India hockey coach Michael Nobbs says scoring field goals will be the key to the team's fortunes at the upcoming Olympics.
The list of core probables was pruned down to 32 from 48 after a two-day selection trial, which ended at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on Thursday.
It was 'Sandeep Mania' at its peak with a near-capacity crowd cheering ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh as he did a 'high-five' to fulfill India's London Dreams at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi on Sunday.
Former captain Rajpal Singh has questioned Hockey India's decision to rule him "unfit" for the Olympic qualifiers without even conducting his fitness test.
Three-time Olympian Mukesh Kumar, who created a stir by walking out of a national camp recently after being denied charge of the junior side, has been appointed as coach of the senior men's hockey team and will work under chief coach Michael Nobbs of Australia.
Drag-flicker V Raghunath and midfielder Vikas Kumar were on Wednesday included in place of Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh in the squad for the Asian Champions Trophy hockey after the two senior players abruptly left the national camp, currently underway in Bangalore.
Having "fed the 5,000" and fulfilled his duty of leading the India hockey team to Olympic qualification, Australian coach Michael Nobbs has set the target of a top-six finish in London.
A scrappy India wasted chances galore as South Africa dished out a spirited performance to beat the hosts 3-1 in the third hockey Test in New Delhi on Thursday and keep alive their hopes in the five-match series.
India kicked off their preparations for next month's London Olympic qualifier in style, thrashing South Africa 4-0 in the first hockey Test, in Delhi, on Monday. The Indians scored three goals in the first half, through Shivendra Singh (15th minute), Birendra Lakra (24th), Sardara Singh (28th), while the last one came from the stick of debutant S K Uthappa in the 53rd minute.
Former India coach Joaquim Carvalho who is now involved with the World Series Hockey (WSH) project feels that the tournament can prove to be a good platform to judge players who can be picked for the national team.
A young Indian team showed fantastic temperament to beat South Korea 5-3 and enhances its chances of making it to the final of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey, in Ordos, China, on Tuesday. India is now atop the group with seven points from three matches, followed by Pakistan and Korea.
Senior India hockey player Gurbaj Singh was suspended for nine months on Monday for allegedly indulging in groupism and creating disharmony within the team.
Reid submitted his resignation to Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey, a day after the conclusion of the World Cup in Bhubaneswar
India's men's hockey team coach Terry Walsh, who quit on Tuesday after his contractual talks with Hockey India and the Sports Authority of India broke down, reiterated that there can be no progress without change in the current set-up.
Three years after he resigned as national women's hockey coach on charges of sexual harassment only to be absolved later, Maharaj Krishan Kaushik feels vindicated after Hockey India nominated him to assist Indian men's team coach Michael Nobbs till the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Hockey India on Saturday sacked national coach Roelant Oltmans after a string of unimpressive outings at the international level.
Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra confirmed that that they are in look out for a foreign expert to work with Indian goalkeepers on short-term basis.
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.
Terry Walsh, an International Hockey Federation (FIH) Master Coach, has 175 international caps and represented Australia in four World Cup campaigns and three Olympic Games including a silver medal at the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans was on Saturday appointed coach of the Indian hockey team, replacing Paul van Ass, who was unceremoniously sacked after a bitter spat with Hockey India president Narinder Batra.
Sardar Singh is not done yet and wants to give himself a chance till the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before deciding on his illustrious career.
With Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal agreeing in principle to Terry Walsh's demands, the ball is now in the Australian's court to take a call on whether to continue as India's chief hockey coach and the Sports Authority of India expects him to make up his mind in the next 4-5 days.
Fired India hockey coach Paul van Ass says Hockey India president Narinder Batra was just finding ways to fire him.
Indian men's hockey team chief coach Paul van Ass on Monday claimed that he has been fired by Hockey India following his alleged public altercation with federation president Narinder Batra.
Fitness is key to any team's success in fast-paced modern-day hockey and the Indian men's national team can be rated among the top five.
Paul van Ass, who claims he was fired as chief coach of India's men's hockey team following an altercation with Hockey India president Narinder Batra, says he is willing to resume duties provided there is no "interference" in his work.
Barely five months into the job, uncertainty looms large over Paul van Ass continuing as chief coach of India's men's hockey team.
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