City boys storm into quarters

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 22 

Hashim and Maninder Singh scored a brace each as Chandigarh ended the league stage with a 4-1 win over Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu in the ongoing 9th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2019 (A Division) at the Sports Authority of India Campus in Aurangabad on Friday. 

With today’s win, Chandigarh managed to stay at the top of Pool A and stormed into the quarterfinals.

Hashim opened Chandigarh’s account in the third minute, followed by another goal in the seventh minute. Maninder, meanwhile, struck in the 14th and 17th minute to stretch the lead to 4-0. 

Tamil Nadu reduced the deficit in the 20th trough through S Karthi, but Chandigarh managed to held on to the lead in the remaining part of match to seal a 4-1 win. 

In another Pool A match, Hockey Punjab drubbed Hockey Himachal 6-0 to secure a place in the quarters. 

Surdarshan Singh (8th, 41st) scored a double, while Parteek Sharma (15th), Jaspreet Singh (25th), Gurpal Singh (26th) and Vishaljit Singh (44th) added a goal each to the Punjab tally. 

Haryana boys advance

Hockey Haryana finished on top of Pool B with 12 points. In their last league match, they defeated The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd 3-0. 

Sunny Malik (31st, 56th) struck twice, while Ankush registered his name on the score-sheet in the 19th minute. 

Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy beat Manipur Hockey 5-0 to finish behind Haryana. Akshay Awasthi (54th, 57th) scored a brace, while Ali Haider (3rd), Akhtar Ali (9th) and Mohammad Alishan (52nd) added a goal each to the Madhya Pradesh tally. 

UP top Pool C 

In Pool C, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha defeated Hockey Karnataka 1-0. Puran Kerketta scored the solitary goal in the 59th minute. The side managed eight points from four matches and finished behind toppers Uttar Pradesh Hockey on goal difference. 

Uttar Pradesh boys blanked Delhi Hockey 3-0 on Friday. Sahabaz Khan (28th), Uttam Singh (44th) and Ajay Yadav (59th) scored a goal each for the side.

In the Pool D, Hockey Bihar registered a narrow 1-0 win over Punjab & Sind Bank to remain in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth. Pinkal Barla scored the only goal of the match in the 38th minute.