Sub-junior National Hockey C'ship 'B' division to start tomorrow

A total of 21 teams will vie for top honours at the Hockey India 8th Sub Junior National Hockey Championship 2018 (Men) 'B' Division which will be held from January 5 to 14 at the Hojai Sports Stadium in Assam.

The participating teams are divided into four pools which will see Hockey Rajasthan, The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd, Hockey Madhya Pradesh, Telangana Hockey and Goans Hockeyfeature in Pool A.

Bengal Hockey Association, Hockey Him, Bengaluru Hockey Association, Kerala Hockey, Hockey Puducherry are grouped in Pool B while Hockey Coorg, Citizen Hockey XI, Hockey Madhya Bharat, Assam Hockey, Vidarbha Hockey Association are grouped in Pool C.

Pool D will feature Hockey Mizoram, Sports Authority of Gujarat - Hockey Academy, Hockey Uttrakhand, Hockey Himachal, Hockey Jammu and Kashmir and Hockey Gujarat.

It will be a tight contest as teams who finish at the top of the pool table will play the semi-finals on January 13.

Last year, Namdhari XI had defeated Mumbai Schools Sports Association in the final to win the title and get elevated to A Division.

Wishing the participating teams the best, Mohd Mustaque Ahmed, Secretary General, Hockey India said, "The National Championships form the base for future probables of the national program for sub-junior, junior and senior categories. This tournament will see budding talent from across the country and I am confident we will be able to unearth good talent from this tournament. I wish all the players and their coaching staff the very best.