2nd Hockey India 5-a-side National Championship starts with flurry of goals

The second Hockey India 5-a-side Senior National Women Championship commenced on Tuesday here at the Shiv Chattrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi.

The exciting new format of the game saw eight women's teams on the first day of the tournament where a total of 43 goals were scored in the four matches.

In the opening game of the women's championship, Haryana beat Tamil Nadu with a vast margin of 18-2 in their Pool A encounter.

Meanwhile, in the second game of the event, Odisha beat Karnataka 3-1 in pool A.

It was a competitive match between the two teams, which saw the game goalless for the first 13 minutes but it was Odisha who took the lead in the 14th minute through Purnam Minz and later extended their lead to secure a 3-1 win.

In another match, Punjab thrashed Jharkhand 5-3 to start their campaign with a victory.

The game saw goals scored evenly in all the three quarters with Punjab dominating the match as they scored five goals.

Uttar Pradesh bagged an enthralling 6-5 win against Maharashtra in the most exciting and neck and neck game of the day.

It was Uttar Pradesh who took a 2-0 lead in the first seven minutes, however, Maharashtra struck back as the first period ended with the former leading at 3-2.

In the second period, it was Maharashtra who scored the equaliser in the 20th minute leaving the crowd enthralled.

However, Uttar Pradesh scored three quick goals in the third quarter to win the match 6-5.