Roelant Oltmans fully understands what a men's hockey medal would mean to India's success-starved fans but the Dutch coach will not burden his players with the pressure of bringing one home from the Rio Games.
Canada's dream of playing in the London Games came to a screeching halt on Friday as France held them to a 1-1 draw in their must-win last round-robin match of the men's Olympics hockey qualifier in Delhi.
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.
India entered the final of the ninth Asia Cup hockey tournament beating Malaysia 2-0 in the semi-finals at the Sultan Azlan Shah stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Friday.
The Indian men's hockey team jumped two places to occupy sixth place in the latest International Hockey Federation (FIH) rankings on the back of its good showing in the Hockey World League Semi-Finals.
India's star drag-flicker V Raghunath netted two goals to help the hosts settle for a 2-2 draw against world champions Australia in the first hockey Test of the three-match series, in Rajnandgaon, on Thursday.
'The players and the team management has let the entire nation down'
India women rose from the ashes to tame New Zealand 3-1 with a spirited performance in their second pool match of the FIH Women's Olympic Qualifier.
Following is India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, on Thursday, September 28.
Pakistan and Japan gave it their all in the Asian Champions Trophy round-robin match before settling for a thrilling 3-3 draw in Chennai on Sunday.
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.
A pall of gloom shrouded the Pakistan hockey community after the national team failed to qualify for the Olympics.
Bangalore, home of Karnataka Lions, will host the first semi-final on April 1, at 1900 IST.
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.
The eight-time Olympic winners have been clubbed along with reigning champions Germany, Korea, New Zealand, Belgium and Netherlands in Pool B at 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Jaypee Punjab Warriors thrashed Kalinga Lancers 6-1 in the final to win the fourth edition of the Hockey India League in Ranchi on Sunday.
Hockey India (HI) has lifted the nine-month ban on Gurbaj Singh with immediate effect in the wake of Punjab and Haryana High Court's order that termed the suspension of the senior player "illegal".
While Belgium dominated the first half, India did well to roar back in the second session. Belgium went into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead, but India fought back well to keep pressure on the opponents in the 2nd half.
The team won a four-nation tournament in Singapore, outclassing South Korea in the final.
Balbir Singh Sr met MS Dhoni four years ago when the Indian team was at the PCA stadium in Mohali ahead of their World T20 tie against Australia. Singh wanted to convey his good wishes to the team before the game.
The FIH has responded by introducing a number of changes to the way hockey will be played and broadcast at the Rio Games. Those include a move to 15-minute quarters and scheduling more time for television replays and analysis to showcase players' virtuoso skills with a ball moving at more than 160 kilometres an hour, Fairweather said. For the first time in Olympic competition, the Rio hockey tournament will also feature quarter-finals, making it the last team sport to adopt the format at the Games.
Consolation bronze in Asiad can't heal our pain, says hockey captain Sreejesh
The year 2023 will go down as extremely memorable for the Indian sports fraternity as players across various disciplines came together to script history at the Asian Games held in Hangzhou.
Britain qualified for the Olympic field hockey semi-finals for the first time since it won the 1988 Seoul Games by surviving a dramatic finish to 1-1 draw with Spain on Tuesday. Britain will face the Netherlands in the semi-finals.
The Indian women's junior hockey team crashed out of the 7th Asia Cup after suffering a 2-3 defeat in penalty shootout against Japan in a nail-biting semi-final in Changzhou, China on Saturday.
'MRI brain done, results awaiting.'
Argentina beat Belgium 4-2 to claim the Olympic title and win their country's first Games medal in men's hockey, edging a close-fought match between two teams few expected to make the final.
The Indian women's hockey team suffered a 1-6 humiliation from Australia in their third outing at the Rio Olympics on Wednesday.
India women's hockey team captain Ritu Rani has been been dropped from the Rio Olympics-bound side owing to lack of performance and attitude problems.
After New Zealand and Spain played out a 2-2 draw earlier in the day, World No. 20, the lowest ranked side in the competition, France needed an outright win to qualify for the cross-overs and they came out with intent to achieve the goal.
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's premier hockey tournament will be played over 22 days, from December 20 in Chandigarh, and have 26 matches.
Following is India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Friday, September 29.
Following is India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, on Saturday, October 7.
Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen settled for a silver medal after he lost in the men's singles final against Li Shifeng of China in straight games at the Youth Olympics.
Indian women are in danger of missing out on a quarter-final berth after Ireland pulled off a 1-0 victory in a hockey World Cup group league match, in London on Thursday.
'There were many experts around me,' A Ganesh Nadar discovers at the India-Pakistan hockey game. 'One of them was explaining to his neighbour, that fellow is a good dragger and flicker, that fellow is a penalty corner specialist, that fellow is a penalty specialist, that fellow is a very good defender, etc, freely dispensing with his expert knowledge.'
Both P R Sreejesh and P T Rao did not have the best of outings in the inaugural Hockey India League and national hockey team captain Sardar Singh feels goalkeeping is an area of concern for the hosts ahead of the Hockey World League 2 to be held here from February 18-26.
