Saifai (Uttar Pradesh), 30 April 2015: In a bid to move a step closer to the knock-out stage of the ongoing 5th Senior National Hockey Championship 2015 (Women) ‘’A’’ Division, the teams were seen taking on their respective opponents and secured a win in their kitty.

The first clash of the day between Hockey Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh Hockey concluded in favour of Hockey Jhrakhand who drubbed Uttar Pradesh Hockey 7-2. This was followed by an exciting clash between Hockey Karnataka and Assam Hockey where the former pulled down the latter with a 3-1 win. The third match proved to be fruitful for Hockey Punjab as they sealed a fine win against The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd 3-1. Hockey Bhopal gave a wonderful ending to the day by winning the match 5-0 over Hockey Kerala.

Hockey Jharkhand in their match against Uttar Pradesh Hockey beat the opponents 7-2 and registering a convincing win. Intentions were made clear by Hockey Jharkhand from the very first minute as they attacked and looked at capitalizing. 5th minute and the team through Birsi Mundu brilliant field goal opened the team’s account. Not wasting time, Hockey Jharkhand added the second goal to the score card and this time it was Sabnam Lakra to do the needful for the team. Trailing the game by 0-2 Uttar Pradesh looking at bouncing back scored their first goal in the 25thminute when the penalty corner was converted by Reena Devi. With half time scores at 2-1 in favor of Hockey Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh Hockey had a job at hand. Second half though did not go in favor of Uttar Pradesh Hockey as Hockey Jharkhand went on to score back to back goals leaving them frustrated. 34th, 40th, 43rd and 49th minute marked four consecutive goals by Hockey Jharkhand as they took the lead to 6-1. With a big goal difference, Uttar Pradesh Hockey scored its second goal in the 53rd minute as Reena Devi yet again capitalized on the penalty corner opportunity. 59th minute Hockey Jharkhand scored its seventh goal and won the match 7-2.

The match between Hockey Karnataka and Assam Hockey was almost a one sided match as Hockey Karnataka were leading the game 3-0 before Assam Hockey finally scoring their sole goal in the 41st minute. Maintaining the attack in the entire first half Hockey Karnataka scored two quick goals in the 16th and 18th minute coming from the sticks of Komala B M and Nischitha M J. leading the game by 2-0 a half time, the second half saw similar strategy by Hockey Karnataka as they continued their attack on the opponents and looking at scoring opportunities. 37thminute marked the team’s third goal as Rashmi P P scored through a brilliant field goal. Assam Hockey managed to finally break the shackled of Hockey Karnataka to score their only goal in the 41st minute coming from the field effort of Moully Yadav. Hockey Karnataka went on to win the match 3-1.

The third clash of the day between Hockey Punjab and The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd was an interesting battle which ended in favour of Hockey Punjab who defeated The Mumbai Hockey Association 3-1. The game was intense from the initial minutes as both the teams were eyeing to strike the first goal of the match. The struggle continued with players showcasing their stick skills and it was in the 20th minute that Hockey Punjab started the proceedings with a field goal coming from Hardeep Kaur. The Mumbai Hockey Association geared up to retaliate and strived hard to enter into the opponents’ defense but could not beat the tactics of Hockey Punjab who were leading with 1-0 by the end of the first half. It was in the second half that The Mumbai Hockey Association grabbed a chance to open their account and come in form with a field goal in the 38th minute coming from Navneet Kaur. Hereon, a tough clash was witnessed between both the teams who tried to bag the next goal and get better of each other. Punjab Hockey again took the lead in the 56th minute when Navpreet Kaur struck an excellent field goal. Punjab Hockey without giving the opponents any further prospects to score announced their win with score 3-1 in the 60th minute when Pooja Rani from the leading team earned a crucial penalty stroke in the 60th minute of the game.

In a one sided match Hockey Bhopal defeated Kerala Hockey comfortably with a score of 5-0. Hockey Bhopal dominated the entire match and did not allow Kerala Hockey to open their score card throughout the match. Jameela Bano for Hockey Bhopal was seen into action from the early eighth minute of the game as she scored a brilliant field goal. Rashmi Singh not wasting much time struck the second goal for Hockey Bhopal in the 13th minute to double the lead 2-0. Keeping the momentum going, Captain Ranjita Sanasam and Shivani Bisht dexterously scored the third and fourth goal for their side in the 33rdand 40th minute respectively. Trailing by 4 goals, Kerala Hockey made all effort to sneak into the goal box but could not beat the opponent’s dominance. Hockey Bhopal’s Binita Kindo scored the fifth goal for her team in the 56th minute and declared a comfortable win 5-0 over Kerala Hockey.

Results of the day-

Pool C Hockey Jharkhand 7 Birsi Mumdu (5 min-FG, 40 min-FG, 49 min-FG), Sabnam Lakra (18 min-FG, 34 min-FG), Etwari Mundu (43 min-FG), Suman Saru (59 min-FG) vs Uttar Pradesh Hockey 2 Reena Devi (25 min-PC, 53 min-PC)

Pool C Hockey Karnataka 3 Komala B M (16 min-PC), Nischitha M J (18 min-FG), Rashmi P P (37min – FG) vs Assam Hockey 1 Moully Yadav (41 min-FG)

Pool D Hockey Punjab 3 Hardeep Kaur(20min-FG), Navpreet Kaur(56 min-FG), Pooja Rani (60min-PS) vs The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd 1 Navneet Kaur (38min-FG)

Pool D Hockey Bhopal 5 Jameela Bano (8min- FG), Rashmi Singh (13min- FG), Ranjita Sanasam (33min- FG), Shivani Bisht (40min- FG), Binita Kindo (56min- FG) vs Kerala Hockey 0