Hockey Punjab crowned the champions of the prestigious 15th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2025 after defeating Hockey Madhya Pradesh 4-1 in Division ‘A’. Also, Uttar Pradesh Hockey secured the third position after winning the game 5-1 against Manipur Hockey.
Jugraj Singh (30′, 49′) scored a couple of goals displaying experience of such high octane encounters and put his team in a strong position in the final. Jaskaran Singh (38′) and Maninder Singh (46′) also scored one goal each to take the game further away from the opponent. In reply, Pratap Lakra (28′) could only score for Hockey Madhya Pradesh, ending their campaign with the silver medal.
Elated on the win, Hockey Punjab Captain Hardik Singh expressed his views, “The plan was to attack from the start and I can say the boys have executed well. Jugraj played exceptionally well. Though I still feel we have missed a couple of chances here but we are happy with the win. It’s always great to perform in domestic circuit, overall the competition was good and it feels good to be win the gold medal”, he said.
Also, in the 3rd/4th place, Uttar Pradesh Hockey defeated Manipur Hockey 5-1. Kushwaha Sourabh Anand (29′, 49′) stood out to be the top goal scorer after scoring a brace for his side. Sharda Nand Tiwari (35′), Deep Atul (48′) and Shivam Anand (60′) also scored one goal each, helping their team to secure the bronze medal. On the other hand, Moirangthem Rabichandran Singh (45′) scored the consolation goal for Manipur Hockey.
In the Quarter-Final, Hockey Punjab earned a 3-2 win over Hockey Haryana, followed by a 4-3 victory against Uttar Pradesh Hockey in the Semi-Final. Despite their earlier loss, Hockey Punjab ensured they learnt from their mistakes and defeated Hockey Madhya Pradesh comfortably in the final. Jugraj Singh was in top form for Hockey Punjab having finished the tournament as the second-highest goalscorer with five goals. Young sensation Araijeet Singh Hundal also played a crucial role in the attack and claimed three goals to his name.
An intense tournament of hockey comes to a thrilling end as Hockey Punjab are crowned champions of the 15th Senior Men’s National Championship in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) April 15, 2025
Jugraj Singh emerged as the standout performer of the final, converting two penalty corners and helping seal a… pic.twitter.com/118ZbR4uvA
Reflecting on the tournament, Hockey Punjab coach Rajinder Singh stated, “It was a very good tournament for us, and we gave a solid performance overall. The loss against Hockey Madhya Pradesh was truly a turning point for us. We knew we were a strong side but after that loss, we regrouped and ensured we didn’t take the rest of the matches lightly.”
Talking about the team’s strategy, Rajinder Singh said, “Since we didn’t have a lot of time to train together before the tournament, so I left it upon the players to naturally settle and play since we have a few national players in the squad. After the loss in the Pool stage, we changed our strategy a little and shifted from zonal-marking to man-marking which worked out better for us.”
In the final, Hockey Punjab conceded a goal first but made a brilliant comeback in the second half to seal the match. After the final, Captain Hardik Singh said, “The plan was to attack from the start and the boys executed well. Though I still feel we missed a couple of chances, we are extremely happy with the win. It’s always great to perform in the domestic circuit, overall the competition was good and it feels good to win the gold medal.”
Jugraj Singh was in top form during the 15th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2025, helping Hockey Punjab lift the coveted title. The 28-year-old drag-flicker finished as the second-highest goalscorer of the tournament with five goals to his name, including a brace against Hockey Madhya Pradesh in the final.
Reflecting on his experience in the tournament, Jugraj said, “Overall, it was a wonderful experience. We had a strong team and we were confident. In the final, we defeated a very strong team in Hockey Madhya Pradesh with a dominant scoreline, so I’m really happy with the way the team performed.”
“After we conceded the first goal, we had a very good talk in the dressing room. We discussed how we couldn’t afford to lose this match, and that more than ourselves, we were playing for Punjab. So the team was very determined in the second half, and we scored four goals.”
Jugraj has been in incredible scoring form this year. He won the Hero Hockey India League 2024/25 season with Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers, where he scored 12 goals, including a crucial hat-trick in the final. He was also one of the key players in India’s recent FIH Hockey Pro League (Men) home leg success, where the team won five out of eight matches and currently stands third in the standings.
When asked about the secret behind his excellent performances, Jugraj said, “I’ve been training very hard and working a lot on my drag-flicking. I’ve started reading the goalkeeper’s movements before striking the ball, which has really helped me because I can change the direction at the last moment. In drag-flicking, more than power, the angle of the shot is very important — so I’ve been focusing on that.”
Hockey Punjab won the tournament in 2023, however, in the last edition, they were knocked out in the Quarter-Finals by Hockey Maharashtra. This time, led by Captain Hardik Singh and Coach Rajinder Singh, Hockey Punjab have claimed the championship again.
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