Grassroot programs very important for future of game, says Hockey India president

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India]: Ahead of the final stage of the second Khelo India Sub Junior Women’s Hockey League, Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey underlined the importance of a grassroots program for a better future of hockey.

After the successful completion of Phase 1 in December 2023 and Phase 2 in January 2024, both in New Delhi, the Final stage of the 2nd Khelo India Sub Junior Women’s Hockey League is all set to take place from Thursday to April 6 at the Padma Shri Mohammad Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Nine teams have been divided into two Pools. Pool A consists of SAI Shakti Team, Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre, Khelo India State Excellency Centre, Bilaspur, Bhai Behlo Hockey Academy, Bhagta and HAR Hockey Academy while SAI BAL team, Pritam Siwach Hockey Academy, Jai Bharat Hockey Academy and Raja Karan Hockey Academy form Pool B.

Tirkey said the 2nd Khelo India Sub Junior Women’s Hockey League will provide exposure to youngsters to get more experience and confidence.

“All the top teams are competing in this. This is a part of a grassroots program. The more exposure we give to youngsters under this, the more experience they will gain and the more confident they will become. So, the Khelo India Sub Junior Women’s Hockey League is being organised and it will be held in Lucknow. This is very important for girls at the grassroots level…Hockey India is giving a lot of importance to grassroots programs. The stronger the grassroots program of a sport is, the better the future will be…Grassroots programs are very important for the future of hockey,” Dilip Tirkey said.

The top two teams from each pool will advance to the Semi-Finals, which are scheduled for 5th April. Meanwhile, the teams finishing 3rd and 4th in their respective pools will compete in 5th/8th classification matches to determine their final positions in the tournament. Teams that lose their semi-finals will play in the 3rd/4th place play-off, while the winners will proceed to the all-important Finals scheduled for April 6.