Sr Women's hockey Nationals: Big wins for Odisha, M.P. and Himachal

Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Madhya Pradesh and Hockey Himachal won their respective matches and added three points to their tally in the 13th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2023 here on Friday.

Hockey Association of Odisha went up against Kerala Hockey in the first Pool A encounter and emerged winners by a 13-0 margin. Anupa Barla (7', 37', 46', 59') played an outstanding game, scoring four goals, while Namita Toppo (14', 35') and Punam Barla (30', 40') scored two goals each.

The other goal scorers were Lilma Minz (10'), Asmita Barla (11'), Dipti Lakra (19'), Captain Jiwan Kishori Toppo (23') and Anjela Toppo (60'). The star of the show, Rinki Kujur, completely controlled the game and earned the Player of the Match Award.

In the day's second match, Hockey Madhya Pradesh thrashed Telangana Hockey by a whooping 36-0 margin in a Pool G encounter. Player of the Match, Preeti Dubey (1', 5', 16', 20', 26', 28', 40', 42', 54', 55', 56') stole the show with her effortless 11 goal haul,

"I feel extremely happy that Hockey India has given me the opportunity to participate in a tournament which feels just like an international match, having the option to take a video referral is certainly a new experience. All this motivates me to always give my best on the pitch and make this a regular occurrence in my career," Preeti Dubey was quoted as saying by Hockey India in a release.

The other goal scorers for Hockey Madhya Pradesh were captain Karishma Yadav (2'), Anjali Gautam (10', 21'), Priyanka Wankhede (11', 25', 25', 30', 51', 53', 54', 54'), Aishwarya Chavan (13', 32'. 37'. 48', 51'), Manmeet Kaur (18', 46'), Suman Thoudam (22'), Yogita Bora (33', 37'), Nilanjali Rai (35'), Diksha Tiwari (44') and Upasana Singh (45').

The third match from Pool F, a contest between Hockey Himachal and Hockey Gujarat was won by the former by a 10-1 scoreline. Hockey Himachal's Tannu (8', 44', 45', 50') and Kanishka Rai (10', 12', 23', 47') scored four goals each with help from Gurpreet Kaur (35') and Player of the Match, Ritu (47') to secure the 3 points for their team. Prachi Patel (34') managed to nick in a consolation goal for Hockey Gujarat during the game.

Elated after winning the Player of the Match Award, Ritu said, "I am always looking at ways to improve my game and Hockey India's initiative to introduce these awards and raising the standard of the National Championships is the perfect way to gauge my improvement. I hope I keep performing well and help the team while winning more awards."

The final match of the day between Hockey Andhra Pradesh and Hockey Bengal from Pool E ended in a 0-0 draw as both teams failed to control the game for a sustained period.