The Khelo India Women’s Hockey League 22 (Under-16) matches will commence on Tuesday (August 16) at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi. The League will see 16 teams divided into Pool A and Pool B vie for top honors. This will be the first phase of the League which will go on till August 23 with each winning team being awarded three points and one point for each team in the event of a draw. Grouped in Pool A are, Sports Authority of India ‘A’, Bhai Behlo Hockey Academy Bhagat, Ghumanhera Riser’s Academy, Citizen Hockey XI, Smart Hockey Academy Raipur, Pritam Siwach Hockey Academy Sonepat, Mumbai School Sports Association, and Sports Hostel Bhubaneswar. In Pool B are Sports Authority of India ‘B’, Anantapur Hockey Academy, HAR Hockey Academy, Delhi Hockey, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy, Odisha Naval TATA Hockey High-Performance Centre, Salute Hockey Academy, and Sports Authority of Gujarat Academy. Talking about the importance of a League for Under-16 age category, Ranjen Ekka, the team manager of Sports Hostel, Bhubaneswar said,
“This is a great initiative by the Government of India and SAI. Getting the right amount of exposure is critical for budding players in this age group category and an exclusive league for Under-16 girls will definitely motivate academies also to develop more players at the grassroots level.
