Kanpur, 22 September 2019: The 4th Hockey India 5-a-side Senior National Championship Kanpur Uttar Pradesh 2019 (Men and Women) kick-started here today at the Hockey Complex, Green Park Stadium with grand Opening Ceremony and saw Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Haryana and hosts Uttar Pradesh Hockey register victories in their respective opening matches in the Women's category, while Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Karnataka and Hockey Haryana won their matches in the Men's category.
The opening ceremony for the 4th Hockey India 5-a-side Senior National Championship Kanpur Uttar Pradesh 2019 was held by the Uttar Pradesh Government and Uttar Pradesh Hockey on Sunday. The ceremony, which was organised for an hour, included cultural acts of dance and yoga display. Shri. Subhash Chandra Sharma, IAS, Commissioner Kanpur division, Government of Uttar Pradesh opened the tournament and was congratulated for laying down the first-ever hockey astro turf in the city of Kanpur. Shri. Subhash Chandra Sharma, IAS, Commissioner Kanpur division,Government of Uttar Pradesh promised to host more hockey tournaments in the city.
The dignitaries present at the ceremony included Shri Vihay Viswas Pant, District Magistrate, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Dr. RP Singh, Athlete Representative, Hockey India Executive board, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Shri. Ajay Sethi, Regional Sports Officer Kanpur, Gaurav Dayal, IAS, Director Industry, Shri Anant Dev, SSP, Shri S K Sharma, Municipal Commissioner, B L Aggarwal, Additional District Magistrate Civil Supplier, P K Singh, Dy. Director Information and Shri Surender Singh, Dy. Commissioner GST Rajnish Misra, Hockey India Selector. The opening ceremony was a grand success as it saw many spectators from the city of Kanpur enjoy the first ever National level tournament of Hockey organised in their state.
The first match in the Women's category saw Hockey Jharkhand defeat Hockey Odisha 7-3 in Pool A where goals for Hockey Jharkhand were scored by Deepika Soreng (8', 15', 17'), Betan Dungdung (3', 10'), Beauty Dungdung (19') and Birajini Ekka (20'), while Dipti Lakra (10'), Khusbu Kujur (12') and Captain Asmita Barla (20') scored the goals for Hockey Odisha.
The other Pool A encounter saw Hockey Punjab beat Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 5-3 in an exciting match. Hockey Punjab rushed to a 4-0 lead inside the opening 13 minutes, and held to their lead as Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu tried to make a comeback in the second period. Goals for Hockey Punjab were scored by Kajal (1', 5', 11', 13') and Navneet Kaur (20'), while N Rubasri (17', 19') and S Patricia (17') scored for Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu.
Pool B's opening match saw Hockey Haryana produce a great performance to beat Hockey Karnataka 3-1 as Captain Annu scored for Hockey Haryana in the 7th and 11th minutes, while Deepika (14') also registered her name on the score-sheet. Hockey Karnataka's only goal of the match came in the 14th minute through S P Kruthika.
The other Pool B match saw hosts Uttar Pradesh Hockey snatch a late victory as they beat Hockey Maharashtra 3-2. Hockey Maharashtra twice came from behind in the match, but could not register any points in their opening match. Uttar Pradesh Hockey's goals were scored by Shreya Singh (7', 19') and Lalrin Diki (3'), while Hockey Maharashtra's goals were scored by Lalhlunmawii (5') and Captain H Lalruatfeli (10').
In the Men's category, Hockey Jharkhand beat Hockey Odisha 3-2 in Pool A as Noyel Topno (6', 7', 12') scored for Hockey Jharkhand, while Prasad Kujur (4') and Rahul Ekka (14') scored for Hockey Odisha.
In the other Pool A match, Hockey Maharashtra defeated Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 5-1. Taleb Shah (9', 16'), Ulsan Mundu (6'), Tyron Pereira (11') and Pratap Shinde (20') scored for Hockey Maharashtra, while Raghuram T (5') scored for Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu.
In Pool B, Hockey Karnataka beat Hockey Punjab 5-4 as Abharan Sudev (4', 17'), Mohammed Raheel Mouseen (11', 12') and V T Rathan Muthanna (20') scored for Hockey Karnataka, while Varinder Singh (11', 18'), Sharanjeet Singh (3') and Brumdeep Singh (9') scored for Hockey Punjab.
The other Pool B match saw Hockey Haryana defeat Uttar Pradesh Hockey 4-3. Pradeep Mor (1'), Manpreet (2'), Jagwant Singh (14'), Prabhjot Singh (16') scored for Hockey Haryana, while Mohd. Saif Khan (10'), Raj Kumar Pal (14') and Mohd Amir Khan (18') scored for Uttar Pradesh Hockey.
