Third edition of PHL starts tomorrow

Chennai, Jan 3 (UNI) From one in the first edition to four in the second and now 30 foreign players spread over seven teams, the Premier Hockey League (PHL) is getting bigger and bigger and the third edition is all set to hit off at the Astro-turf stadium here from tomorrow.

With the introduction of one-on-one Innovation for the first time, under which the player (who is to take the penalty stroke) has to dribble from the 25 yard line and score the goal within eight seconds instead of directly taking the stroke, is all set to captivate the audience during the month-long hockey carnival that would continue till February 4.

This would be applicable even during tie-breaker if the teams finished on level terms after the extra time, the first half of which would be played under Silver Goal basis (the teams has to play the full half even after they scored the goal), and the second half on golden goal rule.

Defending champions Bangalore Lions, having two Dutch players and one from Pakistan in the line-up, would be keen to retain the title and take home the prize money of Rs 40 lakh. However, they would be vary of runner-up Sher-E-Jalandhar.

Other teams in the fray include Chennai Veerans, Maratha Warriors, Orissa Steelers, Chandigarh Dynamos and Hyderabad Sultans.

Each game would be played over four quarters of 17 minutes and 30 seconds instead of two halves and the first half of extra time would be played.

Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) President K P S Gill told reporters here today that with so much of foreign players showing interest to play in the PHL, a lot of Indian players would get exposure to International standards of hockey.

''The higher participation of players from Europe, Australia Spain, Holland and Pakistan only showed the popularity of the league as well as the quality of the game'', he said.

''All the seven teams have even spread of foreign players, providing a visual treat for the hockey lovers'', Mr Gill said.

Each team would play against each other twice at Chennai and in Chandigarh (February 11 to March five) and the top two would play in the best of three finals at Chandigarh.

He said though the IHF was keen to take the league to various parts of the country, some of the states did not have floodlight facilities.

IHF was working with various state associations to install flood lighting facility, Mr Gill added.

UNI