Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Madhya Pradesh boys reach semifinals

Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Punjab, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey and Hockey Madhya Pradesh reached the semifinals of the 16th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2026 in Rajgir, Bihar, on Thursday.

In the Division A quarterfinals at the Rajgir Sports Complex, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey clinched a 2-1 victory against Hockey Chandigarh. Captain Dhiraj Pal (27’, 42’) scored for the winners, while Jasmeet Singh (59’) scored for Hockey Chandigarh.

In the second quarterfinal, Hockey Punjab secured a 5-3 win against Hockey Jharkhand in a high-scoring clash. Rajveer Singh (29’, 56’) scored a brace, while Akash Deep (11’), Sahabajpreet Singh (32’) and Sanmukh Singh (39’) also scored for Hockey Punjab. For Hockey Jharkhand, Ashish Tani Purti (15’, 19’, 56’) bagged a hat-trick.

The third quarterfinal saw Uttar Pradesh Hockey register a 6-3 win against Hockey Association of Odisha. Nitish Yadav (49’, 51’) scored a brace, while Karan Dhanuk (33’), Prahalad Rajbhar (39’), Captain Ketan Kushwaha (42’), and Romit Pal (52’) also scored for Uttar Pradesh Hockey. Deepak Prakash Toppo (34’, 45’, 57’) scored a hat-trick for Hockey Association of Odisha.

In the final game of the day, Hockey Madhya Pradesh and Hockey Haryana played out a 0-0 draw before the former clinched a 4-3 win in the shootout. Karan Gautam, Gazee Khan, Siddharth Ben, and Ronin Ningombam Singh scored in the shootout for Hockey Madhya Pradesh, while Ayush Rajak was exceptional in goal for them, making two crucial saves. For Hockey Haryana, Ashish, Sachin and Vishwjeet converted in the shootout.