Lalit Upadhyay-Led Rajdhani Royals Take On Nyayadhani Knights In Chhattisgarh Hockey League Opener

(MENAFN- IANS) Raipur, Oct 22 (IANS) Olympian Lalit Upadhyay-led Rajdhani Royals will take on Nyayadhani Knights, led by Olympic medallist Surender Kumar, in the inaugural Chhattisgarh Hockey League (CHL) on Thursday.

A women's exhibition match opens the day's play, putting women's hockey on the CHL stage from the start.

The CHL is organised by the Department of Sports and Youth Welfare, Government of Chhattisgarh, and sanctioned by Hockey India. It is the first hockey league in the country run by a state government.

The season runs until the final on 1 November under the tagline“Chalo Re Sangi, Hockey Khelbo”.

The league starts during one of Indian hockey's best seasons in decades. At the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya earlier this month, both the men's and women's teams won gold, the first time India has won both titles at the same Games.

The women beat China 1–0 for their first Asian Games gold since 1982. The men beat Malaysia 5–1 to keep their title. Both teams have now qualified directly for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. The men's team also won Olympic bronze at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

"I proudly recall that exactly 25 years ago on this very day, the Indian Junior Hockey Team won the World Cup; notably, a distinguished member of that golden, victorious squad, Devesh Chauhan, is serving as the head coach for the Chhattisgarh team in this tournament. This competition would prove to be a milestone in establishing hockey at an excellent, professional level within the state.

"Chhattisgarh has gifted the nation with legendary hockey players such as Vincent Lakra, Mrinal Chaubey, Renuka Yadav, and Saba Anjum and this league will ensure that many such names will be established through this league in the future," said Arun Sao, Deputy Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh.

The CHL follows the Khelo India approach of wider participation and building excellence from the ground up. Earlier this year, Chhattisgarh hosted the first Khelo India Tribal Games, where hockey was a medal sport.

Under Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, the state aims to become a sporting state. The league gives Chhattisgarh's players a structured, competitive route to state, national and international hockey.

Each franchise is led by an Olympian marquee player who will play alongside Chhattisgarh's young players; Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (Rajdhani Royals), Surender Kumar (Nyayadhani Knights), Shamsher Singh (Sanskardhani Strikers), SV Sunil (Chakradhar Champions), Pradeep Mor (Mainpat Titans) and Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (Bailadila Bulls).

Each 22-member squad was picked from 132 players chosen through open trials. All six assistant head coaches are from Chhattisgarh, which builds coaching depth in the state.

The league builds on a strong hockey heritage. Bilaspur-born Leslie Claudius won three Olympic golds and a silver and captained India at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Renuka Yadav of Rajnandgaon, a district long called the“hockey nursery of India”, became Chhattisgarh's first woman Olympian at Rio 2016.

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