Goalkeeper P R Sreejesh could feature in his first competitive event in eight months after being named in India's 20-member squad for a four-nation tournament in New Zealand. India will compete with Belgium, Japan and hosts New Zealand at Tauranga and Hamilton in the tournament, beginning January 17.
The midfield will be spearheaded by Olympic bronze medal-winning former skipper Manpreet Singh, current vice-captain Hardik Singh and young Vivek Sagar Prasad, while India also boasts of a strong, attacking forwardline in Shamsher Singh, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday approved 139 Padma awards including seven Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bhushans and 113 Padma Shris.
Veteran striker Sunil's participation in the mega event was always in doubt ever since he picked up a knee injury during the national camp in the lead up to the Asian Champions Trophy held in Muscat last month.
India eked out a 4-2 win via penalty over Great Britain in the FIH Hockey Pro League on Saturday.
Olympic bronze-winning Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh was on Tuesday added to the list of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardees, taking the total number of this year's winners to an unparalleled 12.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
Veteran midfielder Sardar Singh on Saturday returned to the national team as Hockey India named a strong 18-member squad under the captaincy of Manpreet Singh for the Asia Cup to be held in Dhaka from October 11-22.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is planning to have India and Pakistan play their home and away matches in Europe if the arch-rivals face off in the Olympic qualifying tournament for a berth at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Veteran midfielder Sardar Singh was on Friday dropped from India's 18-member squad for next month's Hockey World League Final, while the fit-again Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra made comebacks.
Goalkeeper P R Sreejesh's heroics saw India pull off a thrilling 8-7 shootout win against Spain.
Paralympic gold-winners Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Manish Narwal were also given the Khel Ratna at a dazzling awards ceremony on Saturday.
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 Indian men's hockey team will have to guard against complacency when it takes on lower-ranked Russia, while a tricky contest awaits their female counterparts against United States in the two-legged Olympic qualifiers.
Harmanpreet Singh and Akashdeep Singh scored a brace each as the Indian men's hockey team produced a completely dominating performance to rout Canada 8-0 in their third match at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Wednesday.
The observation came when Upadhyay, a lawyer, said since population comes under the concurrent list of the Constitution state governments can also make laws to control it.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
India lead South Africa 2-0 after the first quarter in their opening Pool C match of the 2018 Hockey World Cup at the Kalinga stadium, Bhubaneshwar, on Wednesday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
The reigning champions squandered a 2-0 lead as the dogged Koreans earned a point.
India would look to address their attacking woes against a plucky New Zealand for a place in the last-eight stage of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
Australia has by far been the most dominant team in CWG, winning all six golds till date.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
India will play South Africa in the ninth to 12th place match on Saturday.
India won the Asia Cup hockey title after a ten-year hiatus, beating Malaysia 2-1 in the final in Dhaka on Sunday.
The Indian men's hockey core group will focus on skill development in the next few weeks after restarting the national camp with basic training, head coach Graham Reid said on Saturday, trying to overcome from the jolt of six players contracting COVID-19.
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.
One PIL was filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal MLAs Saroj Yadav and Chandan Verma, the second one was filed by Jitendra Kumar, a Samajwadi Party member.
Former captain Sardar Singh was brought back to bolster the Indian hockey team's mid-field while Birendra Lakra was included to shore up the defence line-up for the upcoming Champions Trophy, beginning on June 23 in Breda, The Netherlands.
Kalinga Lancers displayed rampaging form as they decimated Punjab Warriors 7-0 to seal a semi-final berth in the fifth edition of the Hockey India League, in Chandigarh, on Saturday.
India thrashed China 9-0 to stay in the hunt for top spot in the round-robin league competition of the fourth Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Kuantan, Malaysia on Tuesday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Young striker Dilpreet Singh scored a hat-trick as India crushed Oman 11-0.
Skipper Sardara Singh has been rested for third Asian Champions Trophy. In his absence, Hockey India said, midfielder Manpreet Singh will lead India's 18-member squad for the tournament in Kakamigahara, Japan, from November 2-10.
Indian men's hockey team finished a disappointing fourth at the Commonwealth Games as it struggled to breach a stout England defence to lose the bronze medal match 1-2, in Gold Coast, on Saturday.
Top-ranked India were held to a 1-1 draw by the brisk-moving South Koreans in the round-robin league encounter of the fourth Asian Champions Trophy hockey, in Kuantan, Malaysia, on Saturday.
Manpreet (30th minute, 44th) was the star for sixth- ranked India, while Varun Kumar (17th) and Harjeet Singh (49th) also sounded the board.
The Indians will have to be at their best in all departments to get the better of the ever-improving Red Lions, who will be out to prove a point after a not-so-impressive opener.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
India would look to seal a direct quarterfinal berth with a win against Canada in their final Pool C match of the men's hockey World Cup on Saturday.
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