Hockey Bhopal outbeats Association of Indian Universities 6-3

The 5th Senior National Hockey Championship 2015 (Men) Div - A sees High-Level Contests. Hockey Bhopal outbeats Association of Indian Universities 6-3.

Pune (Maharashtra), 24 April 2015: The 5th Senior National Hockey Championship 2015 (Men) Div- A, being played at Pune, Maharashtra, today saw six intense clashes among best teams.

Reaching the Semi Finals of the tournament, Air India Sports Promotion Board will be seen battling against Railway Sports Promotion Board in Semi Final 1 and Hockey Gangpur- Odisha will clash against Uttar Pradesh Hockey in Semi Final 2 on Sunday.

- Hockey Bhopal outbeats Association of Indian Universities 6-3
- Comptroller & Auditor General of India holds Hockey Gangpur at 3-3 draw; Hockey Gangpur reaches Semi Finals
- Services Sports Control Board defeat Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 4-2
- Uttar Pradesh Hockey blank Hockey Maharashtra 3-0 and enters Semi-Finals
- Food Corporation of India holds The Mumbai Hockey Association at 1-1 draw
- Hockey Punjab outplays Hockey Karnataka 3-2

Beginning the day on a winning note for themselves, Hockey Bhopal defeated Association of Indian Universities 6-3 which was followed by a 3-3 draw between Comptroller & Auditor General of India and Hockey Gangpur. Continuing the day with one more win, Services Sports Control Board pocketed a win against Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 4-2. The fourth match of the day ended in favour of Uttar Pradesh Hockey who blanked Hockey Maharashtra by 3-0. There was another 1-1 draw between Food Corporation of India and The Mumbai Hockey Association. The last match of the day concluded with a win for Hockey Punjab as they defeated Hockey Karnataka 3-2.

In the first match of the day in Pool B, Hockey Bhopal outplayed Association of Indian Universities (AIU) by 6-3 after a closely-fought clash. It was AIU who opened the account in the 8th minute of the match when AIU earned a penalty shoot-out and Captain Singh converted it in the first goal for his team. AIU increased the lead in 13th minute with the help of Jatin Singh's brilliant goal. After conceding two quick goals, Bhopal players charged on their opponents and scored goal in regular intervals. Osaf Ur Rahman Singh led the attack and scored the first goal in the 19th minute for his team. After the inspiring goal, Osaf scored three goals in 24th, 29th and 37th minute of the match and took the score-line to 4-2. His team-mate M Taj Khan increased the lead by 5-2 when he sneaked into opponent's half and hit the hard into the goal-box. In the 55th minute, AIU counter attacked on Bhopal's side and Jatin sent the ball in the net to reduce the margin by 3-5. In the 59th minute, Bhopal earned a penalty corner and Aftab Khan converted it perfectly to increase the winning margin by 6-3.

The match Comptroller & Auditor General of India and Hockey Gangpur was nail biting and exciting as both teams played for a draw and the spectators were left wanting for more. Hockey Gangpur - Odisha started the proceedings for the day as they scored their first goal in 12th minute as Roshan Minz did no mistake in cashing on a clean pass in the D. Comptroller & Auditor General of India came back into the match with their equaliser goal in the 21st minute when Deepanshu Bhargav scored through a field effort, the half time score tied at 1-1. Second half and Hockey Gangpur-Odisha not wasting time took the lead again in the 34th minute when Roshan Minz again did it for his team through a brilliant field goal. The next minute it was pay-back time by Comptroller & Auditor General of India as they equalized yet again through a penalty corner and which was slapped hard by D S Darshan. Hockey Gangpur – Odisha having lost the lead went on to score the lead goal again in the 53rd minute and this time it was Sanjay Xalxo who did the job for his team. When it looked like that Hockey Gangpur - Odisha had the game in their kitty, Comptroller & Auditor General of India struck back in the 58th minute to yet again equalize the game leaving the opponents stunned and drawing the match 3-3.

Services Sports Control Board showcasing great strength and play beat Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 4-2. Looking at the initial goal Services Sports Control Board with a penalty corner opportunity scored in the 9th minute as Binay Bhengra did not mistake in finding the nets. The team added the second goal to the scoreboard in the 17th minute again through Binay Bhengra and this time through a field effort. Looking at coming back into the game Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu opened its account in the 21st minute V. Shanmugam converted the penalty corner opportunity, taking the half time scores to 1-2. While Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu looked at equalizing, Services Sports Control Board added their third goal in the 51st minute. But Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu not looking at giving up took the score to 2-3 in the 58th minute and had another chance to equalize. But, unfortunately for them, Services Sports Control Board scored yet again in the 60th minute and won the game 4-2.

