Ranjitha AK scored a hat-trick as Karnataka kick-started their Women’s Senior National Hockey Championship campaign on a rousing note, cruising to a 7-2 win over Maharashtra on Tuesday.

Teena KR scored a brace while Nandini BP and Muthamma PG struck one apiece  in the Pool D game.

Pratibha Sawant scored the opener for Maharashtra in the sixth minute. Teena brought things on an even keel in the 40th. Ranjitha’s seven-minute blitz (43rd, 46th, 50th) and Teena’s second goal in the 51st minute all but confirmed a Karnataka victory. Pratibha hauled one back for Maharashtra in the 60th minute but Nandini’s (63rd) and Muthamma’s (65th) goals ensured a convincing win for Karnataka.

Result: Pool A: Haryana: 11 (Navneet Kaur 7th, 21st, 31st, 43rd, 44th, Navjot Kaur 18th, 23rd, 38th, Bharti 32nd, Ritu Rani 55th, Sonika 66th) bt Odisha: 0. Pool B: Uttar Pradesh: 7 (Pratibha Chaudhary 14th, 55th, 64th, Savita 16th, 23rd, Rachna Chourasia 27th, Vaishali Lal 52nd) bt Bihar: 1 (Jyoti  Pandey 57th). Pool C: Sports Authority of India: 6 (Shabnam Lakra 19th, 29th, Etwari 23rd, Priya Rai 48th, 49th, Punam 56th) bt Mumbai: 2 (Nishi Singh 36th, Jahan Arra 47th).

Pool D: Punjab: 14 (Anu Bala 8th, Sukhjit Kaur 15th, 23rd, 44th, 50th, Anuradha 20th, 33rd, 63rd, 67th, Gurjit Kaur 22nd, 46th, 59th, Monica Badram 40th, Gurwant Kaur 68th) bt Kerala: 1 (Sooryalakshmi KS 57th); Karnataka: 7 (Teena KR 40th, 51th, Ranjitha AK 43rd, 46th, 50th, Nandini BP 63rd, Muthamma PG 65th) bt Maharashtra: 2 (Pratibha Sawant 6th, 60th).

Punjab win big

In the men’s Senior National Championship at Lucknow, Punjab posted a crushing 11-1 win over Manipur in Pool B. Andaman & Nicobar got a walkover from Food Corporation of India while Services edged past Chandigarh.