Jhansi, Oct 2026 : Hockey Haryana staged a comeback to defeat Hockey Madhya Pradesh 2-1 in the Division A final and clinch the title at the 16th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2026 in Jhansi on Wednesday. Uttar Pradesh Hockey secured third place after defeating Hockey Punjab 3-1 in the bronze-medal match.
In a closely contested final, Madhya Pradesh took the lead in the 14th minute when Mohammad Zaid Khan scored a field goal. Haryana responded in the second quarter, with Navraj Singh converting a penalty corner in the 21st minute to bring his team level.
Both sides battled hard for the decisive goal, but Haryana eventually broke the deadlock in the 50th minute. Joginder Singh converted another penalty corner to put Haryana ahead, and the team held on to secure the championship title.
Haryana had booked their place in the final after overcoming Punjab in a tense semi-final. The match ended 3-3 in regulation time before Haryana prevailed 4-2 in the shootout. Madhya Pradesh entered the final by defeating Uttar Pradesh 5-3 in the other semi-final.
Uttar Pradesh Claim Bronze
Uttar Pradesh Hockey defeated Punjab 3-1 to finish third in the tournament. Akash Pal scored two field goals in the 15th and 21st minutes, giving Uttar Pradesh a 2-0 advantage by half-time.
Punjab attempted to fight back in the third quarter when Pawandeep Singh scored a field goal in the 41st minute. However, Chandan Yadav converted a penalty corner in the 58th minute to restore Uttar Pradesh’s two-goal cushion and seal the bronze medal.
Haryana Dominate Quarter-Final
Earlier, Haryana displayed their attacking strength in the quarter-finals, defeating Hockey Chandigarh 5-1. Manjeet opened the scoring in the 20th minute before Harpal struck twice in the 26th and 28th minutes to give Haryana a commanding 3-0 lead at half-time.
Pankaj extended the advantage with a goal in the 51st minute. Chandigarh captain Singh scored his team’s only goal in the 59th minute, but Shubham struck in the final minute to complete Haryana’s emphatic victory.
Punjab Edge Maharashtra in Shootout
Punjab faced a tougher challenge against Hockey Maharashtra in their quarter-final. The teams were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation time, with Punjab taking an early lead through Ujwal Singh’s penalty stroke in the seventh minute.
Punjab maintained the advantage until the 49th minute, when Ravi Paresh Bharadia converted a penalty corner to equalise for Maharashtra.
Punjab eventually won the shootout 5-4. Gurjot Singh, Simranjot Singh, Lovenoor Singh, Dilraj Singh and captain Harjeet Singh all converted their attempts. Maharashtra scored through Dhairyashil Jadhav, Babu Venkati Metkar and Prajwal Moharkar, while Punjab goalkeeper Paras Malhotra made a crucial save against Ajinkya Jadhav in the third round.
Final Standings — Division A
Champions: Hockey Haryana
Runners-up: Hockey Madhya Pradesh
Third place: Uttar Pradesh Hockey
Haryana’s success capped a strong campaign, highlighted by their ability to recover from setbacks and deliver under pressure in the knockout stages.
