Save Women’s HIL: India’s World Cup stars make emotional appeal to protect hockey league

Amstelveen: India's women hockey players have made an emotional appeal to save the Women's Hockey India League, saying the tournament has played a crucial role in building the confidence of a young team that is on the verge of its best-ever World Cup finish since 1974.

With 11 World Cup debutants in the squad, India have lost just one match against Olympic champions the Netherlands while holding Olympic silver medallists China to a 2-2 draw in their opening game.

India were knocked out of semifinal contention after a goalless draw against Australia and will now play for fifth and sixth place, which would still be their best World Cup finish in 52 years.


The players believe the Women's HIL has been a major factor behind their progress and fear that its discontinuation could hurt the next generation of Indian talent.

"I think we have done our best to inspire girls in India to hold a hockey stick. People prefer their kids to play individual sports, but this should give them hope," veteran midfielder Neha, who led Odisha Warriors to the maiden HIL title in 2024-25, told PTI.

"In the last two years, HIL for women has benefited us a lot. Junior and senior Nationals do not have this level of competition. Women's HIL has given us players like Baljeet, Sakshi and Rutuja, who are part of this World Cup team. For upcoming players also, we need this league. It should not be discontinued."

The appeal comes as the revived women's HIL faces serious financial challenges, including high operational costs, low broadcast and ticket revenues, delayed player payments and limited sponsorship interest.

India's captain Salima Tete also stressed the league's role in widening the national talent pool.

"We have many players from HIL in the Indian team. They get a chance to be selected for the national camp, which is an important opportunity for them," she said.

"This is just the beginning for us and there is much more to achieve. For that, HIL is a must so that our talent pool is broadened and the girls get good exposure to handling the pressure of international hockey."

Sakshi Rana, one of the players to have benefited from the league, said playing alongside experienced stars helped her overcome pressure.

"HIL has given me confidence, which was very useful in this tournament. It is about handling pressure. We have played alongside many veteran players like World Cup top scorer Yibbi Janssen and learnt a lot," she said.

Navneet Kaur said sharing the dressing room with international stars had removed the fear and hesitation among younger Indian players.

"We have been playing HIL for the last two years and gained confidence from that. We have played with some of the biggest names in international hockey and after sharing the dressing room with them, the fear and hesitation was gone," she said.

"That gave us self-belief. We often discuss that they are like us and we can beat them because we have played with them."

Navneet also urged the teams and corporate houses to support the league at a time when its future is under a cloud.

"We have heard that a few teams are pulling out of the Women's HIL, but at a time when our performance graph is going up, we want to request them to support us. It will be a big setback for women's hockey and the future crop of players," she said.

For the Indian players the women's league is not merely a commercial venture but an important pathway for developing the next generation. Ishika, Sakshi, Shilpi Dabas, Lalthanluangi are the players who are in the World Cup squad due to powerful performance in HIL.

With India producing its strongest World Cup campaign in decades, the players believe this is precisely the time to strengthen, rather than discontinue, the competition that has helped them take the next step.

"I request the Sports Ministry and Hockey India to save this league. I also request the corporate sector, which invests huge money in cricket, to support women's hockey.

"Our league does not require that much money. It is not about money, we need exposure. Women's Hockey League should survive. We will do even better in the future," said Navneet, who was player of the tournament last season with the Delhi team.

The inaugural season featured four teams -- Delhi SG Pipers, JSW Soorma Hockey Club, Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers and Odisha Warriors. Odisha Warriors were later terminated over non-payment of player dues and franchise fees, while Ranchi Royals replaced them in the second season.

The Ranchi franchise has also since been terminated, with Indian players still awaiting payments.

Last season's finalists Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers are also contemplating withdrawal, citing financial pressure.

Franchise sources said the league is currently not commercially viable. The cost of running both a men's and a women's HIL team is estimated at around Rs 10-12 crore, including an administrative fee of around Rs 1 crore. The franchise fee of Rs 2.5 crore has, however, been removed for the third season for the women's team.