28th Sr National Handball for women begins tomorrow

Kolkata, Dec 31 (UNI) Over 500 players from 28 state and institutions, including defending champions Railways and runners-up Kerala, have confirmed their participation in the 35th Senior National Handball Championship for Women beginning at St Thomas's Girls School complex here from tomorrow.

Lok Sabha member and chairman of the organising committee Laksman Seth told a newsconference today that the six-day championship will be played on league-cum-knockout format. The preliminary league stage will have four groups dividing the 28 teams and there will be total 84 pool matches. The top two teams from each will progress to the quarterfinals, which will start off the knockout stage. The quarter finals will be played on Janaury 4 and the seminfals on January 5.

The final on January 6 This is for the first time that West Bengal State handball Association is organising this national event.

Besides Railways and Kerala, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Maharastra, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Asom, Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondichery, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and host Bengal.

UNI