Delhi Waveriders lead points table of Hero Hockey India League

New Delhi, January 15, 2013: With the 2-1 victory over Jaypee Punjab Warriors on Monday at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi, Delhi Waveriders are on the top of the Points Table with five points in the Hero Hockey India League. Meanwhile Jaypee Punjab Warriors is at number-2 in the points table with one point.

Delhi Waveriders will now play their second match against Mumbai Magicians on 16 January 2013 at 20:00 hrs at MDC National Stadium in New Delhi.

Delhi Waveriders coach Ajay Kumar Bansal is happy with the performance of his team in the first match and said “The team was really positive and we have a lot to take back from this game. We have some areas to improve such as defence and are sure to come back as a much better team next game. Mumbai Magicians is a strong side with a world class dragflicker Sandeep Singh”.

In the other match to be played on January 16, Jaypee Punjab Warriors will meet Ranchi Rhinos at their home ground, Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar at 18:00hrs.  

Ranchi Rhinos coach Baljeet Singh Saini is confident of a good start in the tournament. “We have a balanced side with the combination of young and some experienced players and our boys will give their best. I feel that Jaypee Punjab Warriors is experienced side having players like Jamie Dwyer, Shivendra Singh, Bharat Chetri and Ignace Tirkey, so we can’t take them lightly” he said.

Press release

Jaypee Punjab Warriors visit Golden Temple to seek blessings before HIL

 Jaypee Warriors Captain, Jamie Dwyer, during his visit to Golden Temple on January 10, 2013.

Jaypee Punjab Warriors visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar on January 10, 2013.

Amritsar, January 10, 2013: The Jaypee Punjab Warriors team, today, visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar to seek blessings at the Harmandir Sahib before the commencement of the Hockey India League.

The Jaypee Punjab Warriors have been in Jalandhar since the 6th of January, practicing and bonding with each other under the guidance of Team Head Coach Barry Dancer, along with former Indian captains Jagbir Singh and Mohammed Riaz. 

Talking about the team’s visit to the temple, Barry Dancer, Team Head coach said, “The team has bonded very well, and after our practice sessions, we wanted to visit the holy shrine and seek blessings of Harmandir Sahib before we embark on our mission to win the trophy. The team spent time at the temple and now we are off for the opening ceremony and our first game against New Delhi.”

Jaypee Punjab Warriors captain Jamie Dwyer too looked excited on his visit to the Golden Temple and said:  “It is a great occasion for us to visit the Golden Temple. I’ve always liked the Indian Culture and felt connected to it. We wanted to visit the Holy Shrine before our matches and seek blessings of the Guru, so that we can do well in the tournament.”

Local player and budding talent, Gaganpreet Singh, while speaking to the media about his visit to the temple said, "Before every important game, I always visit the Golden temple to seek Guru’s blessing. I always feel very calm whenever I come here and it also helps me play without pressure as I always have the blessing of the Guru. I hope through this visit, the Guru blesses me as well as the entire team to do well and do Punjab proud in the HIL.”

The Hockey India League, a first of its kind tournament for Hockey in the country, will be held from January 14 to February 10.

Press release

Aussie Barry Dancer named head coach of Jaypee Punjab Warriors

 Barry Dancer

 Jagbir Singh

 Mohammad Riaz

Zafar Iqbal 

New Delhi, December 15, 2012: Jaypee Punjab Warriors, the forthcoming Hockey India League's Punjab Franchise, have appointed former Australian coach Barry Dancer as head coach of their team. Former Indian hockey team captain and coach, Zafar Iqbal will join the team as advisor.

This was decided in a meeting of the leadership team of Jaypee Punjab Warriors here on Saturday.

Former Indian hockey star, Jagbir Singh will be the coach and manager of the team while Mohammad Riaz, former Indian captain has also been roped in as coach. Zafar, Jagbir and Riaz are all Arjun awardees.

The Rs 20,000 Crore Jaypee Group, which has held two highly successful F1 races at their Buddh International Circuit, has taken Punjab franchise to promote hockey in India, and provide a platform to young Indian players to train to excel at international level.

All these coaches have had an illustrious career in hockey and the franchise promoters are excited about their participation from their side. 

“We have put together a highly competent coaching team, and are confident that we will be able to raise a highly competitive team of young and experienced players. We have taken the first step to promote hockey in India by participating in the league, and will continue to provide best training and coaching facilities to young Indian players so that they can play at international level and bring India back at top of the world hockey again,” said Manoj Gaur, Chairman of Jaypee Group.

Brief Profile

Barry Dancer – Head Coach, Jaypee Punjab Warriors

 Barry Dancer was Head Coach of Australian and Great Britain’s men hockey team for close to a decade and is currently working as the High Performance Director at Queensland Academy of Sport in Australia. Under his guidance, the Australian men’s hockey team won the 2008 & 2005 Champions trophy and Gold medal in 2006 & 2002 Commonwealth Games. He will now be the Head Coach of the Jaypee Punjab Warriors team in the Hockey India League.

Zafar Iqbal –  Advisor, Jaypee Punjab Warriors

Former India hockey star and Arjuna Awardee Zafar Iqbal was a member of the 1980 Summer Olympics field hockey team that won the last Olympic Gold Medal for India. He has captained Indian squad in various international events, among them being Asian Games, in 1982, 1983 Champions Trophy, and the 1984 Summer Olympics. He has also served as Chief National Coach and national selector for the Indian men’s hockey team.

Jagbir Singh – Coach  & Manager, Jaypee Punjab Warriors

Former India Captain and Arjuna Awardee Jagbir Singh was a member of the Indian men’s hockey team from 1985-95 and represented the country in all the major competitions like Olympic Games, World Cup, Asian Games, Asia Cup, Champions trophy etc. He also has the honor of being selected from India to represent the all star Asia XI, World XI and is one of the very few Indian players ever invited to play for the premier Club HTC Stuttgart Kickers in the German Hockey League from 1992-97. In 2004, Mr. Singh was appointed the coach of the national men’s hockey team that participated in 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Champions Trophy, India-Pak Test Series, India-France Test Series and India-Spain Series etc.

Mohammad Riaz – Coach, Jaypee Punjab Warriors

Former Indian hockey team captain, Mohd Riaz has been Indian national hockey team’s coach for the past several years, including working as Asst coach during the 2012 London Olympic games and 2012 Champions Trophy. Riaz is recipient of several sports awards, including 1998 Arjuna Award. 

Press release