CIL/SECL brought in as official partner for HWL Final

Hockey India on Friday announced that it has secured an official partner in Coal India Limited (CIL)/South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) for the eight-nation Hockey World League (HWL) Final to be held in Raipur from November 27 to December 6.

At the Raipur International Hockey Stadium, alongwith India, Argentina, Britain, Canada, Belgium, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands will vie for top honours at the event organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

"We are delighted to see Coal India Limited/South Eastern Coalfields Limited come on board as the official partners for World League Final. It reinforces my faith in the fact that the sport is not going unnoticed in India and both the private and public bodies are equally keen to help the growth of hockey in the country," HI president Narinder Dhruv Batra said in a release.

"Keeping in mind our recent series win against New Zealand last month I am confident of seeing a more confident and improved Indian team at the HWL final. I would like to wish luck to the participating teams and hope to see some quality hockey on the field."

SECL CMD Om Prakash stated: "We have been actively involved with grass-root sports talent development in the past and this partnership is just an extension of our long standing commitment to sports in India. We are glad to be associated with our national game, hockey and wish all the very best to the participating teams."

India, ranked eighth in the world, under the guidance of chief coach Roelant Oltamns have just returned from New Zealand after winning the bilateral series and they are expected to enter the tournament high on confidence.

The Netaji Subhash Southern Centre, Bengaluru will host 26 probables for the national camp from the October 26 ahead of the HWL Final.