Pune, August 11: The 16th Hockey India Junior Women’s National Championship 2026 will take place in Pune, Maharashtra, from August 12 to 23. A total of 30 teams will compete in a three-division format for the national title, along with opportunities for promotion and demotion between divisions.
The championship features Division ‘A’, Division ‘B’, and Division ‘C’, allowing teams to compete at their appropriate levels and progress within the national system. This division-based structure encourages teams to vie not only for the title but also for promotion to higher divisions.
Division ‘A’ consists of 12 teams divided into four pools. Pool A includes Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Punjab, and Hockey Chandigarh, while Pool B features Hockey Haryana, Hockey Odisha Association, and Hockey Bengal. Pool C comprises Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Maharashtra, and Manipur Hockey, and Pool D includes Chhattisgarh Hockey, Hockey Madhya Pradesh, and Hockey Himachal.
The league stage for Division ‘A’ will commence on August 16, where each team will face the other teams in their pool. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the quarter-finals, scheduled for August 21. A rest day will be observed on August 22, with the tournament concluding on August 23 with the third/fourth place match and the final.
The 12 teams in Division ‘A’ will compete for the prestigious national championship, while the teams finishing in 11th and 12th place will be relegated to Division ‘B’ for the next tournament.
Division ‘B’ will feature 10 teams divided into two pools. Pool A includes Hockey Andhra Pradesh, Assam Hockey, Delhi Hockey, Kerala Hockey, and Hockey Mizoram, while Pool B consists of Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Uttarakhand, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Hockey Bihar, and Goa Hockey.
The top two teams from Division ‘B’ will be promoted to Division ‘A’, while the two lowest-ranked teams will be relegated to Division ‘C’.
Division ‘C’ will have eight teams divided into two pools. Pool A includes Hockey Arunachal, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Hockey, Hockey Rajasthan, and Tripura Olympic Association. Pool B consists of Puducherry Hockey, Hockey Gujarat, Hockey Jammu and Kashmir, and Telangana Hockey. The top two teams from Division ‘C’ will advance to Division ‘B’ in the next edition.
The championship will kick off on August 12 with matches in Division ‘B’ and Division ‘C’. Division ‘A’ will begin on August 16, featuring matchups such as Hockey Jharkhand vs. Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Haryana vs. Hockey Bengal, Uttar Pradesh Hockey vs. Manipur Hockey, and Chhattisgarh Hockey vs. Hockey Himachal.
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