Rajnandgaon, July 21 : Hockey Maharashtra and Hockey Rajasthan clinched victories in their respective women's matches, while Hockey Rajasthan, Hockey Madhya Pradesh, and Hockey Maharashtra won their respective men's fixtures on Day 1 of the 2nd Junior Women and Men West Zone Championship 2024.

In the women's fixtures, Hockey Maharashtra defeated Goans Hockey, 13-0. Captain Sanika Chandrakant Mane (7', 22', 27', 50', 51') was exceptional, scoring five goals. Dhaware Sukanya (6', 9'), Tanushree Dinesh Kadu (20', 39'), Savitri Borigalli (24', 56'), Khushi (4'), and Asmita Ashok Ghotale (15') also contributed to Maharashtra's victory.

In the other women's fixture, Hockey Rajasthan defeated Dadra & Nagar Haveli Daman and Diu Hockey, 4-1. Anamika Sharma (22', 35'), Sakshi Sharma (43') and Mahavar Gayatri (49') scored for Rajasthan while Anita Devi (28') scored the only goal for Dadra & Nagar Haveli Daman and Diu Hockey.

In the men's fixtures, Hockey Madhya Pradesh defeated Goans Hockey, 14-0. Mohd Anas (1', 29', 58') and Tushar Parmar (39', 40', 42') sparkled with hat tricks while Prashant Rajput (5', 56') and Ahmed Tauheed (25', 54') scored braces. Viveka Pal (7'), Ritendra Pratap Singh (23'), Almaqz Khan (26'), and Subhan Abid (50') also scored a goal each for Hockey Madhya Pradesh.

The second men's fixture of the day saw Hockey Rajasthan beat Hockey Gujarat, 5-4. While Mayankumar Halpati (6') gave Gujarat the lead, Rajasthan bounced back with goals from Himanshu Kumar Meena (22', 24'), Ravinder Singh Rajvi (44', 58') and Aditya Yadav (54'). Gena Noman (26', 33') and Bhadraveshwara Fenil (29') scored for Hockey Gujarat as well.

In the final men's fixture of the day, Hockey Maharashtra defeated Chhattisgarh Hockey, 5-4. Maharashtra's Kartik Ramesh Patare (4', 35', 43') proved to be the difference while Gaurav Baburao Patil (21') and Arjun (60') also sounded the boards in favour of Maharashtra. Chhattisgarh Hockey fought valiantly to stay in the contest with goals from Mohit Nayak (48', 55'), Mahavir Verma (28') and Captain Anand Kumar Suryavanshi (34'), but the home team fell short.

/IANS