Gurjit Kaur scored a brace as the Indian women's hockey team dished out a spirited performance to stun Olympic silver medallist Argentina 2-1
India's defence held its ground against desperate Great Britain as they clinched a 2-1 victory in the 36th Champions Trophy in London on Saturday. The victory puts India at the top of the league standings with four points. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh stood his ground against a number of shots at the goal, four of them on penalty corners, as India made use of a breakaway opportunity created by right winger SV Sunil and their defenders covered the angles well to emerge victorious. Playing deep inside their own territory in the first quarter against early British raids, India scored through Mandeep Singh on their first raid by Sunil in the 17th minute.
World Cup bronze medallists Argentina stunned Olympic champions Germany 3-0 in their concluding Pool B match to end their league engagements in the Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament, in Bhubaneswar, on a high note.
They struggled for most part of the tournament but Mumbai Magicians drew curtains on their campaign in the second Hero Hockey India League in style, defeating Uttar Pradesh Wizards 3-2 to register their second consecutive victory in Lucknow on Tuesday.
An impressive India thrashed Canada 5-1 to top Pool C and seal a direct berth in the quarter-finals of the men's hockey World Cup.
"I am fortunate to be part of this important tournament and it becomes more special as I will be playing along with my brother Devindar Walmiki. This is like a dream come true as we always spoke about representing the country together and this dream is soon to get realised."
Defending champions Ranchi Rhinos eked out a close 2-1 win over Uttar Pradesh Wizards to consolidate their position in the points table of the Hero Hockey India League (HHIL) at the Dhyan Chand Stadium in Lucknow.
England scored through Will Calnan's (25th minute) field strike and penalty corner conversion by Luke Taylor (44th) to register the comfortable win.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
Four key players, including ace drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh and midfielder S K Uthappa, were dropped from India's 18-man squad for the Hockey World League semi-final, in Antwerp, Belgium, from June 20 to July 5. Besides Rupinder and Uthappa, forwards Mandeep Singh and Satbir Singh got the axe.
New Zealand pulled off the biggest surprise of the ongoing World League Semifinals with a 2-0 win over World Cup silver medalists Australia in the women's preliminary league in Antwerp.
A look at India's schedule on Tuesday, August 3, 2021:
After settling for a draw against World No 2 England in the opening match despite grabbing an early lead, Rani Rampal-led India suffered a disappointing 0-1 loss to Ireland in their second round robin match to squander the chance of making a direct entry to the quarter-finals.
An impressive Malaysia scored two goals on either side of the break to shut the door on England with a 4-2 win in their last league encounter at the Junior Men's Hockey World Cup at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, in New Delhi on Monday.
Olympic gold medallists The Netherlands defeated Australia 2-0 in the title showdown to clinch the women's hockey World Cup at the Kyocera Stadium in The Hague on Saturday.
Having achieved the goal of a podium finish at the recently-concluded Champions Trophy in London, the Indian men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans has now set his eyes on his next big target -- the Rio Olympics.
In a country that is often focused on the ways in which it falls short, the start of a year is a good time to remind oneself of such positives, observes T N Ninan.
The Brazilian, the only player to claim three World Cup winner's medals and a man often called the greatest footballer of all time, said all monies raised will help Brazil's fight against and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
India started brightly and pushed hard in the first five minutes of the match but their attacks fizzled once out inside the opposition D.
Neeraj Chopra's rise to stardom from a Haryana village has been nothing short of spectacular.
India discovered scoring ways to finally end Italy's World Cup adventure through a field strike from Lalremsiami (20th minute) and two penalty corner goals from Neha Goyal (45th) and Vandana Katariya (55th) to register the emphatic win.
An inexperienced Indian men's hockey team fought hard before going down to arch-rivals Pakistan 4-5 and slumping to their third defeat in the Asian Champions Trophy at Kakamigahara, Japan on Thursday.
Ending the suspense over who would be the Indian contingent's flag bearer at the 17th Asian Games opening ceremony in Incheon on Friday, men's hockey team captain Sardar Singh was bestowed with the honour.
India entered the final of the men's hockey tournament at the Asian Games after a solitary goal victory over South Korea in the semi-finals, in Incheon, on Tuesday.
The Indian men, ranked fifth in the world, had earlier defeated world number 22 Russia 4-2 in the first-leg on Friday.
The curtains were brought down on a memorable Asian Games with the celebration of the athletes' stupendous feats and China's cultural heritage at a colourful and technologically mesmerising closing ceremony in Hangzhou on Sunday.
Manpreet (30th minute, 44th) was the star for sixth- ranked India, while Varun Kumar (17th) and Harjeet Singh (49th) also sounded the board.
How athletes have strived for achieving greatness during extraordinary times.
"Through his outstanding performance at the Olympics, Sreejesh has brought joy to Indians around the world. As a fellow-Malayali, I take tremendous pride in his achievement," Vayalil, Chairman and Managing Director of VPS Healthcare, was quoted as saying in a media statement.
Forward Shamsher Singh on Monday said winning the Olympic bronze medal was just ticking off one box in the new beginning for the Indian men's hockey team, which aspires to be the world number one side.
Favourites India maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament and eked out a fighting 2-1 win over a spirited South Africa in their final Pool D match to book a place in the quarterfinals of the men's Junior Hockey World Cup at the Major Dhyan Astroturf stadium in New Delhi on Monday. India scored both their goals from field efforts through skipper Harjeet Singh (11th minute) and Mandeep Singh (55th), while Kyle Lion-Cachet (28th) found the net for the Africans. India, thus, finished the pool engagements with possible nine points from three wins and will now face second placed team in Pool C, Spain in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Uttar Pradesh Wizards and Jaypee Punjab Warriors finished 2-2 to register the first draw of the second edition of Hero Hockey India League (HHIL) at the Dhyan Chand Stadium in Lucknow.
President Ram Nath Kovind hosted high tea for the Indian contingent to the Tokyo Olympics 2020 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre on Independence Day eve, August 14, 2021.
Five other elite track and field athletes have also tested positive at the SAI centre in Bengaluru.
Among the memorable gifts presented to Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi, up for bids in an e-auction, are sporting memorabilia gifted by India's Tokyo Olympians.
The Indian men's hockey team secured a 3-2 win over New Zealand in a nail-biting third game to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in four-Test series at Christchurch on Friday.
After a goalless opening two quarters, Nick Ross broke the deadlock for New Zealand in the 41st minute. But the hosts' joy was short lived as India equalised two minutes later through a field goal from SV Sunil (43rd).
The HI president also said that a committee has been formed to decide on the fate of the coach and it will take a decision on Friday. He said he has no ego problem and if the committee feels the coach should continue, he would himself go to The Netherlands to bring him back.