Sr. Men Hockey C'ship: Association of Indian Universities beat Chandigarh 1-0

Hockey Chandigarh failed to capitalize on their winning start to the 8th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2018 (A Division) as they slumped to a 0-1 loss to Association of Indian Universities in their Pool D clash here at the Padma Shri Mohammad Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium on Friday.

Association of Indian Universities had yesterday lost their first match of the competition while Chandigarh had defeated Namdhari XI, but the fortunes changed for both the sides as Association of Indian Universities converted a crucial Penalty Corner in the 44th minute through Amanpreet Singh which was enough to snatch a win.

In the second match of the day, it was Punjab and Sind Bank who were held to a 1-1 draw by Gangpur-Odisha in Pool B. The match saw both the goals being scored inside the first quarter as Gangpur-Odisha took the lead in the 1st minute when Shilanand Lakra scored a field goal. However, Punjab & Sind Bank put their initial stutters aside to score an equalizer in the 15th minute as Gaganpreet Singh converted a Penalty Corner. Both the teams tried their best but could not find the winner as the defences held a strong line.

In another Pool D match, Namdhari XI put the disappointment of their opening day loss to Chandigarh behind as they scored a 2-1 victory over Central Reserve Police Force to put three points on the board. Namdhari XI started the match well as they took the lead in the 13th minute through Harpal Singh as he converted a Penalty Corner. Minutes later in the second quarter, Namdhari XI's attack proved to come out on top again as they increased their lead to 2-0 as Navdeep Singh scored in the 24th minute. After the half-time break, Central Reserve Police Force did try to make a comeback into the match and were rewarded with a goal when Saroj Ekka converted a Penalty Corner in the 34th minute. However, despite Central Reserve Police Force's efforts, Namdhari XI made sure that they did not throw their lead away and secured a 2-1 victory.

In Pool B's second match of the day, Haryana registered their first victory of the competition as they scored an emphatic 9-2 victory over Jharkhand. Haryana scored two goals in the first quarter to set the momentum and followed up with another four goals in the third quarter to stamp their authority on the match. Jharkhand did pull two goals back in the 45th minute through Vijay Xess and in the 46th minute through Jen Soreng but Haryana's three goals in the fourth quarter saw them win the came comfortably by a margin of 9-2. A hat-trick of goals from Manpreet Singh (6', 12', 48'), Jonny Jasrotia (38', 54'), Abhishek (35'), Hartaj Singh Aujla (35'), Jagwant Singh (45') and Vinay Rana (56').

Punjab continued to dominate Pool C as they secured their second consecutive victory when they beat Services Sports Control Board 3-2 in a nervy encounter. The match saw Services Sports Control Board score early in the seventh minute through Sanjib Dungdung to take a 1-0 lead.

However, Punjab dominated possession in the second quarter and were rewarded with an equalizer in the 19th minute when Sarvanjit Singh converted a Penalty Stroke. The teams showed fight to win the match but the third quarter remained goal-less and with all to play in the final quarter, Punjab's two more goals were enough for them to secure a 3-2 win as Services Sports Control Board could only come up with one goal. The two goals for Punjab were scored by Gurvinder Singh Chandi (47') and Jasjit Singh Kular (59') while Rajnish Salaria's strike in the 57th minute could not save Services Sports Control Board.

In Pool A, Railway Sports Promotion Board defeated Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 3-0 to win their second consecutive match of the competition. Two goals in the first quarter set the rhythm for Railway Sports Promotion Board as Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy failed to find any openings. A third goal in the dying stages of the match secured a 3-0 win for Railway Sports Promotion Board. Goals for the winning team were scored by Sheshe Gowda (5', 57') and Malak Singh (2').

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)