'The level we played in Champions Trophy will not be enough for the Olympics if we are vying for a medal'
Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Rana Mujahid is "frustrated" that the national sport is struggling to lure sponsors due to lack of international success in recent years and felt the scene was much better in India.
Rupinderpal Singh converted two penalty corners as India outclassed New Zealand 4-0 to clinch a bronze medal in the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, in Ipoh, on Saturday.
Hockey legend Ashok Kumar reckons India would have won a medal had the Olympics been held this year but the break in momentum will make a big difference now that the Games are pushed to 2021.
India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 3-2 in an intense match of the Asian Champions Trophy on Sunday.
India captain Sardar Singh asserted that they have a lot to play for in the ongoing Hockey World League Semifinals.
India swept the International Hockey Federation's annual awards on Wednesday, claiming all the top honours, based on a voting system which was lambasted as a "failure" by men's Olympic champions Belgium, prompting the FIH to say that it would try to figure why some associations did not cast their ballot.
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.
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.
Deputy Chef de Mission Balbir Singh Kushwaha said that facilities at the Games Village were good.
Sloppy defending cost India dearly as Sam Ward scored a brace for England to hand the home team a heart-breaking 2-3 defeat in a hard-fought Pool B match of the Hockey World League (HWL) Final, in Bhubaneswar, on Saturday.
A lackluster India suffered their second consecutive defeat to crash out of the title race of Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament and chief coach Paul Van Ass expressed his unhappiness over the performance of his players, saying that for the second day on the trot they gave away the match to the opposition.
PR Sreejesh says his dual role as India hockey captain and goalkeeper is to allow his team mates the freedom to express themselves in Rio but knows he must keep them focused on the medal hunt in the "magic world" of the Olympics. The 30-year-old was second choice at London 2012 behind then captain Bharat Chetri but has since established himself as the clear number one. He was named captain for the recent Champions Trophy in London where India rested some seniors, including regular captain Sardar Singh, ahead of the Rio Games.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
World champions Australia completed their all-win sequence in the round-robin league competition of the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament by posting a facile 3-0 victory over Canada, in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Friday.
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.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Indian shooters continued to shine at the 17th Asian Games, clinching the bronze medal in men's 10m air pistol team event, but Jitu Rai could not emulate his golden feat and finished fifth after promising much in the earlier part of the individual finals in Incheon on Sunday.
India survived a final-quarter onslaught from Argentina for a nail-biting 2-1 win that enhanced their quarterfinal chances at the men's hockey competition of the Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday. The second win in the Pool stage has virtually secured India a quarterfinal berth as they rose to the second position with six points.
India opener Rohit Sharma also took to the micro-blogging site to offer his condolences.
Ramandeep Singh scored two fine goals as the showpiece subcontinental hockey encounter between arch-rivals India and Pakistan ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw in the World League semi-finals at the KHC Dragons Stadium in Antwerp.
World Champions Australia thrashed India 4-0 to reclaim the Azlan Shah Cup hockey title in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
It was touted as the year which could herald a change in the fortunes Indian hockey, but 2018 turned out to be yet another saga of missed opportunities for the sport.
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.
Talismanic midfielder Sardar Singh will lead an experimental 18-member India hockey team, which will be without as many as seven players including senior goalkeeper and vice-captain P R Sreejesh, in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia next month.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
India's shaky defence conceded a goal 15 seconds from the hooter to go down 2-3 against Belgium in their opening game of hockey World Cup at the Kyocera Stadium on Saturday.
SV Sunil's oodles of experience came in handy as his 59th minute strike enabled India to pip a gritty Wales 4-3 in their second Pool B encounter at the Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast.
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.
It was a day when India counted the silvers, a total of five, even though there was no gold in the tally.
An important factor in India's stupendous success in 2021 was the way the government opened its coffers to support athletes.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
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.
The apex court was hearing a matter pertaining to review of sentence awarded by it in May 2018 to the cricketer-turned-politician in the 1988 road rage case.
A resurgent Indian hockey team, with its penetrative attack and solid defence, can actually challenge for the top spot in the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan avenged their Asian Games final loss when they beat India 4-3 in Bhubaneswar on Saturday to enter the Champions Trophy hockey final.
For Indian hockey, 2016 was a year in which much was promised and achieved as well. It was also a year where India made significant and visible advancements but deep down somewhere the pain of missing out on an Olympic medal will remain for four more years.
India wasted as many as five penalty-corners seconds from the final hooter and went down 1-2 to reigning silver medallists the Netherlands in the Rio Olympics' hockey tournament on Thursday. The defeat saw the eight-time Olympic gold medallists slump to their second defeat in the competition.
India's 572 athletes hope to return home with an overflowing treasure chest of medals.
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