Hockey India National Championships gets mega boost; to be exclusively live streamed on FanCode

~  Hockey India lifts the profile of annual National Championships by introducing Player of The Match Award for each match and playing environment that is on-par with international standards ~

 

New Delhi, 13 February 2023: In a bid to provide aspiring hockey stars and participating teams at the marquee annual National Championships an atmosphere that is akin to International matches, Hockey India has taken several initiatives that promises to lift the profile of the sport in domestic circuit. 

 

As a first step towards this, Hockey India has signed a multiyear deal with interactive live streaming platform FanCode who will have the rights to show all the matches played at Hockey India National Championships in India and Indian sub-continent. 

 

Starting with the 13th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2023 scheduled to begin on 15th February in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, each venue will have a three-camera setup to capture and relay the action live and the matches will be held on the same lines as the International Matches with Player of The Match award being given away for every match. 

 

Making all matches viewer-friendly, each of the National Championships will have specific look and feel designs and branding across the venues. Apart from this, the organisers will also adopt features such as Captains line-up for handshake with the dignitaries, post-match presentations, and closing ceremony with trophy presentation ceremony along the lines of any other international tournament. 

 

In a first, the umpires officiating at these National Championships will be provided radios for on-field communication and the Federation is also working on introducing video referral in the National Championships.

 

Rourkela to host National Championships   

 

Giving upcoming stars an opportunity to perform at a world-class venue, Hockey India will be hosting a total of four National Championships in the newly-build Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha. This includes the 13th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2023 from 13th April to 23rd April,  13th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2023 from 28th April to 8th May, 13th Hockey India Sub Junior Women National Championship 2023 from 13th to 23rd May followed by 13th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2023 from 28th May to 7th June. 

 

The 13th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2023, meanwhile, will be held in Madurai, Tamil Nadu from 3rd May to 14th May 2023. 

 

New initiatives a big motivation to players

 

Talking about these key initiatives, Hockey India President Padma Shri Dr Dilip Tirkey said, “We have taken a major step by signing a-multiyear contract with the FanCode who have over 50 million users to show all the National Championship matches live in India and the Indian sub-continent. All matches will also have English commentary which will keep the viewers engaged. I feel this in itself will be a big boost for the players to showcase their talent. We also want to introduce video referral at the domestic level so that players understand the process early in their careers. Our aim is to provide these budding stars the same feel of playing an international match in India.”

 

Adding to the President’s views, Hockey India Secretary General Bholanath Singh said, “This is the first time Hockey India has taken these kinds of measures to lift the profile of the National Championships and give it a uniform look and feel. All the costs for these new initiatives will be borne by Hockey India and we will not burden our host Member Unit with these extra costs. The cash award for Player of the Match will also be provided by the Federation,” stated Bholanath Singh. 

 

Talking about their association with Hockey India, Prasana Krishnan, co-founder of FanCode, said, “We are delighted to be exclusively partnering with Hockey India for this historic milestone of live streaming the Senior Women’s Championship for the very first time and providing a platform for India’s top women hockey players. This is part of FanCode’s aim of making hockey more accessible for sports fans in the country.” 

 

Watch all the action from the 13th Hockey India Senior Women’s Championship 2023 live exclusively on FanCode’s app (Android, iOS, TV), FanCode TV app available on Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Jio STB, Samsung TV, and on www.fancode.com. Hockey Fans can watch the tournament for free.

 

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 About HOCKEY INDIA  

 

HOCKEY INDIA (HI) is the governing body with exclusive mandate to direct and conduct all activities for both men and women’s hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting Hockey in India.  

 

Headquartered in New Delhi, Hockey India was established on 20th May, 2009 and is affiliated to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF).  

 

Committed to the development of Hockey in the country, Hockey India with the assistance of Sports Authority of India and Department of Sports, Government of India, trains players at sub-junior, junior and senior level. The governing body engages in Coaching the coaches with International Standard certification programs, educates and equips technical officials and umpires to find a foothold in international arena, provides world-class infrastructure and International exposure for the players besides regular international competition. Hockey India has also pioneered in bringing top International hockey events to India such as the FIH Men’s World Cup in 2010 and 2018, FIH Champions Trophy in 2014, FIH Junior Men’s World Cup in 2016 and 2021, FIH Hockey World League Final in 2017. With its vision to popularize the game and constantly promote it, Hockey India brought the Indian Men’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world. Hockey India is also dedicated to getting the Indian Women’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world.  

 

Follow us on: www.hockeyindia.org | Twitter: @TheHockeyIndia | Facebook:  Hockey India | Instagram: hockeyindia  

 

About ODISHA  

 

Odisha – the Eastern State of India – is known for its love for Hockey and over the years it has evolved to be the Global Hub of Hockey. The State successfully hosted the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, followed by the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha, FIH Olympic Qualifiers Odisha, and FIH Hockey Pro League 2020-21. Odisha has previously hosted the Champions Trophy 2014 and the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017. Odisha also hosted the FIH Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup in 2021.    

 

Kalinga Lancers, the team owned by the State, were the winners in the Hockey India League 2017. Taking a step further towards realising the dream of restoring the glory of Indian Hockey at the global level, the State is sponsoring the Indian Hockey Teams till 2033.  

 

Odisha also hosted the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023.  

 

Follow us on:  

http://odishatourism.gov.in    

 

http://department.sportsodisha.gov.in