All India U-17 hockey at Kalmeshwar in Dec

By Paritosh Pramanik
Nagpur, Oct 25

WITH an aim to promote hockey and encourage sports culture in rural areas, the National Council for Sports and Youth Development (NCSYD), New Delhi has decided to hold an all India inter-school (Under-17) hockey tournament at Kalmeshwar.
Located 25 kms from Nagpur, Kalmeshwar will thus become the first town from the region to play host to the hockey tournament in which school teams from all over the country take part. The tournament will be held in the month of December (16-21).
NCSYD, a non-profit organisation, is working towards the development of children and empowerment of youth through the medium of sports.
The body has also organised all India cricket, volleyball, throwball tournaments for schools all over the country.
NCSYD President Dr Surya Prakash Yadav, along with 1980 Moscow Olympic Games gold medalist Maharaj Krishan Kaushik, Dr Asif Sheikh, Working President, Maharashtra Unit, Pramod Thakre, Vice-President, Maharashtra Unit inspected the Nagar Parishad School in Kalmeshwar on Monday afternoon. They were satisfied with the location and the boarding facilities at the Nagar Parishad School.
“The ground needs to be rolled and levelled a bit. 
“We are very happy with the location. The ground also has stands for spectators to sit and enjoy the matches,” said Dr Yadav while talking with ‘The Hitavada’ at the venue.
Informing more about the tournament, Dr Yadav said, “The organisation is also conducting Under-14 all India meet in Pimpri, Pune in November and Under-19 meet in Bangalore in March next year apart from the Nagpur event.”
Interested schools will have to register themselves on-line with NCSYD.
“Top 16 schools from the country will be selected by our panel for the tournament. They will be divided in four pools. Top teams from each pool will make it to the semi-finals,” informed Dr Yadav.
“All our hockey tournaments are held under the auspices of Hockey India. The technical assistance will be provided by Hockey India,” added Dr Yadav.
“There is no dearth of talent. We need to tap them at the right place. Some of the best hockey players India has produced have come from rural and tribal areas,” said Olympian Arjuna and Shiv Chhatrapati Award winner MK Kaushik.
Coach of 2012 Commonwealth Games gold winning women’s team, Kaushik said, “We have to dig deeper to get diamonds. The Tirkeys, Lakras, Barlas...all have come from tribal belts and shone at the top-most level. We have to find them in towns, villages and hinterlands and make them shine at top.”