CHENNAI: The wait to see a new champion being crowned is finally over with the Men’s Hockey India League (HIL) starting on Saturday in Chennai at Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium.
This will be the second edition of the revived Men’s Hockey India League and is scheduled to be held in multi-cities - starting with Chennai before it moves to Ranchi and ends in Bhubaneswar with the final on January 26.
It was Hockey India’s endeavour to take the league to as many hockey-loving cities as possible to ensure more fans of the game get to live the experience of high-octane matches with top players from across the globe featuring in the league.
The league kicks off with host Accord Tamil Nadu Dragons taking on Hyderabad Toofans. The Toofans had finished runners-up last edition, having lost narrowly (3-4) to the title-winner Shrachi Bengal Tigers. While Toofans will be looking to change their fortunes this edition, the Tamil Nadu Dragons will be vying to start on a high note after missing out on the 3rd place last season when they lost to JSW Soorma Hockey Club 2-3.
This season will have a single round-robin stage, with the top four teams advancing to the knockout rounds, unlike the previous edition, which split the teams into two groups of four teams for the first phase. In the playoffs, the top 2 teams will compete against each other in Qualifier 1, with the winner advancing to the final and the loser going into Qualifier 2. The second team of Qualifier 2 will be decided by the winner of Eliminator 1, which will be against the team ranked 3rd and 4th on the league table.
The eight teams featured in the Men’s HIL include defending champion Shrachi Bengal Tigers, Hyderabad Toofans, JSW Soorma Hockey Club, SG Pipers, Accord Tamil Nadu Dragons, Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, Ranchi Royals and HIL GC which has taken over UP Rudras.
Some of the top Indian players to look out for this season includes the likes of India Captain Harmanpreet Singh for JSW Soorma Hockey Club, Hardik Singh for HIL GC, Manpreet Singh for Ranchi Royals and Rupinder Pal Singh who returns to competitive hockey with SG Pipers among a host of other senior stars.