30 teams to compete in Junior Men's Hockey Nationals

New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Thirty teams will compete in the 15th Hockey India Junior Men's National Championships, which will be held in the new division-based format in Jalandhar from Tuesday.

The new format has already been introduced and implemented in the senior and sub junior men's and women's and the junior women's national championships earlier this year.

The 30 participating teams are split into Division 'A', Division 'B' and Division 'C', with promotion and relegation adding an extra edge to the competition.

The teams in Division 'A' will be fighting for the title while the top two teams from Divisions 'B' and 'C' will earn promotion to the next tier.

The bottom two sides in Divisions 'A' and 'B' will face relegation to the next division for 2026.

Division 'A' features the country's 12 best junior men's sides, including defending champions Punjab, runners-up Uttar Pradesh and third-placed Haryana.

Pool matches begin on August 16, leading to the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final from August 20 to 23.

Division 'B' will feature league matches only, with the top two ranked teams being promoted to Division 'A' and the last two relegated to Division 'C'. Matches will run from August 12 to 16.

Division 'C' will also be played in a league-format with teams divided into two pools of four teams each, with the top two ranked teams being promoted to Division 'B'.

Across all three divisions, teams will earn 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.

Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey said, "Junior tournaments are extremely crucial for the future of Indian hockey." "The young players will learn a lot playing in this format as we will see a different level of competitiveness among teams across all divisions as they battle for promotion and the championship title," he added. PTI APA AH AH