Mysore (Karnataka), 7 April 2015: The 5th edition of the Hockey India Junior Men National Hockey Championship 2015 being played at Mysore, Karnataka saw clashes between teams as each one vied for a win. The first match for the day witnessed The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd. taking on Hockey Uttarakhand as the former dominated the entire match to beat the opponent 3-1. In another match between Delhi Hockey against Hockey Gujarat spectators got to see an exhilarating game of hockey as Delhi Hockey completed dominated the match, beating the opponents 15-3. It was the match between Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association and Hockey Puducherry which kept the spectators on the edge awaiting the outcome and was won by Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association 5-3. The last match for the day was a one sided affair as Hockey Patiala drubbed the opponents and won the match 12-3.

The day started with The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd. meeting Hockey Uttarakhand. The first half was saw both teams penetrating the semi-circle and trying to cash on the half chances. The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd. found the nets in the 12th minute as Harbhay Singh penetrating the D, cleanly beat the goalkeeper and slammed the ball at the goal. This left the opponents stunned and the score opened 1-0 in the favour of The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd. unable to add any further goals to the scoreboard the first half ended 1-0. The second half saw the tempo going up as while The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd. tried to double the lead, Hockey Uttarakhand tried to equalise. Finally The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd. doubled the lead in the 44th minute when a penalty corner was struck hard past the goalkeeper by Vinay Valmiki. They added another goal in the 55th minute and sealing the fate for Hockey Uttarakhand. With 8 minutes left in the match Hockey Uttarakhand scored their sole goal as Joni Prasad converted a penalty corner opportunity. This allowed The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd. take a 3-1 win over Hockey Uttarakhand.

The match between Delhi Hockey and Hockey Gujrat proved to a fast paced game as Delhi Hockey were in a goal scoring spree and went on to win the match 15-3. The first half was completely dominated by Delhi Hockey as they scored nine back to nack goals not giving Gujrat Hockey any chance to counter attack or score. The first goal came as early as the 2nd minute as Arun Kumar post getting a pass at D deflected the pass successfully into the nets. The very next minute Rahul helped double the lead through a field goal and Arun Kumar added the third one to the tally in the 5th minute. Rahul added another one in the 18th minute and between the two took the score to 4-0. 25th minute and Nitin Kumar for Delhi Hockey scored 3 back to back goals for the team in the 25th, 27th and 31st minute completely leaving the opponents dented. Just minutes left into the first half Nabeel Mohd scored the 9th goal for Delhi Hockey and leaving Gujrat Hockey with bleak chances to come back into the game. The second half continued with the same story of dominance by Delhi Hockey as they added 6 more goals an taking the goal tally to 15. It was Arun Kumar again who scored three thrice in the 42nd. 48th and 49th minute giving his team a strong hold on the match. Gujrat Hockey in their bid to comeback managed to score three goals in the second session and which came in the 38th, 52nd and 61st minute. At the end of the game with scores at 15-3, Delhi Hockey managed an easy win over the opponents.

Continuing their journey in the tournament Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association met Hockey Puducherry in an exciting clash as both teams kept the pressure on each other. While the first session of the game was a one sided affair with Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association easily converting two goals in the 5th and 18th minute it was the second session which got the spectators on the edge of their seats. Right into the second half, Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association scored their third goal in the 38th minute. Trailing the game 3-0, Hockey Puducherry finally drew blood in the 42nd minute with V Veera Thamizhan’s beautifully converted field goal. with 3-1 on board Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association added one more to the goal tally in the 56th minute as Rahul Singh scored a field goal. undeterred by the goal Hockey Puducherry scored the very next minute as P Mahendran scored through a penalty corner opportunity. With scores at 4-2, Hockey Puducherry saw chances of equalising the game and they struck again in the 61st minute and took the score to 4-3. From here both teams increased the tempo of the attack as each one looked to add one more goal to their tally. It was Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association who kept its nerves and scored the winning goal in the 66th minute and sealing the fate for the opponents.

The last match for the day was a one sided affair as Hockey Patiala drubbed the opponents and won the match 12-3. It was Assam Hockey who started the match with the opening goal as early as the 8th minute when Arjun Bhagat scored a field goal. But they were unable to keep a hold on their lead as in the 14th minute Hockey Patiala bounced back with the equaliser goal coming from the stick of Ramandeep Singh. Hockey Patiala high with their equaliser goal scored two more goals in the same session in the 26th and 29th minute and the scores were 3-1 at the end of first half. Second half was a session of rampage by Hockey Patiala as they scored 8 goals before they won the match. They started the session by scoring two quick goals in the 42nd and 47th minute which was because of quick work by Jaswinder Singh and Manveer Singh in the D. Assam Hockey in a bid to come back in the game scored their second goal in the 51st minute but were soon overtaken by Hockey Patiala as they scored in the 53rd minute, taking the score to 6-2. Assam Hockey again added another goal in the 56th minute but post that Hockey Patiala’s 6 back to back goals sealed the game in their favour and scorecard was 12-3 at the final whistle.

Results of the Day

Pool A – The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd. 3 Harbhay Singh (12min-FG), Vinay Valmiki (44min- PC), Reyaz Qureshi (55min- PC) vs Hockey Uttarakhand 1 Joni Prasad (62min- PC)

Pool A – Vidarbha Hockey Association vs Hockey Andaman Nicobar (DID NOT TURN UP)

Pool B – Delhi Hockey 15 Arun Kumar (2min- FG, 5 min-PC, 42 min-PS 48 min-FG, 49 min-FG), Nitin Kumar (25 min- FG, 27 min-FG, 31 min-FG, 39 min-FG), Nabeel Mohd (20 min- FG, 32 min-FG,), Rahul (3 min-FG, 18 min-FG, ), Praveen Munda (57 min-FG, 64 min-FG) vs Hockey Gujrat 3 Muraree Rajut (38 min-FG), Peter Thomas (52 min-PC), Shubham Yadav (61 min-FG)

Pool B – Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association 5 Nilesh Kathoute (5 min- FG), Rahul Singh (18min- FG, 56 min-FG), Gurbinder Singh (38min- FG), Sanjay Yadav (66 min- PC), vs Hockey Puducherry 3 V Veera Thamizan (42 min-FG), P Mahendran (57 min-PC), S Muthukrishnan (61 min-FG)

Pool D – Hockey Patiala 12 Ramandeep Singh (14 min-PC, 53 min-PC), Jagpreet Singh (26 min-PC, 61 min-FG), Jaswinder Singh (29 min-PC, 42 min-FG), Manveer Singh (47 min-FG), Parampreet Singh (59 min-FG, 63 min-PS), Gurjeet Singh (64 min-FG, 67 min-FG), Manpreet Singh (69 min-FG) vs Assam Hockey 3 Arjun Bhagat (8 min-FG, 56 min-FG), Harvir Singh (51 min-PC)