The 11th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship Pimpri Chinchwad 2021 kicked off in Pune with Hockey Karnataka, Le Puducherry Hockey, Hockey Chandigarh and a solid-looking Hockey Punjab stamping their credentials as contenders with huge wins in their respective openers. Manipur Hockey too showcased their pedigree by trouncing Tripura Hockey 21-0 in a high-scoring game of the tournament.
Kicking off proceedings in the tournament opener, Hockey Karnataka didn't take long to score the opener against Hockey Jammu & Kashmir, with captain Mohd Raheel scoring in the second minute of the game. From there, Hockey Karnataka cruised on for a 14-0 win, with braces scored by Mohd. Raheel (2', 14'), Somanna BP (4, 47'), Punith R (20', 55'), Bharath KR (23', 30'), S Deekshith P (27'), Chiranth Somanna ND (42') and Likhith BM (43', 60'), Kumar Yathish B (52'), Shamanth CS (60').
In the second Pool C game of the day, Le Puducherry Hockey replicated a similar result against Hockey Arunachal, trouncing them 14-0. Puducherry's huge victory came via well taken goals by Arun T Kumar (1', 3', 25', 35'), Veerathamizhan V (10', 43', 56', 58') and R Ranjith (20', 22, 42'), A Tamilarasan (12'), Pooviyarasan (23') and Sellamuthu N (34').
In the opening game of Pool D, Hockey Punjab, led by Olympic bronze medalist Rupinder Pal Singh, beat Hockey Uttarakhand 11-0 to kick off proceedings. Goals for Hockey Punjab were scored by Lovepreet Jainth (4', 46', 56', 58'), Parampreet Singh (6'), Surdarshan Singh (7', 18'), Vishal Yadav (21'), Gurshahzad Singh Pirzada (30'), Gautam Kumar (35') and a customary Rupinder Pal Singh penalty stroke (50').
In Pool E, Hockey Chandigarh beat Hockey Rajasthan 14-0. Mohit (6', 42', 55') and Amandeep (23', 25', 57') scored a hat trick each while braces from Angad Bir Singh (14', 28'), Harpreet Singh (14', 39'), Rajveer Singh (12'), Harmanpreet Singh (21'), Yograj Singh (35'), Jaspreet Singh (37') guided Chandigarh to a comfortable victory.
In the final game of the day from Pool E, Manipur Hockey beat Tripura Hockey 21-0 to kickstart their tournament. Manipur's victory was built on goals by Laishram Mantosh Meitei (2', 9', 13', 17'), Bhakar Ningombam (45', 47', 48', 53') and Dinachandra Singh Moirangthem (35', 53', 56', 59'). Captain Abung Ningombam Singh (4', 33') and Keisham Rohit Meitei (26', 28'), Ibungo Konjengbam Singh (10'), Debeshor Konjengbam Singh (37'), Dayananda Chanamthabam Singh (41'), Dollar Kshetrimayum (51') and Romeshkumar Heisnam Singh (60') scored a goal each.
Hockey Andaman and Nicobar forfeit their Pool D game against Hockey Andhra Pradesh who were awarded a 5-0 win by default.
( With inputs from ANI )
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