Chennai, Aug 5 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh advance as the final four into the quarterfinals of the 15th Hockey India Sub-jr Men National Championship 2025 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday. Uttar Pradesh Hockey will meet Hockey Punjab, while Hockey Jharkhand face Hockey Madhya Pradesh in Wednesday’s semifinal clashes.
In the first fixture of the day, Uttar Pradesh Hockey secured a 4–1 win over Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey. Ali Shahrukh (6’, 23’) continued his fine form with a brace, while Rajbhar Prahalad (42’) and Mohd. Atif Raynee (58’) also got on the scoresheet. Captain Dhiraj Pal (39’) pulled one back for Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
In a high-scoring contest, Hockey Punjab edged past the Hockey Association of Odisha 4–3 to book their place in the semifinals. Odisha’s captain Mandeep Kerketta (10’, 27’, 41’) put his side ahead early and went on to complete a hattrick, Captain Arshdeep Singh (14’) levelled the scores early for Punjab before Varinder Singh (39’), Anurag Singh (42’), and Sukhdev Singh (58’) sealed the victory.
Hockey Jharkhand defeated Hockey Chandigarh 13–0 in an impressive display. Hemrom Tintus (18’, 30’, 44’, 45’, 60’) led the charge with five goals, supported by Sabian Kiro’s hat-trick (1’, 22’, 37’) and Hassa Patras’s brace (5’, 9’). Ganga Topno (49’), Ashish Tani Purti (53’), and Anish Dungdung (57’) also found the net.
In the final match of the day, Hockey Madhya Pradesh went past Hockey Haryana 2–1 to advance. Karan Gautam (26’) opened the scoring for Madhya Pradesh before Aashir Aadil Khan (33’) doubled the advantage. Haryana pulled one back through Sachin (38’), but Madhya Pradesh held firm to close out the win.
Earlier on Day 5, Chhattisgarh Hockey won 6-2 against Hockey Bengal, Manipur Hockey defeated Hockey Himachal 6-0 in Division ‘B’, Uttar Pradesh Hockey defeated Delhi 10-1, Hockey Association of Odisha won 5-1 against Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Punjab defeated Hockey Karnataka 10-0 and Hockey Haryana won 3-0 against Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu. Chhattisgarh Hockey, Manipur Hockey, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Punjab, and Hockey Haryana qualified for the quarterfinals.
–IANS
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