This January, four women’s teams comprising 24 players each are going to compete in the inaugural women’s Hockey India League, a short-term competition partially based on some of the T20 cricket leagues, in that the teams play round-robin for a compressed league season (usually four to six weeks) and players are allowed to play in more than one league.
The Hockey India League had begun 11 years ago, but had only a men’s competition in its five-year run. But now, a women’s competition has begun, but it is not equal in most metrics. First off, there are only four teams in the women’s league, compared to the eight in the men’s league.
Also, the budget for each team on the men’s side was 300 lakh, or about $400,000. The women, however, were allowed a total of 200 lakh, or about $270,000, per team.
I understand the men’s competition has several years on the women’s competition. But the go-slow approach for the women’s HIL has, I think, resulted in a number of excellent players being left unselected.
I’m amazed, for example, that Delfina Merino, the plucky attacker from Argentina, was not one of the 86 players selected for the league. Also unselected were U.S. captain Ashley Hoffman, Australian star Rachael Lynch, Team GB stars Sophie Bray, Lily Owsley, and Grace Balsdon, and Maria Granatto of Argentina.
The four teams formed yesterday should form the backbone for future opportunities for women to make a living from the sport, especially if the league grows to six teams in 2026.
Key players on the four sides include Yibbi Jansen of Holland, former Maryland star Nike Lorenz of Germany, Kaitlyn Nobbs of Australia, former UConn star Roisin Upton, and German star Charlotte Stapenhorst.
But even more key are the rank-and-file players from India. The league guarantees a large percentage of players from the Hockey India system, including the likes of Deep Grace Ekka, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami Hmarzote, and defender Utita Duhan, who commanded the largest auction price at 32 lakh, or about $45,000.
If there’s one story I’d like to follow during the course of the league, it is the return of Preeti Dubay. The spunky forward shone during a series of pre-Olympic friendlies in 2016, but had been relegated to a reserve role after missing out on the Rio Olympic roster. She was a fun player to watch for Team India, and the league offers her a chance to get back into contention for selection to the Eves.
