Charlotte Hornets and owner and former NBA great Michael Jordan and golfer Tiger Woods, who rarely speak out on social issues, have also called for change.
Defender Gurinder Singh, midfielders Sumit and Manpreet who were part of the Junior World Cup-winning squad are slated to make their debut at the tournament.
After snapping their two summit clash loss against the Germans in 2002 and 2006, Australian captain Jamie Dwyer said his side deserved to win the hockey World Cup as they were the best side in the tournament.
Germany captain Maximillian Muller on Monday said Korea surprised them with two early strikes but expressed happiness at the comeback in the second half of their hockey World Cup Pool A match at Dhyanchand National Stadium.
India blanked New Zealand 2-0 to start their campaign in the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup hockey tournament on a winning note. In the second match of the day, Holland defeated World and Olympic champions Germany by an identical margin.
Defending champions Australia routed Netherlands 7-2 to top the standings in the Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Melbourne on Sunday.
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.
These images prove we live in a wonderfully weird world.
Shobhaa De took to Twitter to post a harsh and stinging message for the Indian athletes currently competing at the Rio Olympic Games.
India held European champions Holland 2-2 in a hard fought high voltage encounter that marked the first match in the second leg of the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup hockey tournament in Chandigarh on Wednesday night.
With the outcome of the previous match assuring India a place in the final, the relaxed hosts beat New Zealand 3-2 in the last league match of four-nation Punjab Gold Cup hockey tournament in Chandigarh on Saturday.
South Korea scored a major upset at the hockey's Champions Trophy in Kuala Lumpur on Monday dumping defending champions and favourites the Netherlands 6-2.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
This past week, the Indian hockey team recorded a rare Test series win against world champions Australia. It was a significant achievement by the men in blue - hockey, not cricket - as it was for the first time in four years that India had beaten Australia.
The Netherlands set up a likely showdown with Argentina in the women's Olympic hockey semi-final by brushing aside Spain 2-0 in their final group match on Monday. Champions Germany qualified as the top team from the opposite pool with four wins when they beat Japan 1-0 in their fifth and final match.
Day 11: What's hot at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics
Hockey Australia announced a strong 18-member team for the World Cup, in Monchengladbach, Germany, from September 6 to 17.
The Netherlands claimed the 2007 BDO Hockey Champions Trophy women's title, defeating hosts Argentina in the final.
Indian's new hockey coach described the team's performance in the four-nation tournament in Germany as satisfactory
Impressive victories over Malaysia and Japan in practice offer India hope of regaining lost glory at the Asian Games.
India will be looking to capitalise on home advantage when they take on Spain in their opening match of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament on Saturday.
The ace hockey midfielder will turn out for Stuttart Kickers Hockey Club during India's off-season.
India will desperately look to break the agonising sequence of debacles when they play Pakistan tomorrow in the Rabo Trophy hockey tournament.
The hosts take on Olympic champions Australia in their opening match of the December 10 to 18 hockey tournament.
IHF president K P S Gill said they will look at the possibility after assessing the team's performance at the Asian Games.\n
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
India's coach said the team was outstanding in the second half when it should shave scored more than two goals.
India's coach said the practice of getting Indian food on tour has been done away with.
Ace defender Dilip Tirkey will lead India in the hockey World Cup, in Monchengladbach, Germany, from September 6 to 17.
Captain Dilip Tirkey said the morale of the team is high after the bronze medal finish in the Azlan Shah hockey tournament.
Defender William Xalxo will miss the four-nation hockey tournament in Germany because of an ankle injury.
India were beaten 2-3 in the opening match of the women's field hockey World Cup.
Coach V Bhaskaran blamed India's dismal performance in the men's hockey World Cup in Germany on lack of time to prepare the team for the high-profile event.
Netherlands scored a 4-3 win over England to keep their hopes alive of a semi-final berth.
In another match, in Pool B, Korea beat England for their second victory in the tournament.
