{"id":282771,"date":"2025-04-15T18:39:23","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T18:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/15\/hockey-india-league-inaugural-womens-event-to-have-four-teams-instead-of-six\/"},"modified":"2025-04-15T18:39:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T18:39:23","slug":"hockey-india-league-inaugural-womens-event-to-have-four-teams-instead-of-six","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/15\/hockey-india-league-inaugural-womens-event-to-have-four-teams-instead-of-six\/","title":{"rendered":"Hockey India League: Inaugural women\u2019s event to have four teams instead of six"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The buzz on the day of the Hockey India League\u2019s official launch event was around the inaugural women\u2019s league for the sport in the country. The six-team event was to be held concurrently with the men\u2019s tournament, which was making a comeback after seven years. However, there will now be just four teams \u2014 at least for the first season.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo of the women\u2019s franchises will be announced shortly after the closure of legal proceedings in the coming days,\u201d was the official statement. That did happen, as Hyderabad<\/a> Toofans (who also own a men\u2019s team) and a Mumbai<\/a> franchise to be owned by BC Jindal Group were confirmed by Hockey India. But there was a catch: these two teams won\u2019t be part of the upcoming season but will only take part from Season 2.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter we announced that there would be six teams, Roundglass unfortunately had to miss out (both men\u2019s and women\u2019s). 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\u2019s league 2024-\u201925 takes place, we will have only four teams,\u201d Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey told The Indian Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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So on Tuesday, the four teams at the auction tables will be JSW\u2019s Soorma Hockey Club (Haryana and Punjab), Shrachi Rahr Bengal Tigers (West Bengal), Delhi<\/a> SG Pipers (New Delhi) and Odisha Warriors (Rourkela) owned by Navoyam Sports Ventures.<\/p>\n

Since the best players would be snapped up by the four teams during Tuesday\u2019s auction, the new teams that\u2019ll join next season might face a little disadvantage on that front.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cIf 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,\u201d Tirkey added.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s) but with a purse of Rs 2 crore (the men\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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Focus on India internationals<\/h2>\n

It also remains to be seen if the Indian players command a similar sort of monetary outlay as their top male counterparts. The men\u2019s 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\u2019s team missed out on qualifying for Paris 2024 and are in a transition phase under new coach Harendra Singh. \u201cHIL\u2019s previous played a major role in bringing Indian youngsters for the men\u2019s team up to the world-class level. That is the sort of impact we are hoping for the women in this Olympic cycle,\u201d Tirkey had told this newspaper.<\/p>\n

The auction will witness over 250 domestic women\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s league will be played in Ranchi, but there might be a rescheduling needed given only four teams are in action now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assistant Editor and is based in New Delhi. … Read More <\/a>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n