A total of 30 teams will compete across three divisions in the 16th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2026, which gets underway in Pune on Wednesday and will continue until August 23.
The championship will see teams battle for the national title as well as promotion and relegation across Divisions A, B and C, providing young players with a structured pathway to progress through India’s domestic hockey system.
Division A will feature 12 teams divided into four pools. Jharkhand, Punjab and Chandigarh form Pool A, while Haryana, Odisha and Bengal are in Pool B.
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Manipur make up Pool C, with Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh placed in Pool D.
The Division A league stage will begin on August 16, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the quarterfinals on August 20. The semifinals will be played on August 21, followed by the third-place playoff and final on August 23.
The 12 Division A teams will compete for the national championship, while the teams finishing 11th and 12th will be relegated to Division B for the next edition.
Division B Offers Promotion Route
Division B will comprise 10 teams split into two pools.
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Kerala and Mizoram are in Pool A, while Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Goa form Pool B.
The top two teams in Division B will earn promotion to Division A, while the bottom two will drop to Division C for the next edition.
Eight Teams In Division C
Division C will feature eight teams divided into two pools.
Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Rajasthan and Tripura will compete in Pool A.
Pool B consists of Puducherry, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir and Telangana.
The top two teams in Division C will secure promotion to Division B for the next edition.
Tirkey Hails Domestic Pathway
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey highlighted the importance of the three-division structure in developing young players.
“With teams competing across three divisions, the tournament will provide young players with valuable competitive exposure while strengthening the domestic pathway,” Tirkey said.
The championship is expected to provide emerging players with valuable competitive experience while also giving teams an opportunity to move through Hockey India’s national domestic structure.
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