Maharashtra face Varsities in opener of National Hockey

Chandigarh, Oct 16 (UNI) Maharashtra will meet Universities XI in the opening Pool A fixture of the Dainik Bhaskar-Tracer 62nd Senior National Hockey Championship for the Rangaswamy Cup at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar on October 20.

Hosts Punjab will begin their campaign with a match against Chhattisgarh in Pool A at Jalandhar on the same day. Jalandhar will host five matches on day one and remaining 10 matches on the same day will be played at Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) Amristar; Bhaini Sahib and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana.

As many as 68 matches will be played in the initial league phase from October 20 to 25. Thirty seven affiliated states and Union Territories have staked their claims for the top honours.

The teams have been divided into eight pools and winners of each pool will qualify for the quarter-final knockout phase, according to the tournament organising secretary H S Dhillon.

Eight teams will qualify for the Super League. The Super League will be played from October 28 to 31.

Fourteen Associate Member teams, divided into four pools, will play in the league phase in New Delhi from October 20 to 24. The winners of each pool will join eight teams in the Super League.

After a day's rest on November 1, the semi-final matches will be played at Jalandhar on November 2. On the final day (November 3) the third and fourth places matches and final will be contested.

Mr Dhillon ruled out posting of the third umpire in the 62nd Nationals. Qualified umpires will be deputed to conduct the matches, he added.

The Indian selectors will be watching the performance of the players. The Indian team for Doha Asiad will be announced after the Nationals which is being conducted in Punjab after a gap of 25 years.

Following is the schedule for league phase fixtures: October 20: At Jalandhar: Maharashtra vs Universities (Pool A); Karnataka vs MP (C); Vidharbha vs Mumbai (C); Punjab vs Chattisgarh (A). At Amritsar: Railways vs Pondicherry (B); Chandigarh vs Uttranchal (D); Madhya Bharat vs Hyderabad (D).

At Bhaini Sahib: Himachal vs Jharkhand (E); Indian Airlines vs Nagaland (E): Tripura vs Delhi (G); Uttar Pradesh vs Jammu and Kashmir (G).

At Ludhiana: Tamil Nadu vs Gujarat (E): Bhopal vs Bengal (E); Kerala vs Haryana (H); Services vs Mizoram (H).

October 21: At Jalandhar: Maharashtra vs Chattisgarh (A); Karnataka vs Vidharbha (C): Mumbai vs Manipur (C); Punjab vs Bihar (A).

At Amritsar: Chandigarh vs Bihar (D); Uttranchal vs Orissa (D); Patiala vs AP (B); Railways vs Assam (B).

At Bhaini Sahib: Jharkhand vs Rajasthan (E): Himachal Pradesh vs Nagaland (E); Uttar Pradesh vs Tripura (G); Delhi vs Jammu and Kashmir(G).

At Ludhiana: Haryana vs Mizoram (H); Services vs Kerala (H); Bengal vs Gujarat (F); Tamil Nadu vs Bhopal (F).

October 22: At Amritsar: Patiala vs Pondicherry (B); Hyderabad vs Orissa (D).

At Jalandhar: Mumbai vs Madhya Pradesh (C), Universities vs Bihar (A).

At Bhaini Sahib: IA vs Rajasthan (E).

October 23: At Jalandhar: MP vs Vidharbha (C); Bihar vs Maharashtra (A); Karnataka vs Manipur (C); Punjab vs Universities (A).

At Amritsar: Assam vs Pondicherry (B); Railways vs AP (B); Orissa vs Madhya Bharat (D); Hyderabad vs Uttranchal (D).

At Bhaini Sahib: IA vs HP (E); Rajasthan vs Nagaland (E); Jammu and Kashmir vs Tripura (G); Delhi vs UP (G).

At Ludhiana: Mirozam vs Kerala (H); Services vs Haryana (H); Gujarat vs Bhopal (F); Tamil Nadu vs Bengal (F).

October 24: At Jalandhar: Chattisgarh vs Universities (A); Punjab vs Maharashtra (A); Manipur vs Vidharbha (C); Karnataka vs Mumbai (C).

At Amritsar: AP vs Assam (B); Railways vs Patiala (B); Madhya Bharat vs Uttranchal (D); Chandigarh vs Hyderabad (D).

At Bhaini Sahib: Jharkhand vs Nagaland (E).

October 25: At Jalandhar: Manipur vs MP (C), Bhiar vs Chattisarh (A).

At Amritsar: AP vs Pondicherry (B); Assam vs Patiala (B); Chandigarh vs Orissa (D).

At Bhaini Sahib: Rajasthan vs HP (E); IA vs Jharkhand (E).

Knockout matches (QF) At Jalandhar: October 26: Winners A vs Runners-up C (A1); Winners C vs runners-up A (B1).

At Amritsar: Winners B vs Runners-up D (C1); Winners D vs Runners-up B (D1).

At Bhaini Sahib: Winners E vs Runners-up G (E1); Winners G vs Runners-up E (F1).

At Ludhiana: Winners F vs Runners-up H (G1); Winners H vs Runners-up F (H1).

Super League from October 28 to 31 at Jalandhar Groupings: Pool A: A1, E1, Associate Members.

Pool B: C1, G1, AM.

Pool C: B1, F1, AM.

Pool D: D1, H1, AM.

(14 Associate Members teams will compete in qualifying matches to be played from October 20 to 24 in New Delhi. The winners of each pool will qualify for Super League).

November 2: Semi-finals (1 p.m. and 3 p.m.).

November 3: Third and fourth places (1 p.m.) and final (3 p.m.).

UNI