HYDERABAD: The 6th Hockey India Senior Men Inter-Department National Championship 2026 got underway on Friday in Hyderabad with eight fixtures across Pools A, B, C and D throwing up a mix of one-sided contests and closely fought battles on the opening day.
Team Sports Authority of India (SAI) put up the day's most emphatic performance, thrashing Defence Accounts Sports Control Board 20-1 in a Pool B fixture that saw the floodgates open from the first quarter itself. Nitesh Sharma was the standout performer with a five-goal haul, while Akash Pal struck a hat-trick. In the other Pool B tie, Comptroller & Auditor General of India got their campaign off to a winning start, edging past Central Reserve Police Force 4-1. Thrishul Ganapathi H struck twice, with skipper Parmod and Tiras K also among the scorers.
In Pool A, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board register a comfortable 7-1 win over Sashastra Seema Bal, with Gurjot Singh and Kumar Varun both scoring braces. Central Secretariat kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over I.T.B.P. Central Hockey Team, with Bharath Mahalingappa Kurtakoti and Lakra Paulus sharing the goals between them.
In Pool C, Services came out on top of a high-scoring affair, defeating Steel Plant Sports Board 6-3. Selvaraj K was among the goals along with Ritendra Pratap Singh, Yogesh Singh, Atish Dodrai, Akshay Dubey and Amrit Tirkey, as Services held their nerve. All India Police Sports Control Board also picked up three points, beating Union Bank of India 3-1.
Pool D produced two comprehensive wins to round off the opening day. FCI blanked Tamil Nadu 7-0, with Ritik Kujur among the multiple scorers as FCI dominated from start to finish. Railways beat Canara Bank 5-1.
