The 24th senior women’s National Championships starting at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha will feature 27 teams across eight groups.
Defending champions Tamil Nadu, who defeated Manipur 2-1 in the finals last time around, are in Group H. Maharashtra, Mizoram and Chandigarh make it the toughest group on paper with only the group winners qualifying to the quarter-finals.
Manipur, 18-time champions, will be licking their wounds and roaring to get back to their supremacy in the competition as they will face a challenge from Puducherry and Uttarakhand in Group F.
Delhi, led by the national team goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan and also featuring international Dalima Chhibber will be in Group E. They will have to get past Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh in order to get to the quarters.
Group A: Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka
Group B: West Bengal, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh
Group C: Odisha, Telengana, Chattisgarh
Group D: Railways, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan
Group E: Delhi, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh
Group F: Manipur, Puducherry, Uttarakhand
Group G: Punjab, Kerala, Bihar, Assam
Group H: Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Chandigarh