Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], January 2 (ANI): The wait to see a new champion being crowned is finally over with the Men's Hockey India League (HIL) starting on Saturday, January 3, in Chennai at the famous Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium, Egmore.

This will be the second edition of the revived Men's Hockey India League and is scheduled to be held in multiple cities, starting with Chennai, then moving to Ranchi, and concluding in Bhubaneswar, with the final on January 26.

It was Hockey India's endeavour to bring the league to as many hockey-loving cities as possible, ensuring more fans of the game could experience high-octane matches featuring top players from across the globe.

The league kicks off with hosts Tamil Nadu Dragons taking on Hyderabad Toofans. The Toofans had finished runners-up last edition, having lost narrowly (3-4) to the title-winner Shrachi Bengal Tigers. While Toofans will be looking to change their fortunes this edition, the Tamil Nadu Dragons will be vying to start on a high note after missing out on the 3rd place last season when they lost to Soorma Hockey Club 2-3, as per a Hockey India press release.

This season will have a single round-robin stage, with the top four teams advancing to the knockout rounds, unlike the previous edition, which split the teams into two groups of four teams for the first phase. In the playoffs, the top 2 teams will compete against each other in Qualifier 1, with the winner advancing to the final and the loser going into Qualifier 2. The second team of Qualifier 2 will be decided by the winner of Eliminator 1, which will be against the team ranked 3rd and 4th on the league table.

The eight teams featured in the Men's HIL include defending champions Shrachi Bengal Tigers, Hyderabad Toofans, Soorma Hockey Club, SG Pipers, Tamil Nadu Dragons, Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, Ranchi Royals and HIL GC, which has taken over UP Rudras.

Some of the top Indian players to look out for this season includes the likes of India Captain Harmanpreet Singh for Soorma Hockey Club, Hardik Singh for HIL GC, Manpreet Singh for Ranchi Royals and Rupinder Pal Singh who returns to competitive hockey with SG Pipers among a host of other senior stars while Junior World Cup Bronze winners will also be a treat to watch with India Colts Captain Rohit and Dilraj Singh turning up for SG Pipers, Amir Ali and Manmeet for Ranchi Royals, Sunil PR for Vedanta Kalinga Lancers and Prince Deep Singh for Accord Tamil Nadu Dragons.

Among foreign players to watch out for are Tom Boon with Ranchi Royals, Christopher Ruhr with Sharchi Bengal Tigers, Vincent Vanasch and Victor Wegnez with Soorma, Arthur Van Doren and Alexander Hendrickx with Vedanta Kalinga Lancers and Sam Ward with HIL GC.

Squad for Men's HIL 2025-26

-SG PipersIndian: Pawan, Rupinder Pal Singh, Varun Kumar, Manjeet, Rohit, Jarmanpreet Singh, Ankit Pal, Raj Kumar Pal, Thokchom Kingson Singh, Shamsher Singh, Aditya Lalage, Dilraj Singh, Sourabh Anand KhushwahaOverseas: Tomas Santiago (ARG), Bram Van Battum (NED), Gareth Furlong (GBR), Willott Ky (AUS), Jacob Draper (GBR), Tomas Domene (ARG), Roman Duvekot (BEL)

-Shrachi Bengal TigersIndian: Vivek Lakra, Parmod, Jugraj Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Affan Yousuf, Pradhan Poovanna Chandura, Atul Deep, Pardeep Singh Sandhu, Ajinkya Jadhav, Ketan Kushwaha, Gursewak Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, AbhishekOverseas: James Carr (New Zealand), Tommy Willems (Belgium), Gauthier Boccard (Belgium), Enrique Gonzalez (ESP), Christopher Ruhr (Germany), Tom Grambusch (Germany), Sean Findlay (New Zealand)

-JSW Soorma Hockey ClubIndian: Mohith HS, Gurinder Singh, Pradip Mandal, Sukhvinder, Harmanpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Jeet Pal, Akashdeep Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Harjeet Singh, Pawan Rajbhar, Maninder Singh, Gurjant SinghOverseas: Vincent Vanasch (BEL), Nicolas Della Torre (ARG), Jeremy Hayward (AUS), Victor Wegnez (BEL), Nicolas Poncelet (BEL), Nicolas Keenan (ARG), Dayaan Cassiem (RSA)

-Ranchi RoyalsIndian: Rajak Pankaj Kumar, Suraj Karkera, Purti Ashish Tani, Ravneet Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Anmol Ekka, Amir Ali, Vishnukant Singh, Yashdeep Siwach, Manpreet Singh, Manmeet Singh Rai, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Mandeep SinghOverseas: Joshua Beltz (AUS), Van Oots Maxime (BEL), Tim Howard (AUS), Jack Waller (GBR), Mustaphaa Cassiem (RSA), Tom Boon (BEL), Sam Lane (NZL)

-Tamil Nadu DragonsIndians: Prince Deep Singh, Anand Lakra, Pruthvi G M, Amit Rohidas, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen, Chandan Yadav, Shesha Gowda, Arun J, Sushil Dhanwar, Adrohit Ekka, Selvaraj Kanagaraj, Selvam Karthi, Uttam SinghOverseas: David Harte (IRE), Sander de Wijn (NED), Tom Craig (AUS), Blake Govers (AUS), Paul Kaufmann (GER), Thomas Sorsby (GBR), Nathan Ephraums (AUS)

-Hyderabad ToofansIndian: Bikramjit Singh, Mukul Sharma, Amandeep Lakra, Devindar Walmiki, Sundram Singh Rajawat, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit Walmiki, Rajinder Singh, Rahim Aakib Sayyed, Shilanand Lakra, Irengbam Rohit Singh, Talwinder Singh, Arshdeep SinghOverseas: Jean Paul Danneberg (GER), Arthur de Sloover (NED), Zachary Wallace (GBR), Michel Struthoff (GER), Nic Woods (AUS), Tim Brand (AUS), Jacob Anderson (AUS)

-Vedanta Kalinga LancersIndian: Krishan B Pathak, Sunil PB, Pratap Lakra, Rohit Kullu, Sanjay, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem, Amit Kumar Toppo, Rosan Kujur, Gursahibjit Singh, Angad Bir Singh, Deepak Pradhan, Dilpreet Singh, Boby Singh DhamiOverseas: Jed Snowden (AUS), Antoine Kina (BEL), Arthur Van Doren (BEL), Alexander Hendrickx (BEL), Craig Marais (AUS), Liam Henderson (AUS), Cooper Burns (AUS)

-HIL GCIndian: Prashant Kumar Chauhan, Jasjit Singh Kular, Mohammad Haris, Surender Kumar, Prasant Barla, Talem Priyobarta, Hardik Singh, Manmeet Singh, Rahul Yadav, Ajeet Yadav, Sudeep Chirmako, Gurjot Singh, Lalit UpadhyayOverseas: James Mazarelo (GBR), James Albery (GBR), Kane Russell (NZL), Daragh Walsh (IRE), Simon Yorston (NZL), Sam Ward (GBR), Tanguy Cosyns (BEL). (ANI)