Panchkula (Haryana) [India], March 1 : The first day of the 15th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship, held at the Tau Devi Lal Hockey Stadium, Panchkula, saw a new format underway as teams in Division B and C competed for promotion.
The day began with Division B matches, in which Hockey Uttarakhand, Delhi Hockey, and Chhattisgarh Hockey emerged victorious to kickstart their campaigns on a strong note.
Hockey Uttarakhand defeated the Hockey Association of Bihar in Pool A to open the day's proceedings. Beena Pandey (9', 58') scored an impressive brace of field goals, while Vartika Rawat got a goal for herself after successfully converting a penalty corner as Hockey Uttarakhand enjoyed a comfortable win. a release said.
In Pool B of the same division, Delhi Hockey registered a 4-1 win over Hockey Chandigarh. It was a tightly contested first half as both teams failed to find the net. The game opened up in the third quarter when Captain Roobi (32', 38') and Priyanka (35') scored three goals in quick succession. The fourth goal for the winning side came from Divya (51'), while Alka (36') scored a consolation goal for Hockey Chandigarh.
In the same Division and Pool, Chhattisgarh Hockey fought out a 5-1 win over Hockey Himachal. Anisha Sahu (20', 24') scored a brace for the winning team, while Anita Khusro (5'), Sampada Nirmalkar (33') and Sabbi Naz Ansari (57') also featured on the scoresheet for Chhattisgarh Hockey. Bhumika Chauhan (43') was the lone goalscorer for Hockey Himachal.
Later, Kerala Hockey and Hockey Andhra Pradesh enjoyed dominant wins in Division C. In Pool A, Kerala Hockey registered a 10-0 win over Hockey Gujarat. Kavita (17', 21', 39', 43', 44', 47') stole the spotlight as she registered six goals to her name. Kerala Hockey started the game strong with two goals in the opening quarter from Abhitha As (14') and Swetha S (15'). The other two goals came from Vipinya R (34') and Ashmi M (59') in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. Kavita was named as the player of the match for her incredible performance.
In the second match of Division C, Hockey Andhra Pradesh defeated Hockey Arunachal with a commanding scoreline of 9-0. Lotla Mary (15', 23', 28', 31', 50') went on a scoring spree for Hockey Andhra Pradesh while Patan Mujiya Begum (13'), Garlanka Varahalamma (45') and Captain Bhavani Madugula (48') also contributed with goals.