Himachal girls win hockey opener

Chandigarh, April 20

Hockey Himachal started off their campaign with a 4-2 win over hosts Hockey Madhya Pradesh in the 8th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship (B Division) at Bhopal on Friday. 

Playing in a Pool D match on the opening day of the championship, Sanju Prajapati put the hosts ahead in the second minute while Khushboo Rajak doubled the lead in the 23rd minute. 

Himachal girls, however, held their nerve and made a stunning comeback to level the score with a goal each by Suman (39th) and Yashika Negi (49th). Having restored the parity, Himachal girls continued their attacking play and managed to score two more goals through Rajni Bala (53rd) and Ritu (61st) to seal the match 4-2. 

Earlier, Hockey Andhra Pradesh drubbed Goans Hockey 6-0, while Hockey Madhya Bharat played a 1-1 draw against Bengaluru Hockey Association. Hockey Bihar registered an 8-0 win over Manipur Hockey.

Assam Hockey steamrolled Hockey Puducherry 20-0. Sports Authority of Gujarat — Hockey Academy tamed Telangana Hockey 11-3 and Hockey Rajasthan blanked Bengal girls 10-0. — TNS