The inaugural Women's Hockey India League saw just four teams and 13 matches over two weeks period, but there's hardly any doubt that it was a step in the right direction. For years, the Indian women hockey players deserved a league of the highest quality, they didn't get it the first time the HIL happened between 2013 and 2017, and then had to wait for eight more years to get a shot at it. It has been a long wait but now the hope is that it becomes a permanent fixture for many years.
Here's why the league matters and what more can be done in the upcoming years:
Youngsters playing under pressure and performing
On Sunday, Odisha Warriors' 22-year-old Rutuja Pisal, who is yet to make her senior India debut, was the star of the final, scoring twice against JSW Soorma Hockey Club, in helping her team win the trophy. If anything, it's validation of why this league matters. She would've never gotten a chance to perform under pressure until she featured for the Indian team in an important tournament. That fact that she got the opportunity to play in such high pressure and then score such big goals will certainly boost her confidence.
While Rutuja stood out for her heroics in the final, there are other youngsters who would've benefitted massively by playing in high pressure and such a high-quality final. Hina Bano, Sakshi Rana, Sonam, et al, might not make it to the national squad in the near future, but when they do, they will be more prepared to play at that level than some of their predecessors were.
Good start but WHIL needs to expand
The issue was very much on the cards since the announcement was made. Four teams and 12 matches are too short. The good news is that Hockey India is committed to increase the number of teams. While eight may be a touch too many, six teams will work for the players, and will also serve to preserve the quality of hockey.
Ideally, more foreign players and Indian talent should make their way to the league. Even players from countries like China and Japan will help in improving the standards along with the traditional powerhouse like the Netherlands and Australia.
Now the question is if the league is increasing the number of teams, will there be another megaauction? If not, the new teams will start from a disadvantageous position because the top players have already been picked by the existing teams.
Also, the auction purse for each team should be higher. It's understandable that Hockey India wanted to keep the costs low in the first year but the salary paid to the foreign players should be attractive enough for them to want to play in the league.
More teams, more matches but less training?
After the final on Sunday, Janneke Schopman said the flip side of playing more matches is having less training time with players. "It was tough with the travel and games so condensed. Like I said to someone, it's nice if Indian players have more training time in theory, so they can learn from foreign players more. We had two rest days before the final, I was happy with that."
She clarified that she's not against more stadia hosting the league..."but you also need rest. We traveled six hours to Rourkela and had to play the next day. It's tough on the body for the girls. The road isn't great, and the trains were sometimes delayed. It's not the easiest travel. When you take that into account..."
Schopman has a point. No coach will be happy with fewer training sessions, with rest and recovery being important aspects in between a tournament. A one-month window means the schedule will be packed for all teams. If in the future, Hockey India decide on a home and away format, then it will be a tougher challenge. Hockey India needs to start working on a plan right away and the details need to be worked in a way in the best interests of all the stakeholders.
What about Indian dragflickers and goalkeepers?
Penalty corners have been an issue with Indian women's hockey for quite sometime now. The hope was to find decent dragflick options apart from Deepika but that didn't happen. Even Deepika was ordinary with her dragflick conversions, scoring just one goal for Delhi SG Pipers.
Then there was also question of Indian goalkeepers making a mark in the league. After Savita, there's Bichu Devi, but other than these two, there are not many quality options. While it's good news for India as long as Savita continues to play, they need more options.
In the whole tournament, only Savita and Bichu Devi got to play consistently. Considering it was a short league with just six matches per team, it was difficult for other young Indian goalkeepers to get any playing time.