Hockey India names Indian junior men's hockey team for Europe tour
The Indian junior men's hockey team will play matches in Belgium, Germany and Netherlands under the initiative of Hockey India to help the team gain and enhance their experience.
Hockey India, on Saturday named the Indian junior men's hockey team that will tour Europe between May 20-29. The team will play five matches in three countries against Belgium, Germany and a Netherlands club team called Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push.
The Indian junior men's hockey team will play matches in Belgium, Germany and Netherlands under the initiative of Hockey India to help the team gain and enhance their experience. They will play their first match against Belgium on 20 May in Antwerp, Belgium and against the same opponents on 22 May in Breda, Netherlands.
After that, the Indian team will play club team Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push of the Netherlands in Breda on May 23 and then play a match against Germany in Germany on May 28. After this they will return to Breda to play Germany once again in their final match of the tour on 29 May.
The junior men's hockey team will be led by defender Rohit while Shardanand Tiwari has been made his deputy. The goalkeeping department will be headed by Prince Deep Singh, and Bikramjit Singh, while Shardanand Tiwari, Yogember Rawat, Anmol Ekka, Rohit, Manoj Yadav, and Talem Priyo Barta have been selected as defenders.
Ankit Pal, Roshan Kujur, Bipin Billavara Ravi, Mukesh Toppo, Manmeet Singh, and Vachan H A will form the midfield. The forwards named in the team are- Sourabh Anand Kushwaha, Arshdeep Singh, Gurjot Singh, Mohd. Konain Dad, Dilraj Singh, and Gursewak Singh.
Full list of nominations of Hockey India Annual Awards 2024
Hardik Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Sangita Kumari and Savita Punia have been nominated for the Hockey India Best Player Award in the Hockey India Annual Awards 2024.
Deepika has been nominated for the Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year. Image | Hockey India
Hockey India have announced all the nominations for the 7th Hockey India Annual Awards 2024. The award ceremony will take place on 15th March in New Delhi with a record prize pool of approx INR 12 crores.
A total of 32 players have been nominated across eight categories for the award ceremony this year. Among all the awards, the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year will be under the spotlight which will honour the best male and female hockey players of India.
PR Sreejesh has been nominated for the Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year 2024. Image | Hockey India
During the ceremony, India’s Olympic bronze medal-winning team will be felicitated, along with the Men’s and Women’s teams that won the Asian Champions Trophy in 2024. The Junior Asia Cup-winning Men’s and Women’s teams will also be honoured during the award ceremony.
The award ceremony will also celebrate 50th anniversary of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team’s historic World Cup victory on the same date in 1975—their first and only title to date.
Amir Ali: A Journey From "tin briefcase" to Hockey Glory
Amir Ali, a 20-year-old hockey prodigy from Uttar Pradesh, went from helping his father in a garage to being sold for ₹34 lakhs in the Hockey India League.
The Indian Premier League is a high-profile, cash-rich league that not only opened doors for the national limelight but has provided financial stability to many undiscovered talents. Players getting selected and jumping out of their comforting sofas out of joy is a very usual scene each and every time the hammer hits after a high bid.
This league has religiously followed its slogan, "Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi,” which translates to “Where talent meets opportunity.” Talents like Rinku Singh, T. Natarajan, YashasviJaiswal, Chetan Sakaria, etc. had received ample financial gain due to IPL participation.
However, there will be another name on the list of rejuvination: Amir Ali. Yes, of course, he is none from cricket but from another sport from India, Hockey, that once used to be popular. The 20-year-old young prodigy Amir, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, the state of Lalit Upadhyay, got his name in the Team Gonasika for a whopping 34 lakhs in the Hockey India League (HIL).
Who is Amir Ali?
When did Amir start his hockey journey? Idealy, it is at the age of 10, when a senior coach, Rashid Aziz Khan, noticed him at the KD Singh Babu Stadium. Khan used to mentor and groom the local young talents. Eventually, Ali resided in the same locality and got spotted.
Amil Ali, however, has another identity—a helper to his father, Tasawar Ali, in his garage. Senior Ali is a motorcycle mechanic, having a small "tin briefcase" in the name of a garage "outside the main gate of the Jal Nigam office.”
Recently, he has been named as the captain for the 18-member Indian junior team in the 12th edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup. The team coached by PR Sreejesh will tour Malaysia as the tournament will start on October 19.
India will begin their campaign against Japan on Oct 19, followed by matches against Great Britain (October 20), host Malaysia (October 22), Australia (October 23), and New Zealand (October 25). The top 2 teams will fight for the title on October 26th.
Not only that, he is a promising face and is present regularly in the senior camp as a face in the team rebuilding plan.
The father-son partnership; the understanding between "hunar" and passion.
Amir Ali, the eldest of five sibling, had to join his father's business. May be it was a career option to him, or out of responsibility as a son, he stood by his father, believing it was "not one man's job."
Like the engines, his schedule was heavy too. He juggled between three roles a day—a student in the morning, a mechanic in the afternoon, and a hockey player in the evening.
Like his hockey training started in 10, he started servicing bikes when he was just 12 years old. His father strongly believes, ‘yeh hunar hona chahiye.' The brothers must possess the skill, and they do so as all of them worked in the garage, as Amir does whenever he is at home.
However, Tasawar never forced Amir to simply stick with education and garage. Rather, he arranged money for Amir's training. There were times when senior Ali borrowed money to meet Amir's sporting needs, while Amir skipped training to help his father in the garage.
But then he got selected in Saifai's Major Dhyan Chand Sports College. This not only facilitated his training but also eased the burden of his father in terms of providing hockey supplies.
Once a fan, now a colleague to Manpreet Singh
Thanks to Amir Ali for letting the fans know that craze has no limitations when it comes to sport. Yes, cricket dominating the Indian periphery is an undisputed truth, but there are lads like Amir Ali who won't think twice before 12 killometers, at the age of 10, just to watch Manpreet Singh playing for Ranchi!
The young Manpreet Singh was a part of the Ranchi Rhinos in the first phase of the Hockey India League. Amir looked upon him like an idol and never missed any HIL match where Manpreet played.
The former captain and two-time Olympic bronze medallist Manpreet, however, is now a teammate to the young Amir Ali. The Visakhapatnam franchise had stolen Manpreet for Rs 42 lakh, with Amir at 34 lakhs next to him.
The Ray of Hope
Leagues are often criticized as an open platform of commercialization. And there is no point of denying the fact. But what's wrong if commercialization lets art get exposed?
There are thousands and lakhs of Amir Ali's who have restricted themselves within the garage. A heavy pay check will encourage many young talents to take up this sport as a means of profession. Even if they do not break out into the national team, the bench won't stay empty.
League will provide them with the required limelight needed for being the talk of the town, as seen in cricket and other sports. Unlimited competition will come into the scene, hoping talents like Amir Ali can cope with it.
Restraining IPL-like criticisms
At certain point, things look exaggerating when people will bring huge and heavy names like Dhyan Chand or his son Ashok Kumar; KD Singh Babu or Mohammad Shahid; Zafar Iqbal or RP Singh behind young Amir's name.
Critiques will try to put him in their shoes, ignoring his beautifully crafted cut with the stick while beating the opposition's press. They will set aside his tacking skills but will remind him about Lalit and other names his state gifted to the Indian Hockey.
That's what critics do—forcefully trying to fit a Rishabh Pant in M.S. Dhoni's shoes, not letting him be himself, and definitely crashing the self-confidence!
Or bringing back flashbacks of his family struggles—how a basic smartphone was beyond his prescribed luxary—similar to how every time someone drags Jaiswal's struggles every time he smashes a good fifty or a century!
Let Amir's talents prevail. Let his stick do the talking, not his upbringing or the whatever legacy his state holds.
Hockey India League Auction Starts Today With Over 1,000 Players; Here are the Details
Hockey India League auction kicks off today with 1,000+ players, including legends across men's and women's teams. Here are all the details you need to know.
The most anticipated Hockey India League auction will start today, October 13th, at New Delhi and will continue till October 15th. More than 1,000 players have registered for the auction. This includes more than 400 domestic players. and over 150 international players. Apart from the playing hockey players in India, retired stalwarts like Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra.
The women's league has more than 250 domestic players and 70+ overseas players registered for the tournament.
Earlier, Hockey India had already mentioned the limited venues assigned for the tournament. These are: Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand, and Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha. Ranchi will host all the women's matches while the men's matches will take place in Rourkela.
Irespective of the men's and women's teams, each team can have a maximum of 24 players. Each team cannot bag more than 8 overseas players and should have 24 indigenous players that include at least 4 juniors.
How many teams will play the tournament?
The men's league will play 8 teams this year. The inaugural women's league will play 6 teams. The franchises that have confirmed their investment are:
Charles Group,
Yadu Sports,
JSW Sports,
Shrachi Sports,
SG Sports and Entertainment,
Vedanta Limited,
Resolute Sports,
Navoyam Sports Ventures Private Limited
Purse details:
Each of the eight men's team will have a budget of 4 crores, while the women's tean will have 2 crore for the procedure.
As per the auction procedure, there is no upper limit of expenditure on a particular player, but accumulating the required number of players must be done within the purse.
Base price:
Three categories have been induced according to the ranks of each player: Rs 2 lakh (for juniors), Rs 5 lakh, and Rs 10 lakh.
Where to watch the auction?
Hockey India League has initiated their own Hockey India League Youtube channel where they will live stream the entire lauction procedure.
Other than that, DD Sports will broadcast the auction live, from Sunday.
On the first day, ie, 13th October, the auction will start from 2 pm. On the next two days, the auction procedure will commence on and from 9:30 am. in the morning.
Hockey India League back after 7 years: All you need to know about it
After 7 years, the Hockey India League is making a comeback with a revamped format, with better planning and strong finance, and a dedicated women’s edition.
The two-month span from March onwards is a festival beyond the yearly almanac. TheIndian Premier League blocks all the mundane schedules for seasonal cricket fans. The grandeur it has and the craze and hype it injects into the audience are unmatched. The cash-rich league managed to get a brother in 2013, in Indian Hockey—The Hockey Indian League (HIL). Their motto was the same: popularizing the sport in the country.
The long-run execution fell short of finance and ceased in 2017. After seven long years, HIL is set to make a comeback. On Friday, October 4, Hockey India will inaugurate their HIL 2.0, having Women's Hockey their first HIL!
Hockey India League 2.0
It is a resurgence, rather than a revamp of the previous edition of the Hockey Premier League, with better planning and steady finance.
The IPL started after the 2007 T-20 World Cup win. This version of HIL is nothing but a by-product of two back-to-back Olympic bronzes and a gold in the Asian Games. HI has announced that the HIL will start with initially 8 teams in the men's and 6 in the women's edition.
A total of 10 franchise owners have come on board.
For the men's event, franchises that came forward are:
Chennai- Charles Group,
Lucknow- Yadu Sports,
Punjab- JSW Sports,
WestBengal- Shrachi Sports,
Delhi- SG Sports and Entertainment (team name: Delhi SG Pipers)
Each franchise will build a 24-player (men and women each) squad. Each team will have a mix of 16 Indian players, a mandatory inclusion of four junior players, and a maximum of eight international players.
To make the pre-tournament phases more scintillating, the auction procedure has been added to it. Three categories have been induced according to the ranks of each player: Rs 2 lakh (for juniors), Rs 5 lakh, and Rs 10 lakh.
The auction will take place between Oct 13 and 15.
However, the tournament will be restricted to venues only. Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand, and Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha. Ranchi will host all the women's matches while the men's matches will take place in Rourkela.
Photo credit: TOI
The main reason behind limiting it to two stadiums is finance and the craze.
Finance
According to the Times of India, a huge sum of Rs 3,640 crore will be invested for Hockey Indian League purposes for the coming 10 years. HI will chip in some 112 crore each year, mainly on HL's title sponsor and media rights.
A few sources informed that HI has promised to contribute a total of Rs. 1,120 crore for the coming ten years for the swift perpetration of the revamp.
The franchises will lay out around Rs 18 crores on each of the total 14 teams (men and women), each year, which translates into Rs 252 crore for 14 teams.
Thus, for 10 years, franchises will be shelling out Rs 2,520 crore largely on players and coaching support staff’s salaries. The expenditure also includes grants for grassroot development of the sport through their hockey academies.
Thus, considering HI’s contribution of Rs 1,120 crore and franchises’ spending of Rs 2,520 crore, HIL will boast of a total investment purse of Rs 3,640 crore.
Earlier, HO: wasn't limited to just two venues. But HI president Dilip Tirkey clarified that it has been done to reduce the travel and reservation cost of home and away matches. Additionally, the venues have been chosen keeping in mind the popularity of hockey in that place.
The inaugural women's event
From 2013 to 2017, the women's version of the Hockey Premier League wasn't available. For the first time, female hockey players in India will have a dedicated platform to showcase their skills on a large scale.
The women's team has been an absolute spectacle in the Tokyo Olympics. Savita Punia was no short in fame when compared to PR Sreejesh in terms of skill. The windy Vandana Kataria, hopefully, won't be a name to those fans, but in all households.
It's not about promoting gender equality in a sport when a section of it is yet to rise its head in India. It's more about breaking taboos about women wearing skirts, like what Rani Rampal faced in her childhood. It is more about providing a well-structured hockey stick to the budding players instead of a mere bamboo stick!
Drawbacks that got corrected
The 2013–2017 version of the Hockey Indian League had its financial drawbacks. But other than that, it had clashes of schedule,
A league that could have been as big as a festival, to the fans, couldn't manage to get an uninterrupted vacant place in the FIH calendar. The Hockey Pro League came into being, which ate up whatever space was remaining.
However, this year, President Tirkey and Secretary Bhola Nath Singh have assured that such disruptions won't happen from now on. Both have revealed that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has granted the window from December 28 to February 5 for the next 10 years.
HIL winners till 2017
2013- Ranchi Rhinos
2014- Delhi Waveriders
2015- Ranchi Rays
2016- Punjab Warriors
2017: Kalinga Lancers
Game recognizes Game
Sreejesh named Director of Hockey in Delhi franchise for upcoming HIL-PTI
Athletes investing in franchises is not new. So does hockey. Mahesh Bhupathi, the Indian tennis legend, has invested in the Delhi SG Pipers franchise
Adding further excitement, former Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who was freshly appointed as the coach for the junior hockey team, is now the mentor for the Delhi franchise.
Hockey Indian League: Opening new doors to talent
Say, for example, the Indian Premier League! It is a cash-rich league because of the unwavering fan support, definitely due to the monetization of the league.
But it has more efficacy due to its role in nurturing young talents. HIL is nothing short of that. The international players will not be just teammates but leaders and seniors whom the rookies will look up to.
This will increase the pace of the game, adding more skills and perfection to the drags and flicks.
An Indian fan probably won't be expecting some foul on the body to get a penalty corner so that some Amit Rohidas or Harmanpreet Singh convert it into a goal. A basic wish to see a ball in play before hitting the net, just as Australians do, will be fulfilled hopefully.
A Bronze costs just USD 100: Trembling Future of Pakistan Hockey Team
Pakistan Hockey Federation has rewarded Rs 8300 to their Men's Hockey Team, for sealing the bronze, after defeating Korea by 5-2. H.I. has announced 3 lakhs per player and 1.5 to the support staffs each, for the gold.
The kids that grew grey once considered Pakistan as the powerhouse of hockey. The history encrypted, however, contradicts the present scenario. The hard-earned bronze medal in the Asian Hockey Championship can somehow act as a consolation for the Pakistan Men’s Hockey team. But, the “reward” from the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) raised eyebrows- just USD 100 to each player! The amount calculates around RS 8300, and just 28,000 in Pakistan’s currency!
Pakistan and its financial struggles are nothing too new. But the once glorified sport receiving such a reward has raised various questions, including PHF’s (Pakistan Hockey Federation) approach towards the future.
Pakistan Hockey Team- A “Golden Era” Overshadowed by Present Struggles
Once tagged as the “King of Grass”, the country has three Olympic golds and four World Cup titles in its bag. The team once dominated the sport in the Asian circumference, alongside India. Pakistan Hockey team has produced legends like goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed, who captained Pakistan to a World Cup victory in 1994. It had Brigadier Abdul Hamid, who scored Pakistan's first-ever Olympic goal in 1948, immortalized in the country’s sports history.
Pakistan defeated India by 1-0, in the finals, clinching the gold medal at the Rome Olympics.
However, the tables trembled in the 1980s. Artificial watered turfs started replacing the grass courts. The “King of Grass” struggled to adapt to the newly given conditions and the dynamics of the game. Currently, a struggling Pakistan Hockey Team has hit rock bottom.
They touched the 30th block in the FIH standing- their lowest-ever rank. However, the ACT Bronze medal has pushed them five blocks upward- to the 15th rank. The road to regaining the past glory seems steep, but is it impossible? Question prevails!
Financial Woes and Federation Mismanagement
At the heart of Pakistan's hockey decline is financial instability. The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has faced multiple allegations that includes mismanagement and the misuse of government funds. Moreover, complaints from different corners do come, regarding involvement of senior “legends” of Pakistan Hockey Team. Them, as complained, often resisted to the idea of employing foreign coaches. However, when seniors got the responsibility, they failed miserably too, as coaches.
