Mysore (Karnataka), 6 April 2015: Another day of exciting and back to back matches was played at The 5th edition of Hockey India Junior Men National Hockey Championship 2015 being played at Mysore, Karnataka. The day started with Bengal Hockey Association securing an easy win over Hockey Madhya Pradesh as the latter found it difficult to control the formers onslaught as Bengal Hockey Association registered another win by beating the opponents 11-1. The second match between Delhi Hockey and Dadra & Nagar Haveli was a close contest as Delhi Hockey went on to win 2-1. In another clash between Hockey Gangpur Odisha and Chandigarh Olympic Association it was the former which emerged victorious 5-3 post a toughly contested match. In the last match for the day between Hockey Patiala and Hockey Rajasthan proved to be a one sided affair as the former went on to win it by 5-0.

The first match between Bengal Hockey Association and Hockey Madhya Pradesh was a one sided affair as the former started the game with great vigour and attack. The team drew first blood as early as the 7th minute as Sanjay Paswan sneaked in a field goal leaving the goalkeeper completely clueless. With score at 1-0, Bengal Hockey Association continued putting pressure on the opponents as they as in 22nd minute Raushan Kumar slapped the ball past the goalkeeper to double the lead for his team. Md. Saif Khan in the 28th minute received a beautiful pass right in front of the goal post and he put it in the nets, taking the teams score to 3-0. In the final minute of the first half Bengal Hockey Association scored the fourth goal coming from the stick of Nitish Neupane. Right into the second half Nitish Neupane struck again in the 37th minute through a penalty corner which he ensured did not go a waste. Within two minutes another goal was marked in team’s name and this time it was Gurpreet Singh who did the honours, taking the score to 6-0. Continuing their run of adding goals to their kitty, Bengal Hockey Association added three goals within 5 minutes in the 51st, 54th and 56th minute. The score at 10-0 on the scoreboard, Hockey Madhya Pradesh finally scored their first goal in the 61st minute as Ashrafulla Khan converted the penalty corner. Scores at 10-1, Bengal Hockey Association were not done yet and they added their 11th goal in the 68th minute and taking a comfortable win 11-1.

The second match for the
day was intense as both Delhi Hockey and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Association were strong in their defence and they did not allow easy goals to each other. With both teams maintaining pressure on each other by attacking the D, they were unable to cash in on the opportunities resulting in almost a dry run in the first thirty minutes of the game. Finally Delhi Hockey outwitted the goalkeeper of Dadra & Nagar Haveli Association and scored its first goal which was a beautiful field goal by Rizwan Khan. With score at 1-0 in Delhi Hockey’s favour, Dadra & Nagar Haveli Association made every attempt to score and equalise. It was in the 44th minute when Gurbinder Singh struck past the goalkeeper giving his team the much required equaliser and taking the score to 1-1. With anyone’s game from here the team’s increased the tempi of the attack and in the 50th minute Delhi Hockey took the lead again as Nabeel Mohd scored through a field goal. Not wanting to lose their hold in the match Delhi Hockey successfully managed to keep Dadra & Nagar Haveli Association at bay and won the match 2-1.

The third game between Hockey Gangpur Odisha and Chandigarh Olympic Association it was the former which emerged victorious 5-3 post a toughly contested match. Hockey Gangpur Odisha struck just 8 minutes into the game when Rasananda Khalkho best the goalkeeper to score the opening goal. This was closely followed by Chandigarh Olympic Association equalising in the 21st minute as a penalty corner was converted by Gursewak Singh. no wasting much time Hockey Gangpur Odisha took the lead in the 25th minute when Sushil Ekka converted through a field goal. With first half scores at 2-1 of favour of Hockey Gangpur Odisha, Chandiigarh Olympic Association managed to equalise in the 42nd minute, this time a field goal through the stick of Harmanpreet Singh. With scores tied at 2-2, Hockey Gangpur Odisha scored two back to back goals in the 47th and 52nd minute taking the score to 4-2. Chandigarh Olympic Association in its bid to make a comeback scored their third goal in the 65th minute but Hockey Gangpur Odisha immediately scored another goal and sealed the fate of the game by winning.

The last match between Hockey Patiala and and Hockey Rajasthan turned out to be a one sided as Hockey Patiala struck five goals. the first half of the match saw both teams giving a tough time to each other as the defence proved to be stronger, not allowing any goals to be scored. Hockey Patiala looking to break the shackles, scored in the 29th minute as Ramandeep Singh converted through a penalty corner. This marked the first half score at 1-0. The second half saw Hockey Patiala increasing the tempo of attack and which put pressure on the opponents. Right into the second half, Hockey Patiala successfully penetrated the D of the opponents and Jagpreet Singh did not mistake in flicking the ball past the goalkeeper to double his team’s lead. The team continuing its attack got a penalty corner to their name in the 44th minute and Jaswainder Singh made no mistake in finding the nets. The team added two more goals in the 50th and 65th minute and winning the match 5-0.

Results of the Day:

Pool C – Bengal Hockey Association 11 Nitish Neupane (34 min-FG, 37 min-PC, 56 min-FG), Raushan Kumar (22 min-FG, 41min-FG), Sanjay Paswan (7 min- FG), Md Saif Khan (28min- FG), Gurpreet Singh (39 min-PC, 54 min-PC), Ashok Kujur (51 min-FG), Romario Routh (68 min-FG) vs Hockey Madhya Pradesh 1 Ashrafulla Khan (61min- PC)

Pool B: Delhi Hockey 2 Rizwan Khan (30min- FG), Nabeel Mohd (50 min-FG), vs Dadra & Nagar Haveli Association 1 Gurbinder Singh (44 min-FG)

Pool D: Hockey Gangpur Odisha 5 Rasananda Khalkho (8min- FG), Sushil Ekka (25 min- FG), Pratap Lakra (47 min-PC), Sudeep Kerketta (52 min-FG), Sibren Lakra (68 min –FG) vs Chandigarh Olympic Association 3 Gursewak Singh (21 min- PC), Harmanpreet Singh (42 min-FG), Sanjay Naki Ram (65 min-PC)

Pool D: Hockey Patiala 5 Ramandeep Singh (29 min-PC, 65 min- FG), Jaswinder Singh (44 min-PC, 50 min- FG), Jagpreet Singh (36 min-FG) vs Hockey Rajasthan 0