India suffered a 0-3 defeat at the hands of world champions Australia to start their campaign on a losing note at the four-nation hockey test event for the upcoming London Olympics.
The Indian hockey team finished sixth at the FIH World League after losing a tense play-off match on penalties to higher-ranked Spain, in Rotterdam on Sunday.
Delhi Waveriders maintained their winning streak and defeated Uttar Pradesh Wizards 3-1 to move to the top of the points table of the fourth Hockey India League, in Lucknow, on Saturday.
India's hopes of qualifying for the title clash hung in balance as they succumbed 2-4 to world champions Australia in their last league outing of the 36th Hero Champions Trophy Hockey tournament in London on Thursday. India's two goals came from penalty corner shooter VR Raghunath and striker Mandeep Singh, but it was too late to cause any threat to Australia, who had gained a stranglehold through strikes from Trent Mitton, Aran Zalewski, Flynn Ogilvie and Tristian White.
India beat Pakistan in a thrilling final via the tie-breaker to win the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Ordos, China, on Sunday. The match ended in a stalemate after 70 minutes' full-time and even 15 minutes' extra-time failed to break the deadlock.
Ace midfielder Sardar Singh will lead a full strength Indian men's hockey team in the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from April 5 to 12.
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.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
As part of a rotation policy, goalkeeper Bharat Chetri was on Thursday named captain while the controversial duo of Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh were recalled to the Indian hockey team for next month's tour of Australia. Veteran midfielder Ignace Tirkey will be Chetri's deputy.
India produced an improved show after their opening match loss to New Zealand in a thrilling 1-1 draw with arch-rivals Pakistan, in the Lanco International Super Series Hockey 9s in Perth on Friday.
India crashed to their second defeat in the men's hockey World Cup by conceding a late goal yet again to go down 1-2 against England at the Kyocera Stadium in The Hague on Monday.
Indian men's hockey team fired in a goal two minutes from the final hooter through Ramandeep Singh to pull off a 3-2 win over France and begin their FIH World League semi-finals campaign on a winning note in Antwerp.
India began the opening quarter with a structured attack. It was striker SV Sunil who took the team's first potential shot on goal in the opening minute but was well defended by New Zealand goalkeeper Richard Joyce.
An inspired India registered their first win over the Netherlands in 18 years when they stunned the World Cup and Olympic silver medallists 3-2 in a high-voltage encounter to finish third in Pool B at the Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
The Indian team support staff also wore the black arm bands.
Hosts India blew away a goal lead and conceded two late goals to go down 1-2 against Belgium to finish sixth in the Hero Hockey World League Final on a chilly evening at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, in New Delhi on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
India's defence held its ground against desperate Great Britain as they clinched a 2-1 victory in the 36th Champions Trophy in London on Saturday. The victory puts India at the top of the league standings with four points. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh stood his ground against a number of shots at the goal, four of them on penalty corners, as India made use of a breakaway opportunity created by right winger SV Sunil and their defenders covered the angles well to emerge victorious. Playing deep inside their own territory in the first quarter against early British raids, India scored through Mandeep Singh on their first raid by Sunil in the 17th minute.
India conceded a soft goal in the fifth minute of the second semi-final encounter when Cedric Charlier scored from a field strike for Belgium, which eventually separated both the teams at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel stadium.
India outplayed reigning Asian Games champions Japan 7-2 to storm into the final of the FIH Series Finals hockey tournament, in Bhubaneswar, on Friday, assuring themselves a place in the year end's Olympic qualifying event.
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.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
With almost all the teams bringing in new-look squads, India will target their fifth Sultan Azlan Shah trophy. However, success won't come easy as the defending champions will have to overcome some stiff resistance from world champions Australia and Asian champions South Korea along the way.
India struck four times after a goalless first quarter to tame hosts Malaysia 4-2 and rise to second in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Tuesday.
The match was stopped in the fourth quarter due to heavy rains with around eight minutes left in the match.
India put up a spirited show before squandering the early lead to go down 1-3 against defending champions Australia in a league match of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, in Ipoh.
India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 3-2 in an intense match of the Asian Champions Trophy on Sunday.
India entered the final of the ninth Asia Cup hockey tournament beating Malaysia 2-0 in the semi-finals at the Sultan Azlan Shah stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Friday.
India showed urgency but it was too little, too late as they suffered a 0-2 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands in their FIH World League Round 3 match in Rotterdam on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
The left-hander nominated nine people, including his Uttar Pradesh teammates Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Piyush Chawla, India hockey goalkeeper P R Sreejesh, Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Rajeev Shukla, singers Shreya Ghosal and Sonu Nigam to take forward the Challenge and urged them to continue the campaign.
P V Sindhu, will have to punch above its weight to salvage any hopes of a medal after being handed a tough draw in the badminton event at the 18th Asian Games.
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.
Jasjit Singh sent two rasping penalty corner drag flicks into the net as India edged past hosts Malaysia 3-2 to move to the semifinals of the Hockey World League semi-finals in Antwerp.
Cyclone 'Titli' did dampen the spirits of hockey fans to some extent but not veterans like Dilip Tirkey and Dhanraj Pillay who were excited about the exhibition match played, in Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday.
India dished out a lackluster performance to go down 0-3 to Argentina in the opening match of the Hockey World League (HWL) Final in front of a packed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Raipur on Friday.
India wasted chances galore in their 1-2 defeat against arch-rivals and defending champions Pakistan in a keenly-contested Pool B match of the men's hockey competition at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon on Thursday.
'The players and the team management has let the entire nation down'
After having maximum possession till the 2nd quarter, India finally took the lead in the 19th minute as Akashdeep Singh scored on rebound of a penalty corner.
The midfielder will lead India at the Azlan Shah tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, from May 5 to 15.
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