Hockey India Senior Men National 15th Championship will take place here from April 4–15, with 30 teams competing in three divisions.
The men’s event, which will take place at the Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium, will be contested in the new three-division structure for the first time. In March, the same revised structure was used for the Senior Women National Championship.
Three divisions A, B, and C have been established for the domestic tournament, which will now also include promotions and relegations.
- Twelve teams in Division A – Compete for the championship.
- Ten teams in Division B – Fight for promotion to A.
- Eight teams in Division C – Try to move up to B.
Each division’s bottom teams will be demoted to the following tournament.
While the Division A matches will start on April 8, the Division B and C matchups are set to start on April 4.
Based on their overall results in the competition over the years, Division A contains the best 12 teams in India, including the reigning champions Odisha and runners-up Haryana.
Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Hockey, Karnataka, and Puducherry are the other teams in Division A, which will have four pools.
Every team in their respective pools will face every opponent once. With the top two teams from each pool moving on to the quarterfinals on April 12, this will be the only category with a knockout round.
On April 13, the semifinals will take place, and on April 15, the final and matches for third and fourth place will take place. For the following edition, the bottom two Division A teams will be moved to Division B.
Ten teams from Division B will try to advance to Division A. Two pools are created from the teams. Delhi, Mizoram, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Daman & Diu, Kerala, Assam are in Pool B, while Chandigarh, Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttarakhand are in Pool A.
While the bottom two clubs from Division B will be demoted to Division C for the upcoming season, the top two teams from Division B will be promoted to Division A.
The eight teams in Division C will fight for a spot in Division B. Two pools are created from the teams. Pool B includes Chhattisgarh, Himachal, Bihar, and Gujarat, whereas Pool A includes Rajasthan, Arunachal, Jammu & Kashmir, and Tripura.
Promotions and relegations are decided by standings in Divisions B and C, which are organized as leagues.
