The 16th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2026 got off to a high-scoring start in Jhansi on 10 October 2026, with Hockey Association of Odisha delivering the day's most emphatic result — an 18-1 demolition of Hockey Uttarakhand in a Division 'B' Pool A clash. Across all three divisions, teams from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir recorded commanding victories, while Arunachal and Rajasthan edged through tighter contests on a goal-filled opening day.

Division B: Odisha and Chhattisgarh storm through Pool A

Aryan Xess and Sudeep Chirmako each scored four goals as Odisha overwhelmed Uttarakhand with clinical efficiency. Xess netted in both the 3rd and 4th quarters, while Akash Soreng, Ajay Ekka, Anmol Ekka, and Deepak Minz chipped in with two goals apiece. Rohit Kullu, Ritik Lakra, and Prasant Barla also got on the scoresheet. Vishal Kumar scored Uttarakhand's sole consolation in the 34th minute.

In the same pool, Chhattisgarh recorded an 8-0 win over Assam, scoring in every quarter except the first. Vishnu Yadav opened the account in the 4th minute, and doubles from Sandeep Kumar (27', 40'), Tarun Yadav (32', 46'), and Sonu Nishad (57', 60') sealed the rout. Karan Kumar Sahu also scored as Assam failed to register a single goal.

Division B Pool B: Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Arunachal advance

Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey defeated Goa 5-1, with Nagendra Kumar (5', 36') and Kushal Bopaiah (11') providing an early platform. Sunil Yadav (31') and Mohd Idris (48') extended the advantage, with Hari Rama (26') scoring Goa's only reply.

Arunachal came from behind to beat Telangana 5-2 in a competitive encounter. Goals from Jay Prakash Patel (20'), Premdayal Giri (33'), Ujjwal (35'), Patcha Tharun Kumar (36'), and Abhinav Singh (55') saw Arunachal through. Telangana's goals came from Mohd Affan Khan (6') and R Aiyappa (41').

Division C: Andhra Pradesh and J&K dominate; Rajasthan edge Bihar

In Division 'C' Pool B, Andhra Pradesh put eight past Gujarat without reply. Hemanth Kumar Dodium Subramanyam led the way with a hat-trick (26', 39', 49'), supported by a brace from Nadiminti Akhil (43', 46') and individual goals from Metta Sai Kumar (15'), Lekkala Hitesh Rao (31'), Manchala Bhanuprakash Reddy (41'), and Shaik Mohammad Rafi (28').

The day's closest match in Division 'C' saw Hockey Rajasthan beat Bihar (BSSA) 3-2 in a spirited contest. Captain Manish Choudhary proved the difference, scoring late goals in the 52nd and 58th minutes after Ankit Rawat (32') and Anurag Suthar (48') had scored. Jony Kumar (34') and Md Sidik (54') replied for Bihar in an absorbing finish.

In Division 'C' Pool A, Hockey Jammu & Kashmir delivered the day's highest-scoring match in that division, defeating Hockey Himachal 6-3. Gagandeep Singh scored a hat-trick (11', 30', 30'), and captain Karanjit Singh (43', 52'), Kirandeep Singh (51'), and Manpreet Singh (37') also scored. For Himachal, Piyush (4', 46'), Raj (30'), and Hardeep Singh (54') got on the scoresheet.

What to watch next

With the round-robin pool stage underway across Divisions B and C, the stronger sides will be expected to build on their opening-day margins while tighter contests will sort out the contenders in the middle of the standings. The championship in Jhansi continues in the coming days with further pool matches before the knockout rounds.