He was blessed with celestial ability, a once-in-a-generation player destined to pull India out of its hockey inertia and lay down for it a new, exciting, path of greatness. Then he was shot and unsure if he would walk, let alone play hockey again. Dhruv Munjal hopes Soorma, the biopic on Sandeep Singh's life, will bring him back where he belongs -- in the spotlight.
Tokyo should remain the benchmark and source of inspiration till at least Paris 2024. In the shorter run, India's preparations for the Asian and Commonwealth Games next year must begin based on lessons learnt now, asserts Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry.
India hockey coach Michael Nobbs says scoring field goals will be the key to the team's fortunes at the upcoming Olympics.
The committee also picked 19 sportspersons for the Arjuna Award, including the likes of cricketers Ravindra Jadeja and Poonam Yadav, track and field stars Tejinder Pal Singh Toor, Mohammed Anas and Swapna Barman.
Goalkeeper Savita produced a stunning save in a tense shootout as India won the Asia Cup to secure qualification in next year's hockey World Cup following a nerve-wracking win over China in the final on Sunday.
The Indian men's hockey team went down fighting 1-2 to hosts Belgium in their second practice match on Saturday, ahead of the Fintro FIH World League Semi-Finals which will get underway in Antwerp from June 20.
The Indian women's hockey team continued their impressive show at the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) hockey tournament as they spanked Malaysia 5-1 to secure their place in the summit clash of the event at Kakamigahara, Japan on Monday.
Prabhjot Singh (6th minute), Shilanand Lakra (15th, 43rd), Harmanjit Singh (21st), Mohd Faraz (23rd), Abhishek (50th) and skipper Mandeep Mor (60th) were the goal scorers for India.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
World champions Australia rallied from a two-goal deficit to prevail 4-3 over Olympic gold medallists Germany to bolster their position in the 36th Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre.
Skipper Rani Rampal and defender Gurjit Kaur struck a brace each as Indian women hockey team thrashed Spain 4-1 in the fifth and final match to level the series 2-2.
Mehuli had topped the qualifying with a score of 628.8 earlier in the morning and led the eight-woman finals field after 10 shots with a score of 104.3, 1.1 ahead of Stephanie.
In the absence of skipper Sardara Singh, the Indian men's hockey team suffered another defeat in the Asian Champions Trophy.
Spending some time on sets of this sports film was a fun experience, says Jahnavi Patel.
As the curtains come down at the Tokyo Olympics, here's a glance at the medallists and those who came within touching distance of glory.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Indian captain PR Sreejesh's lacklustre show under the bar saw the team succumb to a 1-2 defeat by Belgium in the 36th Hero Champions Trophy at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre in London.
The grandeur and might of the various types of aircraft in the Indian Air Force were on full display on the occasion of the 88th Air Force Day celebrations on Thursday.
The Indian women hockey team ended their Australian tour with a 1-3 defeat in the third and final match as they lost the series 1-2 at the State Netball & Hockey Centre, in Melbourne on Sunday.
Aiming to keep their perfect record at the Commonwealth Games intact, defending champions Australia on Wednesday announced a 16-member hockey squad for the October 3-14 mega-event in Delhi.
India has huge expectations from these champions. Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi and Norma Godinho glance at their chances at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The IHF announced the five teams to feature in the Premier Hockey League, Dhanraj Pillay to play for Maratha Warriors.
The sixth ranked India, who just needed a draw to seal a place in Sunday's summit clash, produced a superlative performance after the change of ends to pump in four goals -- three field strikes and one through penalty corner.
Images from day three of the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, on Monday.
The MLS and NBA were paying particularly close attention to Friday's events as many of the positive tests occurred in Florida where both leagues have announced plans to restart their seasons at Orlando's Walt Disney World.
Dozens of Japanese towns have abandoned plans to host Olympic athletes because of concern they will overburden stretched medical resources amid a fourth wave of coronavirus infections.
Images from Day 1 of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
India's gold haul from track-and-field continued at the Asian Games on Thursday, culminating in its best showing at the continental showpiece in close to seven decades. However, there was heartbreak in the hockey arena as its men's team was beaten by Malaysia in the semi-finals.
The two Koreas will field a combined women's team at the table tennis world championships after the nations decided not to compete against each other in the quarter-finals, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) said on Thursday.
India defeated Uzbekistan 10-0 in their last pool A match, on Monday, in the ongoing FIH Men's Series Finals at Kalinga Stadium
With an eye on the Olympics, the India hockey team skipper Sardar Singh said that the upcoming tournaments like Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Champions Trophy will serve as important preparatory events in the run-up to the Rio Games. Sardar said while the immediate aim is to win a gold in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh from April 6-16, the larger goal is to come up with a medal-winning show in the Champions Trophy, to be played in London from June 10-17.
Continuing with his business ventures beyond the cricket field, MS Dhoni has now invested in 360 degree sports ecosystem Run Adam, and will serve as its endorser
Promising gymnast Dipa Karmakar, the women's hockey team and shooter Heena Sidhu on Sunday checked into the Olympic Village to further boost the Indian contingent at the Rio Games beginning on August 5.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
Indian hockey falls short on the mental aspect of the game against top European sides and a permanent sports psychologist could be of great help in improving the team's performance, says Olympian goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza.
The lubricants major withdrew its sponsorship of the Indian team, citing cost-cutting measures.
India might have lost to Pakistan in the summit clash of men's hockey in the 12th South Asian Games but captain Mandeep Antil on Saturday sought to take the positives from the performance of his players, saying they have done well given the inexperience of the team. With the country's top players taking part in the ongoing Hockey India League, India fielded an inexperienced team mostly consisting of junior players and they failed to click as a unit in the SAG. India settled for the silver medal after losing twice to arch-rivals Pakistan, including in the final 0-1 in Guwahati on Friday night. India had just two senior players who had played some international matches in Antil himself and veteran Gurbaj Singh. Even Antil has played just 20-odd international matches while Gurbaj has donned India colours in more than 200 games. Pakistan had at least six players who played in the London Olympics. Antil said he was disappointed to have lost to Pakistan in the final, which he felt was a close match. "Any loss to Pakistan at any level is a disappointment. We wanted to win the gold but we could not do it. We played better (than the group match which also India lost 1-2) and it was a close match but we lost again," Antil told PTI.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has been fielded again from Karnal.
'The fact that the IOC and Japan decided to postpone has a lot to do with the fact that athletes spoke out and clearly told their stories. It somehow made it real.'
Sloppy defending cost India dearly as they conceded a late goal and went down 1-2 to higher-ranked New Zealand in their second league match on Day 2 of the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh.
