Senior Men’s Hockey Nationals 2026: Tamil Nadu holds Bengal, Kerala registers first win

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

The Division A matches of the 16th Hockey India Senior Men’s National Championship 2026 began with three wins and a draw in Jhansi on Wednesday.

In Pool A, Tamil Nadu played out a 1-1 draw against Bengal. P. Shanmugam put Tamil Nadu ahead in the 38th minute before Sunit Lakra equalised for Bengal in the 49th.

In Pool B, Maharashtra edged Puducherry 2-1, with Darshan Gawkar scoring the winner in the 49th minute after Rajat Minz had cancelled out Ganesh Patil’s opener.

Chandigarh defeated Karnataka 3-0 in Pool C, with Paramvir Singh, Sumit and Amandeep finding the net.

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In Pool D, Haryana registered a 3-1 victory over Delhi. Manjeet, Joginder Singh and Deepak scored for Haryana, while Aman Sharma converted a penalty stroke for Delhi.

Meanwhile, in Division B, Kerala recorded its first win of the tournament, beating Assam 5-2 in Pool A. Sandeep Yadav scored twice for Kerala, while Hemanta Borthakur netted both goals for Assam.

In Pool B, Arunachal Pradesh edged Jharkhand 2-1, with captain Abhinav Singh scoring the winner in the 53rd minute.

Division C concluded on Tuesday, with Jammu and Kashmir finishing top of Pool A and Rajasthan topping Pool B.