Results from Day 1 of 8th Hockey India Sub Junior (Men) National Championship 2018 (B Division)

Hojai (Assam), 5 January 2018: The 8th Hockey India Sub Junior (Men) National Championship 2018 (B Division) was flagged off at the Hojai Hockey Stadium in Assam on Friday. The day’s proceedings saw some of the most gifted young hockey players from across the country play with full gusto for their respective teams.

In the first match of the day, Hockey Rajasthan notched up a big 9-0 win against Telangana Hockey in Pool A clash. It was three goals by Praveen Singh (23’, 33’, 57’), two goals each by Romit Pal (12’ and 15’), skipper Sachin (44’ and 65’) and a goal each by Karan Singh Saini (16’), Manish Choudhary (34’) that lifted the team to a strong opening match win.

In another Pool A encounter, Mumbai Hockey Association Limited (MHA) drew 4-4 with Hockey Madhya Pradesh (HMP). Though it was Mumbai Hockey Association Limited who took a strong 3-0 lead with goals by Sandeep Singh (13’), Dharmendra Pal (23’) and Noah D’Mellow (16), Hockey Madhya Pradesh made a strong comeback after halftime to score back-to-back goals through Aditya Chhetry (43’) and Sa Tyam Barde (51’). Akkit Goud of Mumbai Hockey Association Limited took his team’s lead to 4-2 in the 52nd minute through a well-struck field goal but a double strike by Shubham Kahoria in the 62nd and 69th minute saw Hockey Madhya Pradesh hold Mumbai Hockey Association Limited to split the match points.

Meanwhile, Bengal Hockey Association (BHA) posted a stupendous 10-0 win against Kerala Hockey in their Pool B match. Shovan Biswas opened the score board for Bengal Hockey Association with double goals in the 16th and 25th minute, the team came back strongly after the half-time break. Goals by Lorik Pal (40’), Saif Khan (43’), Sunil Rajbhar (48’) consolidated Bengal Hockey Association’s lead. As many as five goals were scored between 61st and 69th minute by BHA via Rabind Nath Thakur (61’ and 65’), Manjeet Sigh Chauhan (63’), Sunil Rajbhar (66’) and Raja Rajbhar (69’) to win the match convincingly.

In another Pool B encounter, Hockey Him (HHM) defeated Bengaluru Hockey Association (HBN) 4-1. While Tofeeq Ahmed (56’ and 63’) scored twice in Hockey Him  win, Neeraj Kumar Yadav (16’) and Vipul Sainin (18’) scored a goal each. Skipper Umashankar was the lone goal scorer for Bengaluru Hockey Association.

In Pool C, Hockey Coorg drew with Assam Hockey 2-2. The match was evenly played out with Assam Hockey opening the scoreboard through Rahul Verma (22’) but conceded an equalizer in the 30th minute through Rakshith Kariyappa A.D. Though Hockey Assam took a 2-1 lead in the 39th minute via Mrinal Roy nut Hockey Coorg’s Kariyappa struck his second goal in the 69th minute to help his team split the winning points.

In Pool D match, Sports Authority of Gujarat – Hockey (SAG) beat Hockey Jammu and Kashmir 3-0. Viveksinh Rajput scored double goals in the 6th and 58th minute while Ajaykumar Baria scored a goal in the 50th minute to help their team gain the winning points.

In another closely fought Pool D encounter, Hockey Himachal (HHP) beat Hockey Uttarakhand (HUT) 2-1. Though it was Hockey Uttarakhand who took an early 1-0 lead in the 30th minute through their captain Mitesh Singh’s field goal, they couldn’t convert any goals in the second half. Hockey Himachal scored through Rajan (50’) and Harpal Singh (69’) to win the match.