Haryana, Punjab record second victories in Sr National Hockey Championship

BANGALORE, September 24, 2012: Defending champion Haryana scored its second successive victory in the Pool A league of the 2nd Hockey India Senior Men National Championship here today. Punjab showcased its intentions of making a strong run for the crown slamming 12 goals for the second day running, this time against Chhattisgarh in Pool C.

Haryana’s 8-0 verdict against Bengal came as an improvement over the hard-fought 2-1 win over Bhopal on the opening day. Didar Singh led the scoring with a goal in each half – a penalty stroke in the fourth minute and a field goal in the 45th. Arjun Antil, Bharat Chikara, Naveen Antil, Gagandeep Singh and Karamjit Singh added field goals before Sardar Singh converted a penalty corner in the dying moments of the game to complete the tally.

Punjab, which had beaten Jammu and Kashmir 12-1 on Sunday, sustained its scoring spree and managed to deny Chhattisgarh any goal. After Gurjinder Singh converted a penalty corner in the second minute, Aakashdeep Singh topped the list of scorers with five goals, including a hat-trick in the second half. Sarvanjit Singh slotted home three times and Ravipal Singh twice hile Talwinder Singh got one goal.

In another Pool A match, debutant Bhopal beat back a challenge from Maharashtra and eked out a 2-1 victory, thanks a goal in each half by Affan Yousuf. Narad Bahadur’s goal in the 44th minute helped Maharashtra draw parity but with seven minutes left for the hooter, Yousuf scored his third goal of the championship to secure his team full points.

Late on Sunday night, Air India beat Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 4-1 in a Pool E game. Prabodh Tirkey converted two penalty corners while Samir Dad (field goal) and Vikas Pillay (penalty corner) completed the tally for Air India. Vikas Choudhary’s goal reduced the margin

Results:

Pool A: Haryana 8 (Didar Singh 4, 45; Arjun Antil 34; Bharat Chikara 49, Naveen Antil 51, Gagandeep Singh 59, Karamjit Singh 65, Sardar Singh 70) beat Bengal 0. Half time: 2-0. Bhopal 2 (Affan Yousuf 22, 63) beat Maharashtra 1 (Narad Bahadur 44). Halftime: 1-0.

Pool C: Punjab 12 (Gurjinder Singh 2, Aakashdeep Singh 10, 41, 50, 52, 69; Ravipal Singh 11, 23; Sarvanjit Singh 17, 26, 62; Talwinder Singh 59) beat Chhattisgarh 0. Halftime: 6-0. Services w.o. Arunachal Pradesh;

Pool E: Air India 4 (Prabodh Tirkey 2, Samir Dad, Vikas Pillay) beat Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 1 (Vikas Choudhary). 

A Hockey India Press release