Despite a few flaws, the Premier Hockey League made its presence felt, reports M.S.Unnikrishnan

THE Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) was venturing into an uncharted terrain when it tied up with ESPN-Star Sports to hold the Premier Hockey League (PHL). The concept was new and the format seemed exciting, as hockey was being packaged and presented in an all new form. And there was money to be had in plenty — Rs 71 lakh.

The PHL was conceived to bolster the sagging image of Indian hockey in the absence of the National Championship. Purists had mocked at the PHL idea, but things jelled fairly well — some hiccups notwithstanding—that it turned out to be an ‘unqualified success’.

Hyderabad Sultans, marshalled by Indian captain Dilip Tirkey, ruled the roost on their own turf at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad to be crowned the kings.

It was just as well, for the Sultans had cried foul of a raw deal when the team composition was being made. But the Sultans combined so well along the way that favourites Sher-e-Jalandhar, led by Olympian Gagan Ajit Singh, were forced to play second fiddle.

"The PHL is going to evolve into an exciting championship in the coming years", observed Tirkey.

Did the PHL serve its intended purpose? "Absolutely", exclaimed IHF president KPS Gill.

"Yes, there were some loose ends, which would be mended in the coming edition", he added.

ESPN has signed a 10-year sponsorship deal with IHF and both are hopeful of the PHL taking Indian hockey past the bend.

Gill said the changes to be effected in the next edition would be worked out "after we sit down and discuss the report of the people who were there (in Hyderabad), and then decide what more need to be done to strengthen the PHL".

Plans are also on the anvil to rotate the PHL to as many centres as possible, though lack of infrastructure in most of the cities is a major deterrent.

The conduct of the Tier I and Tier II matches at the same venue also devalued the latter. The fans were keeping track of only the fancied Tier I teams. As a result, the splendid comeback made by Jugraj Singh, after his debilitating road accident, went virtually unnoticed. Leading from the front, Jugraj powered Chandigarh Dynamos to victory as they downed Delhi Dazzlers 4-3 in the title clash.

The uneven quality of the Tier II teams was evident from the fact that out of the 103 goals scored, Chandigarh Dynamos accounted for 39, conceding only six.

Perhaps the IHF should restrict the Tier II competition only to promising young players, to provide them a launching pad.

The PHL provided an enchanting spectacle on television as the matches were held under floodlights in late evenings on weekends. However, ESPN managing director RC Venkateish admitted that timings of the Tier I matches restricted print media coverage. He said this aspect would be kept in mind while drawing up the match schedule in the next edition.

Plans are also afoot to reschedule the PHL slot to December or later to net more star players from Europe. This time, the PHL had clashed with the European League.

"On the whole, we are very happy with the response to the PHL", Venkateish said. "We are looking at the PHL in a long-term perspective, not for short-term gains", he elaborated.

Venkateish was confident that the PHL would broaden the base of hockey and take it to more centres. He said the Tier I and Tier II matches would be clubbed together in the next edition, too, for logistical reasons, though he was aware of the unenthusiastic response to Tier II matches.

He said the duration of the time-outs would be reduced to one minute from two, and the number of players on the field might remain the same during extra time. The present format of playing only nine and seven players in the first and second half of extra time, respectively, sapped the stamina of the players.

The long time-outs slowed down the game, which broke the overall impact of the matches, as the table officials were unable to properly manage the breaks.

"We will also try to get more foreign players as each team is allowed to field a minimum of three and a maximum of five foreign players", Venkateish disclosed. There were 10 players from Pakistan, two from Malaysia and Spanish captain Juan Escarre for the inaugural edition.

The PHL has unearthed many new talented players, and the umpires, after a tentative beginning, gained enough confidence to book even the star players, thanks to the stern approach adopted by tournament director AS Bawa.

Gagan Ajit Singh, Viren Rasquina, Spain’s captain Juan Escarre and Saqlain Mohammad of Pakistan were some of the star players booked with yellow cards.

But Saqlain Mohammad, with 183 international caps to his credit, was pleased with the PHL. "The PHL is an excellent concept. We should revamp the domestic circuit in India and Pakistan", he observed. The success of the PHL has encouraged Pakistan also to start its own PHL.

Penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas, who was the second best scorer with seven goals, including a hat trick against Bangalore Hi-Fliers, was surprised by the quality of the matches.

"I didn’t expect the intensity of the battles to be so high", he averred. The Sultans’ squad contained double Pakistan Olympian Ahmed Alam, Sohail Abbas and former Pakistan captain Waseem Ahmed. But the surprise package in the lineup were unknowns like Ajitesh Rai, Indrajeet Singh Chadha and Avtar Singh, Johson Ekka and Sameer Dad, who played excellent hockey to catch the eyes and hearts of the fans and the connoisseurs alike.

The PHL also provided a platform for discarded Olympians like Dhanraj Pillay, Gagan Ajit Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Deepak Thakur, Baljit Singh Dhillon and Baljit Singh Saini, among others, to showcase their talent and silence their critics. Pillay played varied roles to make a mark for Maratha Warriors to show that age had not yet caught up with him.

WHEN the 2005 golf season began, all the talk centred around the ‘Big Three’ — Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els.

