Kolkata, Dec 18 (IANS): Eight top teams, along with seven local outfits, will vie for top honours in the 122nd edition of Beighton Cup, the oldest hockey tournament of the country, starting December 23 at SAI Sports Complex here, it was announced on Monday.

The eight-day meet, which will end on December 30, will also see a few outstation teams participating in the week-long tournament including Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Army XI, South Central Railway, MHPA Bhopal, Bhubaneswar Hostel, Central Audit General and Canara Bank, besides local contenders like ERSA (Kolkata Hockey League Champion 2018), Punjab Sports Club, Police AC, SAI Training Centre, Bengal XI, Howrah Union, Entally AC and so on.

Gurbux Singh, Olympian and Arjuna Award winner, and former Indian football team defender Subrata Bhattacharya were among those present during the announcement at the Press Club here.

"The Beighton Cup is one of the oldest field hockey tournaments of the world and we are proud to host the 122nd edition of it this year. The Bengal Hockey Association is dedicated to promote hockey in Bengal. We have definite plans for uplifting the game from the grassroot level," said Swapan Banerjee, secretary, Bengal Hockey Association.

The competition, instituted in 1895, will be inaugurated on December 23.