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Women’s Nations League volleyball: Japan recover from 2 sets down to beat Thailand 3-2

Japan continued their dominance of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Na…
#Japan #JP #JapanNews #asia #bulgaria #canada #China #FerhatAkbas #FIVBVolleyballWomen'sNationsLeague #hongkong #Italy #JapanTopics #KaiTakArena #KiattipongRadchatagriengkai #news #ottawa #ParisOlympics #Thailand #turkish
https://www.alojapan.com/1300966/womens-nations-league-volleyball-japan-recover-from-2-sets-down-to-beat-thailand-3-2/

https://www.alojapan.com/1300966/womens-nations-league-volleyball-japan-recover-from-2-sets-down-to-beat-thailand-3-2/ Women’s Nations League volleyball: Japan recover from 2 sets down to beat Thailand 3-2 #asia #bulgaria #canada #China #FerhatAkbas #FIVBVolleyballWomen'sNationsLeague #HongKong #Italy #Japan #JapanNews #JapanTopics #KaiTakArena #KiattipongRadchatagriengkai #news #ottawa #ParisOlympics #Thailand #turkish Japan continued their dominance of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League on Wednesday, coming back from two sets down to beat Thail…

Celine Dion Makes Surprise Video Appearance at Eurovision Song Contest: “Music Unites Us”
#TV #TVNews #CelineDion #Eurovisionsongcontest #International #ParisOlympics

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/celine-dion-video-appearance-eurovision-song-contest-1236216770/

https://www.alojapan.com/1271633/batt-doyle-refines-focus-after-tokyo-blitz/ Batt-Doyle refines focus after Tokyo blitz #AustralianRecord #BattDoyle #IzziBattDoyle #LosAngelesOlympics #news #ParisOlympics #Tokyo #TokyoNews #東京 #東京都 An Australian record on the Toyko streets flanking Japan National Stadium has inspired Izzi Batt-Doyle to chase 10,000m qualification and run inside it at the world championships later this year. The 29-year-old from Adelaide has raced the 5000m at the last two Olympics, but boasts the thir…

https://www.alojapan.com/1267860/who-are-the-top-guns-likely-to-feature-in-kenyas-marathon-squad-to-tokyo/ Who are the top guns likely to feature in Kenya’s marathon squad to Tokyo? #2020OlympicGames #AFormerBostonMarathonChampion #ParisOlympics #Tokyo #TokyoTopics #TokyoWorldChampionships #WesleyKorir #東京 #東京都 Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe crosses the line to win the men’s race at the 2025 London Marathon in central London on April 27, 2025. [AFP] Every second, Sugoi. This is the official motto of the 2025 Tokyo World Championships – the biggest a…

https://www.alojapan.com/1267353/top-guns-likely-to-feature-in-kenyas-marathon-squad-to-tokyo/ Top guns likely to feature in Kenya’s marathon squad to Tokyo #2025TokyoWorldChampionships #HellenObiri #ParisOlympics #SharonLokedi #Tokyo #TokyoTopics #東京 #東京都 Kenyan long distance runner Sharon Lokedi crosses the finish line to win the women’s race during the 129th Boston Marathon on April 21, 2025, in Boston, Massachusetts. [ AFP] Every second, Sugoi. This is the official motto of the 2025 Tokyo World Championships – the biggest ath…

American Sprinter Fred Kerley Detained for Alleged Assault in Miami Ahead of Event

#assaultarrest #athletemisconduct #Olympicbronzemedalist #ParisJO #ParisOlympics
https://blazetrends.com/american-sprinter-fred-kerley-detained-for-alleged-assault-in-miami-ahead-of-event/?fsp_sid=24521

https://www.alojapan.com/1250445/doping-offence-earns-tokyo-olympics-swimming-gold-medallist-a-21-month-ban/ Doping offence earns Tokyo Olympics swimming gold medallist a 21-month ban #AfricaAquatics #AhmedHafnaoui #AquaticSportsIntegrityUnit #Fukuoka #news #ParisOlympics #Tokyo #TokyoNews #TokyoOlympics #TunisianOlympicCommittee #WhereaboutsFailures #東京 #東京都 Tokyo Olympics 400 metres freestyle champion Ahmed Hafnaoui has received a 21-month suspension for three whereabouts failures, the Aquatic Sports Integrity Unit said. The Tunisian swimmer’s ban…

