Jhansi, April 15 (IANS) Hockey Punjab were crowned the champions of the prestigious 15th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2025 after defeating Hockey Madhya Pradesh 4-1 in Division 'A'. Uttar Pradesh Hockey secured the third position after winning the game 5-1 against Manipur Hockey.
In the final match, Hockey Punjab stole the show after defeating Hockey Madhya Pradesh 4-1. Jugraj Singh (30', 49') scored a couple of goals displaying experience of such high octane encounters and put his team in a strong position in the final. Jaskaran Singh (38') and Maninder Singh (46') also scored one goal each to take the game further away from the opponent. In reply, Pratap Lakra (28') could only score for Hockey Madhya Pradesh, ending their campaign with the silver medal.
Elated on the win, Hockey Punjab Captain Hardik Singh expressed his views, “The plan was to attack from the start and I can say the boys have executed well. Jugraj played exceptionally well. Though I still feel we have missed a couple of chances here but we are happy with the win. It’s always great to perform in domestic circuit, overall the competition was good and it feels good to be win the gold medal”, he said.
Also, in the 3rd/4th place, Uttar Pradesh Hockey defeated Manipur Hockey 5-1. Kushwaha Sourabh Anand (29', 49') stood out to be the top goal scorer after scoring a brace for his side. Sharda Nand Tiwari (35'), Deep Atul (48') and Shivam Anand (60') also scored one goal each, helping their team to secure the bronze medal. On the other hand, Moirangthem Rabichandran Singh (45') scored the consolation goal for Manipur Hockey.