National Sports Federation promises to take Hockey to remote parts of the country

The national governing body of hockey launched the “Hockey India ka Abhiyan Har Ghar Ho Hockey Ki Pehchan” programme with the intention of involving all districts to hold frequent coaching camps and intra-district competition.

The National Sports Federation has urged all the State Member Units to work closely with their respective district associations and ensure that they host regular activities to help promote hockey and scout talent after the success of the 1st Hockey India Zonal Championships held across North, South, East, and West Zones.

According to Hockey India, every state shall have district and state-level competitions throughout the year, with the district championship results used to determine which teams will compete in the state finals. The state championships also assist in choosing the state squad that will compete in the Hockey India National Championships.

Bhola Nath Singh, the secretary general of Hockey India, proposed dividing the state and district championships into six categories to correspond with the national championship. These tournaments and coaching clinics have already started at the district level for a number of State Member Units, including the Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Bihar, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Le Puducherry Hockey, Hockey Andaman and Nicobar, Kerala Hockey, Assam Hockey, Hockey Jammu & Kashmir, and Hockey Arunachal.

Districts such as Simdega, Jammu, Jamtara, Hardoi, Muzzafarpur, Upper Subansiri, Jharsuguda and Villianur have already completed hosting age-group level matches and coaching camps.

As part of the ‘Hockey India ka Abhiyan Har Ghar Ho Hockey Ki Pehchan program’, hockey sticks and balls were also distributed in various states while Hockey India office bearers are in constant communication with their Member Units to further facilitate and provide any support needed in promoting the sport.