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.
A record number of 634 sportspersons were on Friday cleared by the Sports Ministry to compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games, surpassing the 572 athletes in the last edition of continental showpiece in Jakarta in 2018.
India discovered scoring ways to finally end Italy's World Cup adventure through a field strike from Lalremsiami (20th minute) and two penalty corner goals from Neha Goyal (45th) and Vandana Katariya (55th) to register the emphatic win.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
Manpreet (30th minute, 44th) was the star for sixth- ranked India, while Varun Kumar (17th) and Harjeet Singh (49th) also sounded the board.
Uttar Pradesh Wizards and Jaypee Punjab Warriors finished 2-2 to register the first draw of the second edition of Hero Hockey India League (HHIL) at the Dhyan Chand Stadium in Lucknow.
Favourites India maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament and eked out a fighting 2-1 win over a spirited South Africa in their final Pool D match to book a place in the quarterfinals of the men's Junior Hockey World Cup at the Major Dhyan Astroturf stadium in New Delhi on Monday. India scored both their goals from field efforts through skipper Harjeet Singh (11th minute) and Mandeep Singh (55th), while Kyle Lion-Cachet (28th) found the net for the Africans. India, thus, finished the pool engagements with possible nine points from three wins and will now face second placed team in Pool C, Spain in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
In cricket, we have something that we can share with our families, neighbours and indeed, the whole country. It is colour-blind, language-neutral, truly secular and transcends all regions, from Kashmir to Kerala and Mizoram to Maharashtra, explains Shreekant Sambrani.
The Indian men, ranked fifth in the world, had earlier defeated world number 22 Russia 4-2 in the first-leg on Friday.
The Indian men's hockey team's FIH Pro League title hopes went up in smoke after suffering a hard-fought 1-2 defeat against the Netherlands
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.
After a goalless opening two quarters, Nick Ross broke the deadlock for New Zealand in the 41st minute. But the hosts' joy was short lived as India equalised two minutes later through a field goal from SV Sunil (43rd).
The Brazilian, the only player to claim three World Cup winner's medals and a man often called the greatest footballer of all time, said all monies raised will help Brazil's fight against and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HI president also said that a committee has been formed to decide on the fate of the coach and it will take a decision on Friday. He said he has no ego problem and if the committee feels the coach should continue, he would himself go to The Netherlands to bring him back.
A look at India's schedule on Tuesday, August 3, 2021:
Leander Paes feels India will find it tough in singles but the country can hope to win a medal in the Asian Games
India struck twice in the second half to beat Malaysia 2-0 and qualify for the semi-finals in the eighth women's Asia Cup hockey tournament at the Stadium Hoki Nasional, in Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday.
India conceded a soft goal in the fifth minute of the second semi-final encounter when Cedric Charlier scored from a field strike for Belgium, which eventually separated both the teams at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel stadium.
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.
Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh starred in front of the goal to help India beat South Korea via the penalty shootout to enter the final of the fourth Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament, in Kuantan, Malaysia on Saturday.
The Indian women's hockey team suffered a humiliating 0-5 loss against higher-ranked Argentina in their final Pool B fixture to end their campaign at the Rio Olympics.
In a country that is often focused on the ways in which it falls short, the start of a year is a good time to remind oneself of such positives, observes T N Ninan.
India eked out a hard-fought 2-0 win over lower-ranked China to progress to the semi-finals of the men's hockey competition at the 17th Asian Games on Saturday.
India eked out a 4-2 win via penalty over Great Britain in the FIH Hockey Pro League on Saturday.
Gurjit Kaur scored a brace as the Indian women's hockey team dished out a spirited performance to stun Olympic silver medallist Argentina 2-1
Soundly thrashed by Australia in their last match, India will look to sort out their defensive woes when they take on Malaysia in their quarter-final match of the Hockey World League Semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium, on Wednesday.
Minnows Austria continued to impress in the ongoing men's Junior Hockey World Cup as they spanked declining Asian powerhouse Korea 5-2 in Lucknow on Saturday to remain in contention for a surprise quarter-final berth from Pool A in the 16-team tournament.
The two Koreas agreed during rare talks on Wednesday to form a combined women's ice hockey team to take part in next month's Winter Olympics in the South.
India shocked higher-ranked Spain 4-2 to enter the semi-finals in the Junior women's hockey World Cup for the first time in Monchengladbach, Germany, on Thursday.
Germany outclassed last edition silver medallist Netherlands
He has learnt a lot from the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni but Ruturaj Gaikwad said he will lean on his own leadership style during the Asian Games.
India started their campaign in The Sultan of Johor Cup Under-21 hockey tournament on a perfect note, defeating England 2-1 in their opening round-robin match in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on Sunday.
With Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal agreeing in principle to Terry Walsh's demands, the ball is now in the Australian's court to take a call on whether to continue as India's chief hockey coach and the Sports Authority of India expects him to make up his mind in the next 4-5 days.
'All the venues are high-scoring venues. So what you need is pace.' 'You really want someone to come there and control the flow of runs in the death overs, whether you are setting a target or setting a target.' 'It is going to be the fast bowlers because at how many venues have you seen spinners bowling the death overs?'
How athletes have strived for achieving greatness during extraordinary times.
Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy passed away on Tuesday due to a cardiorespiratory arrest after a prolonged illness, a company statement said. He was 75. He was 75. According to the company statement, he passed away at 10.30 pm due to cardio-respiratory arrest following an extended battle with complications arising from metastatic malignancy, hypertension, and diabetes.
Plagued by injuries, India named a young 18-member squad to be led by the inspirational Sardar Singh in the crucial Asia Cup hockey tournament scheduled from August 24 to September 1 in Ipoh, Malaysia.
India started brightly and pushed hard in the first five minutes of the match but their attacks fizzled once out inside the opposition D.
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.
"Through his outstanding performance at the Olympics, Sreejesh has brought joy to Indians around the world. As a fellow-Malayali, I take tremendous pride in his achievement," Vayalil, Chairman and Managing Director of VPS Healthcare, was quoted as saying in a media statement.
