With the Indian Women's Hockey Team not part of the Paris Olympics 2024, the focus shifts to the Senior Women's National Championship as they look to build a pool of players for the FIH Women's World Cup 2026.
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey has said the Senior Women's National Championship will act as a selection trial to pick a strong pool of core probables for the national team.
Top and budding Indian stars will rub shoulders in the Senior Women's National Championship, set to be held from March 13 in Pune. A total of 28 teams from across the nation will compete in the tournament.
With the focus on FIH Women's World Cup 2026 and the qualification for the LA Olympics 2028, Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey has urged players to make themselves available for the tournament.
"Hockey India Senior Women National Championship is a very important domestic tournament, where we will get to see new talent emerge from different states and Union Territory. This year we will have participation from 28 states and UTs, with members of the Indian team representing their respective states," Dilip Tirkey was quoted as saying by Hockey India.
"Hockey India selectors will be closely watching the performances of all the players and based on their recommendation, a new core group will be selected," he added.
He has also informed the senior players not to take their place in the national team for granted. Tirkey also added that the current Indian players need to perform well at the 14th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2024 to retain their place in the Indian team.
"No player can take their place in the core group for granted. Everyone will need to perform to their best potential to make the cut. We need to now focus on making the qualification for the FIH Women's World Cup in 2026 and build towards the LA Olympics with optimism," he said.
"There is plenty of talent in India, the National Championships is an important platform to identify new talent and we need to further strengthen the domestic structure to bring them to the fore," he added.
Hockey India to introduce a few new tournaments in the domestic calendar
Secretary General of Hockey India Shri Bhola Nath Singh has stated that they are planning for a few new tournaments in the domestic calendar for women's hockey.
"We are putting our minds together to introduce a few new tournaments in the domestic calendar, particularly for the development of women's hockey " he was quoted as saying by Hockey India.
"We already have a restructured National Championships but we are also working on starting a domestic league for women that could further give opportunity for aspiring players to showcase their talent and make their way into the national program. It is now time to rebuild and focus on investing in the future," he added.
