After an impressive debut season where Soorma finished third, the club has chosen to keep its core intact, retaining the players who formed its backbone
The Mission Olympic Cell is also considering higher incentives for retired Olympians and world-class players who want to take up coaching, in an effort to retain top talent within India.
Veteran forward Arjun Halappa has been appointed captain of the Indian team for next month's Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Malaysia even as drag-flicker Sandeep Singh and Sardara Singh failed to find a place in the list of 45 probables.
Former captain Rajpal Singh got the axe as Hockey India named an 18-member squad for the London Olympics qualifier, to be held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, in Delhi, from February 18 to 26. Experienced midfielders Vikram Pillay and Arjun Halappa also failed to find a place in the squad, which will be led by goalkeeper Bharat Chetri.
India's senior-most player Arjun Halappa says the upcoming Azlan Shah hockey tournament provides the youngsters in the team a chance to prove themselves.
Several ministers of the Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party government, and the assembly speaker, lost the elections, the results of which were declared on Saturday.
The shortlisted players will attend a series of coaching camps at SAI Centre Bangalore from March 5.
According to the Congress, 37 leaders associated with JD-S in the 2018 assembly polls, have joined the party so far, in the run up to the upcoming elections.
The Congress on Saturday made a stunning comeback in Karnataka ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party from its lone southern citadel with a comfortable majority in a morale booster win that will be key for reviving its electoral fortunes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Former Karnataka food and civil supplies minister H Halappa was on Saturday arrested in connection with a rape case filed against him by his friend's wife. Halappa, who appeared before the Criminal Investigation Department on Saturday following a notice served by the investigating agency on May 6, was questioned for three to four hours, said DIG of CID Charan Reddy. "We have formally arrested him after interrogating him. Halappa has denied the allegations," he said.
A CID inquiry was ordered and the police registered a case of rape against H Halappa who quit as Karnataka Minister following a charge of sexual assault made by his friend's wife.
India hockey coach Michael Nobbs defended the decision to drop a few senior players from the squad for next month's Olympic qualifier, insisting that form and fitness were the only criteria for selection.
Forward Rajpal Singh will lead a young 18-member India squad in the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Ordos, China, from September 3 to 11.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka received a jolt on Sunday when a minister from Chief Minister's home district of Shimoga quit following a media report which alleged that he sexually assaulted a friend's wife.
Defending champions India quelled a late Korean surge to eke out a narrow 3-2 victory and stretch their unbeaten run in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament on Sunday.
Arjun Halappa and Dhananjay Mahadik sounded the board as India beat Belgium 2-0 in the final Test to clinch the three-match hockey series 2-1 in Braxgata on Friday.
The chief minister, who had on Wednesday expanded his new cabinet by inducting 29 ministers, had played it safe by and large retaining old faces, as 23 of them were Ministers in the previous Yediyurappa cabinet, while six were new.
All roads in Karnataka are leading to Haveri on Sunday,where former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is all set to launch his new party-- the Karnataka Janatha Party.
The cloud of doubt that threatened to disrupt the million-dollar World Series Hockey (WSH) has been cleared after warring factions Hockey India (HI) and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) entered into an interim arrangement on Monday.
150 Indian players, including top stars from the current national team have signed on and received advanced payments to play in World Series Hockey (WSH).
Former India skipper Rajpal Singh has been named the captain of Wizcraft-owned franchise Delhi Wizards in the World Series Hockey (WSH), starting in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
Hockey India's disciplinary panel chairman Pargat Singh on Friday demanded a stern action against the country's top five players, who left the ongoing national camp in Bangalore without permission to attend a function organized by the rival Indian Hockey Federation.
Around 176 players from India and across the world will participate in the World Series Hockey tournament, from December 15 to January 22, 2012.
India discard Arjun Halappa led from the front in brilliant fashion, scoring a brace of goals and assisting in a third, as cellar outfit Karnataka Lions whipped Mumbai Marines 4-2 in a fast-paced World Series Hockey clash at the MHA-Mahindra Stadium in Mumbai on Friday night.
Title holders Delhi Waveriders register their first victory of the season, following a 3-1 win over debutants Dabang Mumbai in a league match of the third edition of the Hero Hockey India League.
Among the ministers in the new cabinet are 8 Lingayats, 7 Vokkaligas, 7 OBCs, 3 SCs, 2 Brahmins, 1 ST and 1 Reddy, and a woman.
Dragflicker Sandeep Singh made a return, while injured striker Shivendra Singh and midfielder Arjun Halappa have been rested from a 22-member Indian hockey squad for a tour of Europe, starting next month.
India's squad for the 12th hockey World Cup in New Delhi.
India regained the Azlan Shah hockey title after a 13-year gap, defeating hosts Malaysia 3-1 in the finals of the five-nation tournament in Ipoh on Sunday.
Skipper Sandeep Singh pumped in three penalty corners as India whitewashed the Queensland-New South Wales State combine 7-0 in the second outing of their Australia-New Zealand tour at the State Hockey Centre in Brisbane on Sunday.
A resurgent India blanked Malaysia 3-0 on Wednesday to put their Azlan Shah Cup campaign back on track and stay on course for a place in the final of the five-nation hockey tournament, in Ipoh, Malaysia. Malaysia lead the table with six points while India and New Zealand are in second and third place respectively, both teams having four points each but India a superior goal difference.
The PHL Trophy, made from Swarovski Crystals, was unveiled in Hyderabd on Tuesday.
Banglore Lions defeated local favourites Chandigarh Dynamos 2-1.
Sandeep Singh 's brace from penalty-corners gave Airlines a 2-0 victory over Punjab and Sing Bank in the final
They were made to fight by India Juniors for a 1-0 victory in the Shastri hockey tournament.
The Indian drag-flicker scored twice in a 5-4 victory over Northern Cavaliers Pakistan's Super Hockey League.
Railways beat Indian Airlines 3-2, while Punjab blanked Uttar Pradesh 6-0 at the 61st Senior National Hockey Super League.
Goals by Arjun Halappa and Deepak Thakur helped India beat New Zealand 2-0 in the men's Olympic hockey qualifying tournament.
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