Top Teams Start Strong in National Junior Hockey Championship

The 37th National Junior Hockey Championship started at the Bunda Hockey Ground on Wednesday, with most of the stronger teams enjoying great starts. The championship has seen Punjab Reds, Army and Navy winning their matches with relative ease.

Army started off with a dominant 6-1 victory over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with A. Awaisullah and Muhammad Awais each bagged a brace.

Punjab Reds showed their strength in similar fashion as they handed Sindh a crushing 9-1 defeat. Adeel Afzal, Ali Taj, and Shahid Akash all chipped in with two goals a piece.

Navy were not to be left behind as they launched a goal bonanza as they put 12 goals up against Pakistan Education Board, with the opponents only managing 2. Muhammad Usman fired in four goals while Muhammad Atif put up three.

Islamabad and Punjab Yellow held each other to a stalemate in a 1-1 draw. Punjab’s Ali Azam scored through a penalty corner in the first quarter to give his side the lead before Islamabad equalised with Sikandar Zubair slotting home the leveller in the third quarter.

There are said to be over 300 players across the 16 teams in the championship which has made a triumphant return after an absence of five years. The quarter-finals of the championship will take place on October 2nd, with the semi-finals scheduled for October 4th and the final for October 5th.