I M Mahajan, president, Delhi Hockey Association and O P Bhatia, ED (OPS) and Member Secretary, organising committee, informed newsmen here this evening that a cash prize of Rs 21,000 and Rs 11,000 will be given to the winners and runners-up respectively. The coach of the winning team will receive Rs 5,000. They also informed that 22 most promising players (two per position, as suggested by Ajit Pal Singh) will be given Rs 1,000 each.

``The main purpose of holding this tournament is to give the sub-juniors a feel of the astro-turf. SAI has taken a lead in the right direction to spot talent at grass-root level,'' Ajit Pal Singh added.

The selection committee will be headed by Ajit Pal Singh and will include Olympians Harbinder Singh, Zafar Iqbal and Rajinder Singh.

Mahajan and O P Bhatia explained that medical tests for age verifications had been carried out to ensure that the players are within the stipulated age group. ``We will not compromise on this in any way,'' they emphasised.

In fact, one team -- Madhya Pradesh -- had been disqualified at the regional-level tournament as eight of its players were found overage. ``One team from east Zone was disqualified for fixing the match,'' Mahajan said.

Organisers found the team involved in fixing the game,'' Mahajan disclosed.

As many as 43 teams from various states had competed in regional-level tournaments. Winners and runners-up from each participating state qualified for the main tournament.

The two teams emerging on top from each pool will qualify for the quarterfinals to be played on knockout basis on August 10. The semifinals will be played on August 12 and the final is slated for August 13.

Orissa and Punjab had finished winners and runners-up in the inaugural ournament last year.

Groupings
Pool A: Orissa, Rajasthan B, Uttar Pradesh A.
Pool B: Assam, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh B.
Pool C: Haryana, Karnataka, Manipur.
Pool D: Nagaland, Rajasthan A and Tamil Nadu.