The Karnataka State Police will host the 70th All India Police Hockey Championships which gets underway at the Field Marshal KM Cariappa Hockey Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.
A total of 30 teams including six women's teams will vie for top honours in the tournament which was previously won by Central Reserve Police Force. Border Security Force had finished runners-up and Odisha Police finished third.
At the event's logo launch on Wednesday, Praveen Sood, IPS, Director General and Inspector General of Police, Karnataka State expressed his best wishes to all the participating teams and emphasized the need to back sportsmen as they aspire to bring laurels to the country and their respective states.
"This is a landmark year to host the 70th All India Police Hockey Championships here in Bengaluru. After many decades, the Indian Men's Hockey Team won the Bronze Medal in Tokyo," said Praveen Sood who is also leading the organising committee of the 70th All India Police Hockey Championships as the chairman.
"They have brought immense pride to the nation and even the Indian Women's Team ensured a historic result at the Olympics. Seeing this incredible result, we decided that we must have women participate in the tournament and I am delighted to note that six women's teams have entered this tournament," he added.
In the men's category, CRPF Delhi is grouped with Madhya Pradesh and Chandigarh in Pool A, while BSF Jalandhar, Uttarakhand and Punjab are grouped in Pool B. Odisha Police, SSB and Gujarat are in pool C.
Haryana Police, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh are grouped in Pool D while Chhattisgarh, Puducherry and Jharkhand are in Pool E. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Manipur are in Pool F. CISF, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir are in Pool G while Pool H features ITBP, Rajasthan and Kerala
In the women's category, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and CRPF are grouped in Pool A while Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and SSB are in Pool B.
The tournament also features some of the top international hockey players including India's star striker Ramandeep Singh and Baljit Singh among others turning up for their respective teams.
In the past, hosts Karnataka State Police have clinched bronze medal in the 53th edition of the All India Police Hockey Championship in 2004 and won a bronze medal in the 63rd All India Police Hockey Championship in 2013. They will be looking to better their performance in front of the home crowd this year.
( With inputs from ANI )
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