WSH 2 to have only seven teams post merger of Punjab outfits

"The number of teams in the competition now stands at seven (instead of eight in season 1), with Chandigarh Comets and Sher-e-Punjab united into one Punjab team. This will ensure undivided support for the team with matches played across multiple venues in Punjab," a media release said here today.

WSH, a joint initiative of Nimbus Sport and Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), is all set to be held from December 15 to January 20, 2013, and will have 45 matches played over five-week period as opposed to 59 matches over the same period in the inaugural edition.

"There will be one match a day on weekdays and two matches a day on the weekends. The weekday match begins at 8pm and the two weekend matches start at 6pm and 8pm respectively," the league organisers said.

"This spread ensures that players get adequate rest between games and top-notch hockey is guaranteed from start to finish."

Stating that the first season had been a "resounding success", Sunil Manocha, President of Nimbus Sport said "this time the start of the second match has been advanced by one hour to 8pm".

"One of the key improvements, based on research, is the choice of the 8pm start for a majority of matches in WSH 2. This is in sync with television ratings for season 1, which saw maximum eyeballs in the 8-9pm slot," he insisted.

"After the first season, we sat down with our key stakeholders and arrived at solutions for taking World Series Hockey to the next level," said IHF President R K Shetty. (More)