Jharkhand

• 21 Oct 2021

11th National Junior Women's Hockey Championship

Why in News

• On October 20, 2021, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren inaugurated the 11th National Junior Women's Hockey Championship at Astro Turf Stadium, Simdega. Teams from 27 states will participate in this competition, which will run till October 29.

Key Points

• The opening match was played between the hosts Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu. This competition was to be held in the month of April, but it was canceled due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
• One of the most remote and backward districts of the state, Simdega is known as the hockey capital of the state. The 11^th National Sub-Junior Women's Hockey Championship was held here a few months back.
• The teams are divided into eight pools. Kerala, Tamil Nadu with Jharkhand in Pool-A, Haryana, Assam, Rajasthan in Pool-B, Mizoram in Pool-C, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh in Pool-D, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Maharashtra, Delhi in Pool-E and Gujarat, Chandigarh, Bihar, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir in Pool-F, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh in Pool-G and Karnataka, Punjab, West Bengal and Lakshadweep, Puducherry in Pool-H has gone.
• Apart from this, the Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of the new Astro Turf Hockey Stadium in Simdega and Khunti districts.
• Simdega and Khunti districts of Jharkhand are recognized as the nursery of hockey. Salima Tete, who played for the Indian women's team in the Olympics held this year, and Nikki Pradhan are residents of Khunti. Ansuta Lakra, former captain of the Indian women's hockey team, is also from Simdega.