Ranchi — This may be the home city of MS Dhoni, the showman of Indian cricket, but it’s also regarded as the cradle of women’s hockey and Sunday’s final of the Women’s Hockey India League aims to be more than just a showpiece for the sport.
The inaugural final will pit the two best, free-scoring teams in the four-strong league, with Soorma Hockey Club, and a billion dollar conglomerate behind them, going up against Odisha Warriors, who have the most expensive foreigner (€32,000) in their ranks — top equal scorer (five in six) and Dutch star, Yibbi Jansen.
Sunday’s first will also be a chance for India’s up-and-coming to catch the eye. Further, how many of these players will be able to etch history with what the men achieved (back-to-back Olympic medals), given that the inaugural men’s HIL in 2013 is credited for implementing world-class predigree? Time will tell, but this has been the undoubted aim of Indian hockey chiefs.
On Friday, Soorma showed their foreign strength in depth in midfield and youthful running up front to ease past Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers 4-2, which featured two Irish, Katie Mullan and Roisin Upton, and Britain’s Fiona Crackles.
Nevertheless, Sunday will see Jansen play alongside compatriots Freeke Moes and Michelle Fillet, with Australian goalkeeper Jocelyn Bartram one of the other foreign standouts.
Charlotte Englebert opens the scoring for JSW @SoormaHC in the first minute! The fastest o#HockeyKaJashnForHer Women's #HeroHIL!
Watch the LIVE coverage on DD Sports, Waves, Sony TEN 1, Sony TEN 3, Sony TEN 4 and Sony LIV!#HeroHIL #HockeyKaJashn #HockeyIndiaLeague… pic.twitter.com/KyKQcU8C6b
— Hockey India League (@HockeyIndiaLeag) January 24, 2025
For Soorma, Savita will be between the sticks, with India women’s captain Salima Tete in front and Sonam a threat as the franchise’s top scorer.
Unlike the Dutch trio, Soorma only have sole nation representatives: Maria Verschoor, Sophie Hamilton, Charlotte Stapenhorst and Charlotte Englebert — who bagged a hat-trick on Friday — make up a formidable, Dutch-GB-Germany-Belgium quartet (and only costing around £43,000 in total).
The final won’t, however, feature the most expensive outright women’s player, Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers defender Udita, who was handed a £27,000 pay day. Indeed, four of the five costliest home-based players will not feature in the finale.
Soorma were clearly savvy in their auction bidding, despite being run by JSW Sports, the sports arm of the JSW Group, a $23 billion business with a global presence. They co-own IPL’s Delhi Capitals and franchises in football and kabaddi.
Hamilton said of the big money owners: “The message was that this [women’s HIL] is the first time it’s happened rather than any pressure from above.”
Victory will be a major boost for hockey in the Punjab too, with the marvellous city of Chandigarh sadly shorn of international hockey in recent past.
We are yet to see if future HILs (organisers and teams are looking at 10-year growth) will move from Ranchi and Rourkela for cluster matches and for fans to be closer to their franchise team. There would clearly be a clamour for it, if the near 20,000 who attended the dual gender Odisha-based teams in Rourkela last weekend is anything to go by.
In contrast to well-backed Soorma, Odisha Warriors are owned by Navoyam Sports Ventures, a firm only registered in September but who were cock-a-hoop in capturing Jansen’s name in October’s auction.
Odisha are also coached by Janeke Schopman, the Dutchwoman returning for another big match finale here after she was at the helm a year ago in Ranchi when India women failed to qualify for Paris 2024.
