Chennai, Nov 4
Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Chandigarh, Manipur Hockey, Hockey Madhya Pradesh and Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu began their campaigns with victories in their respective encounters in the 14th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium.
The action commenced with a Pool F encounter that saw Uttar Pradesh Hockey defeat Kerala Hockey 6-0. Arun Sahani (3', 52') led the attack with a brace while Chandhan Singh (21'), captain Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (32'), Shibam Anand (55') and Faraz Mohd (57') also contributed with goals as well.
In Pool D, Hockey Karnataka defeated Hockey Uttarakhand 10-0. Mohammed Raheel Mouseen (20', 38', 53') was the top scorer with three goals along with Abharan Sudev's (16', 37') brace. Poovana CB (7'), Rahul CJ (15'), Bharat Mahalingappa Kurtakoti (39'), captain Somaiah Kuppanda (52') and Surya NM (55') etched their names on the scoresheet as well.
In another Pool D clash, Hockey Chandigarh registered a 5-0 victory following a forfeit by Tripura Hockey.
Manipur Hockey defeated Hockey Bihar, 19-1, in a Pool H encounter. Cyril Lugun (9', 21', 52'), Ningombam Jenjen Singh (19', 23', 50'), Laishram Dipu Singh (26', 36', 39') and Bhakar Ningobam (41', 53', 55') impressed with hat-tricks. Meanwhile, Thounaojam Luwang (13', 59') Moirangthem Dhananjoy Meetei (10', 16'), Ningobam Singh Abung (38'), Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh (38'), and Waribam Nirajkumar Singh (41') added to Manipur Hockey's tally as well. Jony Kumar (49') was the sole scorer for Hockey Bihar.
In Pool C, Hockey Madhya Pradesh defeated Hockey Andaman & Nicobar 29-0. A flurry of goals came from captain Yousuf Affan (8', 21', 30', 39', 42', 55') as he scored six goals. Mohammad Zaid Khan (2', 16', 46', 49', 51') was also lethal with five goals and Akshay Dubey (9', 10', 14', 58') found the back of the net on four occasions, amongst the other scorers Mohd.
Nizamuddin (4', 6', 50'), Mohd Umar (15', 40', 44') struck hat-tricks while Swapnil Kawadkar (17', 57'), Shreyas Dhupe (27', 59'), Arjun Sharma (24', 60'), Armaan Qureshi (20') and Sourabh Pashine (29') also netted goals.
In the final clash of the day, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu defeated Hockey Andhra Pradesh 7-0. Captain Karthi S (16', 57') scored a brace while Selvaraj Kangaraj (21'), Dhilipan (38'), J Joshua Bendedict Wesley (40'), Manojkumar (41') and Mareeswaran Sakthivel (49') scored a goal each for Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu.