News 2016

January 13^th, New Delhi:  Delhi Waveriders are all set to start their season of the Coal India Hockey India League 2016 with a new stadium and a new squad. The team which managed to beat Uttar Pradesh Wizards last year in a third place playoff has made some crucial buys for the 4^th edition of the Coal India Hockey India League the premier League for hockey in the world today. 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) will see Delhi Waveriders open their account for the 2016 season against last year Runner’s up Jaypee Punjab Warriors at Chandigarh on 20 January 2016.

The team under the guidance of Head Coach Cedric D’ Souza, will look forward to an impressive season this year, acquiring a good set of Indian and overseas players. The Indian players who will be on display for the Delhi Waveriders are young and full of promise. The major Indian retentions which has been made by the Delhi team include star forward Yuvraj Walmiki who has been making a mark for himself in the sport. Yuvraj, who spent some time last year away from the sport will be looking forward to make the Coal India HIL 2016 his pavement to make an entry back into the Indian national team. The forward line for Delhi Waveriders also features the 22 year old Talwinder Singh who will look forward to continue with his good form. Talwinder will be accompanied by his team mate Mandeep Singh who was acquired for a sum of $70,000 by the franchise. Star defender Rupinder Pal Singh, who also hit the winning goal for India in the Bronze medal match against Netherlands in the Hero Hockey World League Finals, Raipur last year, fetched a price of $68,000 from the franchise and will be one of the key players in the defence line of the team. Another young star who was retained by the team was the Indian junior men’s national hockey team captain Harjeet Singh who with his recent achievements will be a crucial player in the midfield.

Cedriz D’ Souza, Head Coach, Delhi Waveriders said, “We did put up a good show with a podium position finish in the last edition of the Hockey India League but I believe with each new season we should set different expectations. The Indians and overseas players are jellying pretty well and it will really help the team to play as one unit or dictate the terms in any match.”

The overseas players in the form of New Zealander Simon Child who was the highest scorer from Delhi in the tournament with 4 goals will be looking to repeat a similar performance with the franchise. The addition of Devon Manchester in between the goalposts will give an added spark to the team. Devon was purchased by the team for a sum of $27,000 against a base price of $15,000. Along with Simon, Australian midfielder/ defender Tristan White has also been retained by the team. The other key foreign players who will be seen will in the form of Mark Pearson from England in the Midfield, Steven Edwards from New Zealand and Benjamin Stanzl from Austria. The defence will see the presence of Iain Lewers from England and Justin Reid – Ross from South Africa.