Dipika scored four goals as India Juniors displayed their skills in a 6-0 win over Sai-B in Group A of the Khelo India Women’s Under-21 Hockey League here on Wednesday.
In another match, Anjali Panwar (5) and Simranjit Kaur (4) led Khalsa Academy, Amritsar to a 15-0 win over Mumbai School Sports Association.
Later in the day, Madhya Pradesh Academy did well to draw with Pritam Siwach Academy, Sonepat 2–2 as Sadhna Sengar and Neeraj Rana scored the first and last goals of the match.
Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurated the league, which will be played in three phases. “All our athletes train very hard. Getting enough competition is also very important. Having a league like this is important for competitive performance during the year,” he said.
He also announced that the Sports Ministry would offer ₹15 lakh for the match to Hockey India for the champion team.
Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra said that this is a great initiative and expressed his gratitude to the government for its continuous support to hockey over the years.
The first leg of the league, consisting of 14 teams, will be played till December 21. The second and third phases will be held at two other locations next year.
Result (League): Odisha Naval Tata Center 1 (Priya Toppo) BT Raja Karan Academy 0; India Juniors 6 (Deepika 4, Mumtaz Khan, Beauty Dung Dung) bt SAI-B 0; Khalsa Academy, Amritsar 15 (Anjali Panwar 5, Simranjit Kaur 4, Amandeep Kaur 2, Amrin Hamid 2, Chewang Tamang 2) BT Mumbai School Sports Association 0.
Sai-A 7 (Poonam Mundu 3, Sanjana Horo 2, Prini Kandir, Swarnika Rawat) BT Sports Hostel, Bhubaneswar 1 (Neha Lakra); Madhya Pradesh Academy 2 (Sadhana Sengar, Neeraj Rana) drew with Pritam Siwach Academy, Sonepat 2 (Disha, Tamannaah Yadav); har academy 2 (preeti, jyoti) bt jai bharat academy 0,
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