Test series casts shadow over Premier Hockey League

BANGALORE: India’s three-match hockey test series in Pakistan next January has cast a shadow over the Premier Hockey League.

Ever since its inception in 2005, the PHL has always identified itself with the January-February months save for 2007 when the league was held twice, once in the beginning of the year and then again in December (the 2008 edition) to accommodate the training and exposure programme of the Indian team bound for Olympic qualifiers. Now, it looks as if the league may find itself without a slot in 2009.

The reason: a series of tours planned by the ad-hoc committee of the Indian Olympic Association which runs the game’s affairs in the country. After the Pakistan series in January, the Indians will figure in a double-leg four-nation event in Chandigarh and Jalandhar until early February.

This will befollowed by a tour of New Zealand which ends on March 2. Next comes the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia which has been advanced to April. With the junior team preparing for the World Cup in the months following April, a March slot can make for a tight schedule.

But ad-hoc committee sources did not sound too enthusiastic, saying they hadn’t heard from ESPN yet and that the ball was in their court. While no final word has emerged on this front until now, there are indications that ESPN too is keen on March dates.

However, the organisation is tight-lipped on the issue, saying it has no official comment to offer until it is established without doubt who is running the sport in the country. The reference, obviously, is to the lawsuit filed by KPS Gill in the Delhi High Court against the suspension of the Indian Hockey Federation by the IOA.

Understandably, ESPN does not want to jump the gun by associating itself with either organisation before the court verdict is out.

Speaking to TOI about the league, an ESPN-Star Sports spokesperson said: “We will have to wait for clarity as there is a court case going on between the two federations.”

Acclimatisation: Meanwhile, the men’s hockey probables will regroup on December 5 for another camp ahead of the test series. Coach in-charge Harendra Singh said he would want the camp in North India so that acclimatisation is easy.