With no signs of an end to the ongoing crisis in Indian hockey, leading cement manufacturer Shree Cement on Tuesday said it is willing to provide financial support so that players can resume training for the upcoming World Cup to be held in New Delhi next month.
He does not want to crack the whip as of now but Hockey India President A K Mattoo on Monday said the option of suspending the revolting players remains open if the payment row is not resolved.
India hockey coach V Bhaskaran said the team has recovered from the shock of losing injured drag-flicker Sandeep Singh's services for the World Cup and is positive about its prospects in the quadrennial event.
Britain beat defending champions the Netherlands on Friday to take home their first Olympic gold medal in women's hockey, winning 2-0 in a tense shootout following a hardfought 3-3 draw.
Germany might be the twice Olympic champions defending their title in men's field hockey but top-ranked Australia will be the team to beat at next month's Rio Games.
Chopra expressed his disappointment a day after Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha came down heavily on the wrestlers for hitting the streets to resume their protests instead of approaching its athletes' commission to lodge their complaints against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Former India captain Jude Felix has been appointed coach of the senior men's hockey team. The Olympian will work under chief coach Terry Walsh, Hockey India said on Wednesday.
India men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans feels the one week break starting before the Champions Trophy will help the players rejuvenate themselves ahead of the Rio Olympics, the countdown for which has already begun. The 29-member men's hockey squad will be on a week's break before they rejoin on May 29 and Oltmans said the idea, behind the move was to ensure the players are feeling fresh and hungry ahead of next month's FIH Champions Trophy in London. "Starting June 5, the team will be away for almost a month playing two different tournaments in two different countries. Everything we do in this period will be demanding not just physically but also mentally," Oltmans said.
Chief coach Rajendra Singh said that his boys were in a high spirit and they would certainly perform their best in the championship.
Coping with the huge jet lag following a 24-hour flight from Bangalore to Santiago is among the hurdles facing the Indian team, which arrived five days prior to the start of the WorldHockey men's