First ‘Cairn Junior Hockey Cup 2015’ inaugurated to promote Hockey amongst school children

-          24 schools from across Delhi vie for top honours in ‘under-17’ and ‘under 14’ categories

New Delhi, January 14, 2015: The Hockey Citizen Group today announced the launch of the inaugural Cairn Junior Hockey Cup 2015, a one of its kind initiative by Cairn India, to promote hockey at grass-root levels. The tournament aims at providing a competitive platform for school children to showcase their talents on a national arena.

Present at the inaugural briefing of the Cairn Junior Hockey Cup 2015, were former Olympian and Arjuna Awardee Mr. Ajit Pal Singh, former Olympian Harbinder Singh, former World Cup Gold medallist Brig. HJS Chimni and Mr. K Arumugam,Founder and CEO, Hockey Citizen Group and officials from Cairn India.

The maiden edition of Cairn Junior Hockey Cup 2015 will feature 24 schools from across Delhi and NCR, which will include both government and private schools. This is also the first time in Delhi that an Under-14 hockey tournament will have prize money associated with it. The event will be played in ‘Under – 17’ and ‘Under – 14’ categories. The tournament starts on Thursday, January 15, 2015 at the Shivaji Stadium, New Delhi.

Speaking at the launch of tournament, Mr.K Arumugam, Founder and CEO, Hockey Citizen Group said, “It has been our constant endeavor to develop the game of hockey in India at the grass root levels. The inaugural ‘Cairn Junior Hockey Cup 2015’ is the first step in this direction and I am confident that this initiative will go a long way in encouraging hockey amongst school children. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Cairn India for its continuous support to promote Hockey in the country. I also convey my heartfelt appreciation to Hockey India for its encouragement and support towards this initiative.”

"The Hockey culture needs to be inculcated at the grassroot level. Kids need to be encouraged to take up the game at a very young age. Initiatives like these are need of the hour and we should all support them in our respective capacities", said Arjuna Awardee, Ajit Pal Singh

Cairn India, the largest private sector crude oil producer in India, is associated with Hockey India since February 2013. Through this association, Cairn India reinforces its commitment to hockey and helps the sport reach new heights in India. Cairn India continues to undertake initiatives to promote hockey, including support to grass root level tournaments, to encourage the sport amongst the youth of the country.

In line with this commitment, Cairn India had organised Rajasthan women’s hockey Cup 2014 to encourage the game amongst women. The Company also associated with the recently concluded Champions Trophy 2014 in Bhubaneswar.