Pedaling a New Path: Irish Olympian Megan Armitage Bids Farewell to Pro Cycling

...#MeganArmitage #ProCycling #CyclingLife #EFEducationOatly #IrishCycling #RoadCycling #WomenInSports #CyclingCommunity #ParisOlympics #NationalChampionships #UCIWomensCycling #VueltaExtremadura #ArkèaProCycling #TourDownUnder #CyclingRetirement Source link Megan Armitage, a prominent Irish cyclist who represented Ireland at the Paris Olympics and was a key rider for the professional team…

https://cyclereview.co.uk/pedaling-a-new-path-irish-olympian-megan-armitage-bids-farewell-to-pro-cycling/

Paris Olympic Ceremony Director Thomas Jolly Reflects On The Bad Weather Being The Great Equalizer: “The Rain That Fell On Lady Gaga Also Falls On The Audience” — Series Mania
#News #LadyGaga #Olympics #ParisOlympics #SeriesMania #ThomasJolly #TVMarkets

https://deadline.com/2025/03/paris-olympics-thomas-jolly-lady-gaga-rain-series-mania-1236350879/

Seven People Stand Trial In Paris Over Online Threats & Insults Against Paris Olympics Ceremonies Director Thomas Jolly
#News #Sports #2024Olympics #France #ParisOlympics #ThomasJolly

https://deadline.com/2025/03/seven-people-paris-trial-threats-insults-paris-olympics-ceremony-thomas-jolly-1236311525/

Seven go on trial over cyberbullying of Paris Olympics' ceremonies director.

Seven people go on trial in Paris on Wednesday accused of cyberbullying Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the Paris Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, by sending him death threats, aggravated insults, homophobic and antisemitic abuse.

https://mediafaro.org/article/20250305-seven-go-on-trial-over-cyberbullying-of-paris-olympics-ceremonies-director?mf_channel=mastodon&action=forward

#France #Olympics #Trial #Court #Legal #Paris2024 #ParisOlympics #ThomasJolly #Cyberbullying #DeathThreats #Homophobia #Antisemitism

Manu Bhaker may get ‘worn out’ Paris Olympics medals replaced

A lot of athletes from across the world have posted pictures of their worn out medals on social media. Bhaker’s bronze medals have also lost their colour.....

This was originally posted on India Weekly. Read the detailed report here:
https://www.indiaweekly.biz/manu-bhaker-paris-olympics-medals-worn-out/
#Manubhaker #ParisOlympics #Paris2024 #Medals #indian #UK #US

2024 Year in Sport, Badminton: Misses at the Olympics, medal haul at Paralympics, civil war and calls for change

Badminton’s exclusion from the upcoming 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland was perhaps the biggest news coming from the sport this year.

This move drew flak from some of India’s prominent names in badminton, given that the country has won 31 medals in the racquet sport in the CWG.

Apart from this, there were retirements, there heartbreaks, and there were athletes lashing out at their federations in 2024. We take a look at the major highlights in badminton this year:

January

– Tai Tzu Ying clinched the India Open at New Delhi’s KD Jadhav stadium, beginning the last season in her storied career with a title.

In last lap of career, Tai Tzu Ying pulls out greatest hits against Yufei

– The Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary Sanjay Mishra said that there were plans to revive the Premier Badminton League either by the end of 2024 or early next year.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (R) and Chirag Shetty of India celebrate the victory in the Men’s Doubles Semi Finals match against Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae of Korea during day five of the Malaysia Open at Axiata Arena on January 13, 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

– Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty regained the World No. 1 ranking in men’s doubles after successive runner-up finishes in the Malaysia Open Super 1000 and India Open Super 750 tournaments.

February

– The Indian women shuttlers, with youngster Anmol Kharb getting her moment in the sun, clinched a historic gold medal in the Badminton Asia Team Championships after beating Thailand 3-2.

India’s Anmol Kharb (C) celebrates after winning against Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong in their women’s singles final match at the 2024 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Shah Alam, Selangor, on February, 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

– Former Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei shot a warning ahead of the Paris Olympics and urged that drastic changes were needed to rescue the sport in his country. He felt like “giving up” on Malaysian badminton after the country fell 0-3 to China in the men’s event at the Asia Team Championships.

