New Delhi, July 31 : The 15th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship is set to begin on August 1 in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. The tournament will run until August 12 and will follow the newly introduced division-based format, which has been implemented earlier this year for the Senior and Sub Junior Men and Women's National Championships.

It features 30 teams divided into three divisions - Division A, Division B, and Division C - with the bottom teams in Division A and B being relegated to Division B and Division C, respectively, and the top two teams of Division B and Division C being promoted to Division A and Division B next year.

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

Division format & pool composition

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 5.

Pool A: Hockey Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh Hockey, Hockey Karnataka

Pool B: Hockey Madhya Pradesh, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Chandigarh

Pool C: Hockey Haryana, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Bengal

Pool D: Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Andhra Pradesh

In Division 'A', each team will play round-robin matches within their pool. The top two teams from each pool will qualify for the Quarterfinals (August 9), followed by the semifinals (August 10) and the Final & 3rd place playoff (August 12). 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 in Division 'B', 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

Pool A: Manipur Hockey, Le Puducherry Hockey, Hockey Uttarakhand, Kerala Hockey, Assam Hockey

Pool B: Hockey Himachal, Delhi, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Hockey Arunachal, Hockey Association of Bihar

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 be start on August 1, 2025, and conclude on August 4, 2025.

Pool A: Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey, Jammu & Kashmir, Goans Hockey, Tripura

Pool B: Hockey Gujarat, Raj., Hockey Mizoram, Telangana Hockey

Across all three divisions, teams will earn 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and no point for a loss.

Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said, "After the Senior Nationals and the Sub Junior Nationals, the new format will now be implemented in the Junior Nationals tournament. We have had really positive outcomes from both the Senior and Sub Junior teams and are confident that the junior domestic players will be equally pleased playing this new format."

Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh echoed his sentiments, adding, "The domestic teams have really adapted well to this new format, and with the added benefit of getting a chance to move up to a higher division, the teams have been giving it their all, be it at the National or the Sub Junior level. I am sure the junior teams will benefit from this pivotal exposure and love the experience of playing this new format."

/IANS