India were outclassed 0-4 by hosts Belgium in a lop-sided last-four clash, with Florent Van Aubel's fine hat-trick playing a pivotal role in the side's passage to the final of the FIH Hockey World League semi-finals in Antwerp.
Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat are in contention for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
Postponed several times due to a variety of reasons, the much-delayed but the biggest South Asian Games ever begin, in Guwahati, on Friday, with hosts India expected to stamp their superiority in the regional spectacle.
India cricket captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu were on Monday recommended for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by the awards selection committee.
India captain Sardar Singh asserted that they have a lot to play for in the ongoing Hockey World League Semifinals.
It is not just the spectators but the players and coach of the Indian hockey team, who are equally disappointed with India losing the right to host of this year's Champions Trophy hockey tournament.
Reigning silver medallists India will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in a mouth-watering men's hockey contest of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
The win confirmed India's berth in the 2023-24 Pro League.
Former India hockey player and coach M K Kaushik on Saturday died after battling COVID-19 for the past three weeks.
Australia's quest for a record hat-trick of titles started with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Ireland in the opening Pool D match of the men's hockey World Cup, in Bhubaneswar, on Friday.
Asian Games champions India came from a goal down to clinch an unimpressive 2-1 victory over hard-working Japan on the opening day of the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh on Wednesday. Squandering a series of scoring chances created by defence-splitting crosses that sailed across the goalmouth, India managed to earn full points against the lowly-ranked rivals through goals from young drag flicker Harmanpreet Singh (24th minute) and captain Sardar Singh (32nd) after Kenji Kitazato (17th) gave Japan the lead. Earlier, Pakistan banked on two goals from Muhammad Arslan Qadir to open their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Canada in extremely humid conditions at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium. Qadir opened the account with a field goal in the 27th minute and converted a penalty corner a minute later to give Pakistan a two-goal lead. Canada then pulled one back through Richard Hildreth's flash strike, but Muhammad Arshad capitalised on a 52nd-minute penalty corner to seal Pakistan's victory.
Pakistan hockey coach Farhat Khan on Thursday termed India as the 'toughest team on paper' for next month's Asia Cup in Bangladesh.
Asian Games heptathlon gold medal changed her life as she became a star but Swapna Barman, on Friday, said she sometimes get nervous and scared of the people's high expectations.
He has not been on target for quite some time now and India captain Sardar Singh is itching to get a few in order to end his goal-scoring drought while leading his team Delhi Waveriders in the second edition of cash-rich Hockey India League that starts in Mohali 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.
Former captain Sardar Singh was brought back to bolster the Indian hockey team's mid-field while Birendra Lakra was included to shore up the defence line-up for the upcoming Champions Trophy, beginning on June 23 in Breda, The Netherlands.
'Whatever happened at the Asian Games, that's a big learning curve for the players, coach and the staff.'
Experienced drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh returned to India's men's hockey team, which also features debutant Jaskaran Singh, for the tour of Australia, starting May 10.
Victory against Malaysia in their opening match at the Commonwealth Games should provide the team a kick-start to the tournament.
Taking a cue from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Hockey India advertised for the position for the first time on its website http://hockeyindia.org.
'Graham Reid's resignation is his personal decision but at the end of the day somebody has to take the blame for this awful show.'
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra made the announcement during the send-off ceremony in New Delhi on Monday.
The haul of 64 medals at the Commonwealth Games, in July-August, which included 15 gold, should act as the ideal springboard for the Indian contingent to better its medal tally at Guangzhou, China, four years ago.
A day after his dramatic announcement to quit, Terry Walsh decided to continue as India's chief hockey coach after the country's top sports officials assured him that his concerns will be addressed in a fresh contract.
The age-old malady of inconsistency remained unaddressed but Indian hockey did take baby steps towards global success in 2017, a year which reaffirmed the nation's continental supremacy in the sport.
India aim to avoid complacency against Pakistan
Women's hockey team captain Jyoti Sunita Kullu will have the honour of carrying the Indian tricolour at the opening ceremony of the Asian Games.
Following is India's schedule on the 12th day of the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.
Hockey coach Ramesh Parameswaran applies for Dronacharya Award
Going by the hockey parent body's new data collection, India and Pakistan have met in only 47 head-to-head internationals and many more fails. Read on to find out how the history of this famed rivalry is being binned
India's shooting ace Apurvi Chandela attained the World No 1 position in the women's 10m air rifle event while compatriot Anjum Moudgil rose to second.
The 59-year-old Batra is one of the few sports administrators to head a national Olympic committee while heading an important international sports federation.
Five other elite track and field athletes have also tested positive at the SAI centre in Bengaluru.
India retained the Asia Cup with a 7-2 drubbing of South Korea on Sunday and the decisive manner of that victory has given coach Joaquim Carvalho plenty of cause for optimism ahead of next year's Olympic qualifiers.
Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen settled for a silver medal after he lost in the men's singles final against Li Shifeng of China in straight games at the Youth Olympics.
'Congratulations MS Dhoniji and CSK. We are happy that at least some sportspersons are getting respect and love they deserve. For us, the fight for justice is still on,' Sakshi said in her tweet, which received more than 50,000 likes and nearly 10,000 retweets in 12 hours.
'An India-Pakistan hockey match still attracts a lot of excitement, but the pressure thing is gone nowadays' 'We rallied after conceding an early goal and took the lead, but could not win due to a very high level of performance by India'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, 25 sportspersons, including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, track and field athletes Eldhose Paul and Avinash Sable, were conferred with the Arjuna Award.
Former India skipper Rajpal Singh has been named the captain of Wizcraft-owned franchise Delhi Wizards in the World Series Hockey (WSH), starting in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
