Chennai, June 18 (IANS) Punjab and Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu in the men’s section and Karnataka and Maharashtra in the women’s section won their respective matches on the opening day of the much-awaited 1st Hockey India Masters Cup 2025 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

In the first match of the day, Hockey Karnataka defeated Kerala Hockey 7-0 in the women’s category. Sneha C. (15’, 17’, 50’) scored the historic first-ever hat-trick of the tournament for her side, taking a strong lead in the match. Captain K.K. Krithika (42’, 55’) also scored a brace, whereas Usha Vinaykumar (22’) and Josephine Lore Sequeira (50’) also scored one goal each to secure the first victory in the tournament.

In the other match, Hockey Punjab defeated Le Puducherry Hockey 3-2 in the men’s category. Pavninder Singh (15’), Dharam Pal Singh (36’), and Captain Ripudaman Kumar (42’) scored for Hockey Punjab. On the other side, Delhi Ganesh (21’) and N Kamala Kannan (47’) scored one goal each for Le Puducherry Hockey.

In the last match of the day, the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu defeated Kerala Hockey 8-0. Ramadoss V. (14’, 44’) stood out to be the top goal scorer as he scored a brace. Sudharsan S (28’), Thamaraikannan (32’), Captain Adam Antony Sinclair (34’), Vinoth Kumar A.P. (35’), Cedric Marcellin D Cruz (40’), and Sathish Kumar (43’) also scored one goal each for the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu.

Also, the other match between Hockey Himachal and Hockey Maharashtra in the women’s category was officially forfeited 5-0, in favour of Hockey Maharashtra.

In all, 11 teams in the men’s section and eight in the women’s category will battle it out for top honours in their respective sections.

Eight top teams, Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Himachal, Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, and Kerala Hockey, will vie for the top honours in the women’s category.

Also, a total of eleven teams — Hockey Andhra Pradesh, Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Kerala Hockey, Le Puducherry Hockey and Manipur Hockey will compete with each other in the men’s category to lift the trophy on 27th June.

–IANS

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