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Kanpur, 21 September 2019: After three successful annual editions of the futuristic Hockey India 5-a-side Senior National Championship (Men and Women), the tournament is back with its fourth edition starting in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, 22 September 2019 at the Hockey Complex, Green Park Stadium.
The last three editions of the tournament have been beneficial for India as the country secured the Silver Medals in both the Men's and Women's categories at the 3rd Youth Olympic Games 2018 held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This edition will be held over six days, and the annual Hockey 5s event will see state teams vie for top honours in three categories – Men’s, Women’s, and the most exciting Combined Men & Women event, which will be held for the third time. The Men's and Women's event will be held from 22 - 27 September 2019, while 26 September will see the Combined Men & Women event take place at the Hockey Complex. This combined format has garnered great interest in its previous two editions with Hockey Maharashtra winning on both occasions in 2017 and 2018.
Being hosted by Uttar Pradesh Hockey for the very first time, the 4th Hockey India 5-a-side Senior National Championship Kanpur Uttar Pradesh 2019 will see 8 teams each in all the three categories, which will be divided into two Pools - A and B. Teams from Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Odisha, Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Jharkhand and Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, will be competing for the title in all the three categories.
The Combined Men & Women category event is pegged as the most exciting event of the tournament which will put both men and women on an equal pedestal to showcase their talent in the most exciting format. The event scheduled on 26 September 2019 will be streamed Live on Hockey India YouTube and also on FIH.live. Each participating team in this category will consist minimum of either 4 Women or 4 Men athletes for a 9-member team with one goalkeeper.
In the combined Men & Women category, two-time defending Champions Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Jharkhand and Hockey Punjab and are placed in Pool A, while Pool B consists of Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and Hockey Odisha.
In Men’s event category, defending Champions Hockey Karnataka are in Pool A along with Hockey Odisha, Hockey Punjab and Hockey Jharkhand, whereas Pool B consists of hosts Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and Hockey Odisha.
In the Women’s category, defending Champions Hockey Jharkhand are in Pool A with Hockey Punjab, Hockey Odisha and Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu. While Pool B consists of 2017 Champions Hockey Haryana, Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Karnataka and hosts Uttar Pradesh Hockey.
Semi-finals and Finals of respective Men’s & Women’s category scheduled on 27 September 2019 will also be streamed Live on Hockey India YouTube and also on FIH.live.
Rules
This exciting short format is played on a 56 meters x 36-meter size court. In this format, each team consists of 9 members, out of which only 5 members can be present on the court at any given time of the match, which includes one goalkeeper who must be wearing full protective equipment. The duration of the match is 20 minutes, which will be divided into two periods of 10 minutes each with an interval of 2 minutes between the periods.
The key differences from 11-a-side field hockey are in terms of the way the goals are scored and penalties are imposed. A goal is awarded when a goal is scored from anywhere on the court which is unlike traditional hockey, where you cannot score directly from outside the striking circle. In addition, the ball is moved using a push, scoop, flick and a hit.
In terms of fouls, only free hits and challenges are awarded for respective offences by an attacker or defender. A Challenge is similar to the way shootouts are conducted in modern hockey. Free hits and fouls follow the same rules as modern hockey as well.
Vision
“We are delighted with the return of the fourth edition of the Hockey India 5-a-side Senior National Championship (Men and Women), which will see some exciting hockey being played in the Hockey 5s format. We have had some positive results in the past three editions with this innovative format of hockey, and the best was when our teams won the Silver Medals in both the Men's and Women's categories at the 3rd Youth Olympic Games held in Argentina last year. It is also an exciting format for the spectators as the ball moves from one end to the other in the matter of a second. We have had three amazing and fruitful editions of the Hockey India 5-a-side Senior National Championship in Pune and Bengaluru, and we are looking forward to Kanpur hosting this year's edition. 5-a-side hockey has the potential to attract a global following and help in promoting the sport where players can play on any surface and also on different sized pitches. Hockey is a non-contact sport, and on a social level, many countries play combined competitions with men and women in the same team. I would like to wish all the participating teams the very best and I am sure that the people of Kanpur will embrace our domestic hockey stars in action,” stated Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad, President, Hockey India.
