Pakistan, traditionally one of the biggest names in Asian hockey, will not participate, paving the way for Bangladesh to enter the competition. Oman, too, decided against participation, with Kazakhstan taking their place.
England will begin their World Cup quest next June against a very familiar foe with seasoned tournament regulars Croatia the first hurdle for Thomas Tuchel's highly-fancied team.
The win guarantees Japan a top-two finish in the standings and sees them qualify for an eighth straight World Cup.
After bagging back-to-back Olympic bronze medals, India will start as favourites to defend their ACT title against top hockey playing nations of Asia in the form of China, Japan, Pakistan, Korea and Malaysia.
'The IOC was not consulted about the OCA decision with regard to the Asian Winter Games and was not involved in the decision-making process.'
Hockey India president Dilip Kumar Tirkey said Pakistan have pulled out of the upcoming Hockey Asia Cup 2025 due to security reasons.
'I want to say to my Muslim friends that if they want to free Islam from the curse of terrorism, they have to embrace spirituality and yoga helps that. Yoga promotes serenity.'
Intanon still holds on to the dream of an Olympic medal.
At 29, Chanu faced an uphill battle against an injury-ravaged body, sub-optimal preparation, and an intensely competitive field.
Malaysian doubles specialist Tan Kim Her has reunited with star pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, starting his second stint at the Indian badminton landscape.
Gopichand, who is often credited with creating a pipeline of top badminton players by identifying them at a young age, described the move by the games' organisers' as appalling.
The Paris Olympics was a challenging chapter for Tanisha and all other Indian shuttlers as India returned without a medal for the first time in 12-years.
TT ace Sharath Kamal eyes administrative role while charting 'roadmap' ahead
Manu Bhaker may skip October's World Cup in New Delhi as the ace pistol shooter has decided to take a three-month break, her coach Jaspal Rana said.
Rani Rampal believes the Asian Champions Trophy title was an important feat for the Indian women's hockey team as it kick started its preparation for the Los Angeles Olympics
Japan's march to the 2026 World Cup continued on Tuesday as Hajime Moriyasu's side handed China a 3-1 defeat in Xiamen while Iran eked out a late 3-2 win over Kyrgyzstan and South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine.
Women's HIL will provide financial stability to junior players and attract youth to hockey: Savita Punia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured all possible help to Indian athletes in their endeavour to achieve greater heights and expressed confidence that the country will better its Hangzhou performance in the next edition of the Asian Games.
Addressing a press conference, in New Delhi on Thursday, along with visiting International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra said, "We are bidding for three events, 2026 Youth Olympics, 2030 Asian Games and 2032 Olympics. We don't know whether they will come to India or not. Let us see how fierce the competition is."
It will take FC Goa nothing short of a miracle to pull off a win against the Omanis, and a victory will be a the perfect Independence Day present for Indian football fans.
Khalid Jamil's rise can't exactly be termed as meteoric but the last eight years has been nothing less than extraordinary for the 48-year-old, who on Friday took over reins of the national men's football team.
The Sports Ministry on Tuesday lifted its suspension on the Wrestling Federation of India, paving the way for the organisation of domestic tournaments.
India is set to host a high-profile global javelin competition in September, featuring double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra and the world's top 10 javelin throwers.
Pointing out the "several acts of contract breach" by the AIFF side in the past, Stimac charged AIFF chief Kalyan Chaubey with "changing my public statement given to AIFF media".
Bhaker said the award selection panel would have followed due processes but sometimes errors can happen.
BCCI could opt for a neutral venue with Pakistan unlikely to travel to India.
Iraq want their World Cup qualifier against Palestine next month moved from the Jordanian capital of Amman, having also knocked back a Palestinian proposal to stage the match just outside Jerusalem.
'After 1980, our last and eighth gold medal in the Olympics, the game changed drastically when astro-turf was introduced.'
India will organise the Olympics in future, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said.
The AIFF issued a show-cause notice to senior men's team head coach Igor Stimac for making comments construed as a breach of agreement by his employers.
India get three slots for AFC competitions in 2023-24 season.
Uzbekistan earn first World Cup qualification, Australia, Jordan close in
Sebastian Coe, a contender for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president's post, believes India's bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games is a "strong case" but acknowledges that the competition will be intense with several other countries vying for the honor. Coe, considered a frontrunner in the race to succeed Thomas Bach as IOC president, expressed his support for India's commitment to global sport and the Olympic movement.
In a year marred by disappointments, shooter Akhil Sheoran redeemed himself by winning the men's 50m rifle 3-positions bronze medal even as the other Indian participants failed to make a mark in the ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi on Wednesday.
First win for India since Nov 2023 and first under coach Manolo Marquez.
Coach Branko Ivankovic insisted China's World Cup qualifying campaign was still alive despite back-to-back losses to Saudi Arabia and Australia over the last five days leaving them bottom of Asian qualifying Group C.
'Amaravati will be a game changer for Andhra Pradesh.'
India head coach Igor Stimac on Monday stated that his team has a great deal to learn from their Tuesday 2026 FIFA World Cup round 2 qualifying encounter against Asian champions Qatar.
The 2-2 draw in Riffa left Australia second in Asia's Group C on seven points, nine behind runaway leaders Japan and one ahead of Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and China.
'Right from 2002, making my debut and 22 years later still getting to represent India. I'm extremely proud of that.'
