Stuff I wrote for my college campus newspaper - 10

Premier Hockey League: Will it give cricket a run for its money?

By Sanket Kambli

Is this a dream or what? Will this be successful or flop? Will this league become part of Indian psyche as English Premier League has become part of the Brit’s? No I am not talking about an alternative National Football League. What I am talking about is a different ball game (pun intended) altogether. Read on.

Hockey is a sport with a glorious history and rich tradition that has brought India more laurels than any other sport, watching a hockey player bring a touch of magic to their play with ball juggling feats is a sheer delight.

And today in India this great game is set to don new colors with the launch of the Premier Hockey League(PHL).

This league is the brainchild of the Indian Hockey Federations, ESPN STAR Sports and Leisure Sports Management. It is being hoped that The Premier Hockey League heralds the dawn of a new epoch.

The first match of PHL 2004-05 will be played in the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) Stadium in Gachibawli, Hyderabad on Thursday, January 13.

All the matches in the first year would be played at Gachibawli. All Tier – I matches will be played on week ends while the Tier II games will be played on week days.

It looks, in the way, PHL is shaping up, has all the ingredients of attracting consumers to the game. It’s encouraging to know that Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) realizes that in today’s day and age of over exposure and competition from various sports, only the ones, which will innovate, will flourish and the rest will be forgotten. IHF looks determined to make hockey thrive. Creation of PHL with a strong television support seems like a definitive first step in growing the popularity of hockey in India. The league will provide the much needed playing exposure to hockey players and also benefit the players in terms of playing experience and keeping them in match practice before the beginning of international season.

The league will see all the leading domestic players as well as some of the international stars in action.

IHF says they have made some interesting changes in the format of the game so that the league is able to involve viewers more and more. The league has been designed in such a way that it promotes loyalty at the grass root level.

Keeping it relevant to the times, interesting names have been given to the teams instead of merely calling them by their cities.

The five Tier I teams will be called:

* Bangalore High-Fliers for Bangalore

* Chennai Veerans for Chennai

* Maratha Warriors for Mumbai

* Shere-e-Jallandhar for Jallandhar

* Hyderabad Sultans for Hyderabad

All these names have been created after exhaustive research and discussions between LSM, ESPN STAR Sports, IHF. They are hoping these names would invoke passions among people.

Tier II teams also have been given interesting names:

* Delhi Dazzlers for Delhi

* Lucknow Nawabs for Lucknow

* Imphal Rangers for Imphal

* Bengal Tigers for Kolkata

* Chandigarh Dynamos for Chandigarh

They also announced the Captains for the Tier I teams. These Captains have been chosen keeping in mind their natural affiliations with state federations, their skills and seniority. Idea is also to give players an experience of facing difficult situations and develop them as able leaders.

Names of the five Captains are:

* Dilip Tirkey for Hyderabad Sultans

* Arjun Halappa for Bangalore High – Fliers

* Viren Rasquinha for Maratha Warriors

* Gagan Ajit Singh for Shere-e-Jallandhar

* Ignace Tirkey for Chennai Veerans

IHF says the Captains are busy in the shooting of an interesting promo for the league involving all of them and the India’s ultimate sporting icon Sachin Tendulkar.

Under the rules of the league, Tier I teams will have an option of bringing in a maximum of five foreign players. IHF is in touch with various hockey federations across the world so that more and more international players can take part in the forthcoming league.

IHF have received very positive response from the leading federations and I am hopeful that some of leading super stars of hockey will be seen in action at the Gaachibawli stadium in Hyderabad. These players can be from countries like Pakistan, the two Koreas, Spain or any other hockey playing nation. It is almost confirmed that players like Sohail Abbas will be playing in PHL.

Imagine if Sohail Abbas was to play for Sher-e-Jallandhar then the pleasure of watching Gagan, Jugraj and Sohail in the same team will be unparalleled and every hockey fans dream come true. Intelligent team formations, presence of prominent players and profiling of players are bound to catapult the popularity of the game to another level. IHF says ‘Media is going to play a very important role in building the league and we look forward to your support in the area’.

To ensure that more and more people are able to view the fixtures, matches will be played in the evening starting the Thursday of each week and running across on Friday, Saturday and Sunday till the end of the league. Evening viewing will lead into an increase in ticket sales and will also make for convenient viewing for fans wanting to catch the games on television.

This looks like the beginning of a journey and this effort will go a long way in popularizing and developing hockey talent in India. Besides upgrading the standard and popularity of hockey in India, PHL will also drive corporate interest in the game.

Something about the teams:

*Bangalore Hi-Fliers (Captain: Arjun Halappa)--Representing the IT hub of the nation, they are the trend-setters.

*Maratha Warriors (Captain: Viren Rasquinha)--The team from Mumbai. Rich in heritage, they are known for their valor and pride.

*Chennai Veerans (Captain: Ignace Tirkey)--Determined to succeed, they stand for excellence and substance.

*Sher-e-Jallandhar (Captain: Gagan Ajit Singh)--Spirited, large-hearted, with joie de vivre, they always go for the kill.

*Hyderabad Sultans (Captain: Dilip Tirkey)--Of royal lineage, mixing tradition with modernity, they are the progressive nawabs.

This surely sounds damn! Exciting and 13^th Jan is the day to be booked for PHL. I don’t know about you but till 13^th Jan I will be busy updating my knowledge of Hockey.

Watch out for more PHL action, a low down on all captains and some Hockey Fundas in the next issue.