Odisha Warrior wins inaugural Women’s Hockey India League 2025
Sport
4 min read
The Odisha Warriors Club won the inaugural edition of the Women’s Hockey India League 2024-25 title by defeating Soorma Hockey Club 2-1 in the final played at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Astro Turf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi on 26 January 2025.
The Women’s Hockey India League is a franchise club tournament based on the Cricket's Indian Premier League (IPL) model.
About Hockey India League
The Hockey India League is a premier hockey league in India that is organised by the sports governing body Hockey India. It was started in 2013 and was for men’s hockey only.
The last edition of the Hockey India League was held in 2017 and after a gap of seven years, it is being held in 2024-25. The men’s Hockey India league is being held at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha from 28 January to December 28, 2024, and will run till February 1, 2025.
The Women Hockey India league was introduced for the first time in 2024-25 and was held at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Astro Turf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi from 12-26 January 2025.
Format and teams of the inaugural Women’s Hockey India League
In the inaugural Women’s Hockey India League four franchise teams- Soorma Hockey Club, Delhi SG Pipers, Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers, and Odisha Warriors- participated.
Each franchise team had a maximum of 24-player squad, which included at least 16 Indian hockey players (with a mandatory four junior players) and eight international hockey players.
All four teams played each other twice in the league format and the top two teams in the league qualified for the final.
Soorma Hockey Club topped the league phase winning 4 out of its six matches and finishing with 13 points. Odisha Warriors was second in the league phase with 11 points in 6 matches with 2 wins. Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tiger came at the third position with 7 points and Delhi SG Pipers came at the bottom with 5 points.
Soorma Hockey Club and Odisha Warrior being the top two teams at the league stage qualified for the final in which Odisha Warrior defeated the Soorma Hockey Club 2-1.
For Odisha Warriors, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal scored twice, while Penny Squibb was the goal scorer for the Soorma Hockey Club.
2024-25 Women’s Hockey India League 2024-25 Awards
- Best Goalkeeper: Savita Punia (Soorma Hockey Club)
- Upcoming Player: Sonam (Soorma Hockey Club)
- Top Scorers: Yibbi Jansen (Odisha Warriors), Charlotte Englebert (Soorma Hockey Club)
- Player of the Tournament: Jyoti (Soorma Hockey Club)
