Hockey India League is a professional field hockey league in India. It is organized by Hockey India, the governing body for the sport in India. It is considered one of the major sports leagues of the country.
It was founded in 2013 as a part of Hockey India's attempt to develop an International Hockey Federation sanctioned league after the un-sanctioned World Series Hockey, began in 2012. The first season took place in 2013. It proved to be a financial success for Hockey India, who were in financial disarray before the league began. In 2015, it was reported that the federation earned a profit from multiple revenues.
The most recent champions of the league are SG Pipers Hockey in the women's edition and Kalinga Lancers in the men's edition.
History The first event in the league format in India was a hockey league named the Premier Hockey League organised by ESPN-Star Sports, Indian Hockey Federation and Leisure Sports Management from 2005 to 2008. It was based on the model of NBA league. It was a pioneer in Indian sports which inspired the Indian Premier League and many others that followed.
Later in 2012, the Indian Hockey Federation and Nimbus began World Series Hockey, a professional field hockey league in India. After the success of the league, Hockey India announced the formation of their own franchise-based league, launched in mid-2012, known as the Hockey India League. The league was approved by the International Hockey Federation. The league was originally planned to have six teams, which would be established after the bidding was done for the twelve proposed cities that would host an HIL team. However, due to lack of interest in a sixth city, the league commenced in 2013 with five teams. Before the beginning of the season, ESPN STAR Sports was announced as the league's official broadcasting partner on a five-year deal.
The first match was played on 14 January 2013, as Delhi Waveriders defeated the Punjab Warriors 2–1 at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium. The league had gained some buzz from the marquee signings of India internationals Sardara Singh and Sandeep Singh, as well as the signings of foreign players such as Jamie Dwyer, Moritz Fürste, and Teun de Nooijer. The inaugural season ended with Ranchi Rhinos being the first champions, defeating the Delhi Waveriders 2–1 in the final. The league was considered a success immediately in the years following the inaugural season.
Before the beginning of the second season, Kalinga Lancers were announced as the sixth team in the Hockey India League. However, after the 2014 season, the league suffered its first setback when the Mumbai Magicians disbanded. The team was swiftly replaced though with Dabang Mumbai being launched before the 2015 season. The league though suffered another setback before the 2015 season when Ranchi Rhinos, the inaugural champions, were disbanded after an ownership problem. The team though, like with Mumbai, was quickly replaced with Ranchi Rays.
Seven years later, Hockey India League was revived with its 2024–25 edition.
Format Previously, HIL used to consist of six teams, with the regular season from January to February, each team playing 10 games. The top four teams at the end of the season move into the play-offs, where the game decides the Hockey India League winner.
Since 2024, the teams have been expanded to eight. Meanwhile, the league's addition of the women's tournament will see six teams in its inaugural edition.
If there is a tie in any match then there would be extra time. Still, if winner is not decided, there would be a shoot-out. If still the winner is not decided there would be no option left other than penalty strokes.
Teams
+Men's Team City Debut Head Coach SG Pipers New Delhi 2024 Tim Oudenaller HIL Governing Council Lucknow 2026 Paul van Ass Hyderabad Toofans Hyderabad 2024 Pasha Gademan Kalinga Lancers Bhubaneswar 2014 Jay Stacy Ranchi Royals Ranchi 2026 Tushar Khandker Rarh Bengal Tigers Kolkata 2024 Valentin Altenburg Soorma Hockey Club Punjab 2024 Philippe Goldberg Tamil Nadu Dragons Chennai 2024 Tim White
+Women's Team City Debut Head Coach SG Pipers New Delhi 2025 Sofie Gierts Ranchi Royals Ranchi 2025 Harendra Singh Rarh Bengal Tigers Kolkata 2025 Deepak Thakur Soorma Hockey Club Haryana 2025 Jude Menezes
