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After finishing 3rd in the inaugural edition of Hero Hockey India League last year, Lucknow based franchise Uttar Pradesh Wizards are all set to start this season of the professional field hockey tournament with a bang.
Hero HIL 2014, which starts from January 25 will see the addition of one new team in the form of Kalinga Lancers (Bhubaneshwar). So this time the competition will be much tougher as a total of six teams will battle it out for the prestigious Hero HIL trophy.
TEAM OVERVIEW
OWNER- Sahara India Pariwaar
HEAD COACH- Roelant Oltmans
ASSISTANT COACH- Hans Streeder
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR- Dhanraj Pillay
MANAGER- Maneck Kotwal
CAPTAIN- V.R. Raghunath
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HOME STADIUM- Dhyan Chand AstroTurf Stadium, Lucknow (capacity-10,000)
TEAM COMPOSITION :-
| PLAYER NAME | POSITION | COUNTRY |
| George Bazeley | Goal Keeper | Australia |
| Sreenivasa Rao Katharu | Goal Keeper | India |
| Kumar Subramanium | Goal Keeper | Malaysia |
| Jeroen Hertzberger | Forward | Netherlands |
| P.L Thimmanna | Forward | India |
| Nitin Thimmaiah | Forward | India |
| S.K Uthappa | Forward | India |
| Teun De Nooijer | Forward | Netherlands |
| Tushar Khandeker | Forward | India |
| Edward Ockenden | Midfield | Australia |
| David Alegre | Midfield | Spain |
| Pradeep Mor | Midfield | India |
| Harjeet Singh | Midfield | India |
| Sander Baart | Midfield | India |
| Rocky Lohchab | Midfield | India |
| Vivek Dhar | Midfield | India |
| Siddharth Shanker | Midfield | India |
| Luke Doerner | Defender | Australia |
| Harbir Singh | Defender | India |
| V.R Raghunath (Captain) | Defender | India |
| Marcel Balkestein | Defender | Netherlands |
| Wouter Jolie | Defender | Netherlands |
ABOUT THE CAPTAIN
Penalty corner specialist Vokkaliga Ramachandra Raghunath or simply V.R Raghunath was bought by the Uttar Pradesh franchise for USD 76,000. He captained his team to a third place finish in the inaugural season of the Hero Hockey India League.
Raghunath, who was named the ‘Best Player of the Tournament’ in the Asia Cup 2013, ended the opening season of HIL scoring 9 goals in 14 games.
Having the experience of playing 148 International matches, Raghunath will be one of the biggest threats for all the other teams in HIL 2014.
PERFORMANCE IN 2013
Uttar Pradesh WIzards had an average first season as they finished 3rd out of the five teams by winning six games out of 14 with a total winning percentage of 42.86.
By finishing 3rd in the league phase the Wizards team qualified for the semifinal stage but were unfortunate as they lost to eventual champions Ranchi Rhinos 2-4.
They however defeated the Jaypee Punjab Warriors 4-3 in the 3rd-4th place classification match.
KEY PLAYERS
There are a number of match winners in the U.P Wizards team but their key players include the captain and P.C specialist Raghunath, Dutch hockey legend and forward Teun De Nooijer, Indian forward S.K. Uthappa, Australian midfielder Edward Ockenden, Malaysian goalkeeper Kumar Subramanium and defenders Harbir Singh and Marcel Balkestein.
Other important players who will be very beneficial for the Wizards team are striker Tushar Khandekar and Aussie defender Luke Doerner; both these players have a vast experience of playing at the international level.
PREDICTION
With a perfect combination of experienced campaigners and young guns, U.P Wizards team can finish in the top two of the tournament.
SCHEDULE OF UTTAR PRADESH WIZARDS
Match No | Day & Date | Time (IST) | Home Team | Away Team | Venue |
2 | Sunday 26 January | 18:00 | Ranchi Rhinos | Uttar Pradesh Wizards | Ranchi |
6 | Wednesday 29 January | 20:00 | Dabur Mumbai Magicians | Uttar Pradesh Wizards | Mumbai |
9 | Saturday 1 February | 15:00 | Uttar Pradesh Wizards | Ranchi Rhinos | Lucknow |
11 | Sunday 2 February | 15:00 | Uttar Pradesh Wizards | Jaypee Punjab Warriors | Lucknow |
14 | Wednesday 5 February | 20:00 | Delhi Waveriders | Uttar Pradesh Wizards | Delhi |
17 | Saturday 8 February | 15:00 | Uttar Pradesh Wizards | Delhi Waveriders | Lucknow |
19 | Sunday 9 February | 15:00 | Uttar Pradesh Wizards | Kalinga Lancers | Lucknow |
23 | Thursday 13 February | 20:00 | Kalinga Lancers | Uttar Pradesh Wizards | Bhubaneswar |
25 | Saturday 15 February | 18:00 | Jaypee Punjab Warriors | Uttar Pradesh Wizards | Mohali |
29 | Tuesday 18 February | 15:00 | Uttar Pradesh Wizards | Dabur Mumbai Magicians | Lucknow |