– India got three world champions in the Para World Badminton Championships in Pramod Bhagat, Suhas Yathiraj and Krishna Nagar, and ended the tournament with 18 medals.

March

– B. Sai Praneeth, who won a World Championship bronze medal in 2019, called time on his international career.

– Satwik-Chirag won their second French Open title after beating Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan in the final. This was also the Indian pair’s first title of the year.

– At the All-England Open, Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie won the tournament for the first time in his career while Spain’s Carolina Marin clinched her second title after a gap of nine years.

Carolina Marin of Spain celebrates after winning the Women’s Singles Final against Akane Yamaguchi of Japan during Day Six of the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2024 at Utilita Arena Birmingham on March 17, 2024 in Birmingham, England.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

April

– At 29, two-time world champion Kento Momota of Japan announced his retirement from international badminton, adding that he would continue plying his trade in his country’s domestic circuit.

– The Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced India as the host for next year’s World Junior Championships, with the tournament set to take place in Guwahati. This is the second time the country will host the competition after it did so back in 2008 in Pune.

May

– Indonesia suffered twice at the hands of China as the latter won both the Thomas and the Uber Cups this year.

– Satwik-Chirag won its second title of the year after beating China’s Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi in the final of the Thailand Open.

– Indian women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand pulled off an upset by beating the then World No. 2 duo Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee of South Korea to make the Singapore Open quarterfinals.

June

– Indian Para-shuttler Suhas Yathiraj, who clinched a World Championships gold earlier in the year, became World No. 1 for the first time, displacing French legend Lucas Mazur.

– A 17-year-old player from China, Zhang Zhijie, unfortunately passed away after collapsing on the court during an Asia Junior Championships match.

July

– Indian youngster Priyanshu Rajawat beat then World No. 4 Anders Antonsen of Denmark to make the Canada Open semifinals.

August

– In the Paris Olympics, Lakshya Sen became the first Indian man to qualify for the semifinals at the Games. He eventually lost in the bronze medal match. On the other hand, Satwik-Chirag, which was favourite to medal in the quadrennial event, bowed out in the quarterfinals. It was South Korea’s An Se-Young and Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen clinched the women’s and men’s singles titles respectively.

Lakshya Sen tried hard but lost his bronze medal match against Jia Lee of Malaysia in men’s singles in La Chapelle arena in Paris Olympic 2024 in Paris on Monday, 05 August 2024.
| Photo Credit:
RITU RAJ KONWAR

– Mathias Boe, an Olympic silver medallist and more recently the coach of Satwik-Chirag retired from his coaching days, making the announcement after the Indian duo crashed out of the Paris Olympics in the quarters.

– Young, after clinching the Olympics gold, lambasted her country’s badminton federation, revealing how she was forced by the national body to play through injuries. She also criticised South Korea’s training methods and called them outdated.

– World champion and reigning Paralympics gold medallist Pramod Bhagat was ruled out of the Paris Games after he was found guilty of breaching anti-doping regulations by the BWF.

– After winning silver at the Paris Olympics, China’s He Bing Jiao announced her retirement from international badminton.

– Indian teen Tanvi Patri won the U-15 girls singles title at the Badminton Asia U-17 & U-15 junior championships and became the third player from the country to do so after Samiya Imad Farooqui and Tasnim Mir won in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

Tanvi Patri, the U-15 singles champion at the 2024 Asian Junior (U15 & U17) badminton championships in Chengdu and U-15 and U-17 girls’ singles winner at the 2024 sub-junior Nationals in Chennai, training at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit:
SUDHAKARA JAIN

September

– Nitesh Kumar won the gold medal in the men’s singles SL3 category at the Paris Paralympics. Shortly after that, he came out and let known his frustration with the BAI and asked Indian para-badminton to be placed under the aegis of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI).

– Malvika Bansod of India began her China Open campaign with an upset as she beat Paris Olympics bronze medallist Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia.

October

– Badminton, amongst other sports, was dropped from 2026 Commonwealth Games set to be hosted by Glasgow in Scotland.

November

– Treesa-Gayatri sealed its spot in the BWF World Tour Finals, being the lone representation from India.

