The 39th Under-20 National Women Hockey Championship opened Thursday at an impressive ceremony at the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy formally declared the championship open. After a gap of three years the championship is being held in the country by the Hyderabad Hockey Association under the aegis of the Indian Hockey Federation. A total of 21 teams from various states will play 18 league matches and 7 knockout matches before the final match on 16th of this month. The National Women's Hockey team will be picked from the tournament.