Lucknow will host the Men’s category matches while the Women’s matches will be held in Ranchi ~
New Delhi: The 1st Hockey India Junior Men & Women Inter-Zone Championships 2024 will begin tomorrow with the Men’s category being held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and the Women’s category in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Representatives from North, South, East and West Zones of the 2nd Hockey India Junior Men & Women Zonal Championships 2024 will compete with SAI teams to claim the title.
The Men’s category, at the Padma Shri Mohammad Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium in Lucknow, will see North Zone, West Zone and SAI Bal battle it out in Pool A while Pool B consists of South Zone, East Zone, and SAI Shakti. Meanwhile, the Women’s category, at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astro Turf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, will have North Zone, East Zone, and SAI Shakti placed in Pool A while Pool B will be made up of South Zone, West Zone, SAI Bal, and Academy.
The top two teams from each Pool will advance to the Semi Final, slated for 6th September and the Final will be played on 7th September.
Hockey India President Dr. Dilip Tirkey lauded the initiative saying, “It is imperative to facilitate the growth of hockey players at the grassroots by giving them constant match exposure. The Junior Inter-Zonal Championships is another new initiative by Hockey India to provide an opportunity for the representatives of the Zonal Championships to continue to train together and strive to achieve greater heights.”
Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh also weighed in saying, “To develop hockey across the nation we need to play hockey across the nation. The representatives from the North, South, East and West Zones will get another competition to further aid their development and the selectors will get an opportunity to get a closer look at the players, ultimately increasing the level of hockey in India. We hope to unearth exciting talent from these Inter-Zonal Championships.”
