Men's Hockey India League Kicks Off in Chennai with Exciting Matchups
Men's Hockey India League Begins
The anticipation for a new champion has finally come to an end as the Men's Hockey India League (HIL) is set to commence on Saturday, January 3, at the renowned Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
This marks the second season of the revitalized Men's Hockey India League, which will take place across various cities, starting in Chennai, followed by Ranchi, and concluding in Bhubaneswar with the final match scheduled for January 26.
Hockey India aims to bring the league to numerous cities passionate about hockey, allowing more fans to witness thrilling matches featuring elite players from around the world.
The opening match will feature the Tamil Nadu Dragons facing off against the Hyderabad Toofans. The Toofans were the runners-up in the previous season, narrowly losing 3-4 to the champions, Shrachi Bengal Tigers. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Dragons are eager to start strong after finishing just outside the top three last season, losing 2-3 to Soorma Hockey Club, as reported by Hockey India.
This season will adopt a single round-robin format, with the top four teams progressing to the knockout stages, a change from the previous edition's two-group format. In the playoffs, the top two teams will compete in Qualifier 1, with the winner advancing to the final and the loser moving to Qualifier 2. The second team in Qualifier 2 will be determined by the winner of Eliminator 1, which will feature the teams ranked 3rd and 4th in the league.
The eight teams participating in the Men's HIL include the defending champions Shrachi Bengal Tigers, Hyderabad Toofans, Soorma Hockey Club, SG Pipers, Tamil Nadu Dragons, Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, Ranchi Royals, and HIL GC, which has taken over from UP Rudras.
Fans can look forward to seeing top Indian players such as Harmanpreet Singh, the captain of India, representing Soorma Hockey Club, Hardik Singh for HIL GC, Manpreet Singh with Ranchi Royals, and Rupinder Pal Singh returning to competitive hockey with SG Pipers. Additionally, Junior World Cup Bronze medalists like Rohit and Dilraj Singh for SG Pipers, Amir Ali and Manmeet for Ranchi Royals, Sunil PR for Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, and Prince Deep Singh for Tamil Nadu Dragons will also be in action.
International stars to watch include Tom Boon with Ranchi Royals, Christopher Ruhr with Shrachi Bengal Tigers, Vincent Vanasch and Victor Wegnez with Soorma, Arthur Van Doren and Alexander Hendrickx with Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, and Sam Ward with HIL GC.
Squad for Men’s HIL 2025-26
- SG Pipers
Indian: Pawan, Rupinder Pal Singh, Varun Kumar, Manjeet, Rohit, Jarmanpreet Singh, Ankit Pal, Raj Kumar Pal, Thokchom Kingson Singh, Shamsher Singh, Aditya Lalage, Dilraj Singh, Sourabh Anand Khushwaha
Overseas: Tomas Santiago (ARG), Bram Van Battum (NED), Gareth Furlong (GBR), Willott Ky (AUS), Jacob Draper (GBR), Tomas Domene (ARG), Roman Duvekot (BEL)
- Shrachi Bengal Tigers
Indian: Vivek Lakra, Parmod, Jugraj Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Affan Yousuf, Pradhan Poovanna Chandura, Atul Deep, Pardeep Singh Sandhu, Ajinkya Jadhav, Ketan Kushwaha, Gursewak Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek
Overseas: James Carr (New Zealand), Tommy Willems (Belgium), Gauthier Boccard (Belgium), Enrique Gonzalez (ESP), Christopher Ruhr (Germany), Tom Grambusch (Germany), Sean Findlay (New Zealand)
- JSW Soorma Hockey Club
Indian: Mohith HS, Gurinder Singh, Pradip Mandal, Sukhvinder, Harmanpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Jeet Pal, Akashdeep Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Harjeet Singh, Pawan Rajbhar, Maninder Singh, Gurjant Singh
Overseas: Vincent Vanasch (BEL), Nicolas Della Torre (ARG), Jeremy Hayward (AUS), Victor Wegnez (BEL), Nicolas Poncelet (BEL), Nicolas Keenan (ARG), Dayaan Cassiem (RSA)
- Ranchi Royals
Indian: Rajak Pankaj Kumar, Suraj Karkera, Purti Ashish Tani, Ravneet Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Anmol Ekka, Amir Ali, Vishnukant Singh, Yashdeep Siwach, Manpreet Singh, Manmeet Singh Rai, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Mandeep Singh
Overseas: Joshua Beltz (AUS), Van Oots Maxime (BEL), Tim Howard (AUS), Jack Waller (GBR), Mustaphaa Cassiem (RSA), Tom Boon (BEL), Sam Lane (NZL)
- Tamil Nadu Dragons
Indians: Prince Deep Singh, Anand Lakra, Pruthvi G M, Amit Rohidas, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen, Chandan Yadav, Shesha Gowda, Arun J, Sushil Dhanwar, Adrohit Ekka, Selvaraj Kanagaraj, Selvam Karthi, Uttam Singh
Overseas: David Harte (IRE), Sander de Wijn (NED), Tom Craig (AUS), Blake Govers (AUS), Paul Kaufmann (GER), Thomas Sorsby (GBR), Nathan Ephraums (AUS)
- Hyderabad Toofans
Indian: Bikramjit Singh, Mukul Sharma, Amandeep Lakra, Devindar Walmiki, Sundram Singh Rajawat, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit Walmiki, Rajinder Singh, Rahim Aakib Sayyed, Shilanand Lakra, Irengbam Rohit Singh, Talwinder Singh, Arshdeep Singh
Overseas: Jean Paul Danneberg (GER), Arthur de Sloover (NED), Zachary Wallace (GBR), Michel Struthoff (GER), Nic Woods (AUS), Tim Brand (AUS), Jacob Anderson (AUS)
- Vedanta Kalinga Lancers
Indian: Krishan B Pathak, Sunil PB, Pratap Lakra, Rohit Kullu, Sanjay, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem, Amit Kumar Toppo, Rosan Kujur, Gursahibjit Singh, Angad Bir Singh, Deepak Pradhan, Dilpreet Singh, Boby Singh Dhami
Overseas: Jed Snowden (AUS), Antoine Kina (BEL), Arthur Van Doren (BEL), Alexander Hendrickx (BEL), Craig Marais (AUS), Liam Henderson (AUS), Cooper Burns (AUS)
- HIL GC
Indian: Prashant Kumar Chauhan, Jasjit Singh Kular, Mohammad Haris, Surender Kumar, Prasant Barla, Talem Priyobarta, Hardik Singh, Manmeet Singh, Rahul Yadav, Ajeet Yadav, Sudeep Chirmako, Gurjot Singh, Lalit Upadhyay
Overseas: James Mazarelo (GBR), James Albery (GBR), Kane Russell (NZL), Daragh Walsh (IRE), Simon Yorston (NZL), Sam Ward (GBR), Tanguy Cosyns (BEL).