New Indian Express: Manipur Hockey trounce Hockey Gujarat 28-1

Imphal, Jan 10 (PTI) Wangamba Kshetrimayum and Heramani Singh Lisham struck five goals each as Manipur Hockey hammered Hockey Gujarat 28-1 on the fourth day of the Senior Men National Championship 2018 (B Division), here.

The Manipur players scored eight goals each in the first two quarters and backed them up with six goals each in the last two quarters. Interestingly, only three goals out of the 29 goals scored in the match came through a penalty corner, while all the 26 other goals were field goals.

The only goal for Hockey Gujarat was scored by Rohit Thakor in the 55th minute.

Goals for Manipur Hockey were scored by captain Kshetrimayum (12′, 21′, 45′, 46′, 54′), Lisham (32′, 33′, 34′, 35′, 60′), Ibungo Singh Konjengbam (4′, 8′, 42′), Kiren Kumar Thokchom (15′, 18′, 22′), Bhakar Ningombam (17′, 26′, 28′), Debeshor Konjengbam (22′, 29′, 49′), Papunao Haobam (7′, 8′), Suresh Singh Shurenshangbam (2′), Mantosh Meitei Laishram (3′), Dollar Kshetrimayum (58′) and Suras Singh Wahengbam (59′).

In the opening match of the day, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu defeated Sports Authority of Gujarat – Hockey Academy 3-2 in a nervy Pool D encounter Hockey Puducherry produced a dominant performance to defeat Hockey Bihar 12-1 in a Pool E match.

Hockey Puducherry’s R Ranjith scored sensational seven goals in the match as he struck in the 16th, 23rd, 25th, 37th 45th, 47th and 58th minutes to seal the match for his team.

S Surjith (7′, 10′), N Sellamuthu (28′), T Arunkumar (38′) and S Muthukrishnan (51′) scored for Hockey Puducherry while Shashi Kumar Rana (26′) scored the consolation goal for Hockey Bihar.

In a Pool A match, Sports Authority of India beat Assam Hockey 9-0. B.N Sridhar (2′, 32′, 45′) scored a hat-trick for Sports Authority of India while Pravakar Minz (18′, 57′), Abhishek (22′), Deepak (36′), Vikram (40′) and P Surya Prakash (54′) also scored for them in a dominant display against Assam Hockey.

Another high-scoring encounter in Pool A saw Central Secretariat defeat Tripura Hockey 12-1. Central Secretariat were helped by the eight goals scored by Thimmanna S Puliyanda (4′, 5′, 8′, 18′, 35′, 37′, 48′, 57′) which also included a hat-trick of penalty corners, while Shankar Sidharth (25′), captain Vinayak Bijwad (30′), Shashi Topno (58′) and Joshua Vessoakar (58′) also scored for the winning team.

Tripura Hockey scored their only goal of the match in the 34th minute when Siraj Khan scored a field goal.

In the last match of the day, Bengaluru Hockey Association continued their good form in Pool E by winning their second consecutive match of the competition when they defeated Goans Hockey with a scoreline of 7-1.