New Delhi, 17 May 2015: Commencing the 5th Hockey India Sub-Junior National Championship (Div A) on a winning note, the teams showcased brilliant performances to register their first wins at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.

The first match of the tournament marked a draw for both teams withHockey Odisha drawn at 2-2 against Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy. In the second match, Manipur Hockey beat Sports Authority of India 2-0. The third match went in favour of Haryana Hockey who blanked Hockey Mizoram 9-0. The day ended with a victory for Uttar Pradesh Hockey who defeated Delhi Hockey 10-2.

The first game of the tournament between Hockey Odisha and Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy was an intense clash wherein while the former was leading the game 1-0 at the end of first half it was Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy who made a brilliant comeback in the second half as they went on to hold the opponents to a 2-2 draw. The game was exciting during the entire first half and when it seemed that the session would end as a dry run, it was Odisha’s Bhima Ekka who produced a brilliant field goal in the 29th minute, taking the score to 1-0 in their favor. Seeing the odds in their favor, Odisha upped the attack in the second half and added one more to their tally in the 45th minute as Sudhir Kujur stood tall to slam the ball into the nets. Realizing that the game was out of their hands, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy made a final effort to bounce back. It was Aniket Yadav’s brace in the 53rd and 60th minute which helped his team to equalize the game and the match ended in a draw.

The second match for the day saw Manipur Hockey taking on Sports Authority of India wherein they maintaining a constant pressure on the opponents helped them win 2-1. While the game started with both the teams attacking the D of the opponents, looking for the initial goal, it was Manipur Hockey who managed to break the deadlock in the 18th minute when Mani Huidrom scored through a field effort. Post the first goal both the teams were unable to add further to the scorcard, resulting in first session ending 1-0 in favor Manipur Hockey. Sports Authority tried to equalise the game by taking the ante of their attack a notch higher. 50th minute and a penalty corner given to the Sports Authority of India and it was Gagan Rajbhar who slammed into the nets which helped equalize 1-1. Realizing that they lost the hold in the game Manipur Hockey took the lead again in the 63rd minute through Peter Leishangthem and went on to win the game 2-1.

In the third match of the day, Haryana Hockey easily beat Hockey Mizoram 9-0, which was possible due to a smashing hat-trick by Abhishek and an amazing brace by Sahil. Haryana Hockey opened their account in the first two minutes, when Abhishek managed to successfully convert a penalty corner. In the 14th minute, Roman doubled Haryana’s score by a brilliant field goal. Mizoram tried to break the formation of Haryana but were outwitted by the former’s superior gameplay. Haryana managed to sneak in two more goals in the 21st minute by Vishal Antil and in the 30th minute by Naveen taking the score to 4-0 at the end of first half. Mizoram under the charge of Captain Lalremdika, attacked with full intensity, employing every tactic in their strategy, to break the opponent’s defense but failed to open their account. Abhishek, managed to increase the lead over Mizoram, by two wonderful field goals in 37th and 51st minute. Haryana Hockey decimated Hockey Mizoram by three quick goals in 54th minute by Ravi, and 58th and 59th minute by Sahil taking the final tally to 9-0.

Concluding the day on a winning note, Uttar Pradesh Hockey drubbed Delhi Hockey 10-2. The match saw tremendous action as both the teams were looking at scoring an initial opening in the game. It was Uttar Pradesh Hockey who earned a penalty corner in the initial seven minutes of the game which was converted by Faraz Mohd in the 18th minute. In support of the winning team Vishal Thakur scored a field goal in the 18thminute and doubled the lead to 2-0. Through their brilliant tactics and skills Uttar Pradesh Hockey took the lead to 3-0 which was possible by the efforts of Ikitdar Ishsat who slammed the ball into the nets in the 32nd minute. Uttar Pradesh Hockey was leading the game by 3-0 by the end of the first half as Delhi Hockey failed to convert scoring opportunities. In the second half of the game, it was Uttar Pradesh Hockey who maintained its scoring momentum through Shivam Anand who scored a hat-trick in the 38th, 46th and 50th minute. Putting constant efforts to remain in the game, Delhi Hockey finally managed to score through Mohit Khatri who effortlessly converted a penalty corner in the 48th minute. The scoring was further taken ahead by Vidhan Patel who penetrated the nets in the 51st minute to score the second goal in favour of Delhi Hockey. On the contrary, Uttar Pradesh Hockey maintained its dominance and scored four more goals to its tally and concluded the game on a high in favour of themselves, beating Delhi Hockey 10-2.

Results of the Day

Pool A Odisha 2 Bhima Ekka (29min- FG), Sudhir Kujur (45min- FG) vs Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 2 Aniket Yadav (53min- FG, 60min- FG)

Pool A Manipur Hockey 2 Mani Huidrom (18min- FG, Peter Leishangthem- 63min- FG) vs Sports Authority of India 1 Gagan Rajbhar (50min- PC)

Pool B Haryana Hockey 9 Abhishek (2 min-PC, 37 min-FG, 51 min-FG), Roman (14 min-FG), Vishal Antil (21 min-PC), Naveen (30 min-FG), Ravi (54 min-FG), Sahil (58 min-PC, 59 min-FG) vs Hockey Mizoram 0

Pool B Uttar Pradesh Hockey 10 Faraz Mohd (7min- PC, 43min- PC), Vishal Thakur (18min- FG), Ikitdar Ishsat (32min- FG), Shivam Anand (38min- FG, 46min- FG, 50min- FG), Tipu Ali (41min- PC, 65min- FG), Ravins Jaiswal (64min- PS) vs Delhi Hockey 2 Mohit Khatri (48min- PC), Vidhan Patel (51min- FG)