India is launching a new, hyped-up field hockey competition from Thursday in a bid to revive what was once the country's national sport till cricket became an all-consuming passion. The Premier Hockey League (PHL), to be played over the next 30 days in the southern city of Hyderabad, will feature the country's top talent along with a sprinkling of foreign stars led by Pakistan's world record holder Sohail Abbas.
The PHL will be held under floodlights under new rules suited to generate television revenues between five teams called the Sher-e-Jallandhar (Jalandhar Tigers), Hyderabad Sultans, Maratha Warriors (Bombay), Chennai Veerans (Madras) and Bangalore Hi-fliers.