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World Series Hockey has a signed a slew of stars from the Australasian region, from Australia to Korea, New Zealand to Malaysia.
The players signed up are Brent Livermore, Joseph Reardon, Peter Kelly, Robert Green, Mathew Phillips from Australia; Casey Henwood, Lloyd Stephenson from New Zealand; Jiwa Mohan from Malaysia, and Sung Min for South Korea.
The line-up from the Australasian region includes Olympics and World Cup winners and a host of current players who have played close to 1000 international matches amongst them.
Australian hockey legend Brent Livermore said, "It's fantastic to see players from all over the world signing up for this global league. I am proud to be appointed a captain and look forward to playing explosive hockey."
Jiwa Mohan, a Malaysian international with South Indian roots, said: "I'm eagerly looking forward to playing in front of the passionate, hockey-loving crowd in India. World Series Hockey is going to be a fantastic platform for the emerging players, with a sharp learning curve available to those who adapt to playing with a host of international stars on the same team"
Karl Da Costa, Deputy General Manager of Nimbus Sport, said with the signing of top players from the Australasian region, World Series Hockey continues to attract some of the biggest names as players and administrators.
"The league is all set to dazzle fans with some of the finest players showcasing their skills on a global scale," he added.
World Series Hockey will be held from December 17 to January 22, 2012 and will involve 200 leading players -- Indian and international -- who will showcase their talent in 61 matches. It is 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 has eight teams out of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Pune, Bhopal, Punjab, Ranchi and Rourkela. Indian stars who will be seen in action include 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.