Dabang Mumbai News

Mumbai, 6 February 2013: Bottom placed Dabur Mumbai Magicians would have nothing but pride to defend when they take on second placed Ranchi Rhinos in their last league encounter of the Hero Hockey India League at the Mumbai Hockey Association Stadium here on Thursday.

The Magicians went into their last two league encounters in a must-win situation to keep alive their semi-finals hopes. But a 1-0 loss against fellow strugglers Uttar Pradesh Wizards on Tuesday was enough to condemn them to the fifth and final spot and thereby throw them out of semi-final reckoning.

The hosts, who have gathered 15 points from 11 outings, have managed to win only one match in the entire tournament so far and the team’s defensive frailties have meant that the Magicians could never launch a serious challenge in the competition.

And at least getting the consolation of ending their campaign on a winning note is also not going to be easy for the hosts against the Rhinos, who are likely to rest their star players ahead of the semi-finals.

The Rhinos have already secured a second place in the league standing and would be facing either Jaypee Punjab Warriors or Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the semi-finals on their home turf and coach Gregg Clark would definitely want to give some of his fringe players a longer run in their last league encounter.

Dabur Mumbai Magicians skipper Sandeep Singh said that they will give their best at the last match of Hero HIL also. “Our team didn’t perform well through-out the League and we didn’t get the results we wanted. But we will try for a good result in the last match and will give our best,” he added.

Ranchi Rhinos coach Gregg Clark said that their team want to continue the winning momentum for Semi-Final match. “Our approach for tomorrow’s match will be the same as previous matches. We will play with same focus and passion against Dabur Mumbai Magicians. As our next match is Semi-Final, we want to take this momentum there,” stated Clark.

The Hero Hockey India League is organised by Hockey India with official sanction from the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The inaugural season is being played from January 14 to February 10, 2013 in a home-and-away format. The five franchisee-based teams, consisting of the top hockey players from India and around the world, will compete for the prestigious trophy. Hero Motocorp Ltd. is the Title Sponsor of the league while Airtel is the Associate Sponsor. Star Sports, who is the Broadcast Partner, will be telecasting all matches live.