Chennai: Chhattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Bengal, Jharkhand and Telangana won their respective match on the sixth day of the 13th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2023, at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium.
In the first match of the day, Chhattisgarh Hockey dominated Hockey Gujarat with a score of 11-3.
For Chhattisgarh Hockey, Junaid Ahmed (8’, 34’, 39’) led the scoring with a hat-trick, while Sukhdev Nirmalkar (4’, 49’) and Khogeshwar Bag (9’, 36’) scored two goals each.
Arbaj Ali (20’), Ajay Tandi (25’), Taufik Ahmad (38’) and Rohit Rajak (60’) scored a goal each for them as well. Shubham Yadav (1’), Jenishkumar Ahir (11’) and Ajaykumar Thakor (41’) scored for Hockey Gujarat but that wasn’t enough to match Chhattisgarh Hockey.
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey defeated Hockey Bihar 7-1 in the second game.
Dharmendra Pal (27’, 42’) scored a brace for Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey while Anup Tirkey (25’), Dhananjay Prajapati (34’), Abhinav Singh (40’), Komal Singh (41’) and Captain Arvind Yadav (53’) contributed with a goal each. A consolation goal for Hockey Bihar in the final quarter from Jony Kumar (57’) prevented Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey from a clean sheet.
The third match of the day saw Hockey Bengal beat Hockey Jammu & Kashmir 10-0.
The goal-scoring spree for Hockey Bengal was spearheaded by Rajendra Oram (4’, 8’, 27’, 37’). He was accompanied on the scoresheet by Alsem Lakra (30’, 59’), Kunjan Topno (38’), Milan Saha (47’, 49’), and Kishor Lakra (59’) in the comprehensive victory.
Hockey Jharkhand defeated Hockey Chandigarh by 2-0 in the fourth game of the day to build a three-point cushion at the top of the table. Kerketta Prem (43’) and Anurud Bhengra (56’) scored the crucial field goals that granted Hockey Jharkhand the victory.
In the last game of the day, Telangana Hockey defeated Hockey Arunachal 15-0.
A complete team effort saw Telangana Hockey dominate Hockey Arunachal with as many as 9 players scoring goals. Mahesh Reddy Rela (4’, 30’), Ranjit Chand (9’, 59’), Sandeep Subedar (15’, 54’), Shaik Abdul Moiz (20’, 58’), Talla Raju (21’, 59’), Akshay Thimmapuram (28’, 48’), Aditya Sagar Gobboori (5’), Aravind Lavudya (19’) and Sandeep Erapaga (39’) scored the goals for Telangana Hockey.
–IANS