WA hockey athletes, coaches making waves in Hockey India League’s return

WEEK 3 UPDATE

As the Hockey India League rolls on, WA's elite talent have continued to strut their stuff on the turf.

With the Men's competition approaching the business end, the Delhi SG Pipers are looking to finish strongly while the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers try to make a late push for the finals.

The Delhi DG Pipers, featuring Ben Rennie and coached by Graham Reid, and the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, featuring Aran Zalewski, squared off in two matches during the third week of competition, with the Lancers coming up trumps in both contests.

In their first clash on Thursday 16 January, the Lancers defeated the Pipers 5-1.

The Pipers would fight back in a big way, making a big 4-1 lead during the first half of their second contest on Sunday 19 January.

However, the Lancers would respond in the second half, levelling the scores on maintaining composure in the shootout to win 5-5 (3-2 SO).

The Pipers also suffered a narrow 2-3 loss to the Tamil Nadu Dragon on Monday 13 January.

In the Women's competition, Soorma Hockey Club, featuring Penny Squibb, kicked off their campaign strongly with a 4-1 win over Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers on Monday 13 January, followed by a 2-1 win over Odisha Warriors, featuring Kaitlin Nobbs, on Wednesday 15 January, before falling short against Delhi SG Pipers 0-2 on Friday 17 January.

Following their narrow loss to Soorma, the Warriors bounced back to defeat Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers 1-1 (3-2 SO) on Thursday 16 January, with Nobbs scoring the shootout goal that would seal the win, going on to back up their efforts on Sunday 19 January with a convincing 4-1 win over the Tigers.

WEEK 2 UPDATE

WA's best talent has continued to be on full display at the Hockey India League as the Men's competition rolls on and the Women's competition kicks off.

The Delhi SG Pipers, featuring Ben Rennie and coached by Graham Reid, have found themselves on the receiving end of some tough losses as the competition heats up.

The Pipers suffered a heartbreaking 2-2 (1-3 SO) loss to Soorma Hockey Club on Monday 6 January, followed by a 1-3 loss to Up Rudras on Saturday 11 January.

Meanwhile, the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, featuring Aran Zalewski, have found form in their recent matches, pulling off an emphatic 6-0 victory over Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers 6-0 on Tuesday 7 January, followed by a 2-1 win over Team Gonasika in a tight contest on Thursday 9 January, where Zalewski scored a goal during the 33rd minute to help secure the win.

However, the Lancers would go on to fall short against the second-placed Hyderabad Toofans, going down 1-5 on Sunday 12 January.

In the Women's competition, the Odisha Warriors, featuring Kaitlin Nobbs, have started the competition strong with a convincing 4-0 victory over the Delhi SG Pipers on Sunday 12 January.

As the Hockey India League made its long-awaited return after a seven-year hiatus, some of WA’s best talents have been making a splash.

The Hockey India League officially kicked off on Saturday 28 December with its Men’s competition, featuring hockey players from across the world, including some of the very best to come from Australia.

Former Kookaburras coach Graham ‘Poss’ Reid has been leading the Delhi SG Pipers as Head Coach with Ben Rennie featured in the team as one of three goalkeepers, while former Kookaburras skipper Aran Zalewski has been captaining the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers.

The Delhi SG Pipers started strong with a 2-2 (4-2 SO) win over Team Gonasika in the league’s opening match.

However, the Pipers fell just short of securing a second win following a 2-2 (4-5 SO) loss to Hyderabad Toofans on Tuesday 31 December, then a tough 1-4 loss to Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers on Saturday 4 January.

Despite Zalewski being absent for the Lancers’ 1-3 loss to UP Rudras on Monday 30 December, the Lancers have found themselves amongst tough competition with a 2-2 (5-6 SO) loss to Tamil Nadu Dragons on Friday 3 January, followed by a 3-4 loss to Soorma Hockey Club on Sunday 5 January.

The first phase of the Hockey India League Men’s competition continues though to Saturday 18 January before teams are split into two pools for the second phase of the competition from Sunday 19 January.

The top four teams will then progress through to the Finals, which will take place across Friday 31 January and Saturday 1 February.

The Hockey India League Women’s competition will kick off from Sunday 12 January, which will see Penny Squibb run out for Soorma Hockey Club, and Kaitlin Nobbs representing the Odisha Warriors.

In the Women’s competition, teams will compete against each other twice through before the top two teams compete in the Final on Sunday 26 January.

For more information and to keep up with the all the latest as it happens, visit the Hockey India League website.