Mumbai: Preeti Pariat Mehta, a veteran in the sports industry with over 23 years of extensive experience in organizing global events, has signed on with World Series Hockey as Event Director.
Mehta has traveled the globe and has implemented numerous events across multiple sports like Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Polo, Aquatics, Billiards and Adventure Sports The most notable being the ICC Cricket World Cups in 2011 & 2007, Champions League T20 in 2011 & 2009, ICC Champions Trophy in 2006, India Open Golf and the World Billiards Championships, amongst others. On her most recent hockey related assignment, the 2010 Hockey World Cup in India, she was lauded for the immaculate conduct of the event.
Preeti said, "World Series Hockey heralds a new chapter in the history of sports in India. Hockey has never been presented in such a grand scale and I look forward to the challenge of ensuring a successful tournament for the players and the hockey enthusiasts.”
This follows on the heels of the announcement of Dennis Meredith, member of the FIH panel of Tournament Directors, as Technical Director and Peter Von Reth, former Chairman of FIH Umpiring Committee, as sports technical manager of World Series Hockey.
Karl Da Costa, Deputy General Manager of Nimbus Sport said "WSH has brought on board the best talent in terms of players and administrators. Preeti’s experience in managing global sporting events is unparalleled. With her incisive know-how and excellent track record, she will be an asset for World Series Hockey.”
The WSH will be held from December 17, 2011 to January 22, 2012 and will involve 200 leading players -- Indian and international -- who will showcase their talent in 61 matches. It will be a multi-city franchise-based League with players being allocated to the teams based on the internationally accepted and practised ‘draft’ system.
The inaugural edition of the league will comprise eight teams out of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Pune, Bhopal, Punjab, Ranchi and Rourkela.
Hockey players, for the first time, will have a global platform to exhibit their skills for which they will be financially rewarded. The legacy created by the planned upgrading of infrastructure across the country will benefit hockey for generations to come.
Some of the Indian stars who will be seen in action in WSH include Viren Rasquinha, Dhanraj Pillay, Rajpal Singh, Sandeep Singh, Adrian D’Souza, Sardara Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Arjun Halappa, Diwakar Ram, Bharat Chetri, Dhananjay Mahadik, Shivendra Singh, Mandeep Antil, S.V. Sunil, Roshan Minz, William Xalxo, Prabodh Tirkey and Yuvraj Walmiki.
The star studded line-up ensures the league will be vibrant and competitive, drawing the global spotlight on India.