Hosts Karnataka stayed right on course for a quarter-final berth recording their third straight victory in the ongoing 2nd Hockey India senior national hockey championships here.
The Karnataka -Delhi Pool B clash was postponed due to rain last evening and was gone through in the morning.
The rain continued but fortunately it wasn’t so heavy in terms of goals as Karnataka scored nine goals against Delhi. Pundalik Bellary opened the scoring in the 24th minute pushing home from close quarters while drag-flicker VR Raghunath struck three minutes later converting a penalty corner.
Karnataka pieced together some well orchestrated moves and score three more field goals as the Delhi defence found it tough to contain them. Vikramkanth, MK Mudappa and Shankar Patil sounded the boards once each to complete the first half score..
After the restart, PL Thimmanna, SK Uthappa, Nikin and Nitin Thimmaiah scored a goal each for the final tally.
Jharkhand trounced Goa 15-0 in Pool D with Diwakar Ram hammering home seven goals to lead the scoring. Ajitesh Roy scored twice while Wilson Minz, Anil Xaxa, Banmali Xess, Birendra Lakra, Shashi Topno and John Minz added a goal each.
Irfan Ali and Merajuddin scored a goal each as Bhopal beat Bengal 2-0 in Pool A. Bihar defeated Andaman & Nicobar 6-1 in Pool H as Riazuddin (2), Niraj Tigga (2), Gabrieal Herenj and Anup Topno scored while S Rajan reduced the margin.
Indian Railways and Manipur entered the quarter-finals with hard-fought wins. Railways overcame Uttar Pradesh 3-1 to top Pool F with an unbeaten record. Manipur prevailed over Combined Universities 4-3 in Pool H for their third win and a place in the last eight.
Jayantakumar Meitel and Gangamba scored two goals apiece while the Universities replied through Barkat Singh (2) and Hansraj.
Manipur stepped up the pressure with Gangamba giving them the lead after the restart but Barkat put Universities back on par. Meitel then struck the winner in the 55th minute and Manipur hung on.
Railways found their heroes in Sanjay Bir Singh (2) and Victo Singh while Chandan Singh scored for UP.