News 2016

17^th February, 2016:  The massive home crowd support propelled Delhi Waveriders to showcase an attacking extravaganza and book their Semi-Final berth by defeating Kalinga Lancers 6-0. The home crowd came in numbers to support the team and were awarded for their support. Delhi Waveriders go through to the Semi Finals with 27 points to their name.

The Semi Finals and Finals will be played at the Astro Turf hockey stadium in Ranchi on the 20th and 21st February 2016. The tickets for the playoffs and finals are available for purchase at www.ticketgenie.in and at selected locations in Ranchi.

The first quarter started with a quick attack from the Delhi Waveriders team making early circle penetrations. The response to the early attack also came from the Kalinga Lancers when a shot from the away team striker closely missed the goal. Kalinga Lancer’s defense was looking strong as they started predicting the home team’s moves and didn’t allow them to hold possession of the ball. The away team started to put their strides into the match with attacking moves but none of them converted into a goal. Delhi tried to make counter attacking moves but the Kalinga Lancers defense held strong. The first quarter ended with the score at 0-0.

The second quarter started with the Delhi Waveriders looking to make inroads in the do or die battle and the first opportunity came in the 18^th minute and Rupinder Pal Singh converted the penalty corner to give Delhi a 1-0 lead. Most of the second quarter saw attacking moves from both the teams but midfielders and defenders seemed to be the flavour of the quarter. The golden opportunity for the Kalinga Lancers came in the ending moments of the second quarter from a penalty corner but a beautiful save by Devon Manchester stopped Mortiz Fuerste from levelling the score. The first half ended with the home team in lead by 1-0.

The second half started with the Delhi Waveriders pressing hard to extend the lead and was awarded with a penalty corner in the 33^rd minute which was put into the back of the net by the home team Vice- Captain Rupinder Pal Singh to give him the second goal of the match. The score stood at 2-0 post the goal. Delhi looked at their attacking best and the striking duo of Mandeep Singh and Talwinder Singh penetrated the circle with finesse creating a passing opportunity for Harjeet Singh which was tapped into the goal by Simon Child. The goal extended the lead to 4-0 in the 34th minutes for Delhi Waveriders. The home team dominated the third quarter all through and the score at the end of the 3^rd quarter stood at 4-0.

The fourth quarter started with Kalinga Lancers looking to bounce back in the match. The first penalty corner opportunity of the quarter came the away team’s way in the 49^th minute but the home team goalkeeper again denied them the chance to score. Delhi capitalised on a missed penalty corner by the away team and Parvinder Singh made them pay with a field goal to take the score to 6-0 in the 56^th minute. The Kalinga Lancers defense looked helpless as the home team kept up the pressure till the en

The Coal India Goal of the Match award of INR 50,000 was presented by Mr. S.N.Prasad, Director Marketing Coal India to Simon Child from Delhi Waveriders, while his teammate Devon Manchester won the Most Entertaining Player of the Match award. Rupinder Pal Singh from Delhi Waveriders walked away with the Man of the Match award of INR 50,000 while Mandeep Singh from Delhi Waveriders won the INR 25,000 Hero Emerging Player of the Match award.

The Semi – Finals of the 4^th Coal India Hockey India League will be played be on 20^th February, 2016 at the Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi. The first Semi – Final will be played between Jaypee Punjab Warriors and Delhi Waveriders. The second Semi – Final will be played between the defending champions Ranchi Rays and Kalinga Lancers.

The six team annual franchise based hockey league, the flagship event of Hockey India – the apex body governing the sport in the country and sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) is being played across six venues in India from 18th January – 21st February 2016.