Uttar Pradesh set to host Senior Women National Championship

A total of 28 teams will take part in the competition.

The senior women domestic hockey players are eager to show their skills in the upcoming 11th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2021 which is just one week away. The tournament is set to be held from 21 October 2021 to 30 October 2021 in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. 

The 11th Senior Women National Championship will provide a platform for the domestic players to showcase their talent and impress Hockey India’s selectors. The participating teams include Haryana, Uttarakhand, Le Puducherry Hockey in Pool A, while Pool B features Hockey Maharashtra, Goans Hockey, Hockey Bihar. Pool C features Hockey Madhya Pradesh, Hockey Gujarat, Hockey Bengal and Pool D features Odisha, Chhattisgarh Hockey, Hockey Himachal.

Pool E will include Hockey Punjab, Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Andhra Pradesh, Hockey Arunachal and Pool F will feature Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Rajasthan, Delhi Hockey, Hockey Andaman and Nicobar. Pool G will include Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Telangana Hockey, Tripura Hockey and Pool H will see Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Kerala Hockey, Assam Hockey, Hockey Jammu & Kashmir vie for the trophy in the 11th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2021.

After six days of pool matches, the quarter-finals will be played on 27 October, the semi-finals will be held on 29 October whereas the medal matches are scheduled for 30 October. 

The Government of Uttar Pradesh has left no stone unturned in its preparations to host a successful tournament and also provide a safe environment for the athletes to compete. Organising Secretary R.P. Singh said, "We are absolutely ecstatic to host the 11th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2021 here in Jhansi. There has been a tremendous increase in interest in hockey after the fantastic performances by the Indian Men's and Women's Hockey Teams in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and we are excited to host the upcoming talented hockey players in the 11th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2021." 

R.P. Singh emphasized that all safety measures will be in place for the tournament. He said, "We will be certainly adhering to guidelines by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India as well as the Government of Uttar Pradesh, apart from Hockey India SOPs. We will ensure that all procedures are followed for the hosting of a safe & successful event."

Apart from several SOPs laid out by Hockey India, each and every athlete, coaches, technical officials participating in the 11th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2021 would need to submit a negative COVID RT-PCR test report on arrival at Jhansi with the test taken within 48 hours prior to departure to Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.

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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