Warriors blow the PHL trumpet

HYDERABAD: New format, latest rules and the hype that it will change the face of the national game had made everyone sit up, wait and watch. And as the Premier Hockey League has become one-week-old, one thing has emerged: The format has worked and those involved with it are happy with the way things have gone so far. Though there is still some uneasiness regarding some rules, the PHL rage is catching up.In keeping with the off-field attractions like celebrity promotion, marketing manoeuvres and cheerleader squads which had created quite a stir in the run-up to the event, the teams lived up to the hype, despite the fact that most of the teams came together just a day before the start of the event. Though the teams started tentatively, some good and competitive hockey was on display at the Gachibowli Stadium. The very fact that four teams — Hyderabad Sultans, Maratha Warriors, Sher-e-Jallandhar and Bangalore Hi-Fliers — shared the lead with three points each at the end of the first week reflects the keen competition. Chennai Veerans have been the only ones to let down the fans so far. They are yet to open their accounts. The Sultans and Warriors won the only match they played while Sher-e-Jallandhar and Bangalore Hi-Fliers have one win from two matches. Without doubt, the first week belonged to the Maratha Warriors who opened with a scintillating 5-2 rout of Chennai Veerans. They were served well by Pakistan's Kasif Jawad and Ali Raza who shared the five goals. What warmed the hearts was the instant chemistry Asian stalwarts Jawad and Dhanraj Pillay struck. Mohammed Saqlain, another Pakistani, Vijay Alphonso, Sunil Yadhav and skipper Viren Rasquinha didn't do badly either. However, their defence looked a bit shaky and when Rasquinha was suspended for some time, they conceded an easy goal. And with Adrian D'Souza gone — he has been ruled out of the event with an injury — they will be further hampered. Zidane, Beckham likely for tsunami tie, says minister KOLKATA: International football stars including Zinedine Zidane of France and David Beckham of England may be seen in action in the Fifa fraternity match to be played here next month to raise funds for Tsunami victims, West Bengal sports minister Subhas Chakraborty said on Monday. "The match will be played here by the second week of February," Chakraborty told reporters. Claiming that "World Cuppers like Zidane and Beckham may play in the match," the minister said the funds raised through the initiative would be donated for the benefit of Tsunami victims. Chakraborty's announcement came days after All India Football Federation president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said that Fifa, the apex soccer body in the world, would organise two exhibition matches in Kolkata and Delhi in first or second week of February.