The Hockey India League will soon enter its final stretch with men's and women's teams pushing to make their way into the knockouts. Almost all the men's teams have played each other once, except for the postponed Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers vs JSW Soorma Hockey Club match. The next league phase has started on Sunday where teams will play the others in the same pool, which means each team has three more matches (four in the case of Shrachi and Soorma) remaining before the knockouts start.
Ahead of the crucial week in the HIL, here's how things stand in both the leagues:
Teams which have impressed
Tamil Nadu Dragons top the men's standings with 15 points from seven matches, with just one outright loss so far. The big positive for Dragons is that they didn't take too long to gel as a team. With an effective dragflick specialist in Jip Janssen, who has scored five goals so far, and a solid backline led by captain Amit Rohidas, the Dragons have shown remarkable consistency until their loss against Hyderabad Toofans. Barring a terrible loss of form, the Dragons will finish in the top four.
The Toofans themselves have benefited from having proper goal-scorers. Gonzalo Peillat has scored five from penalty corners while Tim Brand has four field goals to his name. Also, their Indian players have shown great promise.
Although Kalinga Lancers have been a bit inconsistent, they have scored the most goals in the tournament - 25 in eight matches. They have Thierry Brinkman who is leading the charts with eight field goals and dragflicker Alexander Hendrickx with six penalty corner goals. The way they bounced back from a 2-5 goal deficit to make it 5-5 against Delhi SG Pipers on Sunday and then clinched the bonus point in the shootout showed their firepower at their best. If they continue their goal-scoring form, they are not going to miss out from making their way to the semifinals.
In the women's league, Janneke Schopman's Odisha Warriors are clearly the team to beat, despite suffering a loss against Soorma. They have the best penalty corner specialist in Yibbi Jansen who scored four goals already as the team leads the table after four matches. Soorma have been the next best, with an impressive start, including two wins and a loss in three matches. While the Warriors will most likely go through to the final, the other three teams, including Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers and Delhi SG Pipers still have a decent chance to challenge for the title.
Players who impressed
The usual big foreign names have made their impact. Brinkman has been outstanding along with Hendrickx, Peillat and Janssen. Arthur van Doren has been a massive influence at the back as well as going forward for the Lancers while forward Nathan Ephraums also played his part with three goals for the Dragons.
Among Indian players, Abhishek's form has been good for the Bengal Tigers while for the same team, Jugraj Singh has scored five penalty corner goals. Jugraj scoring goals is not only a big positive for Bengal Tigers but also for the national team. There's a clear need for him to go a level up, especially with his dragflick. If he can do it in the HIL and maintain the form, he can become a valuable second option for penalty corners behind Harmanpreet Singh for the national team.
Staying with penalty corners, Amandeep Lakra also made his mark with two goals for the Toofans. The 22-year-old has got a solid technique and power, which is of course good news for India's future. Apart from Amandeep, the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Talwinder Singh, Rajinder Singh, and Shilanand Lakra have played pivotal roles in Toofans' good run so far. It will be a great story not only for the team but also for the league if Toofans can go all the way on the back of the performances of their Indian core.
Among women, Odisha's Jansen has stood out which is, to be honest, not a surprise at all. However, for the same team, Baljeet Kaur has impressed with her attacking play, also scoring two goals. Sonam, who's just 19, has also contributed with two goals for Soorma.
Predictions
In the men's league, Tamil Nadu Dragons, Hyderabad Toofans and Vedanta Kalinga Lancers look good to qualify for the knockouts. The fourth place fight will be between UP Rudras, Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers and Soorma Hockey Club.
Team Gonasika and Delhi SG Pipers will need something special to make it after struggling in the league. In fact, Graham Reid's Delhi are still searching for their full three points after eight matches.
In the women's league, Odisha and Soorma are favourites to battle for the title.