We are prepared for World Hockey League: Sardar Singh

TNN

NEW DELHI: India captain Sardar Singh said on Friday that his team is fully prepared for the World Hockey League even though most of the players have come to the event straight from the Hockey India League.

“The fact that this tournament is starting just days after the HIL will not make any difference to our preparations. In fact, the players are in good shape after playing about a dozen matches there. They all are fit and there’s no injury scare,” Sardar, who led Delhi Waveriders to the final in the HIL, told reporters.

Sardar said he was expecting his teammates to show some of the class that they displayed in the HIL in the World Hockey League. “Most of them had a great tournament, so I would expect them to play at that level. And if they do that you can expect us to do well in WHL,” he said. The league in both men’s and women’s categories will start in the Capital on February 18. The six-nation tournament for men would feature Bangladesh, China, Fiji, Ireland and Oman besides hosts India.

HI signs multi-crore sponsorship deal

Hockey India on Friday roped in a leading energy company as a co-sponsor of the national teams, signing a deal that will fetch crores of rupees for the game. Cairn India will be HIL’s second major sponsor after Sahara India which is believed to be paying about Rs 10 crore every year to the sports federation. “Hockey is our national game and we are proud to be associated with this energetic game. We can’t say the exact figure but we can confirm that this is a multi-crore deal,” said Sunil Bharati, head of corporate affairs and communications, Cairn India.

The company’s association with Indian hockey will cover the senior and junior national men and women teams for a period of three years.