Pune: Hockey Odisha, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Jharkhand, Telangana Hockey, Hockey Bihar, and Hockey Maharashtra registered emphatic victories in matches of the 11th Hockey India Senior Men’s National Championships here Sunday.
In the day’s opener, Odisha took on Hockey Gujarat in a Pool F encounter. After a feisty and goalless first quarter, Odisha took control of the game, notching up a comfortable 8-0 victory. The goals for Odisha were scored by Sushil Dhanwar (17th, 26th, 36th), Prakash Barla (34th, 57th), Patras Tirkey (39th, 52th) and Mangra Bhengra (48th).
Except for a brief period in the first quarter, Gujarat were no match for Odisha. The Odisha forwards repeatedly made deep inroads into the opposition defence and moved the ball around at will.
In another match played on the day, Raushan Kumar struck five goals as Hockey Bengal overwhelmed Goans Hockey 8-0. The other goals were scored by Abhishek Pratap Singh (10th, 22th) and Santosh Baxla (19th).
Uttar Pradesh Hockey beat Kerala Hockey 9-0 in the Pool G opener courtesy while Hockey Jharkhand thrashed Assam Hockey 11-0 in a Pool G match. Noyel Topno (14th, 25th, 31th) and Jen Soreng (24th, 40th, 49th) got hat-tricks for Jharkhand in the game.