– Satwik-Chirag returned after a gap of three months and made it till the China Masters semifinals. However, the pair withdrew from the Syed Modi International tournament.

– Former player Parupalli Kashyap came out and made a bold statement that badminton as a sport hasn’t grown in India.

Parupalli Kashyap: We have superstars and money but badminton as a sport hasn’t grown

December

– Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu ended her two-year title drought by clinching the Syed Modi singles title as Treesa-Gayatri won the women’s doubles to collect its maiden Super 300 title.

– Paralympics gold medallist Nitesh Kumar was nominated by the BWF for the men’s Para Badminton Player of the Year award.

– Doubles specialist Tan Kim Her, known for bringing Satwik and Chirag together, returned to India for a second stint as a coach for the national team.

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HIL 2.0: Has Hockey India addressed past mistakes for a sustainable franchise model?

With the Hockey India League (HIL) returning in a fresh avatar after seven years, Hockey India (HI) will want to ensure that its second coming is smooth sailing.

For many years, former Indian players have spoken about the need for a robust domestic competition to aid the development of domestic talents. The announcement has been met with unanimous support from various quarters of the hockey community. “We have been waiting for so long for HIL to return,” said India international Amit Rohidas, who had his breakthrough in 2013 with the league.

In 2024, none of the older corporates or owners is back, with seven new teams introduced in the men’s league, except for Kalinga Lancers, which has been revived by Vedanta Limited. Four women’s teams will compete in the newly launched women’s HIL.

When the HIL initially folded in 2017, it was mired in issues, with teams facing financial burdens resulting in salary defaults for players and staff and scheduling conflicts with the international calendar being the primary ones.

Between 2013 and 2017, the HIL was played in a home-and-away format in Mumbai, Lucknow, Delhi, Ranchi and Chandigarh. However, the 2024-25 men’s and women’s competitions will be played in Rourkela and Ranchi, respectively. Bhola Nath Singh, HI’s secretary general and HIL governing committee member, pointed out that the biggest lesson for the league from HIL 1.0 was to adopt a sustainable approach, which is reflected in the decision to adopt two centralised venues for the relaunch.

The centralised venues with world-class infrastructure will help capitalise on the popularity of the sport, feels Divyanshu Singh, COO of JSW Sports, which owns Soorma Hockey Club men’s and women’s teams. The league recently announced it will offer free tickets for all the matches in both venues. “The first edition (2024-25) is happening in Rourkela and Ranchi, which have state-of-the-art stadiums, and hockey is very popular there. Hockey is not popular in urban India. I think that was the mistake that happened last time, where you had franchises from urban India, but you were not seeing the kind of response, be it in ticketing or the buzz from the fans,” said Divyanshu.

Madhav Krishna Singhania, who owns UP Rudras, backed the current model of the HIL. “I feel what happened maybe in the past was seeing the success of the Indian Premier League (IPL), one tried to build costs as per the IPL. However, the revenues in viewership maybe did not come as per the IPL. So, for any league to become big, you start by having lesser costs. When there is more viewership, there is more revenue coming from broadcasting or sponsorship. Suddenly, you see the players’ purses also increase,” said Singhania.

The HIL is a unique competition unlike any other in the hockey calendar. The top European male players ply their trade in their storied domestic leagues back home. The Belgian, German and Dutch top-division leagues, which operate over nine months, have a history of over 100, 100 and 50 years, respectively. Each league has 12 teams, with 22 matches played in a round-robin system with promotion and relegation. The women’s league of the Olympic champion Netherlands mirrors their men’s league, with its first season dating back to 1981.

In comparison, India doesn’t offer a professional league system. The recent Senior Nationals lasted just 13 days. The upcoming HIL, similar to the 2013-17 version, will see each team play 10 league games, followed by the knockouts in the men’s league. In the W-HIL, each team will play six pool fixtures.

Germany’s Pasha Gademan, who will coach the Hyderabad Toofans, felt India did not have to replicate the European model while pointing out that the infrastructure is built for a shorter league.

“I doubt, in this setup [it’s possible]. I would say that the two things are very different. I think calling it a league is interesting because it sounds more like a ‘Hockey India tournament,’ but ‘league’ sounds a lot better, so I support the name. But it’s a bit more of a tournament, and the league in Europe is stretched out over a very long period,” said Gademan, who was the assistant coach for the German men’s national team during the 2023 World Cup win.

