Railways, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Air India, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy and Hockey Bhopal were off to bright starts on the opening day of the 3rd Hockey India senior men’s national championship in Pune on Tuesday.
Sanjay Bir and B. Horo scored five goals each as Railways dismantled Jammu & Kashmir 20-1 in their Pool F league match, while Hockey Bhopal thrashed Sashastra Seema Bal 12-5.
Hockey Bhopal scored through Irfan Ali, Mayank Jemef, Shadab Khan, Neubeem Rehman (two goals each), Osaf Ur-Rehman, Azam Baig and Imran Yusuf while Gunamuni Singh (two goals), Romi Kumar Singh, Surchanrda Singh and Kanta Singh reduced the margin for Sashastra Seema Bal.
In a Pool H league match, Chandigarh blanked Rajasthan 18-0 on the back of Harmanpreet’s seven goals. The other goal scorers were Gagandeep Singh (three goals), Davindar Singh, Shanvaz
Alam, Lakhwinder Singh, Ravinder Singh, Amrik Singh and Sukhadeo Singh besides an own goal as Rajasthan failed to put up a fight.
In Pool D, Uttar Pradesh pipped Mumbai Hockey Association Limited 2-1, while Air India got the better of Puducherry 11-2 in a Pool B match before MPHA beat Tripura 16-1.