With all hopes of making it to the final erased, a misfiring India had to toil to get the better of lowly Canada 5-3 and register their first victory in the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Thursday.
While Belgium dominated the first half, India did well to roar back in the second session. Belgium went into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead, but India fought back well to keep pressure on the opponents in the 2nd half.
VR Raghunath thinks that the current team is better prepared for the Olympics than the side which finished eighth in the previous edition in Rio
Asian champions India have never won the Champions Trophy in its last 36 editions but will be hoping to claim the feat in the tournament's last edition.
A nervy India squandered a one-goal advantage as they allowed Canada to stage a fightback with a late strike and earn a 2-2 draw in their final men's hockey pool game of the Rio Olympics Games.
With three wins and a draw, India are currently leading the six-team league table with 10 points and a goal difference of eight.
India held on to sixth place in the medals tally
India kept themselves in the hunt for the knock-out stage after eking out a hard-fought 3-2 win over Canada in a Pool C match of the Hero FIH Junior Men's hockey World Cup in New Delhi.
Talismanic midfielder Sardar Singh will lead an experimental 18-member India hockey team, which will be without as many as seven players including senior goalkeeper and vice-captain P R Sreejesh, in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia next month.
Ramandeep Singh scored two fine goals as the showpiece subcontinental hockey encounter between arch-rivals India and Pakistan ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw in the World League semi-finals at the KHC Dragons Stadium in Antwerp.
Irfan Pathan's blistering unbeaten 57 helped India Legends beat Sri Lanka. He displayed his batting skills, hammering six boundaries and three sixes.
With the creation of the state of Telangana, additions were made to ToRs of the 14th Finance Commission to make recommendations for the newly created states after the reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh.
Defender and dragflicker Varun Kumar who scored the maximum goals in India's successful campaign in Valencia will be joined by Vikramjit Singh and Gurinder Singh in the defence structure, while the midfield will be formed by Santa Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet, Sumit along with Harjeet Singh.
Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, steeplechaser Avinash Sable, veteran discus thrower Seema Punia and javelin thrower Annu Rani are expected to win medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
He is the second Indian batsman after Rahul Dravid in Adelaide 2003, in first-class history to remain not out on 199 at the end of a day's play.
Virender Sehwag (74 not out; 11x4) played all the shots in the book, including the traditional late cut, while Sachin Tendulkar (36;7x4) executed drives, upper cuts and stepped out to spinners, something he did with majestic grace all through his illustrious career.
The Delhi police special cell has arrested three persons, including two shooters, in connection with the killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, officials said on Monday.
It was a day when India counted the silvers, a total of five, even though there was no gold in the tally.
The Indian men's junior hockey team maintained its unbeaten run on the tour of England, thrashing the hosts 7-1 at the Bisham Abbey Sports Centre in Marlow. Ajay Yadav (27th, 43rd minute) and Varun Kumar (32nd, 35th) scored twice each for the Indians, while Manpreet (15th), Gurjant Singh (38th) and Simranjeet Singh (40th) accounted for the other goals.
Roelant Oltmans, the Indian men's hockey team's chief coach, says the new competition format of having quarter-finals in place of direct semi-finals at the upcoming Rio Olympics is not only beneficial for the Men in Blue but all small teams too.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Hockey greats Balbir Singh (Sr) and Ajit Pal Singh hailed India's Asian Games gold medal-winning effort but felt the players still have a mountain to climb to succeed at the World and Olympic level.
Nothing exemplifies this Sikh khundak (revenge) better than the fact that all the tallest names in the state lost their election to novices fielded by AAP.
Hosts India beat defending champions Netherlands 3-2 in a penalty shootout to win the bronze at the Hockey World League Final in Raipur.
Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh made a superb return to competitive cricket as he smashed 92 off only 80 balls to rescue his team from a precarious position against an impressive Jammu and Kashmir bowling attack on the first day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals.
The 27-year old Lakshmanan, who bagged a gold medal at the recently concluded Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, has already qualified for the World Championships to be held in London next month.
Middle-order batsman Chirag Gandhi struck a timely, maiden first class hundred and remained unbeaten on 136 to lift newly-crowned Ranji Trophy champions Gujarat from deep trouble on day one of the Irani Cup game against the Rest of India at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
While Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated her stand that the central government was committed to cooperative federalism, finance ministers of non-BJP ruled states such as Punjab and Kerala said she refused to give a categorical assurance that states will be paid compensation on time.
The GST Council's agenda includes trimming the number of items in the 28 per cent slab by 75 per cent, easier compliance for assessees and small taxpayers, and a presentation on bringing real estate under GST.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
While I&B Minister Manish Tewari seems desperate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, the Congress leadership is having a tough time choosing the right candidates. Anita Katyal reports
A lacklustre India squandered a one-goal advantage and went down 1-3 to Belgium in the quarter-finals of the men's hockey competition at the Rio Olympics on Sunday. The eight-time Olympic gold medallists took the lead through a fine field goal from Akashdeep Singh in the 15th minute before Belgium scored three field goals through Sebastien Dockier (34th, 45th minute) and Tom Boon (50th) to dash India's hopes of their first medal after their last gold in 1980 at Moscow.
He has no challenger in the Congress, the Akali Dal is in disarray. Will he call a snap election?
Shreyas Iyer's blazing form will be some sort of an assurance for his franchise Delhi Daredevils as his quickfire unbeaten 79 off 49 balls helped Mumbai beat Ranji Trophy champions Gujarat by 5 wickets in a West Zone leg game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in Vadodara, on Monday.
Harbhajan Singh will lead Punjab in the Ranji Trophy match against Odisha at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali, from October 27 to 30.
Sources said the Telangana chief minister was busy with preparations for the launch of his ambitious Rs 80,000 crore Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project that would end water woes in the state, while in a letter to Modi, the West Bengal chief minister had expressed her inability to attend the Niti Aayog meeting on June 15, saying it is "fruitless" as the body has no financial powers to support state plans.
Check out India's schedule on Day 7 of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, on Friday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
A 24-year-old Indian, who cut his wife's throat eight times with a box cutter and left her bleeding to death, has been found guilty of manslaughter by an Australian court which acquitted him of the murder charge.
