42nd Surjit Hockey Tournament to kick off today in Jalandhar

The stage is set for the start of the prestigious 42nd Surjit Hockey Tournament at the local Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium, Burlton Park, from Thursday.

Dr Himanshu Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar, who is also the president of the Surjit Hockey Society, said the annual tournament by the society honours the legacy of the late Olympian Surjit Singh Randhawa, former captain of the Indian Hockey Team, who passed away in 1984. Indian team captain Olympian Harmanpreet Singh, vice-captain Olympian Hardik Singh, Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh and many more current and former players will exhibit their skill in the 10-day long hockey bonanza.

Iqbal Singh Sandhu, CEO of the society, said the tournament would be played on league-cum-knockout basis. All 12 teams have been divided into four pools. Last year’s champion IndianOil Mumbai, Indian Navy Mumbai and RCF Kapurthala have been seeded in pool-A, Punjab & Sind Bank-New Delhi and Indian Force Delhi placed in pool-B, last year’s runners-up Bharat Petroleum Mumbai, BSF Jalandhar and CAG New Delhi have been kept in in pool-C whereas Indian Railways Delhi, Army-XI Delhi & CRPF Delhi have been placed in pool-D.

The top 2 teams of each pool will qualify for quarterfinals. The semifinals and final of the tournament will be on October 31 and November 1, respectively. All types of arrangements like boarding and lodging, transport, security, medical etc. have been completed. No gate entry money will be charged from the spectators who will come to witness the game of hockey.

Sandhu further said the arrangements have been made for the live telecast of both semifinals and final match of the tournament on PTC News and PTC Gold Channels. All-India Radio-Jalandhar will also relay the ‘ball-to-ball’ running commentary of the final match. There will a colourful cultural programme of the final day of the tournament where famous Punjabi crowed-puller folk singer Gulab Sidhu will perform live to entertain the spectators, before the start of the final match on November 1 from 5 pm. A full-fledged media centre has also been set up for the convenience of the print and electronic media, Sandhu added.

The DC also said the tournament is expected to attract hockey followers in large number. The tournament organisers have also planned to hold a lucky draw with Alto car, refrigerator and LCDs as prize on the final day.

Dr Ashok Mittal, MP (Rajya Sabha) and founder chancellor, Lovely Professional University, will inaugurate the tournament, Yashpal Kant, CGM (Ops), IndianOil will be the guest of honour and Nitin Kohli, president, Hockey Punjab & AAP halka incharge (Jalandhar Central) will be the special guest during the opening ceremony.

Today’s Match

1. Army-XI Delhi vs. CRPF Delhi : 4:30 pm.

2. Punjab & Sind Bank Delhi Vs. Punjab Police: 6pm.