Defunct teams Team City Years active Mumbai Magicians Mumbai 2013–2014 Ranchi Rhinos Ranchi 2013–2014 Uttar Pradesh Wizards Lucknow 2013–2017 Delhi Waveriders New Delhi 2013–2017 Punjab Warriors Chandigarh 2013–2017 Dabang Mumbai Mumbai 2015–2017 Ranchi Rays Ranchi 2015–2017 Team Gonasika Visakhapatnam 2024–2025 UP Rudras Lucknow 2024–2025 Odisha Warriors Rourkela 2025
Auction record + Most expensive men's players Season Player Amount Team Ref Harmanpreet Singh ₹78 lakhs Soorma Hockey Club Abhishek Nain ₹72 lakhs Rarh Bengal Tigers Hardik Singh ₹70 lakhs UP Rudras Gonzalo Peillat ₹68 lakhs Hyderabad Toofans Jip Janssen ₹54 lakhs Tamil Nadu Dragons
+ Most expensive women's players Season Player Amount Team Ref Udita Duhan ₹32 lakhs Rarh Bengal Tigers Yibbi Jansen ₹29 lakhs Odisha Warriors Lalremsiami ₹25 lakhs Rarh Bengal Tigers Sunelita Toppo ₹24 lakhs Delhi SG Pipers Sangita Kumari ₹22 lakhs Delhi SG Pipers
Editions and results +Men's Season Winner Score Runner up Venue Teams Player of the Tournament 2013 Ranchi Rhinos 2–1 Delhi Waveriders Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium 5 Sardara Singh from Delhi Waveriders 2014 Delhi Waveriders 3–3 (s.o.3–1) Punjab Warriors6Jaap Stockmann from Punjab Warriors 2015 Ranchi Rays 2–2 Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium Ashley Jackson from Ranchi Rays 2016 Punjab Warriors 6–1 Kalinga Lancers Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium Rupinder Pal Singh from Delhi Waveriders 2017 Kalinga Lancers 4–1 Dabang Mumbai Chandigarh Hockey Stadium Florian Fuchs from Dabang Mumbai Rarh Bengal Tigers 4–3 Hyderabad Toofans Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium8 Sukhjeet Singh from Rarh Bengal Tigers 2026 Kalinga Lancers 3–2 Ranchi Royals Kalinga Stadium Amandeep Lakra from Hyderabad Toofans
+Women's Season Winner Score Runner up Venue Teams Player of the Tournament 2025 Odisha Warriors 2–1 Soorma Hockey Club Jaipal Singh Stadium4 Jyoti Rumavat from Soorma Hockey Club SG Pipers 1–1 Bengal Tigers Navneet Kaur from SG Pipers
Performance by teams By season + Men'sTeam201320142015201620172025–26Delhi SG Pipers8thHIL Governing Council4thHyderabad ToofansRU3rdKalinga Lancers6th5thRUC6thCRanchi RoyalsRURarh Bengal TigersC7thSoorma Hockey Club3rd5thTamil Nadu Dragons4th6thDefunct TeamsRanchi RhinosC3rdMumbai Magicians5thUttar Pradesh Wizards3rd4th6th3rdDelhi Waveriders RUC3rd4thPunjab Warriors4thRUC6thDabang Mumbai6th5thRURanchi Rays C4th5thTeam Gonasika7thUP Rudras5th
+ Women'sTeam2024–252025–26Delhi SG Pipers4thCRanchi Royals3rdRarh Bengal Tigers3rdRUSoorma Hockey ClubRU4thDefunct TeamsOdisha WarriorsC
League positions + Men'sSeason1st 2nd 3rd4th5th6th7th8th2013DWRRRHUPWPWMM2014PWDWRUPWRRHKL2015RRADWRKLDM2016RRAPWDWRKLDMUPW2017DMKLUPWDWRRRAPWRBTSHCHTTNDUPRKLTGDSGP2025–26KLRRHTHILGCSHCTNDRBT
+ Women'sSeason1st 2nd 3rd4th5th6th2024–25SHCOWRBTDSGP2025–26DSGPRBTRRSHC
+KeyChampionsRunners UpThird PlacePlayoffs
Sponsorship Period Sponsor Tournament Name 2013–2015 Hero Hero Hockey India League 2016–2017 Coal India Coal India Hockey India League Hero Hero Hockey India League
Prize money Men's HIL Winning Team: ₹3 crore 2nd Place: ₹2 crore 3rd Place: ₹1 crore Best Goalkeeper: ₹10 lakhs Top Scorer: ₹10 lakhs Up-and-Coming Player: ₹10 lakhs Player of the Tournament: ₹20 lakhs each Player of every Match: ₹0.5 lakh each
Women's HIL Winning Team: ₹1.5 crore 2nd Place: ₹1.5 crore 3rd Place: ₹50 lakhs Best Goalkeeper: ₹5 lakhs Top Scorer: ₹5 lakhs Up-and-Coming Player: ₹5 lakhs Player of the Tournament: ₹20 lakhs each Player of every Match: ₹0.5 lakh each
Source: The Hindu
Board Before the league's first season, Hockey India appointed Steve Catton as competitions director. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla, leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, and media personality Rajat Sharma are the members of the board for the Hockey India League. Along with Steve Catton, Barry Anderson was appointed as the tournament director.
Hockey India appointed Todd Faulds as its competitions director for the second edition of the Hockey India League. He previously worked as a competitions manager for the FIH 2012 Men's Champions Trophy in Melbourne and 2012 International Super Series in Perth.
Bjorn Isberg has been the Hockey India League tournament director since 2014. Isberg had served as tournament director for the 2012 London Olympics field hockey tournament, and three Champions Trophy tournaments (in 2004, 2007, and 2011).
See also Sports in India Field hockey in India Premier Hockey League World Series Hockey
References