MARGAO
Goans Hockey sub-junior will open their campaign in the Hockey India Sub-junior national championship with a match against Dadra & Nagar Haveli And Daman & Diu Hockey on September 23 in Chandigarh, according to the draw circulated to the participating states by Hockey India, the parent body controlling the game in the country.
The other teams in the group are Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and Hockey Gujarat. Goans Hockey will play three matches in the group, after the opening match they will take on Gujarat Hockey in the second match on September 24 followed by the third and final match of the group against Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu on September 25.
Players born from 01-01-2008 are eligible to take part in the championship.
Currently the players are undergoing coaching under the watchful eyes of coach Aviraj Madgaonkar, at Peddem ground, Mapusa.
Madgaonkar, who was part of the men’s team which took part in the National Games 2023 and recently coached the Sub-junior team at Hockey India West Zone championship held from July 23 to 30 July in Surat Gujarat, a challenge awaits him in Chandigarh.
For Madgaonkar, it will be a herculean task to lift the morale of the boys and bring about a drastic improvement in their performance, not an easy task for a team which has been the whipping boys of Goan hockey.
The records do not speak well for the Goan boys in the last 16 months. They have conceded 98 goals in 11 matches and scored nine in the process.
Besides the Pool G teams, the other teams in the championship are Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Uttarakhand, Hockey Andhra Pradesh, Hockey Association of Odisha, Chhattisgarh Hockey, Hockey Rajasthan, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Bengal, Telangana Hockey, Hockey Madhya Pradesh, Assam Hockey, Kerala Hockey, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Bihar, Hockey Karnataka, Manipur Hockey, Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Arunachal, Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Jammu & Kashmir, Hockey Jharkhand, Delhi Hockey, Hockey Himachal and Le Puducherry Hockey.
The tournament will end with the final on October 3, with the semi-finals on October 2.
