JOIN USBangalore to host Rangaswamy Cup
Six teams, including hosts Karnataka, will battle it out in the 64th IHF Senior National Championship (Men) for the Rangaswamy Cup to be held at the KSHA stadium here from May 8-16.
The competition, comprising winners of the six zonal championships -- Punjab (North), Uttar Pradesh (Central), Manipur (North East), Jharkhand (East), Mumbai (West) and Karnataka (South) -- is making a return to the city after a gap of 15 years.
Karnataka last played host to the event in 1997 when Indian Railways emerged winners and Tamil Nadu finished runners-up.
The tournament will be played in a single pool round-robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the final.
“It is the most important event on the hockey calendar for us and we are conducting it despite all the turmoil,’’ RK Shetty, IHF chairman, said referring to the ongoing tussle between Hockey India (HI) and IHF for governing body status, at a press meet.
When queried about the issue, Shetty said he is waiting for the verdict as the matter is coming up in the Supreme Court. “The case will be taken up in the court (SC) anytime this month, so lets see what happens. The matter can only be sorted out legally,’’ he added.
Shetty also said the second edition of the World Series Hockey, which was due to be held
earlier this year but ran into problems, will now be staged om October or November.
Meanwhile, KSHA secretary K Krishnamurthy said although the Nationals have never been a prize money tournaments there is some thinking on those lines. “We will take a decision later, we have not firmed up our plans yet,’’ he added.
Karnataka coach Ramesh Parameshwaran was confident of a good showing by his team. “We have a lot of youngsters in the squad, it is an opportunity for them to perform and if they come good here they will be in the national reckoning,’’ he added.
The hosts have never won the coveted title in its 64-year-old history with their best performance coming in 1968 in Udhagamandalam, where they finished runner’s up when the erstwhile Mysore state lost to Railways in the final.
Mumbai emerged champions in the last edition of the tournament held in Bhopal in 2010.