Pakistan Hockey Federation has finally got clearance from the government to send its national junior team to Lucknow, India for the FIH Junior World Cup next month. A reliable source in the PHF said that the ministry of inter-provincial coordination has informed the federation that the government has given the NOC for participating in the December 8-18 Junior World Cup. "The PHF officials were anxious about getting the NOC to send its team to India next month as the FIH event is scheduled from December 8 to 18th and it is an important event for the future of Pakistan hockey. But now the ministry has informed the PHF that the government has given the clearance," the source said.
The Indians will have to be at their best in all departments to get the better of the ever-improving Red Lions, who will be out to prove a point after a not-so-impressive opener.
India made a shock exit from the FIH Men's World Cup after losing to New Zealand in sudden death in their must-win crossover match.
Pakistan qualified for the 2025 Junior Hockey World Cup event after finishing runners-up in the Asia Cup held in Oman recently. They had lost the continental final to India 3-5.
The FIH also stated that the draw of the Men's Hockey World Cup, to be hosted jointly by Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29 next year, will take place as per schedule on September 8.
In the men's category, Netherlands (2465.707) replaced India (2366.990) in the third place based on their impressive results in the FIH Pro League.
'This game against Tottenham will be important for us... to be (around) the top of the league.'
Drag-flicker Diwakar Ram will lead an 18-member Indian squad for the FIH men's junior World Cup, to be jointly hosted by Singapore and Malaysia from June 7 to 21. India are drawn in Pool D with Holland, New Zealand, Poland and Singapore.
With an increased seating capacity and re-laid new turf, the Stadium is all set to host the 14th edition of the quadrennial showpiece.
In the first quarter-final of the day, Germany eked out a narrow 3-1 win over Spain via the shoot-out after both the teams were locked at 2-2 in regulation time. Later, Argentina beat the Netherlands 2-1.
Defending champions Germany will be gunning for a historic hat-trick of titles while Australia will be eyeing their first in 24 years when the two lock horns in the final of the Hero Honda FIH hockey World Cup in New Delhi on Saturday.
Veteran Olympian, Ashok Diwan has sought government help to return home after 'developing some health problems in the USA'.
India's star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh was on Tuesday named among the five nominees for the men's Player of the Year honour.
In the ongoing FIH Pro Hockey League, India climbed to the top of the table with a win over world champions Germany in Rourkela on Monday.
India's chief coach Harendra Singh blamed poor umpiring for his team's early ouster from the ongoing men's hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.
The Hockey Junior World Cup Men is scheduled to take place from December 8 till December 18, in Lucknow, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Thursday confirmed.
Defender and dragflicker Varun Kumar who scored the maximum goals in India's successful campaign in Valencia will be joined by Vikramjit Singh and Gurinder Singh in the defence structure, while the midfield will be formed by Santa Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet, Sumit along with Harjeet Singh.
India downed Pakistan in the final of the Men's Hockey5s Asia Cup.
Mumtaz edged Belgium's Charlotte Englebert for the Player of the Year award by a margin of just three points after votes cast by experts (40%), teams (20%), fans (20%) and media (20%) were tallied finishing with a total of 32.9 points.
India then went on to clinch the Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023 with a dominant 4-0 win over Japan in the Final and achieved their best-ever FIH World Rankings (No. 6 with 2368.83 points) in November.
Harmanpreet Singh got his mojo back as he scored a hat-trick to lead India to a rare 5-4 win over Australia
Indian men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh said the honour is a recognition of his "fascinating" journey in which he still has plenty more to achieve.
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.
Veteran sports administrator Narinder Batra quit his positions as International Hockey Federation president and also gave up IOC membership, hours after CBI conducted multiple raids at his residence and offices in New Delhi and Jammu.
Skipper Harmanpreet Singh, who powered India to a second successive bronze medal in hockey at the Olympics in Paris, was on Saturday nominated for the FIH Player of the Year Award.
Anelle van Deventer had to make three strong saves at the start of the second quarter to keep India away from stretching their lead in the match.
The Odisha government claimed that it is the world's largest facility in terms of seating capacity and certified by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
India suffered a humiliating 0-4 defeat to defending champions Australia in their final group league encounter of the FIH men's hockey World Cup, in The Hague, Netherlands, on Monday.
Navneet Kaur scored a brace as the Indian women's hockey team beat Japan 3-1 as they finished a disappointing ninth in the FIH World Cup in Terassa, Spain, on Wednesday.
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.
Pakistan head coach Muhammad Saqlain admitted that India are ahead of his side in terms of preparations.
India go down to Germany 1-7 in Four-Nation junior hockey
A well-oiled Indian unit had raised the hopes of making the semi-finals for the first time since 1975 but the Dutch side broke a million hearts by coming from behind to knock out the hosts 2-1 in the last-eight clash.
France and Germany will clash in the final of the Junior Men's Hockey World Cup. The French made history when they beat Malaysia via the penalty shoot-out in the first semi-final to make their maiden appearance in the final while the defending champions Germans got the better of the Netherlands 5-3.
Agustin Mazzilli and Gonzalo Peillat scored a brace each to help Olympic champions Argentina eke out a 4-3 win over Spain, while New Zealand scrapped past France 2-1.
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 top-scorer at the 10th Sultan of Johor Cup was India's Sharda Nand Tiwari with 7 goals to his name, and the Player of the Match in the Final against Australia was Sudeep Chirmako.
Alleging breach of contract and intended violation of the Foreign Exchange Act, the Indian Hockey Confederation (IHC) has requested the Reserve Bank of India to stop payment of US $500,000 by the 2010 World Hockey Cup organisers to the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
India put up a gallant fight before going down 2-3 to the Netherlands in their opening match of the Hero FIH Junior hockey World Cup, in Delhi, on Friday.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) lashed out at India's boycotting players, saying they got their priorities all wrong. FIH vice-president Antonio von Ondarza, also the world body's observer for Hockey India's elections, said staying away from a training camp before an important event like the World Cup was unheard of in the game's history.