Dilip Tirkey (Triple Olympian & Captain, Hyderabad Sultans): We (Hyderabad Sultans) had a good beginning) and we will keep up the momentum. Everyone expected us to lose last week. But our boys played a fantastic game and defeated Sher-e-Jalandhar. .Juniors gave a good performance and the defence was good. I am very comfortable playing with my good friend Lajrus Barla since he is my state mate and we played together for a long time. The whole team combined well to produce a perfect match. For me three points are very important to kick start in the PHL. Today we had a warm-up, a practice match and then weight training in the gym. The boys are really tired but that’s how we get into shape. With Sohail Abbas arriving for today’s match against Marata Warriors, it should be a different ball game altogether now. Watch out for Sultans! So far only four games had been over in the Premier division and the quality has been great. It is just like some international tournaments.

Clarence Lobo (Coach, Marata Warrior): We have our third match coming up today (Thursday). We will be missing goalkeepr Adrian D’Souza. While blocking a Sandeep Singh drag flick, he got injured and was operated at Apollo hospital where they removed a blood clot. He is ruled out of PHL. We have already got the replacement in Suraj Kanta, a junior boy in the gold winning Sub Junior Asia Cup teem. He has developed into a good goalkeeper and our other goalkeeper Baljeet is also doing well. Hockey is a team game and our boys are not unduly worried about the absence of Adrian. And don’t forget we need him for India. So we did not rush him and deny him a chance before complete recovery. Here man management comes into the picture and we are very sure how to utilise our resources. The league is very tough and there are no favourites and no underdogs. We will take each game as and when it comes; one game at a time. The day’s form is very important. And I told the boys not to forget the basics. We enjoy playing hockey and it is very important. We don’t have much bench strength. They are all juniors. But let me tell you they are very enthusiastic and it is good for the morale of the team. We had a good training session for over 45 minutes and we also played a match against Dynamos. We are ready to face Hyderabad Sultans.

Kuhan Shanmuganathan (Malaysian captain & player for Bangalore Hi-Fliers) I am bowled over by the quality of hockey played in India. I am amazed at the number of players who play high quality hockey. I don’t know why India did not have professional league much earlier. India has a long history of hockey, with Pakistan, they are top two teams in the world. PHL will go a long way in developing hockey and providing a launch pad for bigger things. We should never worry about rules. With skills, and right mix of tactics, and continue to use our strength, we can beat the world. That’s where judicious mix of skills in adapting to the modern tactics is very crucial. I feel the coming together of the cream of talent in the country under an umbrella like PHL is good both for the game and the players. Look we have some five teams in the Malaysian league and all others learn a lot from them. Mukesh Kumar played for my club a few years ago. I used to look to him in awe as an youngster and he is a great player. Now he is my good friend in Hyderabad. And we have seen other stars like Dhanraj Pillay, Len Aiyappa and Lazarus Barla from India and Sohail Abbas and Kashif Jawad from Pakistan playing league back home and it is an inspiration for many young players.
An s2h effort