New Delhi, 4th May 2023: The stage is set for aspiring young hockey players across India to compete in the prestigious 13th Hockey India Sub Junior Women National Championship 2023 which is set to begin in Rourkela, Odisha on Thursday, 4th May 2023. A total of 28 teams will vie for top honours in the 11-day tournament with the final of the competition to be played on May 14, 2023. All the matches will be played at the world-class Birsa Munda Hockey stadium.
The participating teams are divided into eight pools. Teams in Pool A are Hockey Haryana, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and Tripura Hockey, while Pool B features Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Bengal, and Hockey Uttrakhand. Pool C consists of Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Chhattisgarh Hockey, and Delhi Hockey, while Pool D consists of Hockey Madhya Pradesh, Assam Hockey, and Hockey Himachal.
Hockey Mizoram, Hockey Association of Odisha, Kerala Hockey, and Hockey Rajasthan have been slotted in Pool E, while Hockey Punjab, Manipur Hockey, Gujarat Hockey, and Hockey Andhra Pradesh have been included in Pool F. In Pool G, Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Bihar, Telangana Hockey, and Goans Hockey are grouped together, while in Pool H, Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Karnataka, Le Puducherry Hockey, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey will battle it out.
Notably, after seven days of pool matches, the Quarter-Finals will take place on 11 May 2023, while the Semi-Finals will be played on 13 May 2023. The Medal matches are scheduled for 14 May 2022.
Hockey Odisha squad:
Goalkeeper: Amisha Kullu (Captain) and Pabitra Hodam
Deep defender: Sushmita DungDung, Neharika Toppo and Sonali Ekka
Flank defender: Sanadam Babyrani Devi, Nisha Dadel and Puja Majhi
Defensive midfielder: Drupati Naik, Premsila Bage and Amisha Ekka
Attacking midfielder: Janhabi Bada and Tanuja Toppo (Vice-Captain)
Left striker: Deepika Barwa
Centre striker: Karuna Minz and Jyoti Xaxa
Right striker: Binati Minz and Doli Bhoi
