Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu) [India], Jan. 11: The opening day of the Hockey India 7th Sub Junior National Hockey Championship 2017 (Women) 'A' Division saw healthy rivalry played out in most matches on Wednesday.
Hockey Chandigarh beat Sports Authority of India 3-2 in the opening game of the day from Pool A. After holding their opponents 1-1 in the first half, Hockey Chandigarh took the lead in the 44th minute via captain Amrit Pal's field goal.
This was her second goal after scoring an equalizer in the 29th minute. Pal scored again in the 49th minute when she successfully converted a penalty corner. Though SAI tried to make a comeback in the 66th minute with a late goal by Akanksha Shukla, Hockey Chandigarh pressed hard in the remaining minutes to win their opening tie.
Uttar Pradesh Hockey registered a 3-1 victory over Hockey Patiala in Pool A. While the scores were even in the first half with both teams scoring a goal each, Uttar Pradesh Hockey took the lead in the second half with two successive goals in the 52nd (by Yogita Bora) and 60th minute (by Sapna Devi).
Varsha Khushwaha opened the score for Uttar Pradesh Hockey with a field goal in the 24th minute of the match while Hockey Patiala's lone goal via penalty corner was converted by Sumita in the 30th minute.
Hockey Odisha began their campaign with a thumping 10-1 victory over Chhattisgarh Hockey in their Pool B match.
Hockey Odisha took an early lead with back-to-back goals in the first half which ended in the scoreboard reading 6-0.
Though Chhattisgarh Hockey's lone goal came in the 44th minute via penalty corner conversion by Sabbi Naaz, her team could do little in stopping Hockey Odisha from scoring another four goals in the second half.
The star performer for the winning team was Abinsimukti Surin who scored three field goals in the match.
Hockey Jharkhand beat Delhi Hockey 7-0 in their Pool C encounter. Jersey No.11 Deepika Soreng came up with three goals for the winning team in the 41st, 51st and 70th minute while Priya Dungdung scored in the 49th and 53rd minute for Hockey Jharkhand.
Beauty Dungdung (57') and Salima Tete (69') added one more goal each to their tally as Hockey Jharkhand took home three points.
In Tuesday's final game of the day, Hockey Coorg beat Assam Hockey 1-0 in a closely fought encounter to enter the semifinals of Hockey India 7th Sub Junior National Hockey Championship 2017 (Women) B Division.
Rischika Thimmaiah B scored via penalty corner for Hockey Coorg to ensure victory..
Source: ANI
