The hugely anticipated third season of the star-studded Hero Hockey India League gets under way on Thursday with a dazzling Opening Ceremony at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium, the world class venue that recently played host to the Men’s Hero Hockey Champions Trophy.
The month-long competition, which features many of the greatest talents in the game representing six showpiece franchises based throughout India, kicks off with a mouth-watering clash between home team Kalinga Lancers and 2014 semi-finalists Ranchi Rays. The hockey-mad fans of Odisha are certain to turn out in their thousands to see who will emerge victorious in what promises to be a pulsating opening fixture.
The Lancers and the Rays are fired up and ready to make a big impression on the 2015 tournament and have set their sights on reaching the finals. Both sides are flushed with talent, with the Lancers being able to count on genuine international quality such as Australian internationals Glenn Simpson, Russell Ford and goalkeeper Andrew Charter as well as Argentinean duo Lucas Vila and penalty corner expert Gonzalo Peillat, who was top scorer at last year’s World Cup and recently named “FIH Rising Star” of 2014. The Rays are also packed full of class, with English superstars Ashley Jackson and Barry Middleton playing alongside Indian icons Mandeep Singh and Manpreet Singh among many others.
Defending champions Delhi Waveriders, led by Indian skipper Sardar Singh, will start their campaign with an away trip to Lucknow’s Uttar Pradesh Wizards on Friday (23 January). Featuring celebrated players such as Simon Child (New Zealand), Matt Gohdes (Australia) and shot-stopper Pirmin Blaak (Netherlands) competing alongside brilliant Indians Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurbaj Singh and Danish Mujtaba, it is hardly surprising that the Delhi-based team has a genuine chance of winning back-to-back HHIL championships. However, with India defender and penalty corner ace VR Raghunath among their ranks and backed by the home crowd, UP Wizards will feel confident that they can make a winning start to this year’s tournament.
Friday will also see the first games for Jaypee Punjab Warriors and Dabang Mumbai, who do battle in Mumbai’s Mahindra Hockey Stadium. Jaypee Punjab Warriors, lead by Australian icon and five times FIH Player of the Year Jamie Dwyer, are seen by many as potential winners of the tournament, something that comes as no surprise when you consider that the team also contains legendary Kookaburras defender Mark Knowles and Netherlands shot-stopper Jaap Stockmann, the respective FIH Player and Goalkeeper of the Year for 2014. Dabang Mumbai are considered as the dark horses in this edition of the Hero Hockey India League, but the newly assembled team certainly has more than enough quality to make big waves in the 2015 edition of the HHIL. Expect Belgian goal machine Tom Boon and Australian World Cup winners Matthew Swann, Glenn Turner, Tim Deavin and Jeremy Hayward to shine.
You can keep track of all the action from the Hero Hockey India League on the official tournament website and on their Twitter and Facebook social media channels. To see the star-studded squad lists, click the links below.
Debang Mumbai
Delhi Waveriders
Jaypee Punjab Warriors
Kalinga Lancers
Ranchi Rays
Uttar Pradesh Wizards
#HeroHIL
