Men's national hockey: Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Bengal register easy wins

Bhopal: Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Jharkhand and Hockey Bengal won their respective matches in the preliminary group stage on Day 6 of the 12th Hockey India Senior Men's National Championship here on Monday.

In the first match of the day in Pool E, Hockey Chandigarh emerged 6-4 winners against Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey. Vishaljit Singh (49', 55'), Mohit (4'), Amandeep (47'), Kawaljit Singh (48') and captain Yograj Singh (52') registered goals for Hockey Chandigarh, while Nabin Kujur (26', 44', 60') and Vijendra Singh (21') got on the score sheet for Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey.

In the second Pool E match of the day, Hockey Jharkhand secured a convincing 5-0 victory against Hockey Jammu & Kashmir, with Denis Kerketta (25', 38'), captain Anurud Bhangra (23'), Manohar Mundu (37') and Birsa Oreya (44') chipping in with the goals, Hockey India informed in a release on Monday.

In Pool F, Hockey Bengal registered a convincing 7-2 victory against Hockey Arunachal. Nitish Neupane (22', 26', 39') led the charge with a hat-trick, while Rajendra Oram (20', 36'), captain Kishor Lakra (15') and Saurabh Kumar Singh (54') also got on the scoresheet for Hockey Bengal. Captain Deepak Saini (19') and Deepak (8') scored for Hockey Arunachal.

In the second Pool F match, Le Puducherry Hockey overwhelmed Hockey Gujarat 13-2. Captain T Arun Kumar (18', 27', 34', 41', 55') led from the front with five goals to his name. Harikrishnan M (33', 35') and R. Ranjith (44', 57') bagged a brace each while Pooviyarasan (26'), N Kamala Kannan (38'), Sellamuthu N (40') and E Sudhan (52') rounded up the goal scoring for Le Puducherry Hockey. Vrushang Patel (11') and captain Shubham Yadav (59') scored for Hockey Gujarat.

In Pool H, Assam Hockey defeated Goans Hockey 6-0. Mohd Salman Khan (28', 42', 49') recorded a hat-trick, while Shibom Bhowmick (24'), Rahul Verma (26') and Mohd Alfaij (40') also got on the score sheet.