Ranchi, April 1 (NationPress) On the inaugural day of the 16th Hockey India Sub Junior Women National Championship 2026, held in Ranchi, Jharkhand, teams from Delhi, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir all celebrated victories in their matches.

In Pool A of Division ‘B’, late goals from captain Dipika (59’) and Bhawna (60’) propelled Delhi Hockey to a 2-0 triumph over Hockey Bengal.

In another Pool A match, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu Hockey edged out Assam Hockey 4-3. The winning side saw contributions from Shraddha Verma (3’), Arpita Maurya (7’), Manshi Yadav (12’), and Anushka Gupta (30’), while Bhumika Devi (28’), Chayanika Kalita (35’), and Jyoshna Ekka (57’) scored for Assam.

In a Division ‘B’, Pool B match, Hockey Chandigarh secured a 2-1 victory against Hockey Karnataka thanks to goals from captain Aanchal (13’) and Kafi (60’), with Madiwalappa Basamma scoring the sole goal for Karnataka.

In another Pool B encounter, Hockey Uttarakhand triumphed over Hockey Himachal with a score of 6-3. Kareena netted a hat-trick (34’, 45’, 52’), while Devyani Joshi added two goals (25’, 32’) and Katariya Gungun contributed one (20’). Ekampreet Kaur (23’, 41’) and Shanvi Sharma (43’) were the scorers for Himachal.

In a tightly contested Division ‘C’, Pool B match, Hockey Jammu and Kashmir narrowly defeated Le Puducherry Hockey 3-2. Akshara Dutta scored twice (8’, 44’) while Mauki added another (4’). For Le Puducherry, Giraka Gnaneswari (15’) and Boya Shruthi (39’) found the net.

This championship will run until April 12, utilizing a competitive division-based format introduced by Hockey India last year.

A total of 29 teams are competing across Divisions ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’, with promotion and relegation heightening the stakes. While Division ‘A’ teams will compete for the championship, the top two teams from Divisions ‘B’ and ‘C’ will earn promotion, and the bottom two teams in Divisions ‘A’ and ‘B’ will face relegation in the next edition.

Division ‘A’ features 12 teams divided into four pools, with knockout stages set to begin on April 9 and culminating in the Final on April 12. The host team, Hockey Jharkhand, leads Pool A alongside Bihar (BSSA) and Hockey Maharashtra. Pool B includes Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Punjab, and Hockey Andhra Pradesh. In Pool C, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Madhya Pradesh, and Manipur Hockey will compete, while Pool D features Hockey Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, and Chhattisgarh Hockey.

Matches will take place at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi. Across all divisions, teams will earn 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 for a loss. In Division ‘A’, any tied knockout matches will be decided by shoot-outs according to FIH regulations.