A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
The former captain, however, rejected Norman's claim of factionalism in HI, saying all is well within the federation.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Friday said it has decided to "abandon" the trial of the new penalty corner rule as it doesn't want to tinker much with the existing set piece regulation, a glamour aspect of the sport.
Indian defender Surender Kumar will not play any role in the ongoing fourth Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament after being suspended for two matches following a deliberate foul during the game against Malaysia.
Going by the hockey parent body's new data collection, India and Pakistan have met in only 47 head-to-head internationals and many more fails. Read on to find out how the history of this famed rivalry is being binned
Former India captain Dhanraj Pillay on Monday batted for participation of Pakistan's players in the Hockey India League (HIL) tournament and urged Hockey India to take up the issue with politicians to ensure their presence in the future editions of the franchise-based league.
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said India can win a World Cup medal this time after a hiatus of 48 years but for that the home side needs to make use of penalty corners.
Deputy Chef de Mission Balbir Singh Kushwaha said that facilities at the Games Village were good.
The Indian women's hockey team will return to the Olympics after a long gap of 36 years as it qualified for next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday, after England made it to the final of the ongoing EuroHockey Championships in London.
Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra defended football's exclusion from the Asian Games contingent and justified the decision of including lesser known sports like pencak silat, saying they are potential medal winners and there is no place for "also rans" in the squad.
Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Rana Mujahid is "frustrated" that the national sport is struggling to lure sponsors due to lack of international success in recent years and felt the scene was much better in India.
Harendra Singh complained to Hockey India about the sub-standard quality of food and hygiene level at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Bengaluru, where the national team is currently training ahead of the Champions Trophy.
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.
Harendra Singh, who was conferred the Dronacharya award in 2012, served as chief coach of the senior India men's hockey team from 2017 to 2018. Before that, he was also in charge of the Indian women's team for some time.
Rising political tension has adversely affected the bilateral sporting ties between India and Pakistan but newly-elected FIH chief Narinder Batra on Saturday said the two nations will have to honour their international commitments. The tension at the border has cast a shadow over Pakistan's participation in the next month's FIH Junior World Cup in Lucknow but Batra's comments make it clear that the two neighbours are set to clash against each other on Indian soil.
While India's money-spinning cricket league lavishes million-dollar deals on players for just a few weeks of competition, the national ice hockey team has had to go begging on social media to fund their trip to Kuwait for an international tournament.
Rani Rampal led the team to historic victories in the Women's Asia Cup in 2017, silver at the 2018 Asian Games and played a critical role in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in 2019 by scoring the deciding goal that helped India qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Hockey is struggling to survive in the country because of lack of sponsors owing to the national team's poor show at the international stage.
Jaspal Rana questions Sports Ministry, NRAI for ignoring Manu's credentials for Khel Ratna
'The PCB will share the report with the ICC and BCCI if the delegation has any concerns.'
Germany might be the twice Olympic champions defending their title in men's field hockey but top-ranked Australia will be the team to beat at next month's Rio Games.
Asian Games gold medallist Pakistan and South Korea were on Friday handed wildcard entries for next year's Champions Trophy hockey tournament, scheduled to be held in India.
Viren Rasquinha said it was up to the hockey federation to decide when to select him in the Indian team.
Teams for the hockey World Cup and SAFF Games would be announced on August 16.
Pakistan's retired hockey international Rehan Butt, who was appointed coach of the national team taking part in the 12th South Asian Games, turned out as a player in the team's first two matches, including Monday's victory over hosts India.
Former captain Dhanraj Pillay said the Indian hockey team was lacking on all fronts.
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday refused to involve himself in the boiling controversy over wrestler Bajrang Punia returning his Padma Shri.
India's chief coach Harendra Singh blamed poor umpiring for his team's early ouster from the ongoing men's hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
The ace midfielder rubbished reports that he was dropped from the Asian Games squad for lack of fitness.
The experienced midfielder was a surprise omission from the 16-member Indian men's hockey team for the Doha Asian Games.
Gagan Ajit Singh and Vikram Pillay failed to find a place in the list of probables for the Doha Asian Games.
Koreans decided to give a miss to the tournament, to be held in December, in the wake of Tuesday's twin blasts in Rawalpindi.
Meet India's top athletes at Olympics 2024.
Prabodh Tirkey will lead the 16-member Indian hockey team at the seven-nation junior Challenger tournament starting in Poland.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Friday said the training of its team for the Junior World Cup in the Indian city of Lucknow is in full swing, even as it awaited clearance from the government. Shahbaz Ahmed, Secretary of the PHF, said an unnecessary controversy had been created in the media whether Pakistan would participate in the Junior World Cup, to be played December 8-18 in India.
India failed to make it to the elite six-nation hockey tournament after finishing at the bottom in the last edition in Chennai.
Former hockey Olympian Vece Paes says winning the Asian Games' tournament could kick-start a revival in the team's fortunes.
The 59-year-old Batra is one of the few sports administrators to head a national Olympic committee while heading an important international sports federation.
