14 top teams for Surjit Hockey

Jalandhar, Oct 22 (UNI) India's top 14 hockey teams will fight for supremacy in the 24th Indian Oil Surjit Hockey Tournament, to be held here from October 26 to November 2.

This is for the first time, the matches will be held under the newly-installed flood lights in the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium, Deputy Commissioner and president Surjit Hockey Society, Ajit Singh Pannu said while talking to media persons here today.

Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal would inaugurate the tournament, he added.

The matches would be played on knock-out-cum-league basis in which 14 teams including last year champion Punjab and Sindh Bank (Delhi), runners up Indian Oil (Mumbai), Indian Airlines, BSF, Punjab Police, EME, PSEB, Air India, Namdhari-XI, Punjab National Bank, Sports Authority of India, Bharat Petroleum, Corps of Signals and RCF, Kapurthala would be participating.

Cash awards would be presented to winners and runners up, besides individual cash prizes, Mr Pannu said.

Indian Hockey Federation has appointed Mr Harbans Singh, International Grade-I umpire as director of the tourmnament.

Besides seven prominent umpires of the country, Mr Subodh Khandekar and Ajit Chaturvedi have been appointed as judges for this grade-I hockey tournament.

The Society has also decided to start Indain Oil Surjit Junior Boys Hockey tournament(Under 19 years) from this year along with this tournament. In the junior tournament, six teams would be participating and matches would be played on league basis and final would be held on November 1, he said adding that women hockey tournament would not held this year.

UNI