Punjab was on Tuesday crowned the champion of the 15th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2025 after defeating Madhya Pradesh 4-1 in Division ‘A’. Also, Uttar Pradesh secured the third position after winning the game 5-1 against Manipur.
In the final, Jugraj Singh (30’, 49’) scored a couple of goals, displaying experience of playing in high-octane encounters and put his team in a strong position. 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’) was the sole-scorer for MP, which ended its campaign with a silver medal.
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An elated Hardik Singh, the Punjab captain, 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, we are happy with the win. It’s always great to perform in the domestic circuit. Overall, the competition was good, and it feels good to be win the gold medal”, he said.
In the third-place playoff, Uttar Pradesh defeated Manipur 5-1. Kushwaha Sourabh Anand (29’, 49’) stood out to be the top goalscorer after scoring a brace for his side. Sharda Nand Tiwari (35’), Deep Atul (48’) and Shivam Anand (60’) also scored a goal each, helping their team to secure the bronze medal.
On the other hand, Moirangthem Rabichandran Singh (45’) scored the consolation goal.