Punjab trounced Gujarat 25-0 after firing 13 goals in the first half while Railways overwhelmed Tripura 28-0.
In other matches, Services outclassed Manipur 7-0 and Tamil Nadu beat Uttarakhand by the same margin. Jharkhand defeated Himachal Pradesh 3-0, after a goalless first half. Among the losers, Puducherry was the only team which managed to score a goal against its opponents Combined Universities, which won 4-1.
Meanwhile, the Sports Ministry on Friday sought details of the reportedly poor facilities given to players at the Nationals from Hockey India and the local organisers.
The Ministry’s action comes after reports claimed that the players were lodged in cramped and unventilated rooms in the gruelling summer heat. The Uttar Pradesh team had reportedly been lodged in a poorly ventilated dormitory with eight of them having to share a room with a single attached bathroom.
“We have asked for a detailed report about the facilities being given to the participating players. We have also asked the details of the particular case of Uttar Pradesh players about how they had been allotted a cramped room with very poor facilities,” a Sports Ministry source said.
The UP team was also reportedly left stranded at the railway station for a couple of hours as there was nobody from the organisers to lead them to their accommodation.
Hockey India Secretary General Narinder Batra washed his hands off the incident and said it was the responsibility of the Madhya Pradesh Sports Department, which is hosting the tournament, to provide accommodation. “We are not responsible for providing accommodation to the participating players. It is the duty of the Madhya Pradesh Sports Department which is hosting the tournament.”
