Men’s Senior National Hockey Championship: Manipur qualify for quarterfinals despite a draw with Bengal

The Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai hosted five matches of the Men’s Senior National Hockey Championship on Thursday (November 23).

Hockey Bengal took on Manipur Hockey in a Group E encounter. The latter started the game on a positive note with an early goal in the second minute off Ningombam Jenjen Singh's stick.

Nilakanta Sharma found the back of the net in the 25th minute to make it 2-0. However, Nitish Neupane (two goals) and Rajendra Oram got Bengal back in the game with goals in the final quarter.

Indian player Nilakanta Sharma converted a penalty corner in the final minute to level the scores at 3-3 and split points with Bengal. With the result, Manipur qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament.

In another Group E encounter, Hockey Madhya Pradesh thrashed Hockey Jammu & Kashmir 13-0. Mohd Nizamuddin scored a hat-trick, while Arjun Sharma, Sourabh Pashine, and Akshay Dubey found the back of the net a couple of times each.

Madhya Pradesh dominated since the start and didn't let Jammu & Kashmir stand a chance in a game.

Earlier in the day, Hockey Tripura conceded their match against Hockey Maharashtra, handing the latter a 5-0 victory in their final Pool D match.

Hockey Jharkhand beat Goans Hockey 3-0 in the penultimate game of the day. Denis Kerketta converted a penalty corner in the ninth minute, while Noyel Topno scored a couple of goals.

Hockey Andhra Pradesh squared off against Hockey Chandigarh in the final encounter of the day. The latter emerged victorious 6-2.

Vishaljit Singh scored a couple of goals in the first quarter, while Indian national player Maninder Singh scored a goal in each of the four quarters for Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, Galla Siva Pramod scored a brace for the losing side, with goals coming off in the 28th and 54th minutes.