India missed chances aplenty in their opening two games of the ongoing 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament and national captain Sardar Singh minced no words when he said that the team's forwardline will have to play more responsibly to give themselves any chance of reaching the final.
Sreesanth, who was part of the triumphant Indian squads in the 2007 World T20 and the 2011 World Cup, was earlier named in one of the squads for a local T20 tournament to be conducted by Kerala Cricket Association in Alappuzha from December 17.
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.
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.
It was a perfect display of attacking hockey as the Indian strikers toyed with the Malaysian defence with short passes, one-touch ball delivery to pump five beautiful field goals.
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.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
The sixth ranked India, who just needed a draw to seal a place in Sunday's summit clash, produced a superlative performance after the change of ends to pump in four goals -- three field strikes and one through penalty corner.
Despite drag-flick specialist V R Raghunath scoring just once from ten penalty-corners, and Rupinderpal Singh sustaining a serious thigh injury, India trounced minnows Oman 7-0 in men's hockey at the Asian Games, in Incheon, on Tuesday.
India, eying their maiden Champions Trophy title, had earlier crushed bitter-rivals Pakistan 4-0 in their campaign opener on Saturrday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
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.
The Indian team are in Pool B along with Pakistan, Malaysia, Wales, England, and will begin their campaign on April 7 against Pakistan.
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.
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.
India squandered numerous scoring chances before two late goals sealed their 3-1 victory over Canada in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey in Ipoh on Sunday. Failing to exert pressure despite taking an early lead, India hung on grimly against several threatening Canadian raids to clinch their second victory in three outings. Chandana Thimmaiah opened the Indian account in the third minute, but Keegan Pereira equalised for Canada in the 23rd minute to be 1-1 level at half-time. Harmanpreet Singh converted a penalty corner in the 41st minute and Talwinder Singh capitalised on a Sardar Singh cross into the circle in the 67th to seal the fate of the match.
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.
India entered the final of the men's hockey tournament at the Asian Games after a solitary goal victory over South Korea in the semi-finals, in Incheon, on Tuesday.
India were dominated and outplayed by The Netherlands 3-1 in the last game of Pool B match of the Hockey World League Semi-final in London on Tuesday.
Manpreet (30th minute, 44th) was the star for sixth- ranked India, while Varun Kumar (17th) and Harjeet Singh (49th) also sounded the board.
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.
In a surprise move on Tuesday, India's women's hockey coach Harendra Singh was named chief coach of the men's team while incumbent men's in-charge Sjoerd Marijne was sent back to the women's camp -- a fallout of the poor show by Manpreet Singh and Co. in the Commonwealth Games.
A dominant India triumphed in the third Sultan of Johor Cup with a thumping 3-0 victory over hosts Malaysia in the title clash of the Under-21 hockey tournament Johor Baharu.
India wasted a two-goal advantage to draw 3-3 against hosts Malaysia in their last inconsequential round-robin match of The Sultan of Johor Cup Under-21 hockey tournament in Malaysia.
A last minute goal by Gonzalo Peillat helped Uttar Pradesh Wizards hold Kalinga Lancers to a 2-2 draw in a thrilling match of the Hockey India League in Lucknow on Friday.
Arun Karthik hammered nine boundaries and three sixes, in his match-winning knock and fittingly finished the game with a boundary.
A round-up of Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
World Champions Australia thrashed India 4-0 to reclaim the Azlan Shah Cup hockey title in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Saturday.
Favourites India prevailed 3-2 over arch-rivals Pakistan to reclaim the Asian Champions Trophy hockey, presenting a perfect Diwali gift to the nation in Kuantan, Malaysia on Sunday. Goals from Rupinder Pal Singh (18th minute), Yousuf Affan (23rd) and Nikkin Thimmaiah (51st) helped India surmount the challenge from Pakistan, who rallied from two goals behind through strikes by Muhammad Aleem Bilal (26th) and Ali Shaan (38th) in the title clash of the fourth edition of tournament. This was the first time the teams were meeting in the final of a continental tournament since India dethroned Pakistan as the Asian Games champions in Incheon, South Korea in 2014.
The Indian men's hockey team secured a 3-2 win over New Zealand in a nail-biting third game to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in four-Test series at Christchurch on Friday.
India produced a spirited performance to beat Korea 4-1 in the penalty shoot-out after both the teams were locked at 2-2.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
'The level we played in Champions Trophy will not be enough for the Olympics if we are vying for a medal'
India's defence crumbled in the bronze medal playoff as they crashed to a 1-5 defeat against Great Britain for a fourth-place finish at the World League Semifinals in Antwerp.
Defending champions Ranchi Rhinos eked out a close 2-1 win over Uttar Pradesh Wizards to consolidate their position in the points table of the Hero Hockey India League (HHIL) at the Dhyan Chand Stadium in Lucknow.
In a nerve-wracking contest, India beat Pakistan in penalty-shootout to clinch the coveted hockey gold at the Asian Games in Incheon on Thursday. This triumph ensures the Indian hockey team a berth at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
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.
India have their backs to the wall and no other option but beat Korea in Tuesday's do-or-die final Pool C match to progress to the quarter-finals of the Hero Junior Men's Hockey World Cup in Delhi.
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.
Rupinder Pal Singh struck twice as drag-flickers ruled the roost to help India register a fighting 3-2 win over Ireland in their opening match of the men's hockey competition at the Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday.