Pucker up!

Will city-based teams and a design-led revamp rejuvenate India's official national sport?

Don't be surprised if you see those biscuit endorsements being done by Gagan Ajit Singh or Dilip Tirkey instead of by familiar cricketing superstars, when you switch on your TV screen next.

Plans are underway to give India's national sport "" that's hockey, for all you cricket buffs who weren't in the know "" a long-overdue domestic tournament as well as a glamorous new look.

The first edition of the Premier Hockey League (PHL) "" which, believe it or not, will be Indian hockey's first major domestic showcase "" begins next month in Hyderabad.

The league will have two tiers "" Tier I, or the 'premier division' and Tier II, the 'first division' "" with five teams each. The Tier I teams have been allotted fancy names like Sher-e-Jallandhar and Bangalore High-Fliers and will be captained by prominent members of the national side like Gagan Ajit and Arjun Halappa.

What's more significant is that, for the first time, teams will be organised by region. "Unlike football, hockey didn't have clubs earlier," says S S Dasgupta, chairman and managing director, Leisure Sports Management (LSM), which has been handling the national hockey team for four years.

Earlier there were only corporate-sponsored teams, which didn't permit the development of a dedicated fan base. "You won't have people passionately supporting an Indian Airlines team, except maybe the company's own employees," he says. "Which is why we came up with the idea of forming city teams."

LSM made the proposal for a tournament of this sort to the Indian Hockey Federation and once it was approved, ESPN-Star Sports was engaged to market, produce and broadcast the PHL for the next 10 years.

ESPN-Star Sports, for its part, is making the most of a bad break. It lost out on the telecast rights for cricket series played in India after a high-publicised squabble, but now is hitting back on a different pitch.

So what steps are being taken to glamorise Indian hockey and get more spectators into the grounds? R C Venkateish, managing director, ESPN Software India, says that in this marketing-driven age, presentation and packaging is vital.

"There is a youthful feel to the current Indian side, with an average age of only around 20 years," says Venkateish, "and we must capitalise on that. It fits in with our plans to give the game a youthful, glamorous face."

Accordingly, snazzy team logos have been designed and high-profile designer Aparna Chandra has worked on the squads' uniforms, all to help the game shed its drab image.

Innovations have also been introduced in the actual play: each game in the PHL will have four quarters of 17 minutes and 30 seconds each, instead of two halves, and new time-out concepts have been introduced. Then there's the prize money, a total of Rs 71 lakh, of which Rs 30 lakh will go to the Tier I winner. "Earlier, domestic tournaments had only token prize money," says Dasgupta. "We are keen to change the perception of hockey as a game that doesn't have big money in it." The prize money will increase with subsequent editions of the tournament.

Growth in other areas is on the agenda: the IHF is keen to increase the number of teams to 24 in the tournament's second edition. "We have been visiting various district centres to check the feasibility of having local teams in other regions," says K Jothikumaran, honorary general secretary, IHF.

The organisers are also banking on foreign players to bring greater competitiveness to the sport and also draw in audiences.

"We can book up to four foreign players in each team," says Dasgupta, "and we have already shortlisted some from countries like Holland, Spain and Pakistan." Around 40-50 per cent of the foreign players are likely to be Pakistanis, he says.

Of course, everything isn't quite rosy yet. Jothikumaran says there is still an infrastructure gap. "At present, Hyderabad is the only venue with all the facilities for a tournament of this type "" floodlights, for instance," he says, "but we have set the process in motion. Chennai, Delhi, Chandigarh and Bhopal will soon have good hockey stadiums."