By Harpal Singh Bedi
Hockey India on Monday announced that its domestic season will resume in October .. The season will recommence with the 1st Hockey India Sub Junior Men Academy National Championship will be held in Bhopal. from 4 October to 13 October
The 1st Hockey India Junior Men Academy National Championships will also be held in Bhopal, starting from 18 October to 27 October..
Meanwhile, the 1st Hockey India Junior Women Inter-Department National Championship scheduled for October this year will be held in New Delhi.
Three more tournaments- the 11th Junior Women National Championship (Simdega, Jharkhand) the Junior Men Championship (Telangana), and the Senior Women Nationals (Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh) are slated for October
Talking about the resumption of the National Championships, HI President Gyanendro Ningombam said, “There is a lot of euphoria following the success of Men and Women’s Teams at the Tokyo Olympics and we wanted to ensure this excitement translates into the playing field.
“With this intent, we announce the resumption of the Hockey India domestic calendar. We had to halt abruptly in March this year due to the rise in cases across the country but with things looking up on the covid front, we felt it is safe to resume under covid guidelines.”
“Hockey India has strictly instructed its state member units who are hosting these tournaments as well as participating teams to follow all the covid protocols and ensure a safe environment for the athletes to perform. I wish all the participating teams the very best in their preparations for the upcoming Championships,” Ningombam added.