With less than 10 days to go for their opening match in the FIH Champions Trophy in London, Indian men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans said he is eyeing a top three finish in the high-profile tournament. Oltmans believes if things go according to plans, the team will stand a good chance to win a medal in the Champions Trophy. "Everybody knows we are good in the knockout stage. But Champions Trophy this year will be slightly different and we need to finish top two to play the final and be top four to play for bronze. "It will be interesting to see how our players will cope to this situation and face the challenge. Our realistic expectation is to finish in the top three," he said about his expectations from the event.
India men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans feels the one week break starting before the Champions Trophy will help the players rejuvenate themselves ahead of the Rio Olympics, the countdown for which has already begun. The 29-member men's hockey squad will be on a week's break before they rejoin on May 29 and Oltmans said the idea, behind the move was to ensure the players are feeling fresh and hungry ahead of next month's FIH Champions Trophy in London. "Starting June 5, the team will be away for almost a month playing two different tournaments in two different countries. Everything we do in this period will be demanding not just physically but also mentally," Oltmans said.
Dabang Mumbai caused a 2-1 upset win over hosts Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the Hockey India League (HIL) match, in Lucknow, on Saturday.
World No 5 India won all five matches during the tour, beating Belgium 2-0 in the opening match, and registering 6-1 and 5-1 wins over Spain in the next two games, before finishing off their Tour with two more wins (2-1 and 5-1).
Failing to sustain an aggressive start, the Indian men's hockey team went down to Spain 1-4 in its third match of the ongoing Europe Tour in Sant Cugat del Valles.
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.
India's hockey coach Roelant Oltmans expressed his displeasure following the team's sloppy performance in the 2-2 draw against Canada at the Rio Olympics. Canada, ranked 15th in the world, rallied twice to earn a draw as the fifth ranked India finished the group phase with seven points from five matches.
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.
Brushing aside the disappointing show against Argentina in the tournament opener, hosts India produced a much-improved performance as they held Olympic champions Germany to a 1-1 draw in their second Pool B match of the Hockey World League (HWL) Final.
At a felicitation function, in Bhubaneswar, to honour the men's and women's Olympics hockey teams, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, an ardent supporter of the game in the country, announced that the state will continue to sponsor the national hockey teams for another 10 years.
On-field achievements often jostled for space with off-field drama as Indian hockey endured a rollercoaster year during which the players scripted historical feats but coach Paul van Ass' acrimonious ouster and Gurbaj Singh's suspension created its share of storm.
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.
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.
Ace drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh continued to stamp his authority in the ongoing 4th Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament as he converted two penalty corners to clinch India a 2-1 victory over hosts Malaysia in Kauntan, Malaysia on Wednesday.
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.
Kalinga Lancers on Sunday edged out Delhi Waveriders.
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.
India chief coach Roelant Oltmans today said two yellow cards hurt the team badly and that resulted in its 1-2 loss to the Netherlands in a pool B men's hockey match at the Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. "We were on the attacking side until we got two yellow cards, which was a gamechanger. You had to fight with one or two less. That's not only difficult to score a goal but it also took away a lot of energy from the players that I'm not happy about it," Oltmans said.
India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 3-2 in an intense match of the Asian Champions Trophy on Sunday.
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.
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.
Archer Atanu Das and boxer Vikas Krishan entered the pre-quarterfinals, while the men's hockey team stood up to the challenge posed by Argentina to virtually sew up a last-eight spot on a reasonably successful day for Indian athletes in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
With a jam-packed schedule brimming with both legendary athletes and captivating storylines, Paris 2024 promises unforgettable moments.
India will seek to end 43 years of hurt when they begin the Hockey World Cup campaign against South Africa on Wednesday.
Come 2024 Paris Olympics, field hockey will be played on a turf that doesn't require watering, International Hockey Federation (FIH) Chief Executive Officer Thierry Weil said, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
Defending champions India continued their goal-scoring spree and spanked Japan 8-0 to register their third consecutive win in the men's hockey competition at the Asian Games, in Jakarta, on Friday.
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.
India blanked arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 to open its campaign on a rousing note in the final edition of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament.
Overall, the record stands 1-1 between the two sides as Pakistan had the last laugh in the 2006 Games in Melbourne.
'The level we played in Champions Trophy will not be enough for the Olympics if we are vying for a medal'
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.
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.
A spirited Ranchi Rays overcame a two-goal deficit to hold defending champions Delhi Waveriders to a 2-2 draw in a league match of the third Hero Hockey India League (HIL) in Ranchi.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
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.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
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.
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.
Debutants Ranchi Rays will face season's most consistent team Jaypee Punjab Warriors in the summit clash of the third Hero Hockey India League after both teams registered contrasting wins in their respective semi-finals in New Delhi.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
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