Hockey India League: Will it revive Indian hockey?

Today, according to many, is a historic day in Indian Hockey as the much-hyped Hockey India League starts today. It has, as per experts, done all the right things. Firstly, it has Corporate Participation with big business houses like Sahara, Jaypee and Dabur. Secondly, it has brought in the best players from around the world and across nations, which would give Indian players a lot of exposure. Thirdly, the teams have best coaches from around the world which means everyone gets introduced to new and best techniques of hockey. And fourthly, it has brought much needed money for players. As Jamie Dwyer, the legendary hockey player said, “We work as hard as cricket or football players, so we should be paid as much as them”. And last, but not the least, the players say that it will get them public attention, which besides money is what every player wants.

But are the experts right in their predictions? Will it actually revive hockey? As Mr. Arumugam said on NDTV, HI and IHF are fighting since last so many years. IHF started WSH last year and over 200 players participated in that tournament. Those 200 players have not been invited to play in HIL, and obviously not even considered to play in the blue shirt. These 200 players do include some big names like Rajpal Singh, Gagan Ajit Singh, Prabjot Singh, Deepak Thakur and many good foreign players like Shoaib Abbasi of Pakistan. With such huge number of quality players not playing, will it actually do any good to Indian Hockey?

Also, the mess going on between IHF and HI has taken a lot of toll on the players, who have to be very careful or else they may be caught between the fight due to no fault of their own.

Whether HIL will actually do good or not, will be known after some time. But as a hockey lover, I want the sport to do well. I hope that things between HI and IHF are solved and the quality of hockey in India improves.