 "Hockey India Men National C'ship 2022 kick-starts in Bhopal")
The prestigious 12th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2022 began in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday.
The 12-day tournament will witness 28 teams vie for top honours.
In its previous edition, the tournament was won by Hockey Punjab after they beat Uttar Pradesh Hockey in a thrilling shootout while Hockey Karnataka finished third having beaten Hockey Maharashtra 5-2 in the third/fourth placing match.
This year, the title defenders Hockey Punjab are grouped in Pool A along with Hockey Rajasthan and Delhi Hockey. In Pool B, Uttar Pradesh Hockey will battle it out against Telangana Hockey and Chhattisgarh Hockey to make the Quarterfinals while in Pool C Hockey Karnataka will take on Hockey Andhra Pradesh and Hockey Uttarakhand. In Pool D, Hockey Maharashtra will take on Hockey Bihar and Kerala Hockey.
In Pool E, Hockey Chandigarh is grouped with Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Jammu & Kashmir, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Hockey.
In Pool F, Hockey Bengal, Le Puducherry Hockey, Hockey Gujarat and Hockey Arunachal will battle it out while in Pool G, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Manipur Hockey, Hockey Madhya Pradesh and Hockey Himachal are grouped together. In Pool H, Hockey Haryana will take on Hockey Association of Odisha, Assam Hockey and Goans Hockey.
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The tournament will be closely watched by national selectors from Hockey India where top performers will stand a chance to find a place in the national program for the Indian Men's Hockey Team.
"We are expecting good competition this year and believe all teams would have come well-prepared. Players are aware that a good show here will help them secure a place in the national camp and they will put up a good fight. For us, it's important to take it match-by-match and first focus on our group matches," stated Poonacha, coach of Hockey Karnataka.