Kalinga Lancers team during a training session at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar
The new season of the Hockey India League (HIL) will be a family affair for Belgium’s Kina father-son duo, coach Pascal and versatile player Antoine, who will be part of the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers set-up.
While Antoine, a World and Olympic champion, played an important role for Lancers last season, the senior Kina is making his HIL debut this time.
Following the team’s first training camp at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, Lancers’ new technical and strategy coach Pascal Kina – who has worked across Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, China and Korea – said, “I’ve been involved in international hockey for many years but India was one place I had never been to until now.
“This period is important for fitness work, testing and knowing the players. Making that first connection and building cohesion within the group is important. On December 28, we have a practice match. Most of the overseas players are coming from their national camps. They will be match-ready, which makes it ideal.
“My philosophy has been to go match by match and go as high as possible.”
On the Lancers’ focus area, Olympian A.B. Subbaiah, the manager of the side, said, “We scored 31 goals and conceded 31. So we are focusing on strengthening the defensive structure as well as penalty corner defence and conversion.”
The foreign players along with newly-appointed head coach Jay Stacy, a triple Olympic medallist from Australia, will join the squad after Christmas.
Lancers will face Ranchi Royals in its first match on January 4 in Chennai.
Published – December 24, 2025 06:13 pm IST
