Ranjeet Singh struck four goals as Haryana hurtled past Andhra Pradesh 9-0 in a Pool A league match of the 1st Hockey India junior men’s national championship at Balewadi Sports Complex here on Saturday.
Haryana will meet Madhya Pradesh hockey academy in the quarterfinals after the central India team defeated Bengal 9-0 for their third straight win to finish on top in Pool C with nine points.
In a crucial match of the pool, Haryana went on a rampage after Malak Singh had provided the opening in the very first minute. With the two teams having scored huge wins in their first league matches on Friday, they remained only contenders for the quarterfinal spot with the winners virtually assured of the place in the last eight.
AP, who showed good game against Gujarat on Friday, defended nicely after the first salvo. But when Ranjeet Singh struck his first goal in the 24th minute, the floodgates opened up. Three more goals came off his stick in quick succession—in the 26th, 32nd and 38th minutes — as he completed first quadruple of the championship. A brace from Naveen Antil and a goal each by Pawan Antil and Hansraj Ramphal saw Haryana thrash AP in a lop-sided match.
Results: Pool A: Haryana 9 bt Andhra Pradesh 0; Gujarat 4 drew with Mizoram 4; Pool B: Chhattisgarh 4 bt Goa 1; Pool C: Chandigarh 13 bt Rajasthan 0; Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 9 bt Bengal 0
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