7th Senior National Hockey Championship 2017: HP, MPSCB, Coorg, PSPB, CRPF, Sports Authority of Gujarat win on Day 2

Pool encounters continued on Day 2 of Hockey India 7th Senior National Hockey Championship 2017 (Men) ‘B’ Division today.

Hockey Him kicked off the day’s action with a hard fought 3-2 victory over Hockey Andhra Pradesh in Pool B. Ashok Reddy Meenakuru opened the scoring for Hockey Andhra Pradesh in the 9th minute converting a PC to give them the lead. It was that single goal that took them into the lead into halftime. Hockey Him hit back almost from the restart as Jatin scored the equalizer. The two teams traded a pair of goals each again, Hockey Andhra Pradesh’s Prudhvi Boddapati (45’) and Hockey Him’s captain Amit Malhotra (48’) the scorers. The game soon settled into a rhythm, and looked to be heading towards a draw. But with a late twist, Sunil Kumar Sonkar scored Hockey Him’s winner in the 57th minute to give them the three points.

In Pool A, Major Port Sports Control Board recorded their first victory edging out Hockey Rajasthan 1-0. In a cautious and controlled game, the only goal came via Mumtaz Ahmed in the 20th minute and was enough to ensure his team took the three points.

In Pool C, Hockey Coorg beat Vidarbha Hockey Association 3-2 for their first victory of the tournament. Biddappa Bachira opened the scoring for Hockey Coorg in the 2nd minute of the game, converting a PC, before KT Kunjappa added a second to double the lead. Vidarbha Hockey Association pulled one back before halftime with a Fahim Sayyad PC conversion in the 23rd minute. In the second half, Bachira scored his second and the team’s third in the 40th minute, and despite Riyaz Qureshi’s 46th minute goal, Hockey Coorg held on to take all three points.

In Pool A, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board showcased superb attacking hockey to beat Telangana Hockey 16-0 and record their second straight clean sheet of the tournament. Much like their opener, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board dominated the play from the start as they racked up the goals. A hat-trick each by Gurjinder Singh (8’, 28’, 41’) and Diwakar Ram (22’, 29’, 59’) as well as braces by Devindar Walmiki (2’, 4’), Sumit (3’, 55’), Tushar Khandker (15’, 18’) and Lalit Upadhyay (49’, 53’) completed their comfortable victory.

In Pool B, Central Reserve Police Force opened their campaign with a stylish 21-1 victory over Hockey Andaman & Nicobar. Bikash Kujur (5’, 11’, 18’, 19’, 37’,59’) and Balram Dahiya (15’, 17’, 47’, 57’, 60’) were at the forefront of their team’s attack scoring eleven goals between them as they took their first points of the tournament. Jayant Tirkey (34’, 43’, 55’) and Md. Wasiullah Khan (26’, 52’, 56’) also scored hat tricks for Central Reserve Police Force in their victory. Hockey Andaman & Nicobar’s goal came via Surju Sahu in the 48th minute.

In Pool C, Sports Authority of Gujarat – Hockey Academy beat Hockey Uttarakhand 3-2. Sports Authority of Gujarat – Hockey Academy were quick off the blocks, hitting the opener, in the first minute of the game via Paumil Adhari. Ruchit Patel’s 13th minute goal doubled their lead. Gradually Hockey Uttarakhand edged their way into the game, and scored a goal to reduce the deficit in the 15th minute via Vikas Joshi. On the stroke of half time though, Akash Shelar scored one more to give Sports Authority of Gujarat – Hockey Academy the lead going into the break. In a defensive and controlled second half, Sports Authority of Gujarat  – Hockey Academy were happy to sit back and play on the counter. Hockey Uttarakhand scored via Vikas Pant in the 60th minute, but it was too little too late.