New Delhi: Hockey Australia are delighted to announce that Hero MotoCorp Ltd. have come on board as the Associate Partner of the Lanco International Super Series. Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (Formerly Hero Honda Motors Ltd.) is the world's largest manufacturer of two – wheeler automobiles, headquartered in India.
The Lanco International Super Series is a newly created tournament, which has a revolutionary new format and new rules to make the game faster and more exciting than ever before.
The tournament will be held in Perth from October 20-23 in conjunction with Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and will feature top mens & womens teams such as Australia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Malaysia.
New rules for the tournament include teams having 9 players a side as opposed to the usual 11, games will be played in 15 minute halves as opposed to 35 minute halves, bigger goals, one player from each team will be required to stay in the forward half to create more space and ground rules will be relaxed to encourage continuous play.
Hero MotoCorp has been a pioneer in field of sports sponsorships in India for over a decade now. Besides its association with cricket and golf, Hero took a lead position in hockey in 2010 as the Title Sponsor of the 2010 FIH Hockey World Cup in New Delhi, India.
Hockey Australia Chief Executive Mark Anderson also touched upon Hero’s involvement with this iconic event in his response to their new relationship.
“Hockey Australia is pleased to welcome Hero Moto Corp, the world’s leading 2-wheel automobile company, to be a partner of the Lanco International Super Series. The hockey world greatly appreciated the company’s tremendous efforts in promoting the sport around last year’s Hero FIH World Cup, culminating in that event being easily the most watched event in hockey history, & it is fantastic to see them get behind hockey’s newest format.”
Pawan Munjal, Managing Director and CEO, Hero MotoCorp Ltd said, "Hero MotoCorp is pleased to associate with this latest innovation in International hockey, and to help ensure that hockey fans in India and around the world get a chance to see this exciting new format.
At Hero MotoCorp we also pride ourselves on innovation, and this partnership with the Lanco International Super Series Hockey 9s enables us to continue the very strong association with India’s national sport following the hugely successful Hero FIH World Cup 2010”