Services Sports Control Board, Bengal Hockey Association, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha, Kerala, Manipur and Tripura open the 4th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2014 (Division B) with a win

• Hockey Gangpur - Odisha defeats Puducherry-14-1
• Bengal Hockey Association defeats Vidarbha Hockey Association 4-2
• Services Sports Control Board beat Bihar 10-2
• Kerala and Goa played a draw, tied at 3-3
• Manipur overcome Rajasthan 8-2
• Tripura beat Rajasthan 5-1

 New Delhi 24 March 2014: Day-1 of the 4th Hockey India junior Men National Championship 2014 (Division B) saw Services Sports Control Board, Bengal Hockey Association, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha, Kerala, Manipur and Tripura register their first win in their respective matches today, played at M R Stadium Egmore and YMCA Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

In Pool A match, Hockey Gangpur- Odisha played a strong game throughout the match and gained confidence in the first half itself, when Deepak Lakra scored a goal in the seventh minute of the game. In the next six minutes, Sudeep Kerketta scored another goal for the team, followed by few more excellent strikes from other players as well.  Other players who raised the confidence level of the Hockey Gangpur-Odisha team with beautiful strokes were Pratap Lakra and Rasananda Khalkho who scored two goals each in the 20th & 69th minute and 22nd & 39th minute of the game. Puducherry seemed weak in the game, however, V Veerathaminzhan managed to strike a goal in the 58th minute failed to change the scenario. With this, the first half ended with 9-1 in favour of Hockey Gangpur- Odisha, making it a one sided game. In the second half, the game seemed to be the same, as, all the goals were scored by Hockey Gangpur- Odisha. Arbeen Kujur also came out as a surprise and scored two goals, leading the team towards an interesting victory with 14-1 on board.

In Pool B match, Bengal Hockey Association defeated Vidarbha Hockey Association and registered a 4-2 win. Avoy Ekka made an exhilarating start contributing to the Bengal Hockey Association’s win and scored 3 field goals single-handedly in 8th, 21st and 25th minute. On the other hand, Ahfaz Pathan , defending Vidarbha Hockey Association stroked a successful penalty corner in the 6th minute itself. Vidarbha Hockey Association made a comeback in  the second half when Prafulla Lohangarge stroked  in a field goal in 36th  minute and tried to level the scores.  The last goal of the match came in from Bengal Hockey Association’s  Kundan Kujur as a field goal in the 55th minute and closed the board with a 4-2 win.

In another Pool B match, Services Sports Control Board defeated Bihar 10-2. They clinched an early lead when Kunjappa scored a field goal in the 3rd minute of the match. The first half was dominated by the Services Sports Control Board as they scored two goals in the 12th and 23rd minutes through Naveen Minz and Navpreet Singh respectively. Trailing behind by 3-0, Bihar showed aggressive game in the opponents’ area when Prem Ranjan Ekka scored first goal for the team in the 41st minute. The score board read 4-1 with the fourth goal coming from Bishram Dodray of Services Sports Control Board. Subsequently the goals were scored in quick succession for Services with goals in 53st, 54th, 55th, 56th and 57st minutes through Naveen Minz, Anup Minz, John Barla, Ramandeep and Mangra Bhengra taking the score boards to 9-1. Subash Sanga created an opportunity in the 66th minute for Bihar through a Penality corner to take the tally to 9-2. Anup Minj of Services managed to neutralize the lead from Bihar by scoring tenth goal for his team in the 66th minute. He scored three goals.

In another match, Kerala and Goa engulfed in a tough clash where the end result saw a draw at 3-3.
The last match of the day played between Tripura and Jammu & Kashmir, the former penetrated a total of 5 goals and restricted Jammu & Kashmir with a mere 1 goal to their credit and won the match with a margin of 5 goals to 1.

Results of the day

• Pool A – Hockey Gangpur Odisha 14 Deepak Lakra(7 mins), Sudeep Kerketta (13 mins), Pratap Lakra (20 and 69 mins), Rasananda Khalkho (22 and 39 mins), Arbeen Kujur (24 and 61 mins), Sibren Lakra (38 mins) Vs. Puducherry 1 V Veerathaminzhan (58mins).
• Pool B – Bengal Hockey Association 4 Avoy Ekka (8, 21 and 25 min), Kundan Kujur (55 min)  Vs. Vidarbha Hockey Association 2 Ahfaz Pathan (23 minutes) and Prafulla Lohangarge (36 minutes).
• POOL B – Services Sports Control Board 10 Kunjappa (3 min, 54 min and 66 min), Naveen Minz (12 min), Navpreet Singh (23 min), Bishram Dodray (37 min), Naveen Minz (53 min),  John Barla (55 min), Ramandeep (56 min ) and Mangra Bhengra (57 Min)  Vs. Hockey Bihar 2 Prem Ranjan Ekka (41 Min)  and Subash Sanga (66 min).