The 2026 men's hockey World Cup will be held from August 14 to 30 in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
India were made to toil hard by the world No 2 Australia before eventually losing the match in a close encounter.
Hockey: India seek World Cup berth through Asia Cup triumph; up against China in opener
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).
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.
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.
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.
'Our preparations for the Commonwealth Games are going on very well. We are working on specific aspects of our game during our training sessions and we are focusing on the learnings from the FIH Hockey Pro League.'
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'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.
India's chief coach Craig Fulton lamented that they lacked firepower up front and their mock penalty corner drills failed to deliver as they suffered a 0-2 defeat to world champions Germany
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.
The 23-year-old Salima has been an integral part of the team for a while after being appointed captain last year.
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.
This was India's second consecutive defeat to the same opponents as they had lost 2-3 on Friday.
The FIH Hockey Pro League matches between India and Great Britain, scheduled for May 8-9 in London, were on Wednesday postponed following the UK government's decision to add India to the travel 'red list'.
Women's HIL will provide financial stability to junior players and attract youth to hockey: Savita Punia
Play fearlessly and without pre-conceived notion: Ashok Dhyanchand to hockey players
Sachin Tendulkar marvelled at India's rise in newer disciplines, while Abhinav Bindra paid tribute to all those who "silently carry the athletes forward" as the two icons offered their views on India's sporting growth on National Sports Day.
He expects the players to maintain intensity throughout a match and not just in patches.
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.
India men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh has two Olympic bronze medals in his cabinet, but rues missing out on World Cup glory.
India's Harmanpreet Singh was crowned as Men's Player Of The Year and his former compatriot PR Sreejesh was named Men's Goalkeeper Of The Year, announced the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Friday.
The Indian women's hockey team lost 0-1 to Spain in the return leg match of the FIH Pro League.
The 36-year-old goalkeeper, a veteran of 328 international matches, took to social media to announce his decision.
Sonam's breakout performance in the inaugural Women's HIL season has earned her a spot among reserves in the national camp for the Bhubaneswar leg of the Women's Pro League beginning on February 15.
Hockey India's long-serving CEO, Elena Norman resigned from her post on Tuesday, February 27. Norman steps down after holding the position for nearly 13 years.
The 27-year-old said the Indian team's immediate focus is the FIH Hockey Pro League beginning next month.
Besides Gurjant, the other player to have tested positive is midfielder Ashis Kumar Topno.
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.
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.
Indian women's team suffers eighth defeat in FIH Pro League, relegated to Nations Cup
Manpreet Singh, the second-most capped player in Indian hockey, has found a second wind by tweaking his lifestyle and diet.
The Indian men's hockey team climbed two places in the latest FIH rankings following back-to-back wins in the Pro League matches.
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.
Indian women's hockey stalwart Vandana Katariya has retired from international hockey after a 15-year career, stating that she is stepping away at the "zenith" of her career.
Sloppy defending cost the Indian men's hockey team dearly as it went down 3-4 to Argentina
India had earlier lost 1-2 against the Netherlands on Saturday.
A woman accused the India hockey player of sexually abusing her multiple times when she was a minor.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances