Another hat-trick for Gagan

HYDERABAD: Indian forward Gagan Ajit Singh struck his second consecutive hat-trick as strong contenders Punjab quelled a fighting Jharkhand 8-1 under a blazing sun in the 61st Senior National Hockey Championship at the Gachibowli Stadium here on Saturday. Gagan scored in the 49th, 61st and 69th minutes as Punjab, who opened their campaign with a 11-0 thrashing of Madhya Pradesh on Day One, struck four times in each session.Daljit Singh and drag flicker Jugraj Singh contributed a brace each while Jagbir Singh added one goal to complete Punjab's scoreline in Pool C. Kulbir Singh of Patiala scored the day's other hat-trick in his team's 3-0 victory over Maharashtra in Pool A while Tamil Nadu struggled to a lone goal win against Delhi in Pool F. The scoreline may suggest easy time for Punjab but Jharkhand did put up a fight and had lot of ball possession. But for their inexperience they could have scored at least three more goals. With a host of international players in their ranks, Punjab expectedly came out strongly and took the lead in the second minute itself when Daljit sounded the board off a short corner rebound. But the lead did not last for long as Vijay Topno converted Jharkhand's first penalty corner in the 7th minute to make it 1-1. Results: Mumbai bt Pondicherry 2-1, Vidharbha bt Uttaranchal 3-0, Himachal Pradesh drew Nagaland 2-2, Bhopal Blue bt Chattisgarh 5-3; Punjab bt Jharkhand 8-1, Patiala bt Maharashtra 3-0, Tamil Nadu bt Delhi 1-0, J&K bt Assam w/o, Railways bt Bhopal Red 2-1, Universities bt Bihar 5-1.