: Hockey India on Tuesday officially launched its Grassroots Development Programme including zonal championships at the under-16 and under-19 levels to unearth young talent and improve bench strength of the national teams.
The first intra-zonal tournaments, in both age-groups for boys and girls, will begin on March 19 with an expected 30 state teams participating across the four zones. Players from these, 33 each, will then be shortlisted for inter-zonal competitions. The Hindu had first reported about the ambitious age-group scheme and the detailed modalities of the same in January in an exclusive interaction with Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey.
“The zonal championships will expose young athletes to the same conditions as the various nationals championships and it will be mandatory for shortlisted athletes to participate in the Nationals,” Tirkey said on Tuesday. Each of the four zones will be equipped with separate selection committees of at least three members each, with minimum FIH Level 1 certification and responsible for monitoring players’ development.
Focus on specialised positions
Tirkey also explained that the federation was focusing on developing players for specialised positions including goalkeepers and drag-flickers at a young age. “We want to groom players in specialised positions with a group of 10 men and women each initially selected for both positions to train,” he said.
Rourkela and Jamshedpur have been selected for holding specialised training programmes.
Hockey India’s Grassroots Development Committee – formed last year and headed by Tirkey – will also create national under-17 and under-19 teams and identify locations for their training to ensure players do not miss out on academics. The under-23 developmental squad will be integrated into the ecosystem as the final step in the feeder line to the national squad.