New Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS): Hockey India, continuing in its effort to get new members on their board and in the process of reaching out to new talent at the grassroots level, has announced Khalsa Hockey Academy (Amritsar), RoundGlass Punjab Hockey Club, Adyar Hockey Academy, Surjit Hockey Academy Jalandar and S.G.P.C Hockey Academy, as new members.

The Khalsa Hockey Academy (Amritsar), which has been founded by Khalsa College Charitable Society, is sponsored by Khelo India & Khalsa Charitable Society, while RoundGlass Punjab Hockey Club Academy, Mohali, which has been created by Gurpreet Singh & Sarpal Singh, is sponsored by RoundGlass Sports Private Ltd and the S.G.P.C Hockey Academy, which has been founded by Secretary S.G.P.C Amritsar -- S. Tejinder Singh Padda, is sponsored by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar.

The Adyar Hockey Academy (founded by B Arun Kumar) and Surjit Hockey Academy, Jalandar (founded by Iqbal Singh Sandhu) are funded on their own.

"We are sure that our association with all the five academies will help India unearth more hockey talent in the upcoming years," Hockey India president Gyanendro Ningombam said.

"All the five academies, being inducted as new academy members, have always aimed to create an environment in which the pursuit of excellence in hockey can be achieved by anyone, The academies have put a lot of emphasis on social inclusion and the personal development of hockey players beyond the sporting environment as well," Hockey India stated in a media release.

With the inclusion of new members, Hockey India currently has 22 permanent members, 36 associate members, 39 academy members and 2 hoc-key members.