Three host cities for men’s HIL from Jan 3

Ranchi for a second year in a row was announced as the host city of Women’s Hockey India League (HIL) while Chennai and Bhubaneswar will become the newest cities to host the men’s edition of the revived HIL.The women’s event will commence on Dec 28 this year at Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Astro Turf Stadium with the final on Jan 10. As for the men’s event, it will kick off at Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai on Jan 3 before moving to Ranchi on Jan 11. The final leg of the tournament will be held at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar from Jan 17-26.“After the success of Hero Hockey India League last season, this year, we have expanded the men’s league to three different cities to ensure everyone can enjoy the action right from the venues,” said Dilip Tirkey during the announcement of the schedule in Ranchi on Saturday.As for the format, the four women’s teams — Ranchi Royals, SG Pipers, JSW Soorma Hockey Club and Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers — will face each other twice after which the top teams will face off in the final.Meanwhile, the men’s tournament will see each of the eight teams play each other once in a single round-robin format, with the top four teams advancing to the playoffs.The eight teams are Tamil Nadu Dragons, Hyderabad Toofans, JSW Soorma Hockey Club, defending champions Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers, Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, Ranchi Royals, SG Pipers and HIL Governing Council.

As for the playoffs, the Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator will be held on Jan 23. It will be followed by Qualifier 2 on Jan 25. The final will then take place on Jan 26 with the 3rd/4th place match being held earlier in the evening.Overall, a total of 13 matches will be held in the women’s tournament whereas the men’s event will see 33 matches. The official logo of Ranchi Royals was also unveiled during the event in the presence of the team owner Alvish MA among other dignitaries and players Mandeep Singh, Sangita Kumari, Deepika Soreng, Nikki Pradhan, and Beauty Dung Dung.