India has always been a difficult place to work for foreign hockey coaches due to difference of opinion with national federations and bureaucratic hurdles.
On-field achievements often jostled for space with off-field drama as Indian hockey endured a rollercoaster year during which the players scripted historical feats but coach Paul van Ass' acrimonious ouster and Gurbaj Singh's suspension created its share of storm.
Former captain Sardar Singh has been included in a 13-member Hockey India selection committee, to be headed by B P Govinda, a member of the 1975 World Cup winning team.
A 21-member Indian men's hockey team will embark on a 15-day tour of Europe, starting July 31. High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans will take over as the chief coach of the side following the unceremonious ouster of Paul Van Ass.
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.
The Indian hockey teams at the Olympics are facing a shortage of chairs and Television sets at the Games Village and chief coach Roelant Oltmans has complained that the players' apartments are not properly furnished. In a letter to Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent Rakesh Gupta, Oltmans complained about unfurnished accommodation provided to both the men's and women's hockey teams. "The apartments of the Rio Olympics are not furnished properly," Oltmans, who is also the High Performance Director of Indian hockey, wrote in his letter.
India blanked arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 to open its campaign on a rousing note in the final edition of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament.
Former India hockey captain Sardar Singh claimed that former coach Sjoerd Marijne and current high performance director David John forced him to make a shock retirement in September.
Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will lead an 18-member Indian men's hockey team in the fourth Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) to be held in Kuantan, Malaysia from October 20 to 30. With an aim to form a group of leaders, Hockey India selectors have named 24-year-old midfielder Manpreet Singh as the vice-captain of the side for this tournament in place of SV Sunil.
In the FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final 2012-13, the Indian team outplayed the European team by 6-2 in which young Mandeep Singh scored two back-to-back goals. In the second season of FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final, India again met France in the semi-final round in Belgium and defeated them 3-2.
The six-member committee, constituted by Sports Authority of India (SAI) to study the proposals of Indian hockey coach Terry Walsh, met the Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday.
The sports ministry cleared the final contingent that also features 140 support staff and officials, of which 72 "have been approved at cost to the Government" to meet the "requirements" of the travelling sportspersons.
Former India captain Dhanraj Pillay has expressed a desire to be the coach of the national hockey team. He claims that if given a free hand he can deliver results within a year.
Leaking late goals has been something of an Achilles' heel for the Indian hockey team but captain Sardar Singh believes his team have addressed the issue as they head to Rio looking for the country's first Olympic medal in 36 years. Once-mighty India are the most decorated nation in the sport's Olympic history but the South Asians collected the last of their eight gold medals way back at the Moscow Games in 1980. Having failed to qualify for the Beijing Games in 2008, the team representing a nation of 1.3 billion people did recover to seal a spot at the London Games four years later only to finish last among the 12 countries taking part.
'We have spoken to all the foreign coaches and they have assured us that they are all committed to their jobs till Tokyo Games'
While every other team practises their hardest in the few hours left for the Rio Olympics 2016, the Indian contingent was left looking for rooms, extra pair of jerseys and assembling chairs.
India men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans feels the one week break starting before the Champions Trophy will help the players rejuvenate themselves ahead of the Rio Olympics, the countdown for which has already begun. The 29-member men's hockey squad will be on a week's break before they rejoin on May 29 and Oltmans said the idea, behind the move was to ensure the players are feeling fresh and hungry ahead of next month's FIH Champions Trophy in London. "Starting June 5, the team will be away for almost a month playing two different tournaments in two different countries. Everything we do in this period will be demanding not just physically but also mentally," Oltmans said.
Former captain and coach of the Pakistan hockey team Tahir Zaman feels that foreign coaches are not a long term solution for India and Pakistan hockey as they come from a completely different background.
A cracker of a contest is on the cards when a confident India takes on a resurgent Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament, in Bhubaneswar, on Saturday.
Maharaj Krishan Kaushik was appointed coach of the senior men's hockey team on Wednesday, just two days after chief coach Michael Nobbs was shown the door because of non-performance.
Australian Terry Walsh, who resigned as Indian men's hockey team chief coach because of a "pay dispute", hinted that he was ready to reconsider his decision if he was given a new contract on his terms and conditions by the Sports Authority of India.
A resurgent Indian hockey team, with its penetrative attack and solid defence, can actually challenge for the top spot in the Champions Trophy.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday approved 139 Padma awards including seven Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bhushans and 113 Padma Shris.
Sardar Singh is not done yet and wants to give himself a chance till the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before deciding on his illustrious career.
While there are rumours that Sardar Singh's axing is because of his dip in form in recent times, the team's chief coach and High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans said the move was necessitated to relieve the ace midfielder from excess responsibilities.
Former Team India coach John Wright is favourite to succeed Australia hockey legend Ric Charlesworth as New Zealand Cricket's next High Performance Manager.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
India chief coach Roelant Oltmans today said two yellow cards hurt the team badly and that resulted in its 1-2 loss to the Netherlands in a pool B men's hockey match at the Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. "We were on the attacking side until we got two yellow cards, which was a gamechanger. You had to fight with one or two less. That's not only difficult to score a goal but it also took away a lot of energy from the players that I'm not happy about it," Oltmans said.
'...they were shocked to learn that just 352 Indian soldiers had made 3 brigadiers, 2 colonels, 170 officers, 290 JCOs and 8,000 troops surrender to the Indian Army.'
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday.
As preparations for the Rio Olympics gather pace, India may be headed for yet another paltry medal haul.
The eight disciplines comprised archery, badminton, table tennis, hockey, judo, gymnastics, swimming and weightlifting.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
The news of his passing is sad and sudden but the body of work he leaves behind will neither fade nor be forgotten.
'Fantasy players create their own team, get phantom money and start playing the virtual game.'
Playing a character put off by the idea of retirement is becoming on Bachchan. Hands in pocket, eyes firmly focused on his mission, conviction inks his speech while his serene, sensitive, portrayal has a calming effect on the kids and Jhund, observes Sukanya Verma.
The way Dilip came to the porch to receive Lata, you would never have guessed something was amiss between the two. Raju Bharatan's many wonderful insights into Dilip Kumar's life.
The haul of 64 medals at the Commonwealth Games, in July-August, which included 15 gold, should act as the ideal springboard for the Indian contingent to better its medal tally at Guangzhou, China, four years ago.
Pop sensation Psy brought the house down 'Gangnam Style' as Incheon laid out the red carpet for over 13,000 competitors from 45 countries with an exhilarating opening ceremony to launch the 17th Asian Games at the main stadium on Friday.
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