The 5th edition of the Hockey India Junior Women National Hockey Championship 2015 (Div A) witnesses tough contests among top teams

–  Hockey Jharkhand takes down Hockey Maharashtra 9-0

–   Hockey Bhopal easily beats Hockey Rajasthan 16-0

–   Hockey Odisha edges past Sports Authority of India 4-3

–   Delhi Hockey defeats Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 2-1

Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, 5 May 2015: The 5th edition of the Hockey India Junior Women National Hockey Championship 2015 (Div A) being played in Rajnandgoan, Chhattisgarh today saw tough-fought battles among best teams in the tournament. In Pool C, Hockey Jharkhand thumped down Hockey Maharashtra by 9-0 and  Hockey Bhopal thrashed Hockey Rajasthan by a huge margin of 16-0. In Pool D, Hockey Odisha edged past Sports Authority of India by 4-3 and Delhi Hockey defeated Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu by a narrow margin of 2-1.

In the first match of the day in Pool C, Hockey Jharkhand thumped down Hockey Maharashtra by 9-0 with the help of Pramila Soren and Anima Tiru’s inspiring hat-tricks. Jharkhand dominated the match from the first minute and earned their first penalty corner in the 2nd minute, which was perfectly converted by Pramila Soren to take the early lead. After the first success, Anima Tiru (16th min), Kanti Pradhan (28th min) and Sangeeta Kumari (31st & 44th minutes) scored four back-to-back goals and took the score-line to 5-0. Keeping the aggressive game, Jharkhand earned two penalty corners and a penalty stroke within ten minutes. Anima converted a penalty corner in 58th minute and very soon, Jharkhand managed to earn a penalty stroke in 65th minute, which was perfectly converted by Pramila. Jharkhand again earned a penalty corner in 67th minute and this time again, Pramila converted it in her hat-trick goal. Anima completed her hat-trick in 70th minute and finished the match with a thumping 9-0 victory over Maharashtra.

In the second match of the Pool C, Hockey Bhopal thrashed Hockey Rajasthan by a huge margin of 16-0 with the help of Puja Yadav’s spectacular five goals, Siddhi Singh’s fabulous four goals and Sneh Gaur’s marvelous hat-trick. Bhopal dominated through-out the match and scored their first goal in the 6th minute of the match when Puja Yadav sneaked into opponent’s half and scored a brilliant goal. After two minutes (8th minutes), Bhopal earned a penalty corner, which was perfectly converted by Siddhi Singh and took the early lead of 2-0. With the inspiring start, Bhopal’s Puja (18th, 22nd) and Siddhi (11th, 23rd) score two goals each to increase the score-line to 6-0. Continuing the aggressive game, Bhopal earned two more penalty corners in 24th and 26th minutes and both were effectively converted by skipper Neha Sharma and Anuradha Singh respectively. Leading by 8-0 now, Bhopal’s players kept on charging on their opponents and this time again, Puja scored goals in 40th and 44th minute along with Anuradha, who scored her second goal in 41st minute to extend the score-card 11-0. Controlling the game with full confidence, Sneh Gaur took the charge in the 4thquarter and scored three back-to-back goals in 47th, 54th and 64th minute. She first converted a penalty corner perfectly, which boosted her morale and then she scored two more goals. Leading by 14-0 now, Bhopal again earned a penalty corner in 65th minute and this time again, skipper Neha converted it with an ease. Siddhi hit back and scored her hat-trick goal in 67th minute and helped her team to beat Hockey Rajasthan by 16-0.

In the third match of the day in Pool D, Hockey Odisha edged past Sports Authority of India (SAI) by 4-3 with the help of Dipti Lakra’s brilliant brace in neck-to-neck battle. Odisha drew the first blood in the 17th minutes when Elima Minz stormed into opponent’s half and scored spectacular goal. Conceding the early jolt, SAI came back with fierce attacks and their star players Nomita Xalxo and skipper Manisha scored two goals in 21st and 27th minutes of the match to take the score-line to 2-1. From here, the match turn-around as Odisha players played with their attacking game and kept on charging on SAI’s defence. With the speedy attacks, Odisha’s Dipti Lakra (34th & 49th minute) and Priyanka Ekka (63rd minute) scored three goals and took the score-card to 4-2. SAI attacked back with full force and Anjali Gautam surprised the defence-line with her goal in 64th minute. However, SAI failed to convert more opportunities and eventually lost the match by 4-3.

In the fourth match of the day in Pool D, Delhi Hockey defeated Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu by a narrow margin of 2-1 in a closely fought match. After an intense start, it was Delhi who managed to take early lead when Ashna Salmani scored a brilliant goal in the 5th minute of the match. Inspired by her goal, Gayatri extended the lead in the 26th minute when she dribbled past opponent’s defenders and hit the ball hard into the goal-box. Trailing by two goals, Tamil Nadu’s Stella scored a consolation goal in the 68th minute and Delhi won the match by 2-1.

Results of the day-

Pool C – Hockey Jharkhand 9 Pramila Soren (16min-PC, 65min-PS, 67min-PC), Anima Tiru (16min-FG, 58min-PC, 70min-FG), Kanti Pradhan (28min-FG), Sangeeta Kumari (31min-FG, 44min-FG) vs Hockey Maharashtra 0

Pool C – Hockey Bhopal 16 Puja Yadav (6min-FG, 11min-FG, 23min-FG, 40min-FG, 44min-FG), Siddhi Singh (8min-PC, 18min-FG, 22min-FG, 67min-FG), Neha Sharma (24min-PC, 65min-PC), Anuradha Singh (26min-PC, 41min-FG), Sneh Gaur (47min-PC, 54min-FG, 64min-FG)  vs Hockey Rajasthan 0

Pool D – Hockey Odisha 4 Elima Minz (14min-FG), Dipti Lakra (34min-FG, 49min-FG), Priyanka Ekka (63min-FG) vs Sports Authority of India 3 Nomita Xalxo (21 min-FG) Manisha (27min-FG), Anjali Gautam (64min-FG)

Pool D – Delhi Hockey 2 Ashna Salmani (13min-FG), Gayatri (26min-FG) vs Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 1 K Stella (68min-FG)

Schedule -6th May (Wednesday)