Inter-Departmental National Championship to begin in Kolkata

A total of 10 teams will vie for top honours in the tournament

The wait for top Institutions and Public Sector Units (PSUs) to vie for supremacy is nearly over with just one week left before the start of the 1st Hockey India Senior Women Inter-Departmental National Championship 2021. The tournament will begin in Kolkata on 23rd October 2021 and the final encounter for the title will be held on 31st October 2021. 

A total of 10 teams, with over 180 players as well as coaching and support staff, will arrive in Kolkata this week for the prestigious annual championship. This coveted tournament is a result of Hockey India's vision to maximise athlete participation and develop the game in states, union territories, institutional units and academies. 

The teams that will fight for top honours include Sports Authority of India, Steel Plants Sports Board, UCO Bank Women's Hockey Academy, Defence Accounts Sports Control Board, Railway Sports Promotion Board featuring in Pool A while Central Reserve Police Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Association of Indian Universities, Central Civil Services Cultural and Sports Board and Tamil Nadu Police will feature in Pool B. After six days of pool matches, the semi-finals will be played on 30th October, and the medal matches are scheduled for 31st October. 

The Organising Secretary of the championship Istiyak Ali said, “It is a great initiative by Hockey India to introduce an exclusive annual tournament for Institutions and PSUs and we are delighted to be hosting the first edition of the tournament here in Kolkata. With the Indian Men and Women's Hockey Teams doing really well in the Olympics, there is a lot of interest for hockey and we are hoping to inspire more youngsters from this region to take up the sport at a professional level." 

He further emphasized that all safety measures will be in place for the tournament. "Apart from Hockey India SOPs, we will be adhering to guidelines by the Ministry of Home Affairs as well as the Government of West Bengal. We look forward to hosting a successful event," he said.

Apart from several SOPs laid out by Hockey India,  each and every athlete, coaches, technical officials participating in the 1st Hockey India Senior Women Inter-Departmental National Championship 2021 would need to submit a negative COVID RT-PCR test report on arrival at Kolkata with the test taken within 48 hours prior to departure to Kolkata, West Bengal.

Further to this, all athletes and officials need to have the Aarogya Setu app on their devices. They must also follow physical distancing measures at all locations, except athletes on the field. A Covid-19 task force will also be constituted by the organising committee to ensure the implementation of the protocols issued by the MHA and the respective state government. 

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