How the success of India's hockey teams paved way for Hockey India League's rebirth

The two consecutive Olympic bronze medals won by the men’s hockey team played a huge role.

The biggest factor for the growth of a sport in a country is the presence of a robust domestic structure as well as an annual league which see top players from across the world competing in it. While the Indian Premier League (IPL) revolutionized sport altogether in India, we have seen a number of other leagues blossom, in sports like kabaddi, badminton, volleyball, table tennis.

One such league was the Hockey India League, which started in 2013. A five-team tournament later expanded to six, which saw the top players in the world, right from Jamie Dwyer to Gonzalo Peillat plying their trade.

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However, the league was conducted in a format which was infeasible. As a result, franchisees suffered huge losses. The viewership numbers too weren’t great. Eventually, much to the disappointment of hockey fans around the globe, the league came to a screeching halt in 2017.

In its short duration though, the HIL had worked its magic. Hockey is India’s own sport, and one can never find dearth of talent here. The league provided an opportunity for youngsters to rub shoulders with the best in the world. The raw talent was fine-tuned. There were now a number of options available for each position in the team.

While there continued to be flaws, the dependency on a few individuals alone, which had hurt India over the years, had reduced.

Olympic glory paves way for Hockey India League

Almost the entire core of players which won bronze medals at Tokyo 2020 and Paris Olympics 2024 made their name at the HIL. India’s ‘Sarpanch’ Harmanpreet Singh, who is among the best drag-flickers in the world and is a household name now, played in the same team (Dabang Mumbai) as Germany’s legendary forward Florian Fuchs. Surely that would have played a part in honing the former’s game!

The Indian men’s hockey team has had a steady curve after they missed out on qualification in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and lost all five of their pool stage matches at the 2012 London Games. They suffered a narrow defeat in the quarterfinals to Belgium at Rio 2016, before winning the medals at Tokyo and Paris.

There have been the occasional blips, case in point being the shock defeat against lower-ranked New Zealand in the crossovers of the FIH Men’s World Cup 2023. However, it is now clear that India can stand toe-to-toe against the top teams in the world. No longer do they play against Belgium and Australia just to reduce the margin of defeat. The team plays to win! India has put on decent performances at the FIH Pro League, apart from also dominating Asian tournaments.

In the quarterfinals at the Paris Games, India played against Great Britain for nearly two quarters with a man down, courtesy the red card shown to Amit Rohidas, incidentally India’s key penalty corner rusher. Instead of succumbing to the pressure, the team held on for a draw before winning in the shootout.

In the semi-final, the team fought tooth-for-tooth against reigning World Champions Germany before losing 2-3, despite missing the suspended Rohidas.

This is symbolic of the belief possessed by the current crop of players. However, India were hurt by the absence of options in some positions. The team needed a second drag-flicker at Paris, and while Jugraj Singh was a tempting option, coach Craig Fluton opted for a safer option in the form of Sanjay.

They might also have wanted to replace ageing forwards like Mandeep Singh and Lalit Upadhyay, with both failing to create the required impact.

The reason for that: the shutdown of the HIL severely affected the pipeline. While the league had done enough to bring India back among the best in the world, it no longer existed to take the team right to the apex of the pyramid. With the domestic structure having a number of flaws, it was imperative that the league made a return.

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The return of Hockey India League alongside women’s competition

While discussions had been going on for a while, the birth of the new avatar of the Hockey India League was announced in the first half of this year. Finally, the formal announcement too arrived with the league set to begin on 28th December.

The big change is the introduction of the women’s league. Amidst the success of the men’s team, we surely can’t forget the exploits of the women’s team. The highlight being their fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Games. While India does possess the quality to threaten the best in the world, the team is a work in progress, as testified by their inability to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

With the quality which they possess, it’s a matter of time before they start putting on more consistent performances. What HIL 1.0 was for the men’s team, HIL 2.0 can make a similar impact on the women’s team.

The federation has clearly taken efforts to make sure that the same mistakes are not repeated. Rather than the traditional home and away format, which was the biggest cause for the financial drain on the teams, the league will be held only in two cities, namely Rourkela (Men) and Ranchi (Women) — two cities which has produced several hockey stars.

Due to recent developments, companies are now willing to binge money on Indian hockey. Hence, procuring sponsors will not be an issue.

With the Indian teams performing well, the interest across the country in hockey has been revived. As a result, the broadcasting numbers are expected to have a big rise once the league commences. People are also sure to throng the stadiums.

With the FIH having allocated a dedicated window not only for the upcoming edition, but also for nine more years, the best players in the world are likely to step foot on Indian soil and be available for the entirety of the competition. Hence, there won’t be any shortage of quality in the eight men’s teams and six women’s teams.

The Hockey India League is ready to make a return: this time bigger and grander. Its first installment played its part in India’s recent success in global tournaments, which has in turn paved way for the arrival of the second version of the league. One hopes that this brings about even more success and takes the team a few steps forward on the path to the ultimate goal: an Olympic gold.

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