NEW DELHI: The action in the 1st Hockey India Junior Men Zonal Championships 2023 continued today in the North, South, East, and West Zones with Hockey Punjab, Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Kerala Hockey, Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Maharashtra and Hockey Rajasthan registering victories in their respective Zones.
North Zone: Hockey Punjab beat Delhi Hockey
In the first match of the day in the 1st Hockey India Junior Men North Zone Championships 2023 Hockey Punjab beat Delhi Hockey by a 7-0 scoreline. Jaspal Singh (2’, 51’), Dilraj Singh (7’), Ujwal Singh (17’), Gobind Patel (33’), Prabhjot Singh (38’), and Sukhwinder Singh (44’) all scored to end the match in Hockey Punjab’s favour.
South Zone: Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and Kerala Hockey win big
After a day of rest, the first match in the 1st Hockey India Junior Men South Zone Championships 2023 saw Hockey Karnataka defeat Hockey Andhra Pradesh 9-0. The goal scorers were Sunil P B (6’, 24’, 26’), Team Captain Pavan D R (7’), Rohan Gokak (12’, 34’, 55’) and Akhil Aiyappa BN (39’, 59’).
Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu took on Telangana Hockey and beat them by a 6-0 scoreline in the second match. Team Captain Srinivasan M (18’) opened the scoring for his side. He was followed by Rakesh (19’), Ramanathan K (19’), Inbaraj (34’), Hariharan Sudhakaran (57’) and Sugumar M (59’) as Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu recorded an easy win.
The last match of the day saw Kerala Hockey beat Le Puducherry Hockey by 8-0. Team Captain Rijo Shaji (23’, 59’) opened the scoring for his team followed by goals from Ashish Lakra (27’), Kolnati Sai Ram (34’, 54’), Muhammed Kaif (36’) and Rohit Lakra (48’, 49’).
East Zone: Hockey Jharkhand win on home turf
The first match of the day in the 1st Hockey India Junior Men East Zone Championship 2023 being held in Khunti (Ranchi), Jharkhand saw Hockey Jharkhand take on Hockey Bihar and emerge 5-0 victors. The goal scorers were Mangra Dohdray (14’), Abhishek Tigga (17’), Adisan Minj (29’), Roshan Ekka (38’) and Faguwa Horo (57’).
West Zone: Hockey Maharashtra and Hockey Rajasthan register wins
Hockey Maharashtra defeated Hockey Gujarat 12-1 in the first match of the day at the ongoing 1st Hockey India Junior Men West Zone Championship 2023 in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh. Nikunj Salvi (7’) scored the first goal of the game for Hockey Gujarat but Hockey Maharashtra Captain Jay Kale (14’, 29’, 58’) opened the floodgates, followed by goals from Vishal Shridhar Mandade (18’, 20’), Raj Rajesh Pawar (34’), Kartik Ramesh Patare (39’, 40’, 49’, 54’, 59’) and Arjun Santosh Hargude (42’) to end the match in Hockey Maharashtra’s favour.
The second match of the day saw Hockey Rajasthan register a narrow 2-1 win against Chhattisgarh Hockey. Sudhir (21’) and Jitendra Singh Shekhawat (50’) scored for Hockey Rajasthan while Jitu Hemla (60’) scored a late goal for Chhattisgarh Hockey but failed in changing the outcome of the match.