Hockey Bengal.
In Pool G, Uttar Pradesh Hockey registered a comfortable 6-0 win against Assam Hockey to seal a spot in the Quarter Final of the competition. Mohammad Amir Khan (1′, 7′) and Mohd. Saif Khan (8′, 43′) netted twice, while Rishabh Sahu (21′) and Deepak Patel (50′) scored a goal each for Uttar Pradesh Hockey.
Hockey Jharkhand earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Kerala Hockey to end the campaign on a winning note. Rajendra Oram (36′) and Sandeep Minj (52′) were the goalscorers for Hockey Jharkhand, while Ajeesh Reji (59′) got on the scoresheet for Kerala Hockey in the last Pool G match of the tournament.
Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu finishes on the top of Pool A with a dominating 11-0 win against Hockey Himachal. Karthi S (9′, 11′, 37′, 39′, 43′) starred with five goals, while Sundarapandi (29′, 35′, 47′) bagged a fine hat-trick and Pruthvi G.M (33′), Shanmugam P (42′) and Silver Stalin S. (53′) scored one goal each for Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu
In Pool H, Chhattisgarh Hockey beat Hockey Mizoram 6-1 to sign off from the competition on a winning note. Junaid Ahmed (40′, 42′, 51′) registered a hat-trick, while Kartik Yadav (1′, 35′) scored two goals and Shukdev Nirmalkar (45′) chipped in with a goal for Chhattisgarh Hockey. Captain Lalremdika (29′) scored the only goal for Hockey Mizoram.
Hockey Maharashtra booked their place in the top eight with a clinical 5-1 win over Hockey Bihar. Pratap Kishanrao Shinde (14′, 41′, 42′) bagged a fine hat-trick, while Tikaram Thakulla (37′) and Venkatesh Kenche (43′) contributed a goal each in Hockey Maharashtra’s win. Whereas, Uday Bara (60′) scored the only goal for Hockey Bihar in the last Pool H match of the tournament.
