Pune (Maharashtra), 8 April 2015: The 5th edition of the Hockey India Senior Men National Hockey Championship 2015 being played in Pune, Maharashtra today saw the domination of the top teams and huge margin victories. The third day started with Manipur Hockey victory over their neighbour state Tripura Hockey by 7-1, followed by Assam Hockey defeated Hockey Andaman & Nicobar by 6-1 and Namdhari XI beat Kerala Hockey by 7-0. In the last match of the day, Central Reserve Police Force thrashed Hockey Uttarakhand by a huge margin of 12-0.
In the first match of the day, Manipur Hockey trounced Tripura Hockey by 7-1 in a Pool A match. Manipuri players showed their extraordinary team-spirit and the whole played with a same kind of strategy of Total Hockey. They dominated the match from the first minute and got any early success in 4th minute when Leejohn Singh scored the first goal for the team. By continuing all-force attack, Ojit Singh extended the lead by his spectacular goal in the 16th minute. After four minutes, skipper Banti Singh scored the third goal for his team and taking the score to 3-0. Trailing by three goals, Tripura showed some resistance and their star player Mohd. Dilsad Khan managed to score team’s first goal in 28th minute. However, after conceding the goal, Manipuri players played with more zeal and scored goals in regular intervals. Abung Singh scored Manipur team’s fourth goal in the next minute (29th minute) and extended the margin by 4-1. Amarjit Singh and Anil Singh converted two penalty corners in 46th and 58th minutes respectively and Hemjit Singh scored a goal in 54th minute to help his team to post a remarkable 7-1 win over Tripura.
In the second match, Assam Hockey thrashed Hockey Andaman & Nicobar by a margin of 6-1 in a Pool B match. Rituraj Boro led from the front and scored marvellous four goals for his team. He opened the account in the 2nd minute of the match to give a positive start. His team-mate Salman Khan scored the second goal in the 17th minute to increase the lead by 2-0. In the 28th minute, Andaman & Nicobar’s Pradeep Dung Dung showed some courage and scored the lone goal for his team. Rituraj continued his attacking game and scored two back-to-back goals in 35th and 39th minute to take the score-line to 4-1. His fourth goal showed his skills in penalty corner as well as his all-rounder abilities. Assam skipper Ratul Ansari played a captain’s game by assisting his team-mates and hit the fifth goal for his team in the 44thminute. Rituraj thumped the final nail in the 47th minute through his inspiring goal and sealed a 6-1 victory over Hockey Andaman & Nicobar.
The third match saw another one-sided match and this time Namdhari XI outplayed Kerala Hockey by 7-0 in a Pool C match. Jaswant Singh initiated the attack with the first goal of the match in 17th minute. In the 23rd minute, Bishan Singh scored the second goal and after two minutes (25th minute), Udhampreet Singh scored the third goal for his team, taking the lead of 3-0. In the 31st minute, Skipper and penalty corner specialist Kuldeep Singh perfectly converted a penalty corner in team’s fourth goal. Star player Avtar Singh scored two back-to-back goals in 42nd and 49th minute and extended the lead to 6-0. Harpreet Singh scored the seventh and final goal in the 59th minute and helped his team to register an astonishing 7-0 victory.
In another league match of the day, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) routed Hockey Uttarakhand by mammoth margin of 12-0 in Pool F. Star player Rajinder Singh scored a marvellous hat-trick and Saroj Ekka scored two goals for his team. CRPF scored their first goal in the very first minute of the match when Mikhal Barla sneaked into the opponent’s D and hit the ball hard into the goal-box without giving any moment to react to the opponents. With the attacking game, CRPF earned a penalty corner in the 7thminute, which was perfectly converted into second goal by Saroj Ekka. In the 15th minute, Bikash Kujur scored the third goal and helped his team to earn another penalty corner in 31st minute. Penalty corner specialist Saroj again converted it and took the score to 4-0. Rajinder Singh, Kuldeep Ekka and Ignicius Toppo scored three back-to-back goals in 34th, 40th and 42nd minutes, increasing the lead to 7-0. CRPF forward players earned another penalty corner in 45th minute and this time substitute Gurjit Singh converted it in team’s eighth goal. Rajinder stroke back with his two goals in 46th and 52nd minutes and completed his unforgettable hat-trick. Leading by 10-0, substitute Balram Dahiya and Rabindra Kujur scored the last two goals in 54th and 57th minute to finish the match at 12-0 score-line.
Results of the Day
Pool A – Manipur Hockey 7 Leejohn Singh (4min-FG), Ojit Singh (16min-FG), Banti Singh (22min-FG), Abung Singh (29min-FG), Amarjit Singh (46min-PC), Hemjit Singh (54min-FG), Anil Singh (58min-PC) vs Tripura Hockey 1 Mohd Dolsad Khan (28min-FG)
Pool B – Assam Hockey 6 Rituraj Boro (2min-FG, 35min-FG, 39min-PC, 47min-FG), Salman Khan (17min-FG), Ratul Ansari (44min-FG) vs Hockey Andaman & Nicobar 1 Pradeep Dung Dung (28min-FG)
Pool C – Namdhari XI 7 Jaswant Singh (17min-FG), Bishan Singh (23min-FG), Udhampreet Singh (25min-FG), Kuldeep Singh (31min-PC), Avtar Singh (42min-FG, 49min-PC), Harpreet Singh (59min-FG) vs Kerala Hockey 0
Pool F – Central Reserve Police Force 12 Mikhal Barla (01min–FG), Saroj Ekka (07min-PC, 31min-PC), Bikash Kujur (15min-FG), Rajinder Singh (34min-FG, 46min-FG, 52min-FG), Kuldeep Ekka (40min-FG), Ignicius Toppo (42min-FG), Gurjit Singh (14min-PC), Balram Dahiya (54min-FG), Rabindra Kujur (57min-FG) vs Hockey Uttarakhand 0