Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Jharkhand and Hockey Madhya Pradesh have secured places in the semi-finals of the 16th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2026 – Division ‘A’ following Wednesday’s quarter-finals.
The last-four line-up was completed after a day featuring emphatic victories for Odisha, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, alongside a shootout win for Jharkhand. Odisha will face Punjab in the first semi-final, while Jharkhand will meet Madhya Pradesh in the second semi-final on Thursday.
Odisha and Punjab record convincing quarter-final wins
Hockey Association of Odisha defeated Hockey Haryana 5–1 in Quarter-Final 2. Mandeep Kerketta opened the scoring in the third minute before Lelsan Minz took centre stage with goals in the 15th, 20th and 46th minutes to complete a hat-trick.
Prince scored Hockey Haryana’s only goal in the 41st minute, but Odisha added a fifth at the end of the contest through captain Deepak Pradhan in the 60th minute. The result sent Odisha into the semi-finals with a five-goal performance and set up a meeting with Punjab.
Hockey Punjab booked their place with a 5–2 victory over Hockey Karnataka in the third quarter-final. Hockey Karnataka briefly had an early advantage through Kiran Reddy’s 21st-minute goal, but Punjab responded quickly.
Ajaypal Singh scored in the 22nd minute and captain Jarman Singh added another in the 24th. Kiran Reddy struck again for Karnataka in the 28th minute, but Punjab moved clear after the interval. Sunny scored in the 32nd minute, Amandeep followed in the 35th, and Gurwinder Singh completed the scoring in the 60th minute.
The Odisha-Punjab semi-final will therefore bring together two teams that each scored five times in their respective quarter-finals.
Jharkhand survive shootout as Madhya Pradesh score seven
The closest quarter-final saw Hockey Jharkhand overcome Uttar Pradesh Hockey after a 3–3 draw at the end of regulation time. Patras Hassa gave Jharkhand a 26th-minute goal, but Uttar Pradesh responded through Satyam Pandey in the 28th minute.
Triloki Venvanshi put Uttar Pradesh ahead in the 33rd minute, before Bhengra Gledshan levelled for Jharkhand in the 43rd. Venvanshi’s second goal, in the 50th minute, restored the Uttar Pradesh lead, but Nicolas Topno scored in the 60th minute to take the contest to a shootout.
Jharkhand won the shootout 4–3. Rohit Tirkey, Jolen Topno, Patras Hassa and Ankit Ekka converted their attempts, while goalkeeper Sahu Prince made crucial saves to secure the victory. Jharkhand now move on to face Madhya Pradesh.
In the first quarter-final, Hockey Madhya Pradesh defeated Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey 7–3. Rajveer Singh scored in the 19th and 23rd minutes, while Subhan Abid found the net in the 23rd and 43rd minutes. Captain Ritendra Pratap Singh also scored twice, in the 37th and 56th minutes, and Aashir Aadil Khan added a goal in the 41st minute.
Sumit Rajbhar scored in the 40th minute for Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey, with Suraj adding another in the 47th and Moohamed Jaeed scoring in the 52nd. Madhya Pradesh nevertheless progressed after the day’s highest-scoring quarter-final.
Semi-final fixtures confirmed
Thursday’s first semi-final will see Hockey Association of Odisha play Hockey Punjab. The second semi-final pairs Hockey Jharkhand with Hockey Madhya Pradesh. The four teams remain in contention for the Division ‘A’ title after producing contrasting routes through the quarter-final stage.
