Senior women national c'ship to begin in Bhopal from March 13

Thirty two teams will battle it out for the title at the 4th edition of the Hockey India Senior Women National Championship, to be held in Bhopal from March 13-23.
The Championship will be played on a league-cum-knockout basis at the Aish Bagh Hockey Stadium and Hockey Stadium Mayur Park in Bhopal.
It will be played in two phases -- Division A and B. There will be 16 teams competing in each of the two divisions. Division B of the championship will be played from March 13-20, while Division A will be played from March 18-23.
Each division will have four pools with four teams each. With the inclusion of two new teams -- Vidarbha Hockey Association and Hockey Gangpur - Odisha -- in this edition, the championship is expected to be more competitive.

The inaugural match of Division B will be played between Assam and Goa in Pool A on March 13. The final match of will be played on March 20.
In Division A, inaugural match will be played between defending champions Haryana and Odisha on March 18 and the final will be played on March 23.

In the previous edition of the championship, Haryana defeated Railways 4-1 to clinch the title.
Other major events for senior women's team this year include Champions Challenge 1, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
Hockey India selectors, Government observer and coaches are expected to keep a close eye on the performances of players during the national championship, so as to select the best talent for the preparations of these major tournaments.