The Waveriders went ahead with a fine strike by Simon Child, Austin Smith drew the hosts level through a drag flick on a PC with a little bit of variation. And in the final quarter, Manpreet Singh’s strike on PC sealed the title for the hosts, who had 12th man with them i.e. a packed capacity crowd.
Manpreet Singh and Moritz Fürste lifting the HIL Trophy
Ranchi Rhions Celebrating with young Mandeep Singh on their shoulders
Ranchi Rhions the Hockey India League 2013 Champions
Hero Player of the Tournament ( Rs 25,00,000/-): Sardar Singh
‘Ponty Chadha Trophy’ for Upcoming Player of the Tournament ( Rs 20,00,000/-): Mandeep Singh
‘Airtel Award’ for Most Goals in the Tournament ( Rs 10,00,000/-): Delhi Waveriders
Hockey India League Points Table after the completion of league stage matches
The five team tournament has seen 30 round-robin matches to eliminate Ric Charlesworth coached Mumbai Magicians, who could just manage to win only match of their 12 league matches. Rest of the teams have played each other thrice with mixed results. Lucknow based Wizards have been most unpredictable in the tournament and are the only team who defeated the table toppers Delhi Waveriders in the league stage and settled the scores with 1 draw, 1 win and 1 loss against the title favorites and also only to get defeated by eliminated side Magicians.
The unpredictable Wizards, who are coached by Roelant Oltmans, will face the Rhinos coached by Gregg Clark, while Barry Dancer’s Warriors will be facing Dr AK Bansal’s Waveriders in the semi finals. As the league stage progressed towards the end, teams looked better in their structure of play and on-field communications, it will be interesting to see how these teams coached in four different styles will play tactically in the knock out stage of the tournament.
Preview Semi 1: Ranchi Rhinos begin favourites against UP Wizards on home turf Continue reading →
Mumbai, 07 February 2013: Ranchi Rhinos beat a misfiring Dabur Mumbai Magicians side 1-0 in the final league game of the Hero Hockey India League at Mumbai Hockey Association Stadium on Thursday.
Nick Wilson of Ranchi Rhinos in action, he scored only goal of the match against Mumbai Magicians
Rhinos, who were guaranteed to finish second and face UP Wizards in the semis before this match started, earned five points through a superb field goal from Nick Wilson in the final quarter. Magicians suffered their 11th defeat in 12 games in this tournament, to finish on a disappointing note.
Just like Thursday’s evening match between Uttar Pradesh Wizards and Delhi Waveriders, this game also saw no goals being scored in the first half. There were chances a plenty, but the deep defenders and goalkeepers of both the teams were superb. Continue reading →
Mumbai, 6 February 2013: Bottom placed Dabur Mumbai Magicians would have nothing but pride to defend when they take on second placed Ranchi Rhinos in their last league encounter of the Hero Hockey India League at the Mumbai Hockey Association Stadium here on Thursday.
The Magicians went into their last two league encounters in a must-win situation to keep alive their semi-finals hopes. But a 1-0 loss against fellow strugglers Uttar Pradesh Wizards on Tuesday was enough to condemn them to the fifth and final spot and thereby throw them out of semi-final reckoning.
The hosts, who have gathered 15 points from 11 outings, have managed to win only one match in the entire tournament so far and the team’s defensive frailties have meant that the Magicians could never launch a serious challenge in the competition. Continue reading →
Mumbai, 05 February 2013: Uttar Pradesh Wizards sealed their place in the semi-finals of the Hero Hockey India League with a 1-0 win over Dabur Mumbai Magicians at Mumbai Hockey Association Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday. Wizards’ win also ended Magicians’ chances of making it to the semi-finals.
Mumbai Magicians defending a PC, in which UP Wizards outsmarted them, Luke Doerner found target as Raghunath played dummy
Nothing less than a win would have kept Magicians’ challenge in the tournament alive. However, a first half goal by Luke Doerner sealed the fate of the hosts.
Knowing that only a win can keep them in the tournament, Magicians went on attack right from the word go. And the hosts were rewarded with a penalty corner in the second minute. Sandip Singh, the tournament’s top scorer, went to the left of the Wizards’ goalie, but his strike was deflected wide by a Wizards’ defender. Continue reading →
New Delhi, 04 February 2013: The Hero Hockey India League has started selling tickets for the final four play-off matches that includes two Semi-Finals, 3rd place play off and a Final to be played on 9th and 10th February in Ranchi.
The tickets are available at www.ticketgenie.in (Semis and Finals) website and being sold at Gate No.2 of the Birsa Munda Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, i.e. the venue of finals to be played on 9th and 10th Feb, for the spectators from today onwards.
The tickets for Semi-Finals are priced at Rs. 60/- and Rs. 100/-
and for Finals at Rs. 100/- and Rs. 150/-. Continue reading →
The Magicians went into their last two league encounters in a must-win situation to keep alive their semi-finals hopes. But a 1-0 loss against fellow strugglers Uttar Pradesh Wizards on Tuesday was enough to condemn them to the fifth and final spot and thereby throw them out of semi-final reckoning.