But all the chatter of the past few weeks has been about the next man in line — Phil Mickelson.

While Mickelson is ranked fourth in the world, ‘Lefty’ has been playing like number one, claiming back-to-back PGA Tour titles for the first time in his 12-year career with a four-stroke victory over Canada’s Mike Weir at the Pebble Beach National Pro Am recently.

The victories have put Mickelson on top of the money list with more than $2 million, boosting his career earnings to more than $31 million. Only Woods and Singh have made more.

But even more impressive have been the record-breaking numbers the US Masters champion has put on the leaderboard over the past two weeks.

Fresh from a five-stroke victory at last week's Phoenix Open, which included a course record-equalling round of 60, Mickelson carried over his blistering form to California’s Monterey Peninsula.

The 34-year-old American sounded a warning when he opened with a record 10-under 62, then followed with a 67 to set a tournament 36-hole record.

Mickelson continued to set the pace on the third day, firing another 67 to add the 54-hole mark to a record-shattering week.

"It feels terrific to follow up the previous week’s performance with another very good performance," said Mickelson, after registering his 25th career victory and his second at Pebble Beach.

"Sometimes when you play really well and you get it going, it falls away the next week. It’s nice to come back and open with a round of 62. It feels great.

"Once I shot a 62 I thought it was a real challenge to back it up with other good rounds."

Following some controversial equipment changes late last year and a less-than-impressive start to the new campaign at the Buick Invitational, Mickelson’s place among the top players was being debated.

But after two blistering weeks the talk now is whether Mickelson is embarking on the type of dream season Vijay Singh had last year when he won nine titles, more than $10 million and claimed the number one ranking from Woods.

"It’s only two weeks," said Mickelson. "I want to use this as a stepping stone, we have a lot of big tournaments coming up, the Players Championships, the Masters...I want to be ready."

"I feel that, after working on the right things for a year, after getting back my distance off the tee, I feel like I’m just able to make a lot more birdies.

I don’t want to say the game’s easier but it just feels easier." — Reuters

Rival for cricket bible
Ciar Byrne

FOR 140 years, cricket fans in search of a little light reading have relished one publication. Now it faces a challenge from a new rival.

Spin, a monthly cricket title launched recently, plans to target a new younger breed of followers of the sport.

The magazine hopes in particular to appeal to young British Asians. The first issue will include an in-depth preview of next month’s India-Pakistan series, including interviews with Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Bob Woolmer.

Imran Khan will write a monthly column, and Phil Tufnell, who gained a reputation as the bad boy of English cricket, is the magazine’s first cover star.

Editor Duncan Speer believes that the $ 410 million four-year television rights deal between the England and Wales Cricket Board and BSkyB, announced in December, 2004, proves the audience for cricket has become more mainstream.

Since September, 2003, when Wisden Cricket Monthly merged with The Cricketer to form The Wisden Cricketer, there has been only one magazine devoted to the sport in the UK.

The title is closely associated with the Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack, named after its founder, the "small but accurate" 19th century fast bowler John Wisden, which has been published every year since 1864.

Speer said Spin would offer a different take on the sport from Wisden. "They are more Anglo-centric and more traditional. Our approach is like that of a mainstream men’s magazine."

Spin will launch with a cover price of £ 1.50 and an initial print run of 70,000, but Speer said he would be delighted to achieve anything like the 35,000 copies of The Wisden Cricketer sold each month. — The Independent

IN THE NEWS
Cheers and fears
Vikramdeep Johal

Sania Mirza proved a point or two with her victory in the Hyderabad Open. She silenced the cynics who thought all the overwhelming adulation would distract her from her game. Playing under intense pressure, she kept a cool head to emerge the winner.

However, things could have easily gone wrong. Sania went into the tournament with a swollen left ankle. During the event, she twisted her right one but carried on with great determination. The gamble paid off, but such risks should be avoided in future if she wants to play at the top level for several years.

Sania is keen on improving her fitness as she has been playing with injuries for quite sometime. The 18-year-old can take her cue from the great Martina Navratilova, who is fighting fit even at 48.

Sania must also continue to keep her focus on tennis. Sponsors won’t make it easy for her to do so, and she would have to do a lot of tightrope walking.

Being the top tennis playing woman in India, she would be expected to not only perform well herself but also inspire compatriots like Shikha Uberoi and Ankita Bhambri. One hopes all this juggling won’t affect her tennis.

SPORTS MAIL

Strikers missing

NO positives seem to be emerging from the 9th National Football League. There is still no answer to the age-old question — Where are the strikers?

Who is to be blamed? When the national team underperforms, NFL coaches point a finger at Indian coach Stephen Constantine. And when the clubs flounder, their coaches are put in the dock. Surprisingly, no one finds faults with the federation.

Constantine has been urging the AIFF to ban foreign recruits in the NFL. The AIFF president and secretary returned recently after attending the Asian Football Confederation Congress. Despite their announcements about what they are going to do for Indian football, it seems unlikely that things would change.

Prixit Shakya
Shimla

Brig H.S. Sandhu
Panchkula

Gurdershan Singh
Chandigarh

Mohd Shafi
Rohtak