Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
The constant change of captain in the Indian hockey team is in bad taste and defies logic, feels Olympian and former India captain Gurbux Singh.
Indian men's hockey coach Harendra Singh wa, on Wednesday, sacked from the position following a disappointing 2018 and offered the task of helming the junior squad by the national federation.
Indian men's hockey team would be eager to ensure that its far-from-convincing campaign finds some footing when it takes on lower-ranked Malaysia
'The way we are playing now, if we continue to play the same hockey, no one can stop us from standing on the podium in Tokyo.'
It was a perfect display of attacking hockey as the Indian strikers toyed with the Malaysian defence with short passes, one-touch ball delivery to pump five beautiful field goals.
India hockey coach Paul van Ass said inability to handle fast-paced attack resulted in his side's capitulation against World champions Australia in the FIH World League semi-finals in Antwerp.
India's hopes of a podium finish were dashed as they squandered lead on two occasions and went down 2-3 to Ireland in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Friday.
Sardar Singh is not done yet and wants to give himself a chance till the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before deciding on his illustrious career.
'I play in the present without thinking about the buzz in the background,' says Vivek Sagar Prasad, who has just won the FIH Rising Star of the Year award.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
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.
On-field achievements often jostled for space with off-field drama as Indian hockey endured a rollercoaster year during which the players scripted historical feats but coach Paul van Ass' acrimonious ouster and Gurbaj Singh's suspension created its share of storm.
For Indian hockey, 2016 was a year in which much was promised and achieved as well. It was also a year where India made significant and visible advancements but deep down somewhere the pain of missing out on an Olympic medal will remain for four more years.
Defender Harmanpreet Singh converted two penalty corners as India stamped their authority over New Zealand with an assertive 3-0 victory in the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, on Sunday.
Hockey India on Saturday sacked national coach Roelant Oltmans after a string of unimpressive outings at the international level.
Devendra Jhajharia, on Tuesday became the first para athlete to receive India's highest sporting honour -- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- along with hockey star Sardar Singh, who has endured trying times off the field in the last one year.
The 36-year-old Jhajharia, who is the first Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals, was the first choice of the awards selection committee.
Leaking late goals has been something of an Achilles' heel for the Indian hockey team but captain Sardar Singh believes his team have addressed the issue as they head to Rio looking for the country's first Olympic medal in 36 years. Once-mighty India are the most decorated nation in the sport's Olympic history but the South Asians collected the last of their eight gold medals way back at the Moscow Games in 1980. Having failed to qualify for the Beijing Games in 2008, the team representing a nation of 1.3 billion people did recover to seal a spot at the London Games four years later only to finish last among the 12 countries taking part.
Experienced drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh returned to India's men's hockey team, which also features debutant Jaskaran Singh, for the tour of Australia, starting May 10.
'An India-Pakistan hockey match still attracts a lot of excitement, but the pressure thing is gone nowadays' 'We rallied after conceding an early goal and took the lead, but could not win due to a very high level of performance by India'
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is set to introduce drastic changes in the structure of global competitions with a new Global Hockey League (GHL) to be introduced in 2019 in place of the long-standing Champions Trophy, which will be scrapped.
It was touted as the year which could herald a change in the fortunes Indian hockey, but 2018 turned out to be yet another saga of missed opportunities for the sport.
Jasjit Singh sent two rasping penalty corner drag flicks into the net as India edged past hosts Malaysia 3-2 to move to the semifinals of the Hockey World League semi-finals in Antwerp.
He was a talismanic midfielder who played the game on his own terms with fitness being key to his success
Roelant Oltmans fully understands what a men's hockey medal would mean to India's success-starved fans but the Dutch coach will not burden his players with the pressure of bringing one home from the Rio Games.
Roelant Oltmans, the Indian men's hockey team's chief coach, says the new competition format of having quarter-finals in place of direct semi-finals at the upcoming Rio Olympics is not only beneficial for the Men in Blue but all small teams too.
India squandered numerous scoring chances before two late goals sealed their 3-1 victory over Canada in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey in Ipoh on Sunday. Failing to exert pressure despite taking an early lead, India hung on grimly against several threatening Canadian raids to clinch their second victory in three outings. Chandana Thimmaiah opened the Indian account in the third minute, but Keegan Pereira equalised for Canada in the 23rd minute to be 1-1 level at half-time. Harmanpreet Singh converted a penalty corner in the 41st minute and Talwinder Singh capitalised on a Sardar Singh cross into the circle in the 67th to seal the fate of the match.
- 'I hope our training on creating early pressure will be evident when we go into the competition'
India came back strongly after a two-goal deficit but still lost 3-4 to defending champions South Korea in the final of the ninth Asia Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Already out of next year's World Cup, Pakistan had something to cheer about as the three-time champions defeated hosts Malaysia 3-1 to win the bronze medal at the ninth Asia Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh on Sunday.
Soundly thrashed by Australia in their last match, India will look to sort out their defensive woes when they take on Malaysia in their quarter-final match of the Hockey World League Semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium, on Wednesday.
India entered the final of the ninth Asia Cup hockey tournament beating Malaysia 2-0 in the semi-finals at the Sultan Azlan Shah stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Friday.
Hosts Malaysia recovered from a two-goal deficit to beat a spirited Japan 4-2 while Pakistan mauled debutants Chinese Taipei 13-0 in final round matches of Pool A at the ninth Asia Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Tuesday.
'Shahid was an artist, the kind who treated the hockey pitch as his own canvas.'
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.
Drag-flickers Rupinderpal Singh and V R Raghunath scored hat-tricks as India extended their winning run in the Asia Cup hockey tournament, trouncing Bangladesh 9-1 in their concluding Pool B match at the Sultan Azlan Shah stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Wednesday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
As preparations for the Rio Olympics gather pace, India may be headed for yet another paltry medal haul.
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