Lucknow: The District Football League, organized in memory of late hockey player Ravindra Pal, began on Friday at Chowk Stadium. Divine Football Club started its campaign with a winning note by defeating Techtro Football Club (B) 1-0 in the opening match.

In another match of the day, Techtro Club (A) defeated LDA Club (A) by the same 1-0 margin.
The tournament was inaugurated by Legislative Council member Avnish Kumar Singh, who interacted with the players and officially kicked off the competition. Several former international hockey players and sports personalities, including Devendra Bhandari, Rakesh Tandon, Rashid Ahmad, Devendra Singh, Paan Singh, Vijay Thapa, Jagdesh Chaitla, Mahendra Singh, Mahesh Kumar, Nikunja Sardar, and Vivek Kumar, were present at the event.
The opening match between Divine Club and Techtro Club (B) was closely contested. Both teams adopted an attacking approach from the start, trying to dominate possession in midfield and create scoring opportunities through quick passing moves. However, neither side could find the net in the early stages.
The breakthrough came in the 28th minute, when Hamza skillfully beat the opposing defender and finished brilliantly to score the only goal of the match, giving Divine Club a 1-0 lead.
Divine’s defense then stood firm, successfully stopping Techtro’s attacking efforts and preventing them from equalizing. The score remained unchanged until the final whistle, handing Divine Club a winning start to the league.
Result:
- Divine Football Club beat Techtro Football Club (B) — 1-0
- Goal Scorer: Hamza (28′)



















