Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh to lead Punjab at Hockey Senior National Championship 2023

Hosts Tamil Nadu finished runners-up last season.

The 13th Hockey Senior National Championship is set to commence on November 17th in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The tournament will witness twenty-nine teams divided into eight pools competing for a spot in the final on November 28th. Notably, the championship will be held at the same venue where the Indian Men’s Hockey Team clinched the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023 earlier this year.

Pool A will consist of defending champions Hockey Haryana, Chhattisgarh Hockey, and Hockey Gujarat. Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Hockey Himachal, and Assam Hockey are placed in Pool B. Pool C will feature Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Bihar, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Daman & Diu Hockey. Pool D comprises Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Uttarakhand, and Tripura Hockey.

Hockey Bengal, Hockey Madhya Pradesh, Hockey Jammu & Kashmir, and Manipur Hockey will battle it out in Pool E. Pool F will see Hockey Jharkhand go up against Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Andhra Pradesh, and Goans Hockey. Pool G is made up of Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Le Puducherry Hockey, Kerala Hockey, and Hockey Rajasthan. Meanwhile, Pool H will feature Delhi Hockey, the Hockey Association of Odisha, Telangana Hockey, and Hockey Arunachal.

The top team from each pool will qualify for the Quarter-Finals, and the winners will advance to the Semi-Finals scheduled for November 27th. The victorious teams from the Semi-Finals will compete in the Final on November 28th.

A total of 31 players from the National Core Group will participate in this tournament. Indian Men’s Hockey Team Captain Harmanpreet Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Shamsher Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Krishan B Pathak, Jarmanpreet Singh, Jugraj Singh, and Gurinder Singh will represent Hockey Punjab. Meanwhile, the Hockey Association of Odisha will be represented by Amit Rohidas, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Dipsan Tirkey, and Shilanand Lakra.

Uttar Pradesh Hockey will enlist the services of Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Rajkumar Pal, Pawan Rajbhar, and Prashant Kumar Chauhan. Hockey Haryana will aim to defend their title with Sumit, Sanjay, Abhishek, Mandeep Mor, Pawan Malik, Yashdeep Siwach, and Manjeet, while Vivek Sagar Prasad will compete for Hockey Madhya Pradesh.

Nilakanta Sharma will play for Manipur Hockey, Mohd Raheel Mouseen will represent Hockey Karnataka, Suraj Karkera will feature for Hockey Maharashtra, Maninder Singh will represent Hockey Chandigarh, while local player S. Karthi will lead the line for last year’s runners-up, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu.

“I am excited to return to Chennai and play hockey. The overwhelming support we received during the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023 helped us perform better, so I hope the residents of Chennai turn up in large numbers again.

The Hockey Senior National Championship is a fantastic opportunity for players on the brink of the Indian Team to interact with players from the current team and elevate the overall level of hockey. I am looking forward to a great tournament,” shared Indian Men’s Hockey Team Captain Harmanpreet Singh before the tournament.

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