Defending champions Punjab began their campaign with a 30-0 win over Gujarat in their opening Pool A league match in the 3rd Hockey India senior men’s national championship at the Shiv Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex in Pune on Friday.
Experienced Punjab started their game in attack mode and swamped their opponents. Forward Vikramjit Singh scored seven goals followed by Simranjit Singh (6), Inderjeet Singh (5), Sarvanjit Singh (4), Ravi Pal (3), Jarnail Singh (3), Vikas Sharma (1) and Sandeep Singh (1).
Later, Air India overwhelmed Tripura 13-0 to maintain their unbeaten run in Pool B.
For Air India, skipper Arjun Halappa and V.S. Vinaya struck three goals each while Vikram Pillay (2), Affan Yousuf (2), Pradhan Somanna (2) and Subbaiah Darshan (1) were the others on target.
In another Pool B game, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy defeated Puducherry 6-1. Vikas Chaudhary and Mohammad Nizamuddin struck a brace each.
Sashastra Seema Bal registered their first win, defeating Jammu & Kashmir 2-0 in Pool F, while Railways Sports Promotion Board hammered Bhopal 11-2 in the same pool.
In Pool D, Uttar Pradesh drew 2-2 with Andaman & Nicobar while Mumbai Hockey Association Limited routed hosts Hockey Maharashtra 2-1.
In Pool H, Tamil Nadu defeated Rajasthan 20-0.