Phl Kicks Off

The fourth edition of the Premier Hockey League (PHL) will kick off December 20, 2007 at 6 pm at Sector 42 Hockey Stadium with home team Chandigarh Dynamos challenging the might of Hyderabad Sultans.

If Dynamos have a strong forward line and dangerous drag-flicker in Sandeep Singh, the Sultans are banking on youthful faces. “It’s a tough competition and all teams are equally placed. For us every match is important and we will put in our best to start on a’ winning note,” said Dynamos’ coach N.S. Sodhi.

With the maximum number of young players in the side and with only three seniors - Sardara Singh, Nitin Kumar and Didar Singh - the Sultans coach Madhukaran is looking calm and looking forward for the opening match. “Ours is the tournament’s youngest team and I hope the young blood will definitely bring some great results,” he said.

With names like Rajpal, Prabhjot, Baljit, Sandeep Singh, Jaswinder, Deepak Thakur and S.S. Gill in their ranks and the form they are in, the Dynamos will enter the fray as one of the favorites. What is, however, worrying them is their defence. “We have got the foreigners as per as our demand, two in full back position and one in center half. But both the
Pakistan players have not yet arrived. So we have to play the opening match without them and this is really a matter of concern for us, at least in defence section,” said Sodhi. When asked how they would counter Sandeep’s lethal drag flicks, the Sultan’s coach said one would get the answer in the match. “We have got Oscar ter as one of our foreign players. He was the Dutch goalkeeper in the recently held Champions Trophy and will indeed be of great help to the team,” he said.

As far as converting penalty corner is concerned, the Sultans have experienced Didar Singh, Kulbhushan and Diwakar Ram, a junior India team member, to do the job.The Chandigarh Dynamos, who finished second in 2005, were placed fifth last year and the champions of the inaugural edition, Hyderabad Sultans, were at the bottom. So both the teams will put in their best to make a right start when they meet tomorrow for the first game.

Of all things, it’s the spectacular public support that brings Premier Hockey League to the City Beautiful. At the introduction of the PHL, it was decided that it would move to various parts of the country; having appropriate infrastructure. It kicked off in Hyderabad in 2005 and thereafter,
Chandigarh has hosted the event three times on the trot. Vijay Rajput, chief operating officer, ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd, said, “Its awesome public support that forced us to bring the PHL here, besides the quality infrastructure. The public here really enjoys the game. In the second leg of the previous edition, the home team, though, failed to perform up to the expectations, but the spectators still thronged the stadium in thousands. And now that PHL is here again, it seems the city is gradually becoming the capital of Indian hockey.

The public support not only motivates the players to perform better, but also help in increasing the viewership of the league, which is very important for any tournament to grow big and become a brand. From the second to third edition of the league we have seen more than 100 time increase in the viewership. The PHL is hit in Pakistan and due to the involvement of foreign players; its demand is increasing day by day in Europe and other parts of the world as well.