Pune: Asmita Hockey State League to feature 16 districts
Pune, 28th February 2025: Sixteen teams will vie for the top-spot in the inaugural Asmita Hockey State League which kicks off at the Maj Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium, Nehrunagar-Pimpri.
The tournament will be played in two categories, the sub-juniors and juniors and will begin on 1st March 2025 with a ‘special exhibition match’ and the launch of the trophies planned on Saturday.
The tournament is being held under the aegis of Hockey India, Sports Authority of India and Hockey Maharashtra. Competition will be held for teams between 8 districts in the junior girls category and 8 districts in the sub-junior girls category. The preparations for the event are being finalized by the organizers.
The teams in each category will engage in a round robin league initially. The top two from each category will play in the knock-out semifinal round followed by the finals. The tournament proper will begin on 7th March and end on 14th March.
Both winners – sub junior and juniors – will be given cash awards for their respective efforts in the competition.
Abhinav Sharma, Deputy Director Sports Authority of India (Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, MYAS, Government of India), SFW, explained; “ The Asmita Women’s League is a program under Khelo India to promote sports among women in India.
“In association with Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Hockey India, the league aims to to increase the participation of women in Sports by organising various leagues, to utilise the leagues as a platform for identification of new talents, evaluation of existing Khelo India athletes and to provide competition exposure to women athletes of different age categories across the Country.”
The Asmita Hockey State League will get under way with an exhibition match between ex Olympians and international players from the State playing against school girls, which will be followed by the unveiling of the Asmita Trophies on Saturday.
THE TEAMS/ GROUPS
Sub Juniors:
Pool-A: Chandrapur, Nagpur, Yavatmal and Pune.
Pool-B: Gondia, Raigad, Thane and Mumbai City.
Juniors:
Pool-A: Aurangabad, Mumbai Suburb, Nashik and Satara.
Pool-B: Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Sangli and Pune.
