Pune: Manipur Hockey scored at will and ended up recording a 21-0 victory over their north-eastern neighbours Tripura Hockey on a day when goals were aplenty at the 11th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship at the Major Dhyanchand Hockey Stadium, Nehrunagar-Pimpri near here on Saturday.
While Manipur set a record of sorts, the day overall was all about counting goals with three matches in the morning session producing 39 goals while 35 goals were scored in two matches in the afternoon. At the end of the day, 74 goals were scored in five matches played.
Hockey Karnataka, Le Puducherry, Hockey Punjab, and Hockey Chandigarh were the other big-score winners on the opening day of the event.
In other matches, Hockey Andhra Pradesh earned full points after Hockey Andaman and Nicobar failed to show up for the championship.
In Group C, Hockey Karnataka began the day with a 14-0 win over Hockey Jammu and Kashmir.
Hockey Karnataka had nine players getting their names on the scoresheet. Mohd Raheel (2nd) gave the Southern side the lead and likewise became the first scorer of the 2021 edition. Thereafter, Hockey Karnataka opened the floodgates with Mohd Raheel (14th); Somanna BP (4th, 47th); Punith R (20th, 55th); Bharath KR (23rd, 30th); S Deekshith P (27th); Chiranth Somanna N.D (42nd); Likhith BM (43rd, 60th); Kumar Yashith B (52nd); Shamanth CS (60th) scoring the goals. Hockey Karnataka led 7-0 at halftime.
Le Puducherry downed first-timers Hockey Arunachal Pradesh 14-0 while
Hockey Punjab thrashed Hockey Uttrakhand 11-0 in a Group D match.
With the presence of 2020 Tokyo Olympian Rupinder Pal Singh, all eyes were on the star drag-flicker to make an impact. However, it was off a penalty stroke that he made his mark in the 50th minute of play.
Hockey Punjab went about their business with ease with Lovepreet Jainth (4th, 46th, 56th, 58th) leading with four goals. Paramjeet Singh (6th), Sudarshan Singh (7th, 18th), Vishal Yadav (21st), Singh Gurshahzad Pirzada (30th), Gautam Kumar (35th) added to the tally.
In Group E, Hockey Chandigarh scored a 14-0 victory over Hockey Rajasthan with Mohit (6th, 42nd, 55th) and Amandeep (23rd, 25th, 57th) scoring the most goals.
Adding goals were Rajveen Singh (12th), Bir Angad Singh (14th, 28th), Harpreet Singh (14th, 39th), Harmanpreet Singh (21st), Yograj Singh (35th), and Jaspreet Singh (37th).
In the last match of the day, Hockey Manipur recorded the top score of the day downing Tripura Hockey 21-0 in Group-E with Mantosh Laishram Meitei contributing four goals.
RESULTS
Pool-C: Hockey Karnataka: 14 (Mohd Raheel 2nd, 14th; Somanna BP 4th, 47th; Punith R 20th, 55th; Bharath KR 23rd, 30th; S Deekshith P 27th; Chiranth Somanna N.D 42nd; Likhith BM 43rd, 60th; Kumar Yashith B 52nd; Shamanth CS 60th) bt Hockey Jammu and Kashmir: 0. HT: 7-0
Pool-C: Le Puducherry: 14 (Arun T Kumar 1st, 3rd, 25th, 35th; Veerathamizhan V 10th, 43rd, 56th, 58th; A Tamilarasan 12th, R Ranjith 12th, 22nd, 42nd, Pooviyarasan 23rd, Sellamuthu N 34th) bt Hockey Arunachal: 0. HT: 8-0
Pool-D: Hockey Punjab: 11 (Lovepreet Jainth 4th, 46th, 56th, 58th; Paramjeet Singh 6th; Sudarshan Singh 7th, 18th; Vishal Yadav 21st; Singh Gurshahzad Pirzada 30th; Gautam Kumar 35th; Rupinder Pal Singh 50th) bt Hockey Uttarakhand: 0. HT: 6-0
Pool-D: Hockey Andhra Pradesh bt Hockey Andaman and Nicobar – 5-0 Match forfeited
Pool-E: Hockey Chandigarh: 14 (Mohit 6th, 42nd, 55th, Rajveen Singh 12th, Bir Angad Singh 14th, 28th, Harpreet Singh 14th, 39th, Harmanpreet Singh 21st, Amandeep 23rd, 25th, 57th; Yograj Singh 35th, Jaspreet Singh 37th) bt Hockey Rajasthan: 0. HT: 8-0
Pool-E: Manipur Hockey 21 (Mantosh Laishram Meitei 2nd, 9th, 13th, 17th; Abung Ningombam Singh 4th, 33rd; Ibungo Konjengban Singh 10th; Rohit Keisham Meitei 26th, 28th; Dinachandra Moirangthem Singh 35th, 53rd, 56th, 59th; Debeshor Konjengbam Singh 37th; Dayananda Chanamthabam Singh 41st; Bhakar Ningombam 45th, 47th, 48th, 53rd; Dollar Kshetrimayum 51th; Romeshkumar Heisnam Singh 60th) bt Tripura Hockey: 0. HT: 8-0.