With their eyes firmly focused on 2016 Olympics, Indian men hockey team's chief coach Roelant Oltmans feels the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be an ideal preparation for his boys ahead of the Rio Games. The team, currently training at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru, will face New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, Japan, Canada and hosts Malaysia in the 25th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia starting April 6. With a good mix of youth and experience players up his ranks, the Dutchman feels the squad has what it takes to go all the way. Oltmans has been laying emphasis on having specialists in the team and the implementation of the same has paid rich dividends in the previous season. "We have specialists in each department now and that is helping the boys understand their role better. Hockey India League has definitely helped us tap some good talent but now it's all about showcasing their mettle in the international stage," Oltmans told reporters here.
Andhra Pradesh government has sought inquiry by the central government into the alleged illegal tapping of phone of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Uttar Pradesh Wizards eked out a dramatic 8-6 victory over Kalinga Lancers in a high-scoring thriller with two goals coming in the final minute as the fourth edition of Hockey India League made a sensational start under new field goal rules in Bhubaneswar.
India played out a 1-1 draw in their final match of the 6-Nations invitational hockey tournament in Valencia, on Sunday.
The Hyderabad high court directed the Andhra Pradesh police to furnish the case diary
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'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.
Sreejesh to lead India as team will experiment with different combinations and execute new tactics
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.
Girish Karnad lived several lives not only on the stage but also as a scholar, theatre personality, an actor and director in a career spanning over five decades.
Akashdeep Singh scored twice as Indian men's hockey team stunned world champions Australia 3-1 in the fourth and final Test to register a historic 3-1 series win over the mighty Kookaburras in their home soil in Perth.
Breaking his silence, Chairman of Bombay Indian Institute of Technology board of governors Anil Kakodkar on Friday said he had resigned because he did not want to be part of the selection process of IIT directors which was "too casual" and "running a lottery".
India once again paid the price of some sloppy defending and conceded a late goal to lose 2-3 to lower-ranked Malaysia and crash out of the title race of the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh.
SP on Thursday announced its decision to contest the Bihar assembly polls with SJDD, NCP and NPP, saying the combine will present a third alternative to the voters.
Samajwadi Party and the Nationalist Congress Party on Monday announced entering into alliance for the coming Bihar assembly elections and claimed they were in talks with some other anti-BJP and anti-Congress regional parties.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu constituted his council of ministers on Sunday night, considering their experience and social equations, giving due representation to women as well as backward castes.
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.
'We decided that we would fire our rockets and dive into the valley and get away, making it difficult for the missiles to be fired.'
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.
Four key players, including ace drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh and midfielder S K Uthappa, were dropped from India's 18-man squad for the Hockey World League semi-final, in Antwerp, Belgium, from June 20 to July 5. Besides Rupinder and Uthappa, forwards Mandeep Singh and Satbir Singh got the axe.
Wife Nita, who joined the board as non-executive director in FY15, draws Rs 84 lakh
It was a celebration of woman power in sports as Olympic stars PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar were on Monday conferred India's highest sporting honour -- the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- along with shooter Jitu Rai in a gleaming awards ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.
'So far there is no clear money trail nor an indisputable smoking gun.' 'But that doesn't mean there aren't disturbing questions and a strange resistance by the government to reveal the price, which only adds suspicion to concern,' observes Karan Thapar.
Mukesh Ambani voluntarily capped his compensation at Rs 15 crore in October 2009 amid a debate over right-sizing of CEO salaries.
India put up a dominating performance to beat Malaysia 4-1 in the bronze medal play-off match on Sunday and finish at third position in the Four Nations Invitational Tournament in Melbourne.
Belgium are on red hot form and have stunned strong gold medal contenders and world champions Australia.
The Indian Army, the Border Security Force, Hindu temples and the people of India, all have been targetted by fidayeen from Pakistan.
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.
Striker Gurwinder Singh Chandi failed to make the cut as Hockey India announced an 18-member squad, led by Sadar Singh, for the eight-nation Hero men's Champions Trophy, in Bhubaneswar, from December 6-14. Lalit Upadhyay, who was capped nine times earlier, has been drafted in place of Chandi in the squad, named by Hockey India selectors after trials at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi on November 18.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, hosted the National Sports awardees, including Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu and bronze winner Sakshi Malik, at his 7 Race Course Road residence in New Delhi.
India's third-place finish at the Hockey World League Finals is a timely reminder of the improvement the team has made under Oltmans. But one must not get carried away.
India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and Deepika won the Dhruv Batra Player of the Year award for men and women, respectively, at the Hockey India second annual awards, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
The incident occurred late Saturday night at the resort where the Congress MLAs are hunkered down since Friday in a move to keep the flock together against alleged bid to topple the ruling coalition by BJP, according to Congress sources.
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.
'If Rakesh Sinha introduces the bill, but it does not pass the Rajya Sabha in six years, then the bill will lapse.'
India settled for silver after losing to Australia 3-1 (0-0) in penalty shootout in the final of Champions Trophy hockey tournament in London on Saturday. After their spectacular effort to hold World No.1 Australia at 0-0 in regular time, India missed three penalties in the shootout to go down fighting in a morale-boosting clash. SK Uthappa, vice-captain SV Sunil and Surendar Kumar missed the strokes for India.
In the FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final 2012-13, the Indian team outplayed the European team by 6-2 in which young Mandeep Singh scored two back-to-back goals. In the second season of FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final, India again met France in the semi-final round in Belgium and defeated them 3-2.
Satish Bodas visits the homes where Ganesha brings some cheer.
A wide range of Malayalam movies is set to hit the screens in the coming months.
With India set to be the world's most populous country by 2030, there is a growing need to control population through better use of contraceptives, says Abhishek Waghmare.
