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Hockey India League 2014: Ranch Rhinos - Team Preview

With a win percentage of 64.29 in the first season, reigning HIL champions Ranchi Rhinos will start their campaign this season on 26th January when they will lock horns with the Lucknow based franchise – Uttar Pradesh Wizards.

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 gets a lot more tougher as a total of six teams will battle it out for the prestigious Hero HIL trophy and apart from the trophy the winning team also gets a whooping amount of Rs. 2.5 crores and the runners- up will end getting 1.25 crores.

TEAM OVERVIEW

OWNER - Patel-Uniexcel Group

HEAD COACH - Gregg Clark

ASSISTANT COACH - Baljit Singh Saini

MANAGER - David John

CAPTAIN - Moritz Furste

HOME STADIUM - AstroTurf Hockey Stadium,Ranchi (Capacity-6000)

SLOGAN - ‘Nas Nas Mein Hockey’ 

TEAM COMPOSITION

PLAYER NAME POSITION COUNTRY
Francisco Juancosa Cortés Goalkeeper Spain
Sushant Tirkey Goalkeeper India
Mandeep Singh Forward India
Pradhdeep Singh Forward India
Vikash Chaudhary Forward India
Ashley Jackson Forward England
Floris Evers Forward Netherlands
Stanli Victor Minz Forward India
Amon Mirash Tirkey Forward India
Eduard Arbos Dorras Forward Spain
Arvind Kujur Forward India
Parvinder  Singh Forward India
Austin Smith Midfield South Africa
Barry Middelton Midfield England
Kothajit Singh Midfield India
Manpreet Singh Midfield India
Moritz Fuerste Midfield Germany
Marcos Salles Midfield Spain
Bipendra Lakra Midfield India
Sukhmanjit Singh Defender India
Sumit Topno Defender India
Justin Reid Ross Defender South Africa
Amit Rohidas Defender India
Bosco Perez Defender Spain

ABOUT THE CAPTAIN

Moritz Fuerste

Member of the German hockey team who won the gold medal at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, Moritz Fuerste was bought by Ranchi Rhinos for $75,500 in the first season to lead their team.

28-year-old Fuerste, who guided Ranchi Rhinos to glory in the first ever Hockey India League was awarded the FIH 2012 Player of the Year.

However the Rhinos team will miss the services of their German captain for the first two matches of the tournament as he has some prior commitments and will join the team only after Jan 27.

PERFORMANCE IN 2013

Ranchi Rhinos played outstanding hockey as they emerged champions in the inaugural edition of the Hero HIL. With 7 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, Ranchi Rhinos finished second in the league phase behind Delhi Waveriders.

After finishing second in the league phase, they qualified for the semifinal stage and then it was all Rhinos as they first outclassed the Uttar Pradesh Wizards 4-2 and then defeated Delhi 2-1 in a nail biting final.

KEY PLAYERS

There are a number of match winners in the Ranchi Rhinos team but their key players include the captain and midfielder Moritz Fuerste, Dutch hockey star and forward Floris Evers, Indian teenage hockey sensation and forward Mandeep Singh, 2009 FIH Young Player of the year and English midfielder/striker Ashley Jackson, Indian midfielder Birendra Lakra, Spanish goalkeeper Franciso Cortes and defenders Justin Reid Ross and Amit Rohidas.

Other key players who can be prove very handy for the Rhinos team includes the Spanish forward and member of the 2008 Olympics silver medal winning squad Eduard Arbos and Indian midfielder Kothajit Singh.

PREDICTION

The primary goal of the Ranchi Rhinos team would be to make it to the knockout stage of the tournament but with nearly a perfect combination of young and experienced players, the Rhinos team is expected to finish in the top two.

SCHEDULE OF RANCHI RHINOS

Match No

Date

Time

Home Team

Away Team

Venue

2

Sunday 26 January

18:00

Ranchi Rhinos

Uttar Pradesh Wizards

Ranchi

4

Monday 27 January

20:00

Ranchi Rhinos

Delhi Waveriders

Ranchi

9

Saturday 1 February

15:00

Uttar Pradesh Wizards

Ranchi Rhinos

Lucknow

13

Tuesday 4 February

20:00

Ranchi Rhinos

Dabur Mumbai Magicians

Ranchi

16

Friday 7 February

20:00

Ranchi Rhinos

Kalinga Lancers

Ranchi

20

Sunday 9 February

20:00

Dabur Mumbai Magicians

Ranchi Rhinos

Mumbai

22

Wednesday 12 February

20:00

Delhi Waveriders

Ranchi Rhinos

Delhi

24

Friday 14 February

20:00

Kalinga Lancers

Ranchi Rhinos

Bhubaneswar

28

Sunday 16 February

20:00

Jaypee Punjab Warriors

Ranchi Rhinos

Mohali

30

Wednesday 19 February

20:00

Ranchi Rhinos

Jaypee Punjab Warriors

Ranchi

 

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