Jhansi, April 17 (IANS) 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.”

In the final, Hockey Madhya Pradesh opened the scoring in the 28th minute, but Hockey Punjab made a strong comeback to secure a commanding 4-1 win.

Speaking about the final, Jugraj stated, “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.”

Hockey Punjab’s only loss in the tournament came in the pool stage when they went down 2-3 to Hockey Madhya Pradesh. “We were very disappointed after our loss to Hockey Madhya Pradesh because we felt we could have won. We missed a lot of scoring opportunities, and things just didn’t go our way.

“Later, we watched the match carefully and analysed our mistakes because we knew we could face them again in the tournament,” Jugraj explained.

Jugraj has been in incredible scoring form this year. He won the 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.”

–IANS

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