The 4th edition of the Hockey India Senior Men National Championship’s inaugural match Hockey Gangapur Odisha would meet Puducherry at lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on February 27.
Odisha placed in pool-C would meet West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Mizoram in the league round matches on Feb 28, March 1,2 and 4 respectively. As many as 42 teams will be participating in the championship which will be played on a league-cum-knockout basis at the Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in lucknow. This edition will see four new teams including Hockey Gangpur- Odisha, Vidarbha Hockey Association, Central Reserve Police Force and Food Corporation of India.
The Senior Men National Championship will be played in two phases Division A and B. There will be 20 teams competing in Division A and Division B will see 22 teams. Division B of the championship will be played from 27 February – 13 March 2014 and Division A will be played from 11- 23 March 2014. The year 2014 is very crucial for Senior Men’s Hockey looking ahead major tournaments like World Cup, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Champions Trophy. Considering the importance of these major tournaments, Hockey India selectors, Government Observer and Coaches will be watching the performance of all the players to select the probables for preparations of these tournaments.