The fifth edition of the popular Hockey India League (HIL) is round the corner and it promises to be an enthralling sporting extravaganza. The tournament contributed significantly for raising the status of ‘Hockey’ in the country by taking it to masses. It also provided a suitable platform for players to showcase their talent. This was reflected after India won the Hockey Junior World Cup by defeating Belgium in the finals last month after a long gap of 15 years.
"The Coal India Hockey India League has been a huge success in how it has helped popularise the sport across the country. It has not just been a great spectacle for fans and players, but also a great model to demonstrate sustained growth for the sport” HIL chairman Narinder Dhruv Batra said as quoted by the Times of India while announcing the schedule for the upcoming season.
"At the heart of its concept, the HIL benefits our Indian players’ development immensely by allowing them to play alongside some the best players in the world hence learning new techniques that go a long way during the hockey season," he added.
Also Read: Hockey India announces the schedule for the fifth season of the Coal India Hockey India League
The tournament was made more exciting after a new goal-rule was added last year. As per this rule, every field goal will be counted as two goals while penalty corners will count for one goal only. Penalty strikes will also be counted for one goal with the only exception being when the goal is scored after the deliberate foul during the penalty corner. This rule increased the importance of on-field goals due to which the fans got to witness aggressive hockey.
Another point worth mentioning is the quality of hockey that comes out from the league. Players play tough and competitive on-field hockey in order to score big for their teams and make a mark for themselves. In addition to that, there are cash awards for both teams and players that keep them motivated and inspired to play to their best.
The professional hockey tournament has been received well as thousands of fans supporters made it to the games last year.
The battle will be fought between 6 teams representing six cities of the country starting from January 21. Team auctions were conducted in November last year and players are ready to take on the field.
In addition to that, here are some more crucial facts that will give you an insight about the month-long tournament.
Teams: Dabang Mumbai, Delhi Waveriders, Jaypee Punjab Warriors, Kalinga Lancers, Ranchi Rays and Uttar Pradesh Wizards
League dates: January 21-February 26
Opening match: The opening match of this season will be played between Dabang Mumbai and Ranchi Rays in Mumbai on January 21, 2017 in Mumbai.
Defending champion: Punjab Warriors are the defending champions after they defeated Kalinga Lancers in the finals last year by 6-1. Field goals were scored by Armaan Qureshi, Matt Gohdes and Satbir Singh.
Most expensive international player: German forward Christopher Ruhr, was the costliest international buy this season as he was picked by Ranchi Rays for an amount of $75,000 in the auction.
Most expensive Indian player: Gurbaj Singh was the costliest Indian buy this season as he was also picked by Ranchi Rays for a whopping amount of $99,000 in the auction.
Match venues: Kalinga Stadium (Bhubaneshwar), Shivaji Hockey Stadium (Delhi), Mahindra Hockey Stadium (Mumbai), Hockey Stadium (Chandigarh), Astroturf Hockey Stadium (Ranchi), Dhyan Chand sports college (Lucknow).
No.of matches: A total of 34 matches will be played between 6 teams in the tournament that will last for over a month.
Match Timings: There will be only one league match every day that will be played at 19:00 IST whereas two matches per day will be played during the knock-out stage.
Broadcast: Matches will be broadcasted both in English and Hindi on the Star Sports network.
Point system: 5 points are awarded for a win whereas 2 points are given for a draw. Loss with a goal difference of less than 2 goals earns a team 1 point whereas loss with a goal difference of three or more goals earns them 0 points.
Squad strength: Each squad will consist of 20 players out of which 12 will be Indian and 8 will be foreigners.
Schedule:
Match No. | Date | Teams | Venue |
1 | January 21 | DM vs RR | Mumbai |
2 | January 22 | KL vs DWR | Bhubaneshwar |
3 | January 23 | KL vs RR | Bhubaneshwar |
4 | January 24 | DM vs UPW | Mumbai |
January 25 | Rest day | Nil | |
5 | January 26 | RR vs KL | Ranchi |
6 | January 27 | DM vs JPW | Mumbai |
7 | January 28 | RR vs DWR | Ranchi |
8 | January 29 | KL vs UPW | Bhubaneshwar |
9 | January 30 | DM vs DWR | Mumbai |
10 | January 31 | DM vs KL | Mumbai |
11 | February 1 | RR vs JPW | Ranchi |
12 | February 2 | RR vs DM | Ranchi |
13 | February 3 | KL vs JPW | Bhubaneshwar |
14 | February 4 | RR vs UPW | Ranchi |
15 | February 5 | KL vs DM | Bhubaneshwar |
February 6 | Rest Day | Nil | |
16 | February 7 | DWR vs JPW | Delhi |
17 | February 8 | DWR vs UPW | Delhi |
18 | February 9 | JPW vs RR | Chandigarh |
19 | February 10 | UPW vs KL | Lucknow |
20 | February 11 | JPW vs DM | Chandigarh |
21 | February 12 | DWR vs KL | Delhi |
February 13 | Rest day | Nil | |
22 | February 14 | JPW vs UPW | Chandigarh |
23 | February 15 | DWR vs DM | Delhi |
24 | February 16 | UPW vs RR | Lucknow |
25 | February 17 | JPW vs DWR | Chandigarh |
26 | February 18 | JPW vs KL | Chandigarh |
27 | February 19 | UPW vs DWR | Lucknow |
28 | February 20 | UPW vs JPW | Lucknow |
29 | February 21 | DWR vs RR | Delhi |
30 | February 22 | UPW vs DM | Lucknow |
February 23 | Rest Day | Nil | |
February 24 | Rest Day | Nil |