In another match in Pool C, Uttar Pradesh Hockey blanked Hockey Maharashtra by 3-0 in a one-sided match. Uttar Pradesh Hockey dominated through-out the match and Saurabh Singh's brace helped his team to win an ease. Uttar Pradesh Hockey earned a penalty corner in the 14th minute and Danish Mujtaba converted it perfectly in the first goal of the match. After conceding the goal, Maharashtra tried to materialise opportunities but Uttar Pradesh Hockey defenders thwarted all their attacks. Uttar Pradesh Hockey counter-attacked aggressively in the dying minutes and Saurabh scored two back-to-back goals in 52nd and 53rd minutes. With their excellent team-work, Uttar Pradesh Hockey won the match by 3-0 against Maharashtra.

The fifth match of the day between Food Corporation of India and The Mumbai Hockey Association Limited witnessed equal efforts from both the teams leading to a draw 1-1 by the end of the match. Continuously aiming to breach the opponent's defence from the initial minutes of the game itself, it was The Mumbai Hockey Association Limited which bagged the first goal of the match coming from the stick of Amit Goswami who smashed an excellent field goal in the 18thminute. Food Corporation of India were ready with their sticks to retaliate this which resulted in a field goal in the very next minute by Munish Rana helping the team to equalise the game. The first half of the match ended with a draw 1-1 and excitement rose amongst the teams to get better of each other in the second half. The second half was a display of good tactics and skills by both the teams aiming to score higher, however, there were no further conversions, resulting in a draw 1-1.

The last day of the match between Hockey Punjab and Hockey Karnataka was an interesting show to end the day, where, Hockey Punjab defeated Hockey Karnataka with a narrow margin 3-2. Both the teams played their best throughout the match giving a cut throat competition with an aim to win. The shots one after another started when Jaskaran Singh from Hockey Punjab opened the account for the team with a field goal in the 18th minute of the game. Soon, Hockey Karnataka got an opportunity to celebrate their first goal when Pradhan Somanna hit a field goal in the 29th minute for the team which won them confidence for the match. Hockey Punjab without any delay assured to get ahead of the opponents bagging another field goal which came from Jagmeet Singh in the 30th minute. It was yet again Hockey Punjab which with a consistence outstanding performance won another goal in their kitty which was effort by Prabhdeep Singh in the 36th minute. The last goal of the game was scored by Hockey Karnataka's Kusha J P in the 44th minute. Both the teams enjoyed a delightful session which concluded with a triumph for Hockey Punjab with a close win 3-2.

Results of the day:

Pool B - Hockey Bhopal 6 Osaf Ur Rahman (19min-FG, 24min-FG, 29min-FG, 37min-FG), M Taj Khan (48min-FG), Aftab Khan (59min-PC) vs Association of Indian Universities 3 Captain Singh (8min-PS), Jatin Singh (13min-FG, 55min-FG)

Pool B Comptroller & Auditor General of India 3 Deepanshu Bhargav (21 min-FG), D S Darshan (35 min-PC), Nitin Timmaiah (58 min-FG) vs Hockey Gangpur - Odisha 3 Roshan Minz (12 min-FG, 34 min-FG), Sanjay Xalxo (53 min-FG)

Pool C - Services Sports Control Board 4 Binay Bhengra (9 min-PC, 17 min-FG, 51 min-FG), Jaspreet Singh (60 min-FG) vs Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 2 V Shanmugam (21 min-PC), M. Vinod Rayar (58 min-FG)

Pool C - Uttar Pradesh Hockey 3 Danish Mujtaba (14min-PC), Saurabh Singh (52min-FG, 53min-FG) vs Hockey Maharashtra 0

Pool D- The Mumbai Hockey Association Limited 1 Amit Goswami (18min-FG) vs Food Corporation of India 1 Munish Rana (19min-FG)

Pool D- Hockey Punjab 3 Jaskaran Singh (18 min-FG), Jagmeet Singh (30min-FG), Prabhdeep Singh (36min-FG) vs Hockey Karnataka 2 Pradhan Somanna(29min-FG),Kusha J P(44 min-FG)

Sunday's Schedule (26th April 2015)