Odisha thrashes Uttarakhand 18-1 on opening day of Senior Men National Championship 2026

The Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2026 will have 29 teams competing across three divisions. | Photo Credit: Asian Hockey Federation

Odisha was the biggest winner on Saturday as the senior men’s National Championship 2026 Division B and C kicked off in Jhansi.

Odisha set the tone for the tournament with an 18-goal rout of Uttarakhand, with Aryan Xess and Sudeep Chirmako scoring four each, while Akash Soreng, Ajay Ekka, Anmol Ekka and Deepak Minz each scored twice, and Rohit Kullu, Ritik Lakra and Prasant Barla also scored.

In the other match of Pool A in Divison B, Chhattisgarh beat Assam 8-0.

Pool B saw Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu beat Goa 5-1 while Arunachal came from behind to beat Telangana 4-2.

In Division C, Andhra Pradesh was the biggest winner, beating Gujarat 8-0 aided Hemanth Kumar Dodium Subramanyam’s hat-trick in their Pool B meeting.

The other game in the pool was a close one, with Rajasthan edging Bihar 3-2 thanks to captain Manish Choudhary’s brace. Pool C saw Jammu and Kashmir beat Himachal 6-3.