Kalinga to face Delhi task today

Jan 30: After losing the first match 3-7 against Punjab Warriors in their home ground, debut team Kalinga Lancers will look to change the tide in their course and come back stronger in their second match against Delhi Waveriders today.

Delhi, which did not lose a single outing in the league last year, will like to uphold the image it built for itself when they take on rusty Kalinga today at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

Kalinga Lancers coached by Terry Walsh will face an uphill task of restricting the Delhi team which had won all the league matches last year and were in the finals. Delhi team on the other hand has played 2 matches this season, winning one against Punjab and losing one against Ranchi.

Though the team boasts of some good names including the likes of Gonzalo Peillat, Lucas Villa, Prabodh Tirkey, Vickram Kanth and Mandeep Antil; players could hardly make a fruitful impression on the field.

Despite the loss, the home crowd enjoyed the rare treat having a glimpse of the blue synthetic turf for the first time. The Kalinga Stadium was jam-packed with more than 7000 hockey enthusiasts and some first time visitors.

A tenth standard student Samreen was amongst them , who neither having any prior interest in hockey nor having seen any matches in the TV decided to give it a try. “It was a great experience to watch a match live for the first time. I have never followed hockey and never been a fan of the game. But since a team from my state is part of HIL, I decided to give it a try. Now, after watching the match, I have started to develop a liking towards hockey. I will be following it from now,” said Samreen who bunked her preparation for board exams to watch the match.

Similarly, Siba Mohanty, a journalist from a reputed national daily took some time out of his office hours to cheer for his team.

“It was the first match; the team looked little rusty. But, watching a hockey match live was a great experience. Given a chance, I will not hesitate to go out to different venues to watch my team play,” he added.

The home crowd has a lot of faith in the Lancers, now it is time for the team to prove their mettle and gift them a victory.