The Premiere Hockey League (PHL) is a new domestic field hockey competition introduced in India. The tournament was initiated to revive the sport which lost spectator interest to cricket in recent times. Hockey is the nation's National Sport, with the country having won a record eight Olympic Gold medals and having lifted the World Cup once. A game of field hockey in progress Field hockey is a popular sport for men and women in many countries around the world. ... Cricket is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players each. ... The Olympic Games, or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking place every four years and comprising summer and winter games. ... There are two hockey World Cups, one for ice hockey and two for field hockey (male and female editions). ...

The league is made up of two groups, each consisting of five teams. The format is revolutionary and encompasses many innovations such as shorter games, a theme song, and a television friendly format.

One of the main reasons for the unpopularity of the existing domestic competition is the inclusions of dominant teams such as Indian Airlines, Punjab and Sind Bank which do not have a fan following. The PHL rectifies with the fielding of teams from traditional hockey bastions such as Bombay and Punjab. This article or section should be merged with Mumbai Mumbai (previously known as Bombay) is the worlds most populous conurbation, and is the sixth most populous agglomeration in the world. ... This article details the Indian state of Punjab. ...

Matches

Each match is viewed through twelve television cameras, to cover all possible angles. The matches in 2005 were played in Hyderabad's Gachibowli Stadium, with a new Astroturf being laid. All matches begin at eight in the evening to garner maximum television viewer ship. 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ... AstroTurf is a registered trademark of Textile Management Associates, applied to a particular kind of artificial turf. ...

The prize money in 2005 was Rs 70 lakh (7 million), 30 lakh for the winner and 10 for the runner-up. All players would receive a participation fee. 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Hyderabad Sultans have won the Premiere Hockey League match.

In the Year 2006 for the second Edition of Phl Chandigarh Dynamos have moved to Tier 1 and Chennai Veerans Have dropped to Tier 2 also Bengal Tigers have lost their place to Orissa Stellars in Tier 2.

Bangalore Hi-Fliers have been renamed themselves as Banglaore Lions.

New features

The fundamental aberration from the format of normal hockey games is the number of sessions. A normal 70 minute hockey game includes two sessions, each of 35 minutes each. The PHL has four sessions each of 17.5 minutes. This format is tailor made to include more advertising time in order to generate funds. Teams are allowed to take time-outs to chalk out new strategies during the course of the game.

If the match is deadlocked after full-time, the number of players of each team is gradually reduced till a result is obtained. A win within full-time fetches three points, whereas a win after full-time fetches two points to the winning team and one to the losing team. Each team is also allowed to field up to five international players.

Teams

Tier 1

• Hyderabad Sultans
• Maratha Warriors
• Sher-e-Jallandhar
• Bangalore Hi-flyers
• Chennai Veerans

Tier 2

• Delhi Dazzlers
• Chandigarh Dynamos
• Lucknow Nawabs
• Imphal Rangers
• Bengal Tigers
• Rourkela Stellars

International players

Pakistan

• Sohail Abbas — Hyderabad Sultans
• Waseem Ahmed — Hyderabad Sultans
• Ahmed Alam — Hyderabad Sultans
• Mudassar Ali Khan — Bangalore Hi-Flyers
• Kashif Jawad — Maratha Warriors
• Muhammed Saqlain — Maratha Warriors
• Ali Raza — Maratha Warriors
• Dilwar Hussain — Chennai Veerans
• Zeeshan Ashraf — Chennai veerans

Sohail Abbas,one of the most prolific hockey player from Pakistan. ...

Malaysia

• Nor Azlan Bakar — Sher-e-Jallandhar
• Kuhan Shanmuganathan — Bangalore Hi-Flyers

Spain

• Juan Pablo Escarre — Chennai Veerans

Likely impact

While most experts agree that it is too early to predict the fallout of the PHL, many in the Indian Hockey circles are delighted to have hockey glamorised with the intention of reviving the flagging sport. Experts accuse the Indian Hockey Federation of being to lethargic and bureaucratic in popularising the sport. Meanwhile the International Hockey Federation is keenly studying the format. The International Hockey Federation (Fédération Internationale de Hockey sur Gazon, or FIH) is the global body governing the sport of field hockey, which is known simply as hockey in most countries. ...

Critics argue that traditional hockey bastions such as Coorg, Jharkhand, Orissa and parts of Punjab have been ignored, but organisers say that in due course of time more teams may be included. A coffee plantation in Coorg Kodagu (previously called Coorg) is a district of Karnataka state, India. ... Jharkhand (झारखंड in Devanagari) is a state in eastern India. ... Orissa (2001 provisional pop. ...