He added, “I’d rather see it stay like a compact league and have a high boost or an exciting period in the year instead of a regular league because a regular league has its pros and cons. I’ve been a coach of a top team for the last four seasons in Germany, yet the first 20 matches are almost boring in the sense that we know we’re going to win everything until the very end. And so you’ve got three quarters of a year where it’s not that exciting, and the last quarter of the year is super exciting.”

Top Europeans pull out

The scheduling issue, while not a roadblock, continues to be a thorn for HIL, leading to several overseas stars pulling out. The HIL was provided with a window by the International Hockey Federation from December 28 till the first week of February.

As many as 29 players from both the men’s and women’s leagues withdrew after the auction. Top European names like Seve Van Ass (UP Rudras), Tom Boon (Team Gonasika), Christopher Ruhr (Delhi SG Pipers), Tom Grambusch (Rarh Bengal Tigers), Jean-Paul Danneberg (Hyderabad Toofans), Nike Lorenz and Anna Toman (Soorma Hockey Club), etc., are giving the tournament a miss this year.

Reduced salaries, injuries and scheduling are among the prime factors cited for the withdrawals. While the competition offers a hefty payday for a short duration, the HIL falls during what would typically be their winter break from domestic leagues back home.

“A lot of the guys who have to be at home for Christmas, once they realised that the dates coincide with that, said they need to be with their families. I think that’s where issues came from. Hats off to the guys who are coming to India despite Christmas. They’re missing out on a big festival [Christmas] to be here. So, my respect for them as well,” said Singhania, whose team will also miss the services of Spain’s Alvaro Iglesias.

On the timing of the league, Sai Prakash Komireddi, CEO of Hyderabad Toofans, said, “The league will learn lessons from this. That’s the way it starts. And there are bound to be a few problems when you start a league.”

Problems aplenty: The scheduling issue, while not a roadblock, continues to be a thorn for HIL, leading to several overseas stars like Christopher Ruhr (extreme left) pulling out.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

While the 2024 auction brought riches to Indian talents, it wasn’t as lucrative for the overseas stars. Olympic gold medallist and World Cup winner Boon, signed for Team Gonasika for Rs. 27 lakh (€30,300), much less than 20-year-old Araijeet Singh Hundal (Rs. 42 lakh), an Indian junior team player. Germany’s Ruhr, one of the top buys in the 2016 auction for Rs. 63 lakh, had his final bid set at Rs. 18 lakh this year.

Pirmin Blaak, the Netherlands’ shootout hero in the Paris Olympics final, said he earned more in the 2013 edition of the HIL. “Back then, the pay was better,” Blaak told RTL Nederland after the auction. Blaak, picked up by Bengal Tigers for Rs. 25 lakh, two lakh less than his 2013 price, will not feature in this edition.

The 2024 auction format, in which the Indian Paris Olympic men’s team went under the hammer first, with a salary cap of Rs. 4 crore for each team, meant some foreign players were undervalued.

“In the last edition of HIL, overseas players were paid more than the Indians. This time, however, the tables have turned, and it seems a few international stars may not entirely agree with the shift. What they fail to grasp is that Harmanpreet Singh isn’t just one of the world’s best drag-flickers — he’s a brand in his own right. Everyone knows him as our beloved ‘Sarpanch Sahab’, and that star power is precisely why franchises kept bidding for him, even with a limited purse of just Rs 4 crore,” said Bhola Nath.

Only Gonzalo Peillat (Rs. 69 lakh), Jip Janssen (Rs. 55 lakh), and Jeremy Hayward (Rs. 42 lakh) were among the overseas players bought for over Rs. 40 lakh, largely due to the demand for penalty corner experts.

The HI secretary general also ensured tight measures are in place in the event of non-payment issues. “In the rare event that a franchise is unable to fulfil these commitments within 45 days of the season’s conclusion, the League reserves the right to temporarily suspend their participation until the dues are cleared. During this period, the franchise would also forego its share of the Central Rights Income. If payments remain outstanding beyond 60 days, HIL may consider further action, including the possibility of terminating the agreement after providing due notice,” said Bhola Nath.

