Sr Men’s National Hockey: Kerala, Odisha, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra win on Day 3

Chennai:  Teams from Kerala, Association of Odisha, Le Puducherry, Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra boosted their respective campaigns with victories on Day 3 of the 14th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here on Wednesday. Kerala Hockey defeated Hockey Jammu & Kashmir 4-0 in a Pool F fixture. Captain Nishanth M. (22’) and Premkumar P. (24’) scored in the second quarter before Teswin Viju (33’) and Mohit Kushwaha (60’) added to the tally. In Pool E, the Hockey Association of Odisha defeated Hockey Rajasthan 11-1. Amandeep Lakra (2’, 46’, 49’) and Sudeep Chirmako (17’, 48’, 58’) dominated the scoreline, striking three goals each. Additionally, Ajay Kumar Ekka (15’, 26’) registered a brace while Matiyas Dang (9’), Kerobin Lakra (29’) and Rajat Akash Tirkey (50’) contributed a goal each. Hockey Rajasthan’s captain, Vijendra Singh (57’) scored Rajasthan’s only goal. In another Pool E encounter, Le Puducherry Hockey defeated Hockey Arunachal 7-0. T. Arun Kumar (30’, 42’) and R. Ranjith (50’, 55’) shone with braces each. Meanwhile, Suriya S (5’), A. Tamilsaran (22’) and Rajat Minz (28’) also found the back of the net. In a Pool B match, Hockey Haryana defeated Hockey Himachal 12-1. Rajant (3’, 34’, 36’, 49’) was the top scorer with four goals to his name. Pankaj Singh (43’, 45’) and Joginder Singh (5’, 30’) scored twice while Yashdeep Siwach (19’), Somjeet Singh (27’), Rohit (33’) and Mandeep Mor (49’) contributed goals as well for Haryana. Ayush (30′) was the goal scorer for Hockey Himachal. Hockey Jharkhand defeated Goans Hockey 3-1 in a Pool G fixture. Captain Simon Bodra (35’, 58’) scored twice and Dilbar Barla (44’) also netted for Hockey Jharkhand. I.E. Palangappa (50’) was the sole scorer for Goans Hockey. In a different Pool G fixture, Hockey Maharashtra defeated Hockey Gujarat, 30-0. Ajinkya Jadhav (40’, 42’, 53’, 53’, 59’) and Aditya Lalage (5’, 22’, 24’, 25’, 29’) top scored with five goals each. Venkatesh Devkar (7’, 30’, 38’), Taleb Shah (12’, 23’, 45’), and Aniket Gaurav (39’, 54’, 55) scored hat-tricks. Furthermore, Pratap Shinde (5’, 30’), Venkatesh Kenche (13’, 21’), Captain Devindar Sunil Walmiki (19’, 33’), Govind Nag (28’, 43’) scored braces while Aakib Rahim (3’), Rajat Sharma (49’), and Darshan Vibhav Gawkar (57’) also converted chances. –IANS