Olympic medal-winning defender Amit Rohidas will continue to lead the Indian men's hockey team in the crucial last leg of the 2021-22 edition of the FIH Pro League
Fancied India crashed out of the Hockey World League Semi-Final after suffering a shocking 2-3 defeat at the hands of Malaysia in a quarter-final match in London on Thursday.
It is important that these events do not remain one-offs. It is crucial that India sets long-term targets, and not solely depend on foreign coaches from regions that continue to produce some of the finest talents in the world, asserts Arindam Roy.
The seasoned PR Sreejesh led the way as the Olympic-bound Indian hockey teams on Thursday received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines in Bengaluru.
Both the Indian men's and women's teams will play against Spain on February 26 and 27 in a two-legged tie, followed by matches (both men's and women's) against Germany on March 12 and 13.
The Indian men's team was scheduled to play against Germany in Berlin on April 25 and 26 before taking on Great Britain in London on May 2 and 3.
The squad includes goalkeepers PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, and defenders Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Jugraj Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, and Gurinder Singh.
The team has only one goalkeeper in Sreejesh, which means promising Krishan Bahadur Pathak missed out on an Olympic berth
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.
The team will begin its campaign on July 27 against New Zealand, followed by matches against Argentina (July 29), Ireland (July 30), Belgium (August 1) and Australia (August 2).
India men's hockey team striker Lalit Upadhyay has worked hard to rebuild his career and considers all the setbacks as blessings in disguise.
'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.'
India beat Germany 3-0 in a dramatic shoot-out to avenge their first leg defeat and share the honours in the two-legged tie of the FIH women's Pro League, at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, on Sunday.
The men's team last participated in an international competition in February last year when they played the FIH Hockey Pro League matches against Australia in Bhubaneswar.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
Hockey India said it has drawn up a list of competitions both for the senior men and women's teams in the run-up to next year's Tokyo Olympics. The detailed plan involves playing a number of matches against top teams in the world.
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.
Hockey: India v Australia, QF
The Indian men's hockey team's biggest gain this year was the emergence of some talented fresh faces.
Three years ago, India returned from Tokyo with seven medals, and it is only natural that a double-digit performance is now desired in Paris.
The Indian Women's Hockey Team midfielder Salima Tete was honoured with the AHF Emerging Player of the Year Award.
India are now atop the leaderboard with five points from two games, but the Manpreet Singh-led side conceded a point to the Netherlands after drawing (during the regulation time) the second match of the contest on Sunday.
Rupinder Pal Singh said defence will be his top priority as he looks to make a fresh start during India's campaign at the Hockey World League Final in Bhubaneswar.
The Tokyo Games are scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8.
Meet India's top athletes at Olympics 2024.
'We have chosen an experienced side for the Commonwealth Games and the players believe they have a good shot at a medal'
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.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Asian champions India have never won the Champions Trophy in its last 36 editions but will be hoping to claim the feat in the tournament's last edition.
'Many of us hope that India will soon play well enough to be part of truly global sporting tournaments like the football World Cup and the Olympics,' says Aakar Patel.
Belgium are on red hot form and have stunned strong gold medal contenders and world champions Australia.
India finished sixth ahead of Olympic champions Germany in Hero Hockey World League Final and its chief coach Terry Walsh said his wards' performance in the eight-nation event gave the hosts the self belief to take on any side in the world.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand started his campaign at the Bilbao Final Masters with a crushing win over former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine in Bilbao, Spain.
Rising Indian midfielder Manpreet Singh was named the 'Junior Player of the Year' by the Asian Hockey Federation in its Congress held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Keen to start their Rio Olympic Games campaign on a winning note, Indian hockey men's captain PR Sreejesh said that his team would not be taking unpredictable Ireland lightly when they face-off on Saturday.
Germany led 2-0 and 5-1, but a four-goal burst by penalty-corner specialist Zulfikil Mohd Rejab saw the Malaysians go down fighting 5-7 in the Men's Junior World Cup hockey.
A 7-1 victory over Germany ensured them a place in the Men's Junior World Cup Hockey Tournament.
Meet first-time Indian athletes hoping to make an impression in Rio.
Hockey legend Ashok Kumar reckons India would have won a medal had the Olympics been held this year but the break in momentum will make a big difference now that the Games are pushed to 2021.
