His wards might have failed to break the medal jinx at the just-concluded Rio Olympics, but Indian men's hockey team's chief coach Roelant Oltmans says their results in the quadrennial extravaganza were satisfactory if not ideal. India finished fourth in group stage having won two, drawn one and lost two. One of India's win came against eventual gold medallists, Argentina. But the Men in Blue failed to go beyond the quarterfinals having lost 1-3 to silver medallists Belgium.
An impressive England demolished Pakistan 8-2 in their second Pool A match to register their best-ever win in the history of the FIH Hockey Champions Trophy.
The Indian Boxing Federation might be in trouble following its termination by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), but Sports Minister Jitendra Singh assured the boxers that their training would not suffer and would be provided with all the required facilities.
He was a talismanic midfielder who played the game on his own terms with fitness being key to his success
While the 54-year-old Van Ass, who was at the helm of affairs of the Dutch team from 2010 to 2014, will take charge of the men's team, New Zealand's Anthony Thornton, 47, will replace Neil Hawgood as coach of the women's senior team.
A large contingent of officials and media were present at the airport to receive the team, which finished fifth in the just-concluded Hockey World League Semi-finals in Antwerp.
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.
An inexperienced Indian men's hockey team fought hard before going down to arch-rivals Pakistan 4-5 and slumping to their third defeat in the Asian Champions Trophy at Kakamigahara, Japan on Thursday.
India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and Deepika won the Dhruv Batra Player of the Year award for men and women, respectively, at the Hockey India second annual awards, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Chief coach of the Indian men's hockey Michael Nobbs said on Tuesday he wasn't "pushed out" but willingly resigned from the job owing to deteriorating health.
Determined to put up a top-notch performance at the 2016 Olympic Games, the Indian men and women's hockey teams arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.
The Indian women's hockey team put up yet another disappointing show, crashing out of the semi-final race with a 1-8 drubbing at the hands of top-ranked Netherlands in the FIH World League Round 3 in Rotterdam.
Indian men's hockey team fired in a goal two minutes from the final hooter through Ramandeep Singh to pull off a 3-2 win over France and begin their FIH World League semi-finals campaign on a winning note in Antwerp.
Indian men's hockey team on Sunday officially qualified for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup in The Hague (NED), according to the latest release issued by the FIH.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Japan eked out a hard-fought 3-1 win over debutants Oman to finish fifth, while Bangladesh managed to avoid the wooden spoon by thrashing minnows Chinese Taipei 11-3 in the classification matches of the 9th Asia Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia on Saturday.
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 summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
In an encouraging development for the Indian women's hockey team, all the squad members are set to be included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) when the review committee will identify a core group for the government-funded programme, next month.
Virtually assured of a quarterfinal spot after their morale-boosting win against Argentina, a buoyant India will face world number two side the Netherlands in a tough pool B clash in the Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. After a close 3-2 win over Ireland in their opening match, India suffered a disappointing 1-2 loss against the reigning Olympic champions Germany but bounced back to notch up a 2-1 win against Argentina to remain among the top four in the six-team pool. The target now will be to finish the league stages as high as possible in the points table so as to avoid the world number one Australia in the last eight fixture.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
Former India captain Dhanraj Pillay on Monday batted for participation of Pakistan's players in the Hockey India League (HIL) tournament and urged Hockey India to take up the issue with politicians to ensure their presence in the future editions of the franchise-based league.
India made a spirited fightback in the second half but failed to earn a direct berth in next year's hockey World Cup as they lost the high-scoring summit clash 3-4 to defending champions South Korea, in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Monday.
India showed urgency but it was too little, too late as they suffered a 0-2 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands in their FIH World League Round 3 match in Rotterdam on Saturday.
Roelant Oltmans, the Indian men's hockey team's chief coach, says the new competition format of having quarter-finals in place of direct semi-finals at the upcoming Rio Olympics is not only beneficial for the Men in Blue but all small teams too.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Jasjit Singh sent two rasping penalty corner drag flicks into the net as India edged past hosts Malaysia 3-2 to move to the semifinals of the Hockey World League semi-finals in Antwerp.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Terry Walsh quit as coach of India's men's hockey team on Tuesday after his demands were not met by Hockey India and the Sports Authority of India. The 60-year-old Australian, who guided India to the men's hockey gold at the Incheon Asian Games, however, said he could return if his demands are met.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended down 371 points at 24,966 and the Nifty50 closed 101 points lower at 7,615.
A pall of gloom shrouded the Pakistan hockey community after the national team failed to qualify for the Olympics.
The Indian kabaddi contingent made an impressive start to its campaign at the 18th Asian Games with the women's team mauling Japan and the men's side beating Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Jakarta on Sunday.
Former Pakistan captain Tahir Zaman believes the resumption of hockey ties between arch-rivals India and Pakistan will prove beneficial to both countries and will also be a big boost for revival of the sport.
India's defence caved in under pressure as a rampaging Australia crushed them 6-2 in the last league fixture of the FIH World League semi-finals in Antwerp.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
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.
India captain Sardar Singh asserted that they have a lot to play for in the ongoing Hockey World League Semifinals.
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.
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