The Indian junior men's team beat Pakistan in a thriller in the final of the Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023.
Hockey India Secretary General Narinder Batra on Wednesday took moral 'responsibility' for the country's early ouster from the Hero FIH Junior Men's World Cup and apologised to the fans for letting them down.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Asian champions India have been clubbed along side arch-rivals Pakistan in the same pool in the men's Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Final 2017 to be held in London.
Asked about the lack of goals as India have scored just two in as many matches, Reid said, "There is no specific reason for that. I would have been worried if we were not creating opportunities."
- 'I hope our training on creating early pressure will be evident when we go into the competition'
Olympic medal-winning defender Amit Rohidas will continue to lead the Indian men's hockey team in the crucial last leg of the 2021-22 edition of the FIH Pro League
The Azlan Shah Cup is the latest sporting event to be hit by the deadly coronavirus, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives and infected 86,000 people across the world.
Inspirational men's team captain P R Sreejesh and fast-rising drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh are the two Indians in contention for different honours at the FIH annual awards which will be given away in a formal ceremony for the first time, in Chandigarh on February 23.
The FIH is planning an exhibition tournament of Hockey 5s next year but has ruled out the possibility of the format replacing the traditional 11-a-side contest in the Olympics.
"The start has been good. In the tournament, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Argentina and Australia are some of the best teams. We have started off well and need to keep the momentum going and continue with same energy," Sardar said on Thursday.
Title hopes already shattered, defending champions India even failed to finish on the podium as they lost 1-3 to France in the bronze-medal play-off match of the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup, in Bhubaneswar, on Sunday.
The general impression that the Indian hockey team concedes late goals has changed with its second successive Olympic bronze medal and the Harmanpreet Singh-led side is one of the best in the world in all aspects, feels the legendary Zafar Iqbal.
Defending champions India's dream of a second consecutive FIH Junior Men's Hockey World Cup title was shattered after a 2-4 defeat to six-time winners Germany in the semi-finals, in Bhubaneswar, on Friday. The Germans will take on Argentina in the final.
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.
India go down to Germany 1-7 in Four-Nation junior hockey
Coach Harendra defends junior players' selection for World Cup
The Asian Games normally serves as the Olympic qualifiers but there was some confusion after the Hangzhou Asian Games were postponed from last year to this year due to the COVID-19 situation in China.
Harmanpreet, Sreejesh shortlisted for FIH Hockey Stars Awards
Germany struck twice with two minutes left in the match to wipe out a two-goal deficit and then prevailed over England in the penalty shoot-out to make a dramatic entry into the semi-finals of the Men's Hockey World Cup, in Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday.
Akashdeep Singh will lead an 18-member Indian squad in the seventh Junior Asia Cup hockey, scheduled to be held at Malacca, Malaysia, from May 3 to 13. Defender Amit Rohidas is the vice-captain. The nine-nation tournament features Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Senior players like Manpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and PR Sreejesh will give the tournament a miss.
A historic bronze-winning show by the men's team and an outstanding fourth place finish for the women's team infused fresh life into the game which was in danger of slipping into oblivion.
There is yet another injury blow to India's prospect in the upcoming Asia Cup hockey tournament. The men in blue were dealt a severe blow after star forward S V Sunil had to be ruled out of August 24-September 1 event due to an elbow injury.
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.
A 24-strong team for the men's hockey series against Japan was announced on Thursday, following a week-long preparatory camp held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, that commenced on April 22.
FIH president Tayyab Ikram asserted that the dynamics of the sport would not be compromised at any cost when they try out the proposed penalty corner rule.
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.
'Right now hockey is totally changed and anyone can beat anyone depending on the day. It depends on how many chances you create.'
The tournament will be played at the National Hockey Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, from November 29 to December 9.
Renowned South African mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, who played a role in India winning the 2011 Cricket World Cup, will be a part of the support staff of the country's men's hockey team in Paris.
Six Indian men's team players -- skipper Manpreet Singh, striker Mandeep Singh, defenders SurenderKumar, Jaskaran Singh, drag-flicker Varun Kumar and goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak -- have tested positive after reaching Bengaluru for the national camp, scheduled to start on August 20.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Eight-time Olympic champions India find itself in a lowly ninth position among men's teams in the recently-released FIH World Hockey Rankings.
The Government of India is set to appoint Hockey India's Director High Performance Roelant Oltmans as Chief Coordinator and High Performance Director for Indian Hockey.
Since hockey's introduction at Commonwealth Games 24 years ago, World No.1 Australia have been the most dominant force, having won all six gold medals till date.
Having made the cut for the 18-member squad for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, the Indian men's hockey team forward Gurjant Singh is looking to make an impact with his skills.
India's captain Dilip Tirkey has been selected in the World hockey All-Star team 2006.
Taking strong exception to FIH's "weak" censure to Pakistani players for their obscene behaviour after beating India in the Champions Trophy semi-final, Hockey India decided that it would not host any event sanctioned by the world body until strong punishment is handed out to the offenders.
