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.
The 33-year-old midfielder from Punjab, a place synonymous with Indian hockey folklore, now stands as the second-highest capped Indian men's player of all time, behind only former Captain and current Hockey India President Dr. Dilip Tirkey (412 caps).
India's star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh was on Tuesday named among the five nominees for the men's Player of the Year honour.
India beat Ukraine 3-0 in U-23 five-nation tournament
India were 3-0 up in the 42nd minute before Paul-Philipp Kaufmann and Michel Struthoff struck for Germany in the 44th and 57th minutes respectively.
The Indian men's hockey team climbed two places in the latest FIH rankings following back-to-back wins in the Pro League matches.
The Indian women's hockey team stunned reigning Olympic champions Netherlands in the shootout after the two sides were locked 2-2 in regulation time.
India bounced back in style to beat title holders Australia 3-1 via a shoot-out after both the teams were locked 2-2 at the end of regulation time.
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.
But India were resolute in defence to thwart Germany's offensive forays.
The Tokyo Games are scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8.
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.
Ace drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh will continue to serve as captain of the team.
Ace drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh will continue to serve as captain of the team.
Besides Gurjant, the other player to have tested positive is midfielder Ashis Kumar Topno.
India conceded more than 100 penalty corners, including 17 in a game against Belgium across 16 Pro League matches.
Indian women's team suffers eighth defeat in FIH Pro League, relegated to Nations Cup
It was India who had the first opportunity to open the scoring but both the short corners went abegging as the home goalie foiled those attempts with his rock solid defence.
He expects the players to maintain intensity throughout a match and not just in patches.
Harmanpreet Singh won the men's Player of the Year award and Gurjit Kaur was recognised as the best player in the women's section. Veteran P R Sreejesh and Savita Punia won the best goalkeeper awards in the men's and women's section, while young striker Sharmila Devi (women) and Vivek Sagar Prasad (men) were adjudged best rising stars.
For women's hockey goalkeeping stalwart Savita Punia, the Padma Shri is more than a national honour -- it is a quiet acknowledgement of years marked by sacrifice, resilience, and unwavering belief, both her own and that of a family that stood by her when the odds were firmly stacked against her.
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.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh wants the young Indian hockey players to get familiar with the playing styles of the best teams in the world during the FIH Pro League, and hoped the country would seal a direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup with a title-winning run in Bhubaneswar.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
Jugraj made his International debut against France during the FIH Hockey Pro League matches in South Africa
Harmanpreet, Sreejesh shortlisted for FIH Hockey Stars Awards
The Indian men's hockey team, which ended a 41-year medal drought by clinching a bronze medal in Tokyo, rose to 3rd in the International Hockey Federation (FIH) World Rankings, behind Belgium and Australia, respectively.
Currently, the hockey players draw salaries from the departments and organisations that they are employed with even though a proposal to have a graded contract system by Hockey India has been in the deliberation stage for past few years.
However, with the Asian Games now postponed to next year owing to the COVID-19 situation in China, HI decided to pick a strong team for the prestigious event, scheduled to begin from July 28.
India men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh has two Olympic bronze medals in his cabinet, but rues missing out on World Cup glory.
Shilanand finally made his way back into the national team and on Thursday, not only provided a superb assist but also scored a goal with a lovely deflection in India's 4-1 win over Malaysia in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup.
As per some media reports, Hockey India has informed the International Hockey Federation (FIH) that there will be no HIL in 2018 because of financial concerns related to some franchises.
International hockey can resume only after COVID-19 vaccine is developed: FIH
India's star hockey player Rani Rampal has become the first woman in the sport to have a stadium named after her, in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.
Harmanpreet Singh had also captained the side in the recent series against Australia, where the side fought hard before losing the five-match rubber 1-4.
The Netherlands struck the winning goal two minutes from the final whistle through Van Dam Thijs (58th minute), who also scored the equalising goal in the 25th minute.
The 23-year-old Salima has been an integral part of the team for a while after being appointed captain last year.
Hockey: India seek World Cup berth through Asia Cup triumph; up against China in opener
Anelle van Deventer had to make three strong saves at the start of the second quarter to keep India away from stretching their lead in the match.
India women claim hockey CWG medal after 16 years
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances