Delhi Waveriders – ‘Winners are grinners’
A jubilant John Abraham streaked across the turf after Delhi Waveriders were crowned champions in the second edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) after they beat Punjab Warriors/ in the final on Sunday. The heroics of goalkeeper Nickolas Jacobi helped the last-year runners-up to win the match 6-4 via tie-breaker after the game finished 3-3 at the end of the regulation time.
Only Robert Hammond of Punjab Warriors scored as Simon Orchard, Jamie Dwyer and Satbir Singh all fluffed their lines. Only Rajpal Singh missed out for the Waveriders as Steven Edwards scored the winning goal of the match. During the tie-breaker, the other two goals were scored by Matt Ghodes and Simon Child.
The Delhi side didn’t play well in the semi finals and were too defensive at times. But on Sunday they showed why they were the title favourites as they twice came from behind to win. Punjab, on the other hand, will have to be satisfied with being the second best. Even though they played like champions throughout the tournament, they came short when it was important the most.
Some things that came out of the 2014 HIL was that India as a hockey nation is moving forwards to regain its hockey supremacy of yesteryear. The Hockey India League provided great experience for their nation’s talented youth who play shoulder to should with the best players in the world. Despite the presence of international stars like Jamie Dwyer, Moritz Fuerste and Japp Stockmann and senior Indian players like Sardar Singh and VR Raghunath, it was the junior Indians who stole the limelight.
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But the tournament did not highlight only the bright side of Indian hockey. It also exposed the deficiencies. Of the many worrying factors, the biggest is the absence of quality goalkeepers in the country and even Indian hockey’s high performance director Roelant Oltmans accepted this fact. Apart from goalkeeping, the tournament also showed how far behind India is at the moment in terms of fitness of players. Indian captain Sardar stressed that Indians need to work harder on fitness: “These days the game is less about individual skills and more about power play. For that you have to be extremely fast and agile.”
Other suggestions for improvement for the HIL future were from former Australian player and Kookaburra gold medal coach Barry Dancer. “There was a feeling that some things can be improved upon. We need another team in the tournament and more world class players, especially from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany,” Punjab Warriors coach Barry Dancer told TOI.
If International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre is to be believed the Dutch players were not released by their governing body because of the ensuing World Cup. They should be part of the tournament next year.
FIH president: Leandro Negre
It will be also interesting to see what the organizers do with the video referral system. In both HIL seasons, teams have been dissatisfied with the umpiring decisions.
However this is what is certain, to see the future development of hockey become a professional sport globally the Hockey India League and the Euro Hockey League must events to stay long term and with the backing of the likes of STAR Sports to take hockey into the TV viewing rooms and computers of an international audience.
Again the Hockey India League has proved itself to be the foundations for the long term development of Hockey as a professional sport globally. It has long been the view of Go Hockey News and now echoed in practice by FIH who have realised for the future survival of our sport it needs to establish a professional platform that finds its foundations in developing a global media and digital media presence.
Much of the success the Hockey India League can be contributed to the media partnership with STAR India as part of STAR Sports and a consequence of this the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and STAR India, which runs India’s leading sports network STAR Sports, are delighted to announce that they have signed an eight year strategic partnership to improve the production of international hockey broadcast and extend hockey’s reach worldwide. The ground-breaking deal will run from January 2015 to December 2022.
STAR Sports will be the host broadcaster for key FIH events both in India and throughout the world and will be responsible for ensuring consistent and high level production. The partnership with STAR Sports is in line with FIH’s strategy to put events at the forefront and also its determination to inspire and entertain a global movement of hockey fans and players. FIH recently introduced a strong focus on digital engagement, branding and promotion of events to improve the spectator experience. Making the television coverage more entertaining and compelling is fundamental to achieving this goal. STAR Sports has an impeccable track record. In their position as the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) global Broadcast & Production Partner, the company has continuously raised the bar in their television coverage of all ICC events.
Last year, STAR Sports partnered with Hockey India to launch the pioneering Hockey India League (HIL). STAR Sports showcased hockey in a completely new way, offering a TV experience relevant to the youth market. In its first season, HIL was broadcast in more than 80 territories across the globe. During the period of the deal, FIH will look to host a major event in India each year.
As part of the deal, STAR Sports has acquired global media rights for all territories, excluding Argentina. Through its network of international affiliates and other national broadcasters, content will be distributed to over 200 countries, reaching billions of sports fans taking hockey’s global viewing audience to unprecedented levels.
Leandro Negre, President of the International Hockey Federation, said: “This partnership is an incredibly important and exciting development for international hockey. Our vision is to entertain and inspire a global movement of hockey fans and players and STAR Sports is an industry leader when it comes to significantly increasing the reach and popularity of sport. Not only will STAR Sports promote hockey worldwide between Olympic Games’ cycles, which is incredibly important to sustaining interest in hockey, but it will make our sport much more interactive and entertaining. STAR’s ability to deliver immersive, engaging and captivating coverage will draw new young audiences towards hockey. We look forward to working together to truly grow the popularity of hockey.”
Kelly Fairweather, Chief Executive Officer of the International Hockey Federation, said: “Our partnership with STAR Sports is a major stride forward for hockey, and one that I am personally very excited about. I consider it to be a game changer both for the sport of hockey and for the millions of fans who will watch FIH events on television and on the internet all around the world. STAR Sports share our determination to raise the bar in terms of the production values and the viewer experience in a rapidly changing multi-screen environment. Their know-how will be hugely beneficial, and we look forward to working with them to ensure that our incredible sport is presented to the world in the best possible way.”
Nitin Kukreja, Head of Sports Business, STAR India, said: “We are delighted to be FIH’s global production, host broadcast and distribution partner. The partnership ties-in well with our overall vision of promoting sports culture in India. Hockey is a priority sport for us and we are thrilled that India will host one key event every year during the eight year term. We believe that hosting an international event each year, which is produced innovatively, will significantly boost the popularity of hockey in India. The sport has a glorious heritage in India and we believe that it has a tremendous future. We will work closely with FIH and invest in production to ensure that hockey reaches its full potential. As we have done with HIL, we will aim to innovate and create an exciting visual spectacle for international viewers.”
