The legendary Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium will host the Khelo India Women's Hockey League 22 (Under-16) games starting on Tuesday.
16 teams, split into Pool A and Pool B, will compete in the League for the top prizes. This will be the League's first phase, which will last until August 23. The victorious team will receive three points, the runner-up will receive one point, and the losing team will receive zero points.
Sports Authority of India's "A" team, Bhai Behlo Hockey Academy in Bhagta, Ghumanhera Riser's Academy, Citizen Hockey XI, Smart Hockey Academy in Raipur, Pritam Siwach Hockey Academy in Sonepat, Mumbai School Sports Association, and Sports Hostel in Bhubaneswar are all grouped together in Pool A.
The Hockey Academies of Anantapur, HAR, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha Naval TATA Hockey High-Performance Center, Salute, and Sports Authority of Gujarat Academy are all in Pool B.
Ranjen Ekka, Team Manager of Sports Hostel in Bhubaneswar, discussed the significance of a League for Under-16 age groups "This is a great initiative by the Government of India and SAI. Getting the right amount of exposure is critical for budding players in this age group category and an exclusive league for Under-16 girls will definitely motivate academies also to develop more players at the grassroot level. Our team is reaching New Delhi on Monday afternoon, we are well-prepared and look forward to a good outing."
Akansha, the Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy's team manager, stated in the meantime, "This is a great platform for young players. Earlier, we would end up playing Under 16-year-old along with senior players because of their talent but they wouldn't get noticed that much with an exclusive league for this age category, I feel standout players will get recognised and perhaps even get a call-up for National Camps so that they are groomed from a young age."
She further added, "Players from our team are very excited to have arrived in New Delhi and are looking forward to a good League. This is only the first phase of the league and we have come well-prepared to finish first."
Every day at 06.30 a.m., matches will begin, with the final match taking place at 17:00 a.m.
