Defending champions Haryana launched their Women’s Junior National Hockey Championship (Division A) campaign on a rousing note as did Jharkhand here on Saturday.
In control from the very first hooter, Haryana never faced any concerns as they eased past Sports Authority of India 6-0 in Pool A while Jharkhand pumped in 19 goals en route their crushing victory over Bengal in Pool C at the Chamundi Vihar grounds.
In the day’s third match, Aishwarya scored a brace as Maharashtra registered a 3-2 win over Uttar Pradesh.
Hardeep Kaur put Haryana ahead in the seventh minute before Navpreet Kaur made it 2-0 in the 16th minute.
SAI girls then defended much better, successfully thwarting all of Haryana’s raids before the floodgates opened in the 48th minute when Navpreet completed her brace.
Jyothi Gupta (52nd), Reet (58th) and Devika Sen (62nd) then struck in quick succession as Haryana wrapped up a comfortable victory.
Kanti Pradhan hammered in five goals, Rajani Soreng and Nomita Xalxo scored four each while Nisha Rani netted a treble as Jharkhand, one of the favourites for the title, ripped apart a listless Bengal 19-0. From the very first minute when Nisha sounded the board, goals kept pouring in at regular intervals as Jharkhand enjoyed a stroll in the park.
Results: Pool A: Haryana: 6 (Hardeep Kaur 7th, Navpreet Kaur 16th, 48th, Jyothi Gupta 52nd, Reet 58th, Devika Sen 62nd) bt Sports Authority of India: 0.
Pool C: Jharkhand: 19 (Nisha Rani 1st, 28th, 34th, Kanti Pradhan 7th, 15th, 31st, 60th, 62nd, Rajani Soreng 14th, 48th, 54th, 55th, Neha Topno 16th, Ranjeeta Minz 32nd, Subhashi Mehrom 33rd, Nomita Xalxo 49th, 58th, 61st, 69th) bt Bengal: 0; Maharashtra: 3 (Aishwarya Chavan 3rd, 14th, Pooja Bhoyar 33rd) bt Uttar Pradesh: 2 (Sonal Tiwari 27th, Shreya Singh 69th).