Olympic bronze medallist India began their FIH Pro League Hockey campaign with a bang as they thrashed France 5-0 in a thoroughly dominant display in Potchefstroom, South Africa, on Tuesday.
India named striker Rani Rampal as skipper and Deep Grace Ekka and Savita as two vice-captains of the national women's hockey team for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics to be held from July 23 to August 8.
They had a golden chance to equalise with Deep Grace Ekka taking the strike from close range as the ball took a deflection from Vandana Katariya but only to ricochet off the crossbar in the second quarter.
Reigning champions and World No. 2 Belgium, who won the title in the 2018 in Odisha, will take on South Korea in Bhubneswar.
Veteran captain Lee Nam Yong, 39, was also among the scorers as he struck the equalising goal in the 56th minute while Kim Sunghyun (18th) and Jeong Junwoo (20th) scored the other goals for the South Koreans in the regulation time.
Images from the opening day's action in the FIH men's Hockey World Cup in Odisha.
The Indian junior men's team beat Pakistan in a thriller in the final of the Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023.
Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Sundargarh district will be packed to the rafters during the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup.
The Indian team will begin its campaign in Pool D against Wales on Saturday before taking on formidable Germany on Sunday following the final tie against Malaysia.
Three-time champs Australia confident of reclaiming World Cup
Jugraj made his International debut against France during the FIH Hockey Pro League matches in South Africa
The Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team emerged Champions of the Women's Junior Asia Cup 2023 held in Kakamigahara.
The Army's brave four-legged soldiers. The determined BSF. Magical Gulmarg. Don't miss watching these videos.
Five of the Australian goals were field efforts while three were from the penalty corners. Australia earned eight PCs as against five of the South Africans.
Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, International Hockey Federation president Tayyab Ikram and Hockey India chairman Dilip Tirkey were present at the glittering ceremony to welcome members of all the 16 participating teams.
The Tokyo Games are scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8.
While India will play host to the men's tournament, Spain and the Netherlands have been named as the co-host of the 2022 Women's World Cup scheduled to be held from July 1 to 22.
Under Manpreet's captaincy, the Indian team has achieved important milestones,
The Indian women's team put up another brave performance against China to hold the Asian giants to a 1-1 draw in their second pool B match at the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup 2022 in Amstelveen, the Netherlands, on Tuesday.
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.
They are both electronic manufacturing services (EMS) companies, also known as contract manufacturers. One is Taiwan's Foxconn group, the undisputed global number one in this business with revenues of $223 billion. The other is Dixon Technologies, the biggest domestic player with revenues of over Rs 10,500 crore.
- 'I hope our training on creating early pressure will be evident when we go into the competition'
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.
Besides Gurjant, the other player to have tested positive is midfielder Ashis Kumar Topno.
Ace dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh scored a hat-trick as the Indian men's hockey team eked out a narrow 4-3 win over England in the second match of the double-leg FIH Pro League tie in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
The Indian women's hockey team stunned formidable Germany 2-1 to register its second consecutive win in pool stages and assure its place in the quarter-finals of the FIH Junior World Cup in Potchefstroom on Sunday.
Australia beat Spain to enter World Cup last four for 12th time on the trot
India made a shock exit from the FIH Men's World Cup after losing to New Zealand in sudden death in their must-win crossover match.
Hockey India reasoned that there is only a 32-day window available between the Birmingham Games (July 28-August 8) and the Hangzhou Asian Games (September 10-25) and it can't risk sending its players to the UK which has been one of the worst affected countries by the coronavirus pandemic.
India will aim for their first podium finish in 48 years in the men's Hockey World Cup as they begin their campaign with a tricky match against Spain in Rourkela on Friday.
On May 25, Batra was removed as IOA chief after the Delhi High Court struck down the post of 'life member' in Hockey India, courtesy which he had contested and won the apex body elections back in 2017.
Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh on Monday said the Indian men's hockey side's main focus is qualifying for the Paris Olympics by winning the Asian Games this year besides giving opportunities to youngsters.
The Indian men's hockey team's biggest gain this year was the emergence of some talented fresh faces.
Come 2024 Paris Olympics, field hockey will be played on a turf that doesn't require watering, International Hockey Federation (FIH) Chief Executive Officer Thierry Weil said, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
Vice-captain Sanjay scored a brilliant hat-trick but it was not enough as defending champions India were stunned by unfancied France in their opening Pool B match of the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup, in Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday.
India beat Ukraine 3-0 in U-23 five-nation tournament
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.
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.
With an impressive number of votes, 199,477, Rani Rampal was a clear winner of the Athlete of the Year race. Sports fans all over the world voted for their favourite during 20 days of polling in January. Over 705,610 votes were cast during the poll.
India's chief coach Graham Reid says his players ticked most of the boxes in the 2-0 victory over a tricky Spain in their FIH men's hockey World Cup opener in Rourkela on Friday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances