HM's Cup hockey to begin on October 10 

(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) The 42nd edition of His Majesty's Cup Hockey Championship will get underway on October 10 with 2010 champion Al Nasr taking on Sohar and Dhofar facing Bausher in Group B matches at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.Only nine teams are participating in this year's edition after Salalah withdrew from the tournament a few hours before the draw ceremony began.Group B also includes Muscat, while Group A comprises four teams, including defending champion Ahli-Sidab, Oman, Seeb and Al Salam.In the Group A openers on October 11, Ahli-Sidab will play Al Salam while Seeb will take on Oman.Speaking about Salalah's pullout, Saad Mohy Zaghlool, the Oman Hockey Association's (OHA) technical director, said, ''We got a letter from Salalah today afternoon. The club said it is pulling out since it is not ready for the championship.''H E Khalfan al Naabi, advisor to the Ministry of Sports Affairs, was the chief guest at the draw ceremony, which was also attended by Dawood al Raisi, the OHA chairman, and Mustafa al Lawati, the OHA general secretary.The group stage will conclude on October 21, and the two-legged semifinals are slated for November 11-12 and 14-15. The tentative dates for the final are November 20 or 25.The winning team will take home RO45,000 while runner-up gets RO28,500. The third-placed team will get RO17,500.