Kathmandu: Tribhuvan Army Club were off to a flying start in the National Hockey Tournament on Wednesday securing victories in both men’s and women’s categories in the opening day at the Chyasal Football Ground in Lalitpur.

In the men’s category,  Army sealed a comfortable 3–0 win over Gandaki Province in Group ‘A’ match. Pradeep Rajbanshi, Kashiraj Rai, and Dev Singh Dhami were on target for the departmental giants. Roshan Chaudhary of the winning team was named player-of-the-match for his outstanding performance. Group ‘A’ also features Madhesh and Koshi Provinces.

In the group ‘B’ match Nepal Police Club made a statement of their intent thrashing Karnali Province 9–0. Ayush Shah and Suresh Prasad Joshi netted two goals apiece while Shankar Ghartimagar, Navaraj Khatri, Suraj Bohara, Kashiram Khatri, and Amit Ojha chipped in with one goal each. Ayush was declared the player-of-the-match.

Nepal APF Club, a debutant team in national-level hockey, and Bagmati Province are other teams of the group.

The women’s event saw Army thump Madhesh Province 7–0 in a one sided affair. Seema Khadka and Kamala Chand both completed hat-tricks with Nilima Pandey added another. Despite playing for the Police Club, Kamala Chand was astonishingly named player-of-the-match.

Altogether four teams including Army, Gandaki, Madhesh, and Bagmati are competing in the women’s event being played on a round-robin format. The top two sides at the end of the group stage will vie for the title.

National Sports Council vice president Dhruba Acharya and Nepal Hockey Association general secretary Subarna Shrestha among others attended the inaugural ceremony.

The event is organised by Nepal Hockey Association.