India A Hockey Dominance: Men's Perfect Tour, Women's Fighting Spirit in China

The India A men's hockey team played a four-match series against Gansu Club from October 12 to 18th in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, registering emphatic wins in all their fixtures.

The men's side kicked off the series in dominant fashion with a 7-0 victory, courtesy of goals from Varun Kumar and Selvam Karthi, who converted a penalty corner each, while Uttam Singh, Venkatesh Dhananjay Kenche netted field goals. However, Angad Bir Singh stole the show with a hat-trick, as per a press release from Hockey India.

In the second encounter, India A edged past Gansu 2-1, with Selvam Karthi and Aditya Arjun Lalage scoring a goal each.

Continuing their fine form, the visitors stormed to an 8-0 win in the third match, where Poovanna Chandura Boby converted a penalty corner, while Aditya Arjun Lalage, Maninder Singh, Selvam Karthi, Venkatesh Dhananjay Kenche netted field goals. Also, Captain Sanjay contributed to the scoreboard as he found success from a penalty corner, while Mohammed Raheel Mouseen added a brace to round off a commanding performance.

The series concluded with another high-scoring affair, as India A defeated Gansu 8-3 in the final game. Rajkumar Pal, Uttam Singh, and Venkatesh Dhananjay Kenche scored a field goal each, while Amandeep Lakra converted a penalty corner. Aditya Arjun Lalage netted two field goals, and Captain Sanjay, who has been consistent with his drag flicks throughout the tour, converted two penalty corners to seal a clean sweep for the visitors.

Aditya Arjun Lalage finished as the top scorer for the India A Men's team, with a total of four goals in as many matches, closely followed by Captain Sanjay, Selvam Karthi, Venkatesh Dhananjay Kenche, and Angad Bir Singh, who scored three goals each in the series.

Meanwhile, the India A Women's Hockey Team played a five-match series against Liaoning from October 13-21 at the Liaoning Sports Centre in Dalian. The young squad exhibited strong resolve throughout the tour, finishing with four draws and one loss.

In their opening match, India A held Liaoning to a 1-1 draw, with Albela Rani Toppo finding the back of the net. The second game saw the team go down 1-3, despite a fighting goal from Manisha Chauhan.

The women's side bounced back with consecutive draws -- 1-1 in the third match, where Manisha Chauhan was again on the scoresheet, and 2-2 in the fourth, as Baljeet Kaur and Manisha Chauhan found the back of the net once each.

In the fifth and final contest, both teams produced a thrilling 3-3 draw, with goals from Kajal Sadashiv Atpadkar, Pooja Yadav, and Deepika Soreng ensuring that India A Women's Hockey Team finished the series on a positive note.

- ANI