The participating teams were divided into eight Pools and Defending Champions Indian Railways were placed in Pool 'A' while last year runner up and hosts Karnataka is pooled in 'B', KSWHA President Radha Murthy told. The matches will be played on league-cum-knock out basis with top finishing team from each Pool making it to Quarterfinals from the league.
Pool 'A': Indian Railways, Tamil Nadu and Tripura. Pool 'B': Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Bhopal, Pool 'C': UP, MP, Gujarat, Pune District Hockey Academy (PDHA), Pool 'D': Delhi, Vidharbha, Punjab, Jharkhand, Pool 'E': Bombay, Orissa, Pondicherry, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Pool 'F': Vidharbha, Bihar, PEPSU, Manipur, Pool 'G': Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, West Bengal, Chattisgarh, Pool H': Haryana Kerala and Mizoram.
