Returning home after winning the Commonwealth Games silver, the Indian men's hockey team received to a rousing welcome by Hockey India (HI), Indian Olympic Association (IOA), fans and friends at the Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Indian hockey captain Sardara Singh missed out on the FIH player of the year award which was won by Germany's Moritz Fuerste.
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will honour Olympics bronze medal winner Yogeshwar Dutt and all other athletes who participated in London Games in an awards function to be organised by Haryana Police in Chandigarh on August 23.
Seasoned defender Ignace Tirkey's sprained ankle and star midfielder Sardara Singh's injured shin has left the Indian hockey team management worried ahead of the Olympic Games starting July 27.
Ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh and midfielder Sardara Singh were handed a lifeline on Wednesday after Hockey India lifted the two-year ban on them for indiscipline, saying the two players were given 'a last chance' to make amends for their mistakes.
Hockey India cracked the whip on Saturday, slapping a two-year ban on star players Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh for repeated indiscipline. The national federation imposed the sanction on Sandeep and Sardara after a marathon meeting, which was attended by Hockey India's top brass, including its secretary-general Narinder Batra.
The cloud of doubt that threatened to disrupt the million-dollar World Series Hockey (WSH) has been cleared after warring factions Hockey India (HI) and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) entered into an interim arrangement on Monday.
150 Indian players, including top stars from the current national team have signed on and received advanced payments to play in World Series Hockey (WSH).
Hockey India's general secretary Narender Batra on Wednesday said they are planning to take strong disciplinary action against Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh for abruptly leaving the national camp, currently underway in Bangalore.
Hockey India's disciplinary panel chairman Pargat Singh on Friday demanded a stern action against the country's top five players, who left the ongoing national camp in Bangalore without permission to attend a function organized by the rival Indian Hockey Federation.
Around 176 players from India and across the world will participate in the World Series Hockey tournament, from December 15 to January 22, 2012.
At least six senior players, including former captain Rajpal Singh, are not in the team for the tournament, starting May 5, in Ipoh, Malaysia.
As part of a rotation policy, goalkeeper Bharat Chetri was on Thursday named captain while the controversial duo of Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh were recalled to the Indian hockey team for next month's tour of Australia. Veteran midfielder Ignace Tirkey will be Chetri's deputy.
Drag-flicker V Raghunath and midfielder Vikas Kumar were on Wednesday included in place of Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh in the squad for the Asian Champions Trophy hockey after the two senior players abruptly left the national camp, currently underway in Bangalore.
India kicked off their preparations for next month's London Olympic qualifier in style, thrashing South Africa 4-0 in the first hockey Test, in Delhi, on Monday. The Indians scored three goals in the first half, through Shivendra Singh (15th minute), Birendra Lakra (24th), Sardara Singh (28th), while the last one came from the stick of debutant S K Uthappa in the 53rd minute.
In a move which could derail the ambitious plan of the Indian Hockey Federation to organise a World Series of Hockey in the country, the FIH has threatened to bar players and national associations from participating in the Olympic Games if they associate with the league.
Battling a spate of injuries and non-selection of two star players Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh -- double defending champions India will be looking to complete a hat-trick of titles in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament that begins in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Thursday.
Hockey India secretary-general Narinder Batra said the duo e-mailed their appeal plea to him on Thursday and sought for a meeting with him next week.
Placed in a tough pool, India's hockey coach Michael Nobbs says vice-captain Sardara Singh and ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh's form will be crucial to the team's chances in the upcoming London Olympics.
Veteran forward Arjun Halappa has been appointed captain of the Indian team for next month's Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Malaysia even as drag-flicker Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh failed to find a place in the list of 45 probables.
India's perennial habit of conceding last minute goals undid all the good work as visitors went down 4-5 in their third and final hockey Test against Spain in Terrassa, on Thursday night. India came back from a 1-4 deficit to level the score but Albert Sala's 70th minute strike crushed their hopes.
Prabhjot Singh scored three goals as the eight-time Olympic champions cleared their first hurdle with an 8-0 win.
Former champions Bangalore Hi-Fliers kept themselves in the race for a semifinal berth with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Hyderabad Sultans in the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Thursday.
India remained unbeaten in the six-nation under-21 tournament to win the title
A 56th minute goal by Sardara Singh guided India to a 1-0 victory over South Korea in the play-off for third-fourth places.
'Politics is in a mess. Good people have to join to clean it up.'
Aiming to put the spotlight on athletes and energise fans to motivate them to be at their best, the 50-year-old star has started a campaign to introduce the players with a tweet.
In the absence of skipper Sardara Singh, the Indian men's hockey team suffered another defeat in the Asian Champions Trophy.
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Skipper Sardara Singh has been rested for third Asian Champions Trophy. In his absence, Hockey India said, midfielder Manpreet Singh will lead India's 18-member squad for the tournament in Kakamigahara, Japan, from November 2-10.
Noted educationist and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya was on Monday posthumously conferred the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, by President Pranab Mukherjee.
'The issue is not whether the farm laws are beneficial for the farmers or not.' 'The farmers have taken a stand that they do not want these laws.' 'Why do you want to thrust these laws down their throat?'
India is sending a 800-plus contingent, including 572 athletes, to the Asian Games, to be held from August 18 to September 2 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang.
While there are rumours that Sardar Singh's axing is because of his dip in form in recent times, the team's chief coach and High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans said the move was necessitated to relieve the ace midfielder from excess responsibilities.
India's third-place finish at the Hockey World League Finals is a timely reminder of the improvement the team has made under Oltmans. But one must not get carried away.
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