LUCKNOW, Oct. 16 -- Hosts and former runners-up Uttar Pradesh made a commanding start to their campaign at the 16th Hockey India Senior Men's National Championship, thrashing Chandigarh 5-0 in their opening Group C league match in Jhansi on Thursday. Playing at home, the hosts combined sharp penalty-corner conversion with clinical field goals to take early control of the pool. Uttar Pradesh set the tone early through Sharda Nand Tiwari, who converted a penalty corner in the ninth minute to make it 1-0. The goal settled the home side and forced Chandigarh onto the back foot, with UP increasingly able to press high and create openings in the attacking circle. Ajeet Yadav then took the match away from Chandigarh with a devastating spell of three field goals. He struck in the 37th, 42nd and 56th minutes, completing a hat-trick that turned a one-goal lead into a comfortable advantage. His movement and finishing repeatedly exposed gaps in the Chandigarh defence, and each goal came from open play rather than set pieces. Mohammad Haris added the final touch in the 60th minute, converting another penalty corner to seal the 5-0 result. The late goal underlined UP's efficiency: two of their five goals came from penalty corners, while the other three were scored from field play. The result gives Uttar Pradesh three points and a strong goal-difference advantage in Group C, which also includes Karnataka. The tournament format sends the top two teams from each pool into the quarter-finals, scheduled for October 18, making a winning start especially valuable. UP entered the championship with clear motivation. They finished third at the 2025 edition in Jhansi, beating Manipur 5-1 in the bronze-medal match, and are chasing a first senior national men's title. The home venue-Jhansi, the birthplace of hockey legend Dhyan Chand-adds emotional weight to their campaign. The margin was emphatic, but UP will face a tougher examination against Karnataka on Friday. Chandigarh had earlier beaten Karnataka 3-0 in Pool C, suggesting the group could be tightly contested and that goal difference may matter if sides finish level on points. The four-day Elite Group B match of the Col CK Nayudu Trophy (Under-23) between hosts Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra ended in a tame draw after rain prevented a single ball from being bowled on the final day at Meerut on Thursday. Uttar Pradesh were 245 for 6 in reply to Maharashtra's first-innings total of 372 at the end of Day 3 play on Wednesday. Maharashtra collected seven points from the match, while Uttar Pradesh took five. Uttar Pradesh will now travel to Lucknow for their next league fixture against Andhra, beginning October 19....