Besides Rani's exclusion, there are no further surprises as India went or a tried and tested squad, which has been playing together for a long time.
Australia on Friday pulled out of several upcoming FIH tournaments, including the junior men's hockey World Cup slated to be held in India later this year, citing COVID-19 related government travel restrictions.
The police would soon be approaching the 28-year-old to join the probe
India then went on to clinch the Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023 with a dominant 4-0 win over Japan in the Final and achieved their best-ever FIH World Rankings (No. 6 with 2368.83 points) in November.
Savita said the Tokyo Games had instilled a belief that they can match the best in the business on the biggest stage.
Olympic bronze medallist India began their FIH Pro League Hockey campaign with a bang as they thrashed France 5-0 in a thoroughly dominant display in Potchefstroom, South Africa, on Tuesday.
Men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh on Saturday admitted India will have to focus on conceding fewer goals from the touchline and create more scoring opportunities.
It's a distraction, it's challenging: Coach Fulton on rape allegations against defender Varun Kumar
The star goalkeeper said Indian women's hockey has grown by leaps and bounds, offering financial independence to its players.
Having made the cut for the 18-member squad for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, the Indian men's hockey team forward Gurjant Singh is looking to make an impact with his skills.
India finished third in the 100th anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation international tournament in Terrassa. The team beat reigning FIH Pro League champions Netherlands 2-1 in the third-fourth play-off match on Sunday.
India would look to address their attacking woes against a plucky New Zealand for a place in the last-eight stage of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
Savita Punia and P R Sreejesh were named FIH Goalkeepers of the Year for the second consecutive year.
In the men's category, Netherlands (2465.707) replaced India (2366.990) in the third place based on their impressive results in the FIH Pro League.
Ace dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh scored a hat-trick as the Indian men's hockey team eked out a narrow 4-3 win over England in the second match of the double-leg FIH Pro League tie in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
India have won eight Olympic gold medals in the past, but their last top finish came way back in 1980 Moscow Games.
India hockey captain Manpreet Singh considers the recent success against reigning Olympic champions Argentina a big confidence-booster, but insists that the team still needs to address some grey areas as it pursues a podium finish at the Summer Games in Tokyo later this year.
The 27-year-old said the Indian team's immediate focus is the FIH Hockey Pro League beginning next month.
The FIH Women's Nations Cup is an important fixture in the international calendar as the champions of this tournament will be promoted to the FIH Women's Pro League 2023-2024 season.
Hockey India (HI) secretary general Bhola Nath Singh on Saturday claimed that India will definitely win gold at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if they miss out on the yellow metal in Paris next year.
India named South Africa's Craig Fulton as the new chief coach of the men's hockey team, who finished a disappointing ninth in the World Cup at home.
He expects the players to maintain intensity throughout a match and not just in patches.
The win confirmed India's berth in the 2023-24 Pro League.
The FIH Hockey Pro League matches between India and Great Britain, scheduled for May 8-9 in London, were on Wednesday postponed following the UK government's decision to add India to the travel 'red list'.
The hosts piled pressure on India with their structured attack and earned two penalty corners in the 5th and 7th respectively, but the Indian defence stood tall to deny them from scoring the second goal.
Two FIH Pro League ties involving the senior men's team, junior men's Asia Cup and senior women's Asian Champions Trophy are among a host of international hockey events, where India was scheduled to take part, that have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
India women claim hockey CWG medal after 16 years
The Tokyo Games are scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8.
India hockey star P R Sreejesh feels that goalkeepers are like wine which gets tastier if kept longer, reflecting on his illustrious career from warming the bench to becoming one of the best in the world.
India beat Ukraine 3-0 in U-23 five-nation tournament
Since hockey's introduction at Commonwealth Games 24 years ago, World No.1 Australia have been the most dominant force, having won all six gold medals till date.
A look at the historic achievements by India's athletes in 2022.
The team has only one goalkeeper in Sreejesh, which means promising Krishan Bahadur Pathak missed out on an Olympic berth
India hockey chief coach Graham Reid has his sights set on the Asian Games, FIH Pro League, Commonwealth Games, Hockey World Cup in 2023 and Paris Olympics the following year.
A historic bronze-winning show by the men's team and an outstanding fourth place finish for the women's team infused fresh life into the game which was in danger of slipping into oblivion.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
India swept the International Hockey Federation's annual awards on Wednesday, claiming all the top honours, based on a voting system which was lambasted as a "failure" by men's Olympic champions Belgium, prompting the FIH to say that it would try to figure why some associations did not cast their ballot.
Six Indian men's team players -- skipper Manpreet Singh, striker Mandeep Singh, defenders SurenderKumar, Jaskaran Singh, drag-flicker Varun Kumar and goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak -- have tested positive after reaching Bengaluru for the national camp, scheduled to start on August 20.
'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.'
The Indian men's hockey team's biggest gain this year was the emergence of some talented fresh faces.
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