New Delhi, July 27 : The 15th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2025 is set to begin on July 28 at Chennai's MRK Hockey Stadium in Tamil Nadu.

The tournament will run until August 8 and will follow the newly introduced division-based format, which was first implemented earlier this year during the Senior Men and Women's National Championships and earlier this month during the Women's Sub Junior National Championship.

Like the earlier National Championships this year, the 15th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2025 features 29 teams divided into three divisions - Division A, Division B and Division C - with the aim of introducing an added competitive edge with promotion and relegation of teams at stake.

Division A of the Men's Sub Junior National Championship comprises the top 12 teams in the country and will feature defending champions Uttar Pradesh Hockey in Pool A, last year's runners-up Hockey Haryana in Pool B, and second runners-up Hockey Punjab in Pool C. Meanwhile, Division B and Division C will comprise teams that are not in the top 12 rankings, fighting to climb the ranks and make it to a higher division for next year's National Championship.

Division 'A' (Top-tier Championship Division): Teams will compete for the title, and the 11th and 12th ranked teams will be relegated to Division 'B'. Matches for Division A will start on August 1.

Teams:

Pool A: Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Madhya Pradesh, Delhi

Pool B: Hockey Haryana, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu

Pool C: Hockey Punjab, Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Karnataka

Pool D: Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Maharashtra

Each team will play round-robin matches within their pool. The top two teams from each pool will qualify for the quarterfinals (August 5), followed by the semifinals (August 6) and the final & 3rd place playoff (August 8). In Division A, if a classification match ends in a draw at the end of regulation time, a shoot-out competition - as specified in the FIH Tournament Regulations - will be conducted to determine the winners.

Division 'B' (Mid-tier Division): Only league matches will take place, with the top two ranked teams being promoted to Division 'A' and the last two ranked teams being relegated to Division 'C'. Matches for Division B will start on July 28, 2025, and conclude on August 1, 2025.

Teams:

Pool A: Hockey Arunachal, Chhattisgarh Hockey, Hockey Bengal, Hockey Gujarat, Goans Hockey

Pool B: Kerala Hockey, Manipur Hockey, Hockey Himachal, Hockey Andhra Pradesh, Telangana Hockey

Division 'C' (Entry-level Division): Only league matches will take place, with the top two ranked teams being promoted to Division 'B'. Matches for Division C will start on July 28, 2025, and conclude on July 31, 2025.

Teams:

Pool A: Rajasthan, Le Puducherry Hockey, Jammu & Kashmir

Pool B: Hockey Association of Bihar, Hockey Uttarakhand, Hockey Mizoram, Tripura

Across all three divisions, teams will earn 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss.

Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said, "We have had a very positive response to the new division-based format, which has also made the competition more interesting for domestic players. The Sub Junior Women National Championship also had a very positive response earlier this month, and we are positive we will see a similar response in the Sub Junior Men National Championship as well."

Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh echoed his sentiments, adding, "This revamped structure is getting a very positive response from all the domestic teams, and now with the added pressure to avoid relegation, teams, be it at the Senior level or at the Sub Junior level, have become more competitive during the tournament. We will continue providing this pivotal exposure to our Sub Junior teams in Chennai, and I am sure all 29 teams will have a memorable tournament."

/IANS