Men and Women’s Teams Gear Up for Thrilling MJ Cup Hockey Tournament in Pune

Pune, 14th December 2023: Twenty-two teams will fight for top honors in the 3rd MJ Cup Invitational Hockey Tournament (Men and Women) 2023 at the Maj. Dhyanchand Hockey Stadium at the Nehrunagar-Pimpri from Friday.

The tournament being held under the aegis of Hockey Maharashtra will be played from 15 to 23 December and will be conducted on a league-cum knock-out basis for both the men and women.

All participating teams in the men’s section are Pune-based teams with the lone exception of Bombay Republicans as the lone entry from Mumbai.

The men’s section will have the 16 participating teams divided into 4 pools of 4 teams and initially engage in an all-play-all group stage. The top two teams will qualify for the knock-out stage (quarter-finals).

The women’s section will figure with 6 teams namely J.J Academy, SNBP, Krida Prabodhini, PCMC Hockey Academy, Excellency Academy and Bombay Republicans and play the group stage in two groups of three teams each. The top-2 would move into the knock-out semifinal stage.

Tournament organizer Edwin Moti John, ex-player and Maharashtra coach added “this tournament is purely to encourage the local players with competition that we are committed to do. Hockey and Pune have been known across the length and breadth of the globe for a fair list of brilliant players who have gone on to represent the country at the highest level.” We are doing our bit to help hockey with this competition.”

Four matches on an average will be played daily. Apart from the final on December 23, a third place match will also be held in both sections.

The inaugural match will be played between Excellency Academy and PCMC Hockey Academy in the men’s at 9.30 a.m.