Rajgir (Bihar), April 1 (IANS) Teams from Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Goa, Delhi, and Karnataka won their respective matches on the opening day of the 16th Hockey India Sub-Junior Men’s National Championship 2026 at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium in Rajgir, Bihar, on Wednesday.

In the first match of the day, Hockey Andhra Pradesh defeated Assam Hockey 3-1 in Pool A of Division C. The match was closely contested, with all the goals coming in the second half. Lanka Chaitanya Yesu (32’, 45’) netted a brace for Hockey Andhra Pradesh, while the team’s captain Maduru Ganga Chaitanya (47’) scored one goal. For Assam Hockey, Subhankar Saha (42’) netted the lone goal.

The second match of the day in the same division witnessed Hockey Mizoram beat Le Puducherry Hockey 5-3. Lalmuansanga J. (2’, 14’) gave an early lead to Mizoram, following which Vanlalhmangaiha (30’), the team’s captain Joseph Malsawmtluanga (36’), and Jacob Lalawmpuia (43’) scored a goal each. Meanwhile, R. Divakar (30’, 41’) netted a brace, and Madesh (40’) scored a goal for Le Puducherry Hockey.

In the third match of the day in Pool B of Division C, Goans Hockey edged past Hockey Jammu and Kashmir 3-2 in a thrilling contest. Karan Kumar (22’, 44’) scored a brace, while Saurabh Kumar (55’) found the back of the net late in the game for Goans Hockey. However, Hockey Jammu and Kashmir almost made a comeback in the match as they scored two quick goals in the dying minutes courtesy of Harmandeep Singh (58’) and Jasjot Singh (59’).

The first match in the Division B saw Delhi Hockey overpower Telangana Hockey 7-2 in Pool A. Aryan (30’, 54’), Rihan (36’), Luv (41’), Sushant Sehrawat (42’, 45’) and Ashish (50’) netted goals for Delhi, while for Telangana, Captain Jala Yashith Surya (44’) and Athram Sambu (60’) scored a goal each.

In Pool B of the same division, Hockey Karnataka prevailed 5-0 against Hockey Himachal. Prateek Rajesh Yarakal (23’, 43’) scored a brace while Pratham Poovaiah M B (9’), A C Daiwik Ponnanna (27’), and captain Adarsh Govind Mutagar also got on the scoresheet.

Chhattisgarh Hockey and Hockey Bihar played out a 2-2 draw in the final game of the day in Pool B of Division B. Om Kumar Yadav (40’, 44’) scored for Chhattisgarh Hockey, while captain Abhay Shah (41’, 53’) bagged a brace for Hockey Bihar to round up the day’s action.

–IANS

bsk/