Day 1 Results: 1st Sub Junior Men and Women Inter-Zone Championship 2024

Captain Tanvi gave the West Zone a flying start with two back-to-back goals in the 5th and 12th minute of the first quarter to give them a 2-0 lead. After a goalless second quarter, Sidar Madhu scored in the 36th minute for West Zone and took the lead to 5-0 with 48th and 59th minutes goals by Madhu.

In the second match of the day, SAI Shakti beat South Zone 9-1 in a high-scoring game. Sonkar Payal (8', 58'), Munda Bahamani (17', 32', 39'), Aradhana Rajbhar (21'), Shyamlee Ray (35'), Lakra Namrata (48') and Harshita (56') scored goals for SAI Shakti while Greeshma Ponnappa P (49') scored the lone goal for South Zone.

Meanwhile, in the 1st Hockey India Sub Junior Men Inter-Zone Championship 2024 being held in Ranchi, Jharkhand North Zone beat SAI- Academy 5-1 in the pool A match. Monu (6'), Salaria Akshit (10'), Sonu (19') gave North Zone an early 3-0 lead while Captain Rahul Yadav (33') and Sachin (34') scored to take the lead to 5-0. Eventually, Amit Dayal (51') scored the lone goal for SAI- Academy.

Earlier before the start of the tournanent, Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey lauded the initiative saying, "It is imperative to facilitate the growth of hockey players at the grassroots by giving them constant match exposure. The Junior Inter-Zonal Championships is another new initiative by Hockey India to provide an opportunity for the representatives of the Zonal Championships to continue to train together and strive to achieve greater heights."

Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh also weighed in saying, "To develop hockey across the nation we need to play hockey across the nation. The representatives from the North, South, East and West Zones will get another competition to further aid their development and the selectors will get an opportunity to get a closer look at the players, ultimately increasing the level of hockey in India. We hope to unearth exciting talent from these Inter-Zonal Championships." (ANI)