Hockey India (HI) has lifted the nine-month ban on Gurbaj Singh with immediate effect in the wake of Punjab and Haryana High Court's order that termed the suspension of the senior player "illegal".
Police personnel checked vehicles and conducted flag marches at various places in Punjab on Wednesday while central forces maintained a tight vigil in Tripura.
A 'versatile' and 'speedy' Gurbaj Singh will be key to the Indian hockey team's success in the upcoming 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia, feels the national side's vice-captain and goalkeeper P R Sreejesh.
Table leaders Delhi Waveriders extended their invincible run in the Hockey India league as they trounced Ranchi Rhinos 5-2 at the Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi.
With an eye on the future, Hockey India's selectors made as many as seven changes from the squad that finished a disappointing 12th and last at the London Olympics.
The Indian team management on Monday appealed to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) against suspensions imposed on five members of the squad for their role in the ugly showdown with Pakistan players during the tri-nation tournament match in Burnbury, Australia, last week.
Stung by five suspensions after an ugly showdown with Pakistani players during a match, the Indian hockey team management will consider appealing against the penalty insisting that it was their arch-rivals who were at fault during the fracas.
Experienced goalkeeper Bharat Chetri will lead an 18-member Indian team in the men's Four-Nation Olympic Test Event, in London, from May 2 to 6. Star midfielder Sardar Singh will be Chetri's deputy in the squad, which was announced on Tuesday by Hockey India after selection trials at SAI Centre, Bangalore, on April 8 and 9.
Former captain Rajpal Singh has questioned Hockey India's decision to rule him "unfit" for the Olympic qualifiers without even conducting his fitness test.
Injured midfielder Gurbaj Singh was on Monday left out of India's 32-member probables announced for the hockey Olympic Qualification tournament to be held in New Delhi from February 18 to 26.
Defending champions India produced an inspiring display and scored thrice in the second half to beat archrivals Pakistan 4-2 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Friday.
Arjun Halappa and Dhananjay Mahadik sounded the board as India beat Belgium 2-0 in the final Test to clinch the three-match hockey series 2-1 in Braxgata on Friday.
The experienced midfielder was a surprise omission from the 16-member Indian men's hockey team for the Doha Asian Games.
India beat Malaysia 4-0 in the play-off match at the Asian Games.
Defending champions Jaypee Punjab Warriors eked out a close 1-0 win over Ranchi Rays to register the maiden victory at home in the fifth edition of the Hockey India league, in Chandigarh, on Thursday.
A 24-strong team for the men's hockey series against Japan was announced on Thursday, following a week-long preparatory camp held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, that commenced on April 22.
Senior India hockey player Gurbaj Singh was suspended for nine months on Monday for allegedly indulging in groupism and creating disharmony within the team.
India produced a disappointing performance to lose to arch-rivals Pakistan 0-1 in a lacklustre summit clash of men's hockey at the 12th South Asian Games in Guwahati on Friday.
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.
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.
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.
Striker Gurwinder Singh Chandi failed to make the cut as Hockey India announced an 18-member squad, led by Sadar Singh, for the eight-nation Hero men's Champions Trophy, in Bhubaneswar, from December 6-14. Lalit Upadhyay, who was capped nine times earlier, has been drafted in place of Chandi in the squad, named by Hockey India selectors after trials at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi on November 18.
Ace midfielder Sardar Singh will lead a full strength Indian men's hockey team in the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from April 5 to 12.
India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and Deepika won the Dhruv Batra Player of the Year award for men and women, respectively, at the Hockey India second annual awards, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
A 21-member Indian men's hockey team will embark on a 15-day tour of Europe, starting July 31. High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans will take over as the chief coach of the side following the unceremonious ouster of Paul Van Ass.
India finally managed to earn their first points in the World Cup Hockey as they held Spain to a 1-1 draw as custodian PR Sreejesh effected at least four brilliant saves.
With all hopes of making it to the final erased, a misfiring India had to toil to get the better of lowly Canada 5-3 and register their first victory in the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Thursday.
In a nerve-wracking contest, India beat Pakistan in penalty-shootout to clinch the coveted hockey gold at the Asian Games in Incheon on Thursday. This triumph ensures the Indian hockey team a berth at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Hockey India president Narinder Batra on Monday ruled out Pakistani players participation in future editions of Hockey India League saying they will not be considered until they apologise for their 'unacceptable behaviour' during last year's Champions Trophy.
This past week, the Indian hockey team recorded a rare Test series win against world champions Australia. It was a significant achievement by the men in blue - hockey, not cricket - as it was for the first time in four years that India had beaten Australia.
Pakistan avenged their Asian Games final loss when they beat India 4-3 in Bhubaneswar on Saturday to enter the Champions Trophy hockey final.
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Paris Masters ahead of the tournament's start on Monday for "personal reasons", the French Tennis Federation announced on Friday.
Away from the cricket field, it was a year in which Sania Mirza was unarguably the biggest success story with her staggering 10 titles on the Tour -- two of them Grand Slams.
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