Ahead of the exciting start of competition on Monday, the trophy for the Hero Hockey India League has finally been revealed at a ceremony in New Delhi. The prize was unveiled at The Lalit Hotel by Mr Pawan Munjal, Managing Director and CEO of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, and Dr Narinder Batra, Secretary General of Hockey India and Chairman of Hero Hockey India League.
As well as the unveiling of the trophy, the duo revealed details of the extra awards and prizes that will be up for grabs in the competition. Mr Munjal took the opportunity to announce that the ‘Hero Player of the Tournament’ award, confirming that the winner would receive Rs. 25 lakh (45,900 US Dollars) prize money, while Dr Batra discussed details regarding the ‘Upcoming Player of the Tournament’ award, with the winner receiving the Gurdeep (Ponty) Singh Chaddha Award and Rs 20 Lakh (36,700 USD).
There will also be Fair Play, Goal of the Match, and Man of the Match awards, as well as a special prize for a spectators. During half time of each match, five lucky fans from the crowd will be given a chance to participate in a Penalty Shoot-Out against the goalkeeper of the home team, with the winner claiming the Airtel Golden Goal Award and a cash prize.
The opening match of the inaugural League will be played between Delhi Wave Riders and Jaypee Punjab Warriors at 2000hrs (UTC/GMT +5:30 hours) on Monday 14 January at New Delhi’s Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. The gala opening ceremony will take place at 1900hrs.
Source Material: Hockey Media Media Release.
Hero Hockey India League – Essential Details
About the tournament
The Hero Hockey India League (HIL) is a professional competition in India. The tournament, which is organised by Hockey India, will be contested among five franchisee-based teams, with many of the world’s finest international hockey players taking part on the competition. Each HIL franchise has 24 players which include ten foreign and 14 Indian players. The players were acquired in an auction which was held on 16 December. The entire event takes place on home and away basis culminating into multi header playoffs. The first edition of the tournament will take place from January 14th to February 10th 2013. Like the Euro Hockey League, matches will be played in four quarters of 17 ½ minutes instead of two halves of 35 minutes.
The Teams
Delhi Wave Riders
City: Delhi
Owners: Wave Group
Captain: Sardar Singh
Head Coach: Ajay Kumar Bansal
Home Ground: Dhyan Chand National Stadium
To see a full list of players, please click here.
Mumbai Magicians
City: Mumbai
Owners: Dabur India Ltd
Captain: TBA
Head Coach: Ric Charlesworth
Home Ground: Mahindra Hockey Stadium
To see a full list of players, please click here.
Jaypee Punjab Warriors
city: Jalandhar
Owners: Jaypee Group
Captain: Jamie Dwyer
Head Coach: Barry Dancer
Home Ground: Surjeet Hockey Stadium
To see a full list of players, please click here.
Ranchi Rhinos
City: Ranchi
Owners: Patel-Uniexel group
Captain: TBA
Head Coach: Gregg Clark
Home Ground: Astroturf Hockey Stadium
To see a full list of players, please click here.
Uttar Pradesh Wizards
City: Lucknow
Owners: Sahara India Pariwar
Captain: V.R. Raghunath
Head Coach: Roelant Oltmans
Home Ground: Dhyan Chand Astroturf Stadium
To see a full list of players, please click here.
Useful Links
Official Website: Keep up to speed with all of the official tournament details, including news, photos, fixtures, results, league tables, teams lists and playing venues at http://league.hockeyindia.org/
Social Media: The extensive and detailed Hero Hockey India League Facebook page is updated regularly and this is expected to continue throughout the tournament. You can view this at the following link: http://www.facebook.com/TheHockeyIndiaLeague. To follow the action on Twitter, visit https://twitter.com/HockeyIndiaLeag or use the Hashtag #HIL.
You Tube & Live Streaming: The Official Hockey India League you Tube page has a selection of cool promotional videos and, according to the site itself, will also be providing exclusive live streaming free of charge. You can visit the official you Tube page by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/thehockeyindialeague
For those of you who are interested in seeing a video of the player auction, please click the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=keQejpV5OBs