Fight for second place

In an era of Indian sports where franchise competitions dominate mainstream sports, and with the Indian men’s team’s performances in successive Olympics, it was a no-brainer for corporates to give HIL another go.

“Cricket is right up there as the top sport in India. But next to cricket, looking at which sport is going to be second to cricket, that has to be hockey because it has the ingredients for it,” said Toofans’ Komireddi. The HIL window will mean fewer clashes with domestic competitions for TV ratings. The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) wraps up on December 29, but there is the ISL, and the Indian men’s cricket team has four white-ball matches scheduled during the business end of the HIL.

However, apart from the IPL, and to a lesser extent PKL, Indian franchises continue to bleed money in other leagues. Rahul Todi of Shrachi Rarh (Bengal Tigers owner) felt the digital penetration in India and the bronze medals in Tokyo and Paris will help HIL 2.0 strike the right chord. Apart from the reduced cost due to the centralised venues, Todi also commended HI’s decision to market the product by broadcasting the HIL on both Doordarshan and Sony Sports Network. The league will also be streamed on Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform, Waves.

Apart from the centralised venues, broadcast strategy was another takeaway for the HIL governing committee. “The previous editions highlighted how a strong broadcast presence could significantly influence audience engagement and brand value. This time, the league aims to go beyond standard telecast practices, integrating advanced technology, expert analysis, and strategic marketing to enhance viewer experience and broaden reach,” said Bhola Nath.

He also confirmed there will be 16 cameras deployed at each stadium and elaborated on the cutting-edge telecast experience that will be in place. “Advanced graphics will provide detailed insights into gameplay, such as goal breakdowns, player movements, passing speeds, angles, and the time taken by goalkeepers to make saves. Additionally, features like drag-flick and penalty stroke speed will be showcased, giving viewers a deeper understanding of the game’s technical nuances.”

Sony Sports Network, which came on board earlier this month as a broadcast partner, is optimistic about a boost in viewership due to India’s recent success with both the men’s and women’s teams. “The interest in hockey has seen a rise since the Indian team won the bronze at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, which was their first Olympic medal in 40 years,” said Rajesh Kaul, Sony Sports Network India’s Chief Revenue Officer. “Hockey does not get the kind of viewership that cricket brings. However, with the sport being on the rise, we are ahead of the curve with the broadcasting of hockey in India.”

Divyanshu praised the broadcast model with DD and Sony Sports, saying it offers the opportunity to penetrate both rural and urban markets. He added, “Like it happens in all the leagues, there’s a split between all the franchises and all the leagues. So that will happen. Currently, I’m not in a position to disclose all the numbers, because we also haven’t received communication in terms of the media rights numbers.”

Todi, who also co-owns the Indian Super League (ISL) club Mohammedan SC, said, “I think hockey will receive much more support centrally also. And I think it’s very expensive because of the cost factor if you compare ISL costs and the ISL structure. I think that’s where I would credit Hockey India for their cost structures. We find some of the things in ISL a little exaggerated in terms of what is practical for India. So I think HIL has been very mindful of this.”

While centralised venues mean lower costs, franchises can’t tap into the fans’ support in their home cities like Kolkata, Chennai, Haryana and Punjab. Only Odisha-based Kalinga Lancers will find itself at home in Rourkela, while the Rourkela-based women’s team Odisha Warriors will play only one of its six matches in the city.

“There are pluses and minuses [to the centralised venue]. In the long term, the home-and-away format is needed to build that sort of local connection and a local fan base to come and follow the sport. There’s no dearth of people wanting to come and watch hockey. The only challenge is having the right atmosphere and moment for them to come and enjoy the sport. So, the sooner we can move to the home-and-away format, the better it would be for the league and the sport,” said Singhania.

The right ingredients are in place for the HIL to recommence and have a successful first outing, but Hockey India will be keen to ensure it is more than just a one-hit wonder.

More stories from this issue

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Paris Olympics organizers say event was far less polluting than recent Games
The Paris Olympics says it was far less polluting than recent Games but is not claiming to have been "carbon neutral" despite funding projects to compensate for its emissions.
#ParisOlympics #pollution #carbonneutral #Paris #Sports #Olympics
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/paris-olympics-far-less-polluting-than-recent-games-1.7408813?cmp=rss