The semi-finals and finals as per traditions will be hosted at the defending champions’ Jaypee Punjab Warriors home ground in Chandigarh. All the matches will be played under lights with a 7.00PM IST start across six venues in the cities of Chandigarh, Ranchi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, and Bhubaneswar.
Also Read: Hockey India League 2017 Team Overview: Dabang Mumbai
Tournament record
2013- In the inaugural season, under its former owners, the erstwhile Ranchi Rhinos emerged as champions of the league after defeating the Delhi Waveriders 2-1 in the finals. Mandeep Singh was the lead scorer for the team with 10 goals to his name, just second behind Sandeep Singh of Mumbai in the overall tally.
2014- Ranchi Rhinos could not sustain their winning spree from last season but nonetheless finished at the third place at the end of the league after defeating the Uttar Pradesh Wizards in a shoot-out.
2015- The season marked a change in the ownership of the outfit, and subsequently the new team which came to be known as the Ranchi Rays emerged as champions in their debut season, defeating the Jaypee Punjab Warriors in the final encounter. The star of the tournament was Britain’s Ashley Jackson who spearheaded the attack for Ranchi with the highest number of goals in the tournament, 12 in total.
2016- The team finished atop the pool standings in the last season but lost a bit of their sheen going into the play-off’s only to finish at the fourth place. Ashley Jackson picked up from right where he had left, converting 14 penalty corners and emerging as the second highest goal-scorer.
Key Players
Christopher Ruhr- The 23-year old German international is one of the most expensive foreign buys of the season and will be eager to prove his worth in the upcoming league. Moreover, the youngster had been nominated for the FIH Rising Star of the Year award and was quite recently the bronze medallist at the Rio Olympics, thus he will looking to continue the attacking charge for the Ranchi Rays.
Fixtures
Squad
Forwards: Christopher Ruhr (Germany), Sarvanjit Singh (India), Sumit Kumar (India), Mohammad Amir Khan (India), Imran Khan (India)
Midfielders: Flynn Ogilvie (Australia), Sumit (India), Simranjeet Singh (India), Barry Middleton (England), Trent Mitton (Australia), Ashley Jackson (England), Gurbaj Singh (India), Kothajit Singh (India), Manpreet Singh (India)
Defenders: Birendra Lakra (India), Timothy Deavin (Australia), Vikramjit Singh (India), Fergus Kavanagh (Australia)
Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte (India), Tyler Lovell (Australia)
Coach: Harendra Singh
Home Stadium: Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium
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