Indian Navy beats CHA in Murugappa opener

Strikes from Rajat Sharma, Rana Pratap and Kuldeep Singh helped the debutant come up trumps in the Pool B encounter. Vera Pamizhan and Shyam Kumar put their names on the scoresheet for CHA but that was not enough to salvage a draw. 

The Navy men opened their account in the 28th minute with a field goal from Rajat, whose strike separated the two teams going into the half-time break. 

The home side started the second half on a positive note and its efforts finally bore fruit when Vera Tamizhan equalised in the 44th minute, with him scooping the ball into the top right corner. 

Navy once again took the lead in the 56th minute courtesy a penalty corner. Rana struck off a rebound from Shaan, giving it a one-goal cushion for the last 15 minutes. Kuldeep sealed the points for Navy as he pounced on a defensive lapse in the 63rd minute. The ball fell kindly for him in close range and he converted to make it 3-1. Against the run of play, CHA managed to pull one back with Shyam slotting the ball home. 

Result: Indian Navy 3 (Rajat Sharma 28, Rana Pratap 56, Kuldeep Singh 63) beat Chennai Hockey Association (Vera Tamizhan 44, Shyam Kumar 68)