Punjab and Sind Bank thrashed ITBP 7-1 in a Pool I match of the 61st National Hockey Championship in New Delhi on Sunday.
Mandeep Singh, Kulvinder Singh and Naginderjit Singh scored a brace each for PSB at the National Stadium in New Delhi. Davinder Singh scored the other goal for the winners. ITBP's consolation goal came through Mahipal Singh.
In another match of the first stage of the senior nationals, Indian Oil overcame CRPF 4-3 in Pool II.
Inderjeet Singh slammed home twice to play an important role in Indian Oil's win. Prabhjot Singh and Bikramjeet Singh also scored for them.
Jolen Topno, Mukesh Kumar and Rajesh Kumar were the scorers for CRPF.
In the first stage, 16 associate members of the Indian Hockey Federation have been divided in four groups. The four pool leaders would qualify for the super league stage of the 16-team national championship, to be held in Hyderabad from March 25 to 30.
The second stage of the competition, to be held from March 17 to 24, would see state teams vying for spots in the super league stage.