Hockey India Junior Men National Championship

 As the Quarter Finals of the 11^th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2021, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu got underway in Kovilpatti today, Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Haryana and Uttar Pradesh Hockey registered statement wins over Hockey Punjab, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and Delhi Hockey respectively, to secure their berth in the Semi Final. Hockey Association of Odisha and Hockey Bihar are yet to play the fourth Quarter Final.

In the first Quarter Final match of the day, Hockey Chandigarh edged out Hockey Punjab 3 – 2 in a closely contested encounter. After Sumit (8’) gave Hockey Chandigarh an early lead, Simranjot Singh (22’) levelled the score for Hockey Punjab in the second quarter. As both teams went back and forth in the third quarter, Rohit (44’) put Hockey Chandigarh in front again, only to be pegged back by Rajinder Singh’s equaliser in the 45^th minute. Rohit (51’) then doubled his tally to give Hockey Chandigarh a decisive 3 – 2 lead, which they saw out to book their place in the Semi Final.

In the second Quarter Final, Hockey Haryana earned a clinical 7 – 3 victory over home side Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu. Hockey Haryana’s surge towards a Semi Final berth was led by a hat-trick from Deepak (4’, 27’, 46’), a brace from Amandeep (4’, 32’) and one goal each from Pankaj (19’) and Rohit (59’). For Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Aravind Kumar S (5’), Sathish B (49’) and Aravind (55’) got on the score sheet.

Uttar Pradesh Hockey notched a decisive 9 – 0 victory against previously unbeaten Delhi Hockey to book their place in the Semi Final. Sharda Nand Tiwari (3’, 12’, 22’, 27’, 51’) led the charge with five goals to his name, followed by Manish Sahani (16’, 29’), Captain Vishnukant Singh (43’) and Mohammad Haris (54’).