The 13th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2023 saw thrilling hockey action as Hockey Punjab and Delhi Hockey won their respective games on Tuesday Day-2 at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.
Hockey Punjab defeated Hockey Mizoram 18-0 in the first match of the day. Dilraj Singh (5′, 9′, 23′, 34′, 47′, 59′) was Hockey Punjab’s standout performer, scoring six goals. Manmeet Singh (11′, 20′) also scored twice to help his team keep the lead over their opponents. Arshdeep Singh (2′), Harpreet Singh (15′), Ravneet Singh (17′), Rajinder Singh (25′), Captain Jaswinder Singh (32′), Gurpreet Singh (38′), Yudhveer Mall (38′), Sanjay Kumar (43′), Arshdeep Singh (45′), and Ujwal Singh (48′) each scored one goal to help their team win. In the second match, Delhi Hockey defeated Assam Hockey 16-1. Pardeep (20′, 46′, 50′) and Yogember Rawat (29′, 35′, 40′) scored a hat-trick each for Delhi Hockey while Nitin (8′, 47′), Pankaj (14′, 21′), Nitesh (19′, 23′) scored a couple of goals each to help maintain the lead. Rahul (27′), Rahul (37′), Vikas Upadhyay (38′) and Aman Sharma (42′) also scored one goal each to take the game away from Assam Hockey. In reply, Rinku Barman (12′) scored a consolation goal for Assam Hockey.
Notably, Hockey Bihar will face off against Hockey Bengal, Hockey Maharashtra will take on Telangana Hockey and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey will play against Tripura Hockey later today.
Also on Monday, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey played out a 4-4 draw against Hockey Rajasthan. Nagendra Kumar (53′, 58′) scored a brace, while Pramod Pal (24′) and Piyush Singh (38′) scored one goal each for Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey. In reply, Captain Jitendra Singh Shekhawat (23′), Anurag Suthar (43′), Prateek Parashar (47′) and Rahul Choudhary (52′) scored one goal each for Hockey Rajasthan to tie the game against their opponents.
On Monday, the Hockey Association of Odisha defeated Hockey Gujarat 18-0. Arbin Toppo (4′, 28′, 33′, 50′) was the Hockey Association of Odisha’s top goal scorer, scoring four goals during the match. Akash Soreng (11′, 46′, 56′) scored a hat-trick whereas Deepak Minz (27′, 52′) and Captain Rosan Kujur (36′, 36′) scored a brace for their side. Asit Lakra (22′), Adrohit Ekka (31′), Paulus Lakra (47′), Pratap Toppo (49′), Sanjit Tirkey (59′), Ritik Kujur (59′) and Silheiba Lisham (60′) scored one goal each to take the game away from Hockey Gujarat. (ANI)
