After a gap of three years, the J&K UT Men’s Hockey Championship commenced today at the KK Hakku Hockey Stadium, with participation of 17 teams from across the Union Territory.
The championship was inaugurated by Nuzhat Gul, Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council.
On the occasion, Taran Singh welcomed the chief guest and other dignitaries, highlighting various initiatives undertaken by Hockey J&K, including sub-junior tournaments and district-level competitions. He also informed that teams are gearing up for upcoming Sub-Junior Men and Women National Championships to be held in Rajgir and Ranchi.
A total of three matches were played on the opening day. In the first match, Jammu North registered a dominant 12-0 victory over Bandipora. Jotveer Singh and Kirandeep Singh scored three goals each, while Mankiran and Gurpreet netted two goals each. Rahul and Deepak contributed one goal apiece.
In the second match, Anantnag defeated Rajouri by 5-1. Dar Saini scored a hat-trick, while Mbariz and Suzain added one goal each. Harmeet scored the lone goal for Rajouri.
In the third match, Jammu South beat Srinagar 8-4. Surinder Singh and Karandeep Singh scored three goals each, while Manjeet Singh added two. For Srinagar, Rohan Preet Singh scored twice, while Sheikh Salman and Varun Preet Singh scored one goal each.
Rajive Sharma presented the vote of thanks and reiterated commitment towards the development of hockey in the region.
Among those present were Murti Gupta, Ravinder Singh, Kuldeep Handoo, B. S. Jaggi, along with officials, coaches and parents.
The matches scheduled for tomorrow include Kupwara vs Ganderbal at 10:30 am, Jammu West vs Shopian at 12 noon, and Budgam vs Kathua at 2:30 pm.
