Coimbatore, August 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The semifinal line-up of the 16th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2026 – Division ‘A’ was finalised on Wednesday, with Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Jharkhand and Hockey Madhya Pradesh securing victories in their respective quarterfinal matches in Coimbatore.
Hockey Punjab produced a dominant performance to defeat Hockey Karnataka 5-2 in the third quarterfinal and book their place in the last four. Ajaypal Singh (22’), captain Jarman Singh (24’), Sunny (32’), Amandeep (35’) and Gurwinder Singh (60’) scored for Punjab.
Kiran Reddy kept Karnataka in the contest with goals in the 21st and 28th minutes, but Punjab held their composure to seal a convincing win.
In another quarterfinal, Hockey Association of Odisha registered a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Hockey Haryana. Lelsan Minz was the star performer, scoring a hat-trick in the 15th, 20th and 46th minutes. Mandeep Kerketta (3’) and captain Deepak Pradhan (60’) added the other goals for Odisha, while Prince scored Haryana’s only goal in the 41st minute.
The most closely fought encounter of the day saw Hockey Jharkhand overcome Uttar Pradesh Hockey in a shootout after the teams were locked 3-3 at the end of regulation time.
Satyam Pandey (28’) and Triloki Venvanshi (33’, 50’) scored for Uttar Pradesh, while Patras Hassa (26’), Bhengra Gledshan (43’) and Nicolas Topno (60’) found the net for Jharkhand.
Jharkhand prevailed 4-3 in the shootout, with Rohit Tirkey, Jolen Topno, Patras Hassa and Ankit Ekka converting their attempts. Goalkeeper Sahu Prince played a crucial role by making important saves.
Hockey Madhya Pradesh completed the semifinal line-up after defeating Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey 7-3 in a high-scoring quarterfinal.
Subhan Abid (23’, 43’), Rajveer Singh (19’, 23’) and captain Ritendra Pratap Singh (37’, 56’) scored twice each for Madhya Pradesh, while Aashir Aadil Khan added another goal in the 41st minute.
For Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey, Sumit Rajbhar (40’), Suraj (47’) and Moohamed Jaeed (52’) were the scorers.
The semifinals will be played on Thursday, with Hockey Association of Odisha facing Hockey Punjab in the first match, while Hockey Jharkhand will take on Hockey Madhya Pradesh in the second semifinal.
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