The stage is set for the prestigious 12th Hockey India Sub Junior Women National Championship 2022, which will begin from Wednesday, May 11 in Imphal, Manipur.
A total of 25 teams will vie for top honours in the 12-day tournament.
The participating teams are divided into eight pools. Teams in Pool A are Hockey Haryana, Hockey Bengal and Hockey Jammu & Kashmir, while Pool B features Hockey Jharkhand, Manipur Hockey and Kerala Hockey. Pool C consists of Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Chhattisgarh Hockey and Hockey Gujarat, while Pool D consists of Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Madhya Pradesh and Hockey Uttarakhand.
Delhi Hockey, Hockey Maharashtra and Assam Hockey have been slotted in Pool E, while Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Hockey Chandigarh and Hockey Arunachal have been included in Pool F. In Pool G, Hockey Punjab, Tripura Hockey and Hockey Himachal will battle it out, while in Pool H, Hockey Bihar, Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Mizoram and Telangana Hockey are grouped together.
Speaking about their chances of defending the title, Hockey Haryana's coach Azad Singh Malik said, "We have prepared well and worked really hard for the tournament. Every team comes with an expectation of winning the title, so it will be challenging but I am confident that my players will give their best to defend the Title. Haryana is known for winning such prestigious titles and we will hopefully continue this legacy."
Meanwhile, the coach of last year's runners-up team, Hockey Jharkhand, Subhila Minj, said, "These young girls have put in a lot of effort for the tournament and are really confident of doing well. There will be a good challenge in the tournament, but one thing I am confident about is that we would not return empty-handed."
Speaking about his team's preparation, Uttar Pradesh Hockey Coach Rashid Aziz Khan said, "Our preparations have been good, and players are excited to take part in the competition. I am also excited as this will be my first experience of coaching the Sub Junior team. Our first target will be to make it to the top four and then aim for a podium. We finished third last time and are certainly looking forward to doing better this year."
After seven days of pool matches, the Quarter-Finals will be played on May 19, 2022, the Semi-Finals will be held on May 21, 2022 and the Medal matches are scheduled for May 22, 2022.
( With inputs from ANI )
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