HIL: Wizards play Lancers, Mumbai meet Delhi
CHANDIGARH: The stage is set for an exciting day of hockey as the semifinals of the Hockey India League gets underway with a clash between Kalinga Lancers and Uttar Pradesh Wizards at the Chandigarh Hockey Stadium here on Saturday.
The match will be followed by the second semifinal between table toppers Dabang Mumbai and Delhi Waveriders.
The top four teams will not only play for pride, honour and the trophy but they will also be vying to win the handsome cash reward of ~2.50 crores. The 2017 tournament total prize money of ~6,01,00,000 is being awarded for 11 different categories throughout the tournament.
While the Kalinga Lancers, having finished the pool stage in second position on points table have been a dominant team this season, the Uttar Pradesh Wizards are determined and eager to make it to their first ever final in the history of the league.
Uttar Pradesh Wizards’ best performance so far has been a third-place finish in 2013. Though they did make the last four in the first three seasons, a pulsating 9-8 defeat in the shootout to Ranchi Rays kept them out of the final in 2015. “Our first aim was to make it to the semifinals. Now that we have achieved it, we want to make this opportunity count and qualify for the final. We are probably the only team who has made it to the semifinals maximum number of times but not the final.
“The winning formula against Kalinga Lancers will be simple – stick to the strategies given to us by the coach and execute it through the game. League stage was a different ball game and our approach to the semis will be different,” said Uttar Pradesh Wizards skipper VR Raghunath.