Coimbatore: Teams from Himachal, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh began their campaigns with wins in Division B on the opening day of the 16th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2026 at the Coimbatore Hockey Ground on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Telangana and Le Puducherry secured victories in Division C as the day witnessed exciting hockey action.
In Pool A of Division B, Shubhdeep Singh’s (9’) lone goal helped Hockey Himachal clinch a 1-0 win against Hockey Maharashtra.
In the same pool, Hockey Uttarakhand recorded a 5-2 victory against Kerala Hockey. Suraj Kumar (2’, 10’) and Ankit (15’, 33’) scored twice, while Viraj Choudhary (56’) scored for the winners. For Kerala Hockey, Ashique Muhammed (25’) and V Sreejith K (57’) found the back of the net.
In Pool B of Division B, Hockey Andhra Pradesh prevailed 2-1 against Bihar. Chandu Gandi (36’) and Ramavath L Kumar Naik (44’) netted for Hockey Andhra Pradesh, while Kumar Vinay (55’) scored for Bihar.
Hockey Chandigarh also registered a 9-2 win against Chhattisgarh Hockey in the same pool of Division B. Gurpreet Singh (10′, 13′, 34′, 38′, 40′) scored five goals, while Gurjeet Singh (39′, 48′, 51′) bagged a hat-trick and Fateh Singh (49′) also found the back of the net. For Chhattisgarh Hockey, Mohit Nayak (41′) and Beck Vivek (25′) scored a goal each.
Six teams were also in action in Division C on Tuesday. Goans Hockey and Hockey Rajasthan played out a thrilling 3-3 draw in Pool A. Francis Singh (6’), Deekshith H.H (30’) and Nitin (57’) scored for Goan Hockey, while Mohammad Ubaid Raza (9’), Himanshu Kumar Meena (45’), and Mayank (47’) found the net for Hockey Rajasthan.
In Pool B, Telangana Hockey secured a 3-0 victory against Tripura. Piyush (20’, 27’) bagged a brace with Sanga Sriram (28’) also finding the back of the net.
In the same pool, Le Puducherry Hockey registered a 10-0 win against Hockey Gujarat. Anbupathi (19’, 46’) and Illamaran (22’, 43’) scored a brace each, while Vishnuvarathan (25’), Madhavan (35’), Karan K Gagade (40’), Vishva (42’), Rithish (49’) and Gowtham (60’) also found the net for the winners.
(IANS)
