Top teams for hockey tourney

Prabhjot Singh

Top eight men and four women teams will participate in the inaugural Mahavir Real Estate Sahibzada Ajit Singh Hockey Tournament to be played at Prithipal Astroturf of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana from March 9 to 14. It is organised by the Sports Council of Ludhiana.

The winners in men’s section will get a cash prize of Rs two lakh and the runners-up of Rs one lakh. Winners in the women’s section will get a cash prize of Rs 75,000 while second placed team wil get Rs 50,000. The women champions will also get Professor Nripjit Kaur Gill Memorial Trophy donated by the Gill family.

Talking to newsmen here this afternoon, Olympian Rajinder Singh said that five members of the Indian team that won a silver medal in the 2010 Commonwealth games in New Delhi will also be felicitated and given a gold medal of 15 gm each on the last day of the tournament. The tournament will also honour five best players – goalkeeper, fullback, half back, forward and top scorer – of the tournament.

Prithipal Singh Batala, Chairman of the Sports Council of Ludhiana, said that Air India (Mumbai), ONGC, Punjab National Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, Chandigarh XI, Namdhari XI, Indian Air Force and Indian Army are the teams that will participate in the league-cum-knock out tournament.

A book on hockey stalwarts of Sudhar village written by an NRI, Principal Balkar Singh Bajwa, would also be released during the tournament.

Kulwant Singh, organising Secretary of the tournament, said that semi-finals and finals of the tournament would be telecast live. Ther organisers have also decided to give cash prize to man of the match after each game.