7th Senior National Hockey C'ship: PSPB thrash Hockey Rajasthan 11-0

Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) recorded a commanding 11-0 victory over Hockey Rajasthan in their Pool A match of the ongoing 7th Senior National Hockey Championships 2017 (Men) 'B' Division on Friday.

Lalit Upadhyay kept up his good form by scoring in the first minute of the game to give Petroleum Sports Promotion Board the lead. A brace each from Sumit (37', 57') and Bikash Toppo (54', 60') aided a clinical performance that gave them the three points.

In Pool F, Hockey Bengaluru beat Assam Hockey 5-3. Mithun S Bijwad (7', 8') and HT Ramesh (40', 41') scored a brace each, while Manikanth Bejawad scored a goal in the 47th minute in their victory. Assam Hockey's goals were scored by Balin Boro (30'), Rituraj Boro (54') and Harvir Singh (56').

In Pool B, Central Reserve Police Force beat Hockey Him 3-0. Goals for Central Reserve Police Force were scored by Saroj Ekka (40'), Bikash Kujur (41') and Sudhir Horo (58').

In Pool F, Hockey Madhya Pradesh recorded a 16-0 victory over Hockey Gujarat to kick start their campaign on a winning note. Prakash Singh Rawat (7', 21', 22'), Mayank James (15', 33', 50') and Meet Singh Thakur (16', 54', 55') scored hat-tricks, while Dharmendra K Rajbhar (4', 26') and Sushil Maharashi (35', 44') scored a brace each in the victory.

In Pool G, Punjab National Bank beat Kerala Hockey 14-2. Sukhjeet Singh (17', 18', 54') and Gagandeep Singh Sr. (33', 59', 60') scored a hat-trick each in their comfortable victory. Kerala Hockey's goals were scored by Jinoy Varghese (11') and B Sreejith (51').

In Pool C, Hockey Coorg beat Sports Authority of Gujarat - Hockey Academy 3-2 in a pulsating encounter. The two teams traded goals constantly, till KT Kunjappa struck the winner two minutes from full time. Bachira Biddappa (20') and MK Muddappa (38') were also among the goals for Hockey Coorg. Goals for Sports Authority of Gujarat - Hockey Academy were scored by Ruchit Patel (28') and Ashab Kureshi (35').

In Pool G, Hockey Puducherry beat Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association 4-3. Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association took the lead via Nitesh in the 23rd minute, Hockey Puducherry came back strongly in the 3rd Quarter and scored 3 goals ,N Kamalakannan (36'), T Arunkumar (38') and R Ragu (39') which gave them the lead. The final blow came from N Sellamuthu (51') to seal the victory for Hockey Puducherry.

In Pool D, Central Secretariat beat Goans Hockey 15-0. S Puliyanda Thimmanna scored five goals (2', 17', 30', 34', 40') and Hassan Basha got a hat-trick (53', 53', 60') in their commanding victory to open the campaign.

Hockey Manipur beat Hockey Madhya Bharat 4-1. H Amerjit SIngh (47') & Bhakar Ningombam (55') scored a goal each and Ganendrajit Ningombam (32', 43') scored a brace for Hockey Manipur which took them to a comfortable victory. The only goal for Hockey Madhya Bharat came from Jagmohan Kushwah (21').

In Pool E, Bengal Hockey Association opened their campaign with a 22-0 victory over Tripura Hockey. Mohammad Riyazuddin (1', 17', 26', 31', 52'), Saurabh Kumar Singh (3', 8', 22', 42') and Gurpreet Singh (10', 12', 58') scored hat-tricks in their comfortable victory.

In Pool H, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu beat Chhattisgarh Hockey 2-0 in a feisty encounter. In a game that was as much a physical battle as it was tactical, neither team managed to trouble the scorers for the first three quarters. In the final quarter, S Silverstalin finally broke the deadlock with a 49th minute PC conversion. Chhattisgarh Hockey pushed forward in numbers searching for an equalizer, but through a counter, Silverstalin doubled his and the team's tally with a goal in the 56th minute, one that settled the encounter in their favour.

In Pool H, Sashastra Seema Bal beat Hockey Jammu & Kashmir 6-1. A brace each from Agandeep Singh (17', 27') and Naocha K Singh (26', 42') guided them to a comfortable victory to kick-start their campaign. Captain Jasprit Singh scored Hockey Jammu & Kashmir's lone goal in the 18th minute.

In Pool E's second game, Hockey Himachal beat Hockey Bihar 8-2. Anuj scored a hat-trick (4', 14', 20', 55') and was ably assisted by Sumeet Pal Singh's brace (1', 18') as Hockey Himachal took a vital victory in their opening game of the tournament. Hockey Bihar's goals were scored by Anuj Raj (42') and Jony Kumar (54').