MP, UP, Punjab win in junior hockey.

Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Punjab produced strong performances and won their respective matches in the 14th Junior Men’s National Hockey Championship in Jalandhar on Tuesday.

In the day’s first match, Madhya Pradesh defeated Chhattisgarh 6-0. Zameer Mohammad (4’, 10’) scored back-to-back goals in the first quarter for Madhya Pradesh. Mohd Anas (46’), captain Ali Ahmad (50’), Viveka Pal (54’) and Tushar Parmar (56’) also scored a goal each to take the game further away from Chhattisgarh.

Uttar Pradesh crushed Chandigarh 8-0. Ajeet Yadav (6’, 9’, 43’) scored a hat-trick for his side whereas Fahad Khan (23’, 40’) struck a brace. Gaurav Yadav (14’), captain Suraj Pal (20’) and Anand Kumar (43’) also scored a goal each for Uttar Pradesh.

Himachal drubbed Goa 11-1 in another one-sided match. Ashish Kumar (4’, 8’, 20’, 23’, 36’, 53’) stood out with a staggering six goals in a single game.

Manipur registered a convincing 7-0 win over Maharashtra in the fourth match of the day while Punjab got the better of Bihar 6-1 in the last match of the day.