New Delhi, Jul 13 (IANS): The 2nd Hockey India junior men & women east zone championship 2024 is all set to kick off at the Netaji Subhas Eastern Centre, Salt Lake in Kolkata from July 14.

Out of six men’s and women’s teams, two teams with the most points in each category after round robin matches will advance to the finals on July 21.

The member units participating are Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Bihar, Hockey Bengal, Assam Hockey, and Manipur Hockey.

Manipur Hockey and Hockey Jharkhand will get the National Championship underway in the women’s category in Kolkata, followed by matches between Assam Hockey and Hockey Association of Odisha & Hockey Bengal and Hockey Bihar.

In the men’s category, Hockey Jharkhand will face Manipur Hockey, before a clash between Hockey Association of Odisha and Assam Hockey, and the last match of the day will see Hockey Bihar play against Hockey Bengal.

“Kolkata has a deep history of hockey, and we are happy that the 2nd Hockey India Junior Men & Women East Zone Championship will showcase the brightest talents starting on Sunday,” said Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey. “We look forward to seeing some scintillating matches and the emergence of skillful players from this zone,” he added.

Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh added, “It is imperative that youngsters receive constant exposure to aid their development in the early stages of their careers. The Junior Zonal National Championships are designed to test the limits of Junior players who aim to one day play for India, and we hope to unearth young talent from these competitions.”