The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Rangaswamy Cup from March 17

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005

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Sport - Hockey

Rangaswamy Cup from March 17

HYDERABAD, MARCH 15. The men's 61st senior National hockey championship for the Rangaswamy Cup will be held from March 17 to 30 on astro-turf at Gachibowli and Begumpet Police Stadium, according to Mr. Umesh Kumar, IPS and president Hyderabad Hockey Association.

Mr. Kumar said on Tuesday evening that the 14-day event would witness a minimum of 10 matches almost daily till the knockout phase. On the first day there will be a record 17 matches with the one featuring Hyderabad against Kerala under floodlights to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to mark the formal commencement.

The 37 teams have been split into eight pools and the top two from each will qualify for the knockout from March 23. After a rest day, the four best teams from the Delhi league will join the eight teams and will play the super league from March 25 to 27 at Gachibowli. After another rest day on March 28, the two semifinals will be played on March 29 and the final the next day — all at Gachibowli.

Though the final has been scheduled for 4.00 p.m. it may be rescheduled for 7.00 p.m. This is due to the fact that Doordarshan, which will be telecasting the final live, is also committed to telecasting a practice one-day cricket match between Pakistan and India `A' on the same day.

The groupings: Pool A: Indian Airlines, Maharashtra, Patiala, Universities, Bihar. Pool B: Chandigarh, Mumbai, Pondicherry, Rajasthan. Pool C: Punjab, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat. Pool D: Services, Manipur, Andhra, Madhya Bharat, Chhattisgarh. Pool E: Railways, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bhopal. Pool F: Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Uttaranchal, Mizoram, Vidarbha. Pool G: Hyderabad, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Tripura, Nagaland. Pool H: Karnataka, J & K, Orissa, Assam, Bengal. — Our Sports Reporter