Thirty-six teams in fray for hockey nationals

Bangalore, Sep 21 - In all 36 teams, including defending champions Haryana, have confirmed their participation in the second men’s senior National hockey championship commencing here Sunday under the aegis of Hockey India.

The teams have been divided into eight groups for a preliminary league at the end of which the toppers in each pool will qualify for the knock-out quarter-finals which are scheduled for Sep 30, followed by semi-finals slated for Oct 1 and the final for Oct 2.

The line-up includes five institutional teams Air India, Services, Combined Universities, Indian Railways and the Delhi-based Sashastra Seema Bal.

The matches will be played at two astro-turf venues, the hockey stadium in the city and the nearby MEG grounds, according to Hockey Karnataka secretary and former India goalkeeper AB Subbaiah, who briefed the media here Friday.

While Tamil Nadu’s Mohammedd Muneer is the tournament director, Hockey India’s selectors B.P. Govinda, Balbir Singh and Syed Ali besides government nominees Harbinder Singh and Dilip Tirkey will be attending the event.

The tournament is being supported by the government of Karnataka in association with Cafe Coffee Day, Namma Metro and Micro Labs.

The groups:

Group A:Haryana, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Bengal, Hockey Bhopal

Group B:Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram

Group C:Punjab, Services, J&K, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh

Group D:Jharkhand, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Sashastra Seema Bal

Group E:Air India, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Nagaland

Group F:Indian Railways, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tripura

Group G:Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat

Group H:Bihar, Combined Universities, Manipur, Andaman & Nicobar.