Speaking of foreign coaches, they need a longer spell to get adapted to the situations. They need ample time to get under the nerves and train the player- to detect the pros and cons and work on them. But the financial condition of PHF has prevented the longevity of such coaching tenures.
Situations turned this worse that board started hiring event- based coaches. Notably, former coach Roelant Oltmans, who accompanied the Pakistan Hockey team to Poland for the Nation’s Cup, had to leave midway through his tenure due to unpaid fees.
Criticisms came on the way, with the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) being apathetic to the Pakistan Hockey Federation. The Imran Khan tenure has seen PSB providing the lowest grants. A lot of government federations depends solely on PSB grants for their curriculum. PSB, however, published a report where it said that an amount of 1000 million rupees has been allotted for different federations including PHF.
The 2019/2020 Fiscal year, PSB distributed only 25 million rupees. Its aim was to set up training camps and to support participation in international and national events. The 2020/21 fiscal year had its amount increased to 42 million rupees. The PSB has notably raised its funding over the past two fiscal years. That includes 2023/24, allocating a total expenditure of around 920 million rupees to federations.
PSB, over the past five years, has given PHF only 103 million rupees in grants. On the contrary, the athletics federation received over 100 million rupees, for the sake of Arshad Nadeem's Olympic preparations. The disparity is glaring, especially considering hockey's status as Pakistan's national sport.
Arshad Nadeem receives Pakistan's first Gold medal in Paris Olympics, with a record throw of 92.97m.
A New Coach, Old Problems
Pakistan’s other major problem is exposure. The financial drawbacks have limited the international tours for the team. The last time Pakistan Men’s Hockey Team had a tour, was for the Nations Cup at Netherlands and Poland. It was a qualification for the pro league. Pakistan there finished fourth, behind New Zealand, France, South Africa.
With Oltman’s departure, Tahir Zaman, stepped in as head coach just before the Asian Champions Trophy. He, with over 20 years of coaching experience, has acknowledged the deep-rooted challenges, is cautiously optimistic.
He aims to push for a Pakistan Hockey League to nurture young talent and provide players with much-needed exposure. But even Zaman admits that reviving Pakistan hockey will be a long process.
The Asian Championship Trophy bronze somehow looks like a slight consolation to the overall struggling team. Even though it offered a glimmer of hope, the announcement of a meagre USD 100 reward for each player has sparked widespread outrage. Placing it by the side of Hockey India awarded ₹3 lakh (around USD 3,600) to each of its players, Pakistan Hockey team looks awfully dull. and this absolutely not a welcoming sign for any hockey enthusiast around the world.
The financial challenges facing Pakistan's hockey players are not only demoralizing but are also driving them to desperate measures. Earlier this year, In August, three players—Murtaza Yakoob, Ihtesham Aslam, and Abdur Rahman—along with physiotherapist Waqas, escaped from a training camp in Poland during the Nations Cup.
It was the pre-Asian Champions trophy training cup, when they were summoned, they informed of them not being available due to personal issues. However, later it became clear that they fled away seeking asylum in Europe. PHF subsequently banned them for life.
PHF secretary general Rana Mujahid feared that this escape may create complications in getting visa for any tour in Europe. With the present complications in the financial conditions, this move wasn't apt for the team, according to Rana.
However, many doubts this move by the players and the physio was a result of delays in PHF doing delays in travel and other allowances.
When Mujahid blames the players, the critiques blamed the financial coundidion of the boards for the athletes to choose this desperation.
The Future Calls: Will Hockey Survive?
The present day situation of the Pakistan Hockey team has divided the fans in two groups. One believes the team has been burried. However, the other one is optimistic, byt to a certain level, believing this phase to be the "ventilator" ohase.
The only head to believe Pakistan Hockey team as the Phoenix shortly is its present coach, Tahir Zaman, the 55-year-old with almost 20 years of experience, who still believes his boys can regain the glory. He has his plan already set in his mind, where nourishing the domestic hockey comes first.
Asian Champions Trophy is not a so called important trophy in the Hockey arena. But a bronze medal in this struggling situation, should be enough to draw attention for the betterement. But again, the idiocy PSB showed, by giving the miminimal value to the medal, questions the future of the Hockey.
Is it actually having a bright future, with the "new generation?" Will the Pakistani kids choose emotion and past glories over wages while opting for national hockey? The answer is unknown for an eternity!
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