Pune, Mar 9 (IANS): Pune is all set to host the famed SNBP 28th Nehru All-India Universities Hockey Tournament (inter-zonal finals) at the Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium, Nehrunagar, Pimpri from Wednesday 9th March 2022.

The 11-day tournament is being conducted in collaboration with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), under the aegis of Hockey India and title-sponsored by the SNBP Group of Institutes.

The final has been scheduled for Saturday, March 19.

The high point of the tournament will be the fact that the top eight finishers (quarter-finalists) will qualify for the Khelo India University Games 2022, to be held in Bengaluru.

In all 16 universities, comprising of the top-four finishers from the Intra Zonals (North, South, East and West) are set to challenge each other in a league-cum knock-out format in the finals at Pune.

The intra-zonal qualifiers include Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; Punjabi University, Patiala; Kurukshetra University and Lovely Professional University, Phagwara (North Zone); Bangalore City University, Bangalore University, SRM University Chennai and Manonmaniium Sundarnar University, Tirunelveli (South Zone); MG Kashi Vidyapeeth, Sambalpur University, VBSP University, Jaunpur and Banaras Hindu University (East Zone).

West Zone will be represented by Savitribai Phule Pune University, LNCT University, Gwalior, University of Mumbai and Parul University, Vadodara.

The tournament, for the fifth year, is being sponsored by the SNBP Group of Institutes.