The buzz on the day of the Hockey India League’s official launch event was around the inaugural women’s league for the sport in the country. The six-team event was to be held concurrently with the men’s tournament, which was making a comeback after seven years. However, there will now be just four teams — at least for the first season.
“Two of the women’s franchises will be announced shortly after the closure of legal proceedings in the coming days,” was the official statement. That did happen, as Hyderabad Toofans (who also own a men’s team) and a Mumbai franchise to be owned by BC Jindal Group were confirmed by Hockey India. But there was a catch: these two teams won’t be part of the upcoming season but will only take part from Season 2.
“After we announced that there would be six teams, Roundglass unfortunately had to miss out (both men’s and women’s). We do have two new teams confirmed, with Hyderabad Toofans and a Mumbai franchise owned by BC Jindal joining in. But on Tuesday, when the auction for women’s league 2024-’25 takes place, we will have only four teams,” Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey told The Indian Express.
So on Tuesday, the four teams at the auction tables will be JSW’s Soorma Hockey Club (Haryana and Punjab), Shrachi Rahr Bengal Tigers (West Bengal), Delhi SG Pipers (New Delhi) and Odisha Warriors (Rourkela) owned by Navoyam Sports Ventures.
Since the best players would be snapped up by the four teams during Tuesday’s auction, the new teams that’ll join next season might face a little disadvantage on that front.
If there is no major reshuffle then the new teams would have to form their teams from the remaining talent. The process of confirming the teams did take some time. “If the teams wanted to take part in the auction this season, they could have. But the respective managements decided they will take part from the second season. The HIL committee will discuss what can be done for the betterment of this,” Tirkey added.
The task for the teams is also going to be tougher as they have to build a squad of 24 players (same as the men’s) but with a purse of Rs 2 crore (the men’s teams had a purse of Rs 4 crore). The slab for players remains at Rs 2 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. The squads will comprise 16 Indian players, with a mandatory inclusion of 4 junior players, and 8 overseas players.
Focus on India internationals
It also remains to be seen if the Indian players command a similar sort of monetary outlay as their top male counterparts. The men’s team are riding a high of back-to-back Olympic bronze medals. On the flip side, after their fairy tale run in Tokyo where they finished fourth, the women’s team missed out on qualifying for Paris 2024 and are in a transition phase under new coach Harendra Singh. “HIL’s previous played a major role in bringing Indian youngsters for the men’s team up to the world-class level. That is the sort of impact we are hoping for the women in this Olympic cycle,” Tirkey had told this newspaper.
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The auction will witness over 250 domestic women’s players and more than 70 overseas players. As such, all eyes will be on the top internationals like current captain Salima Tete, former captain and star goalkeeper Savita Punia, India’s most capped player Vandana Katariya, and creative midfielders Navneet Kaur and Neha Goyal. Charlotte Stapenhorst (Germany), Maria Granatto (Argentina), Rachael Lynch (Australia), and Nike Lorenz (Germany) could be the top international recruits.
The women’s league will be played in Ranchi, but there might be a rescheduling needed given only four teams are in action now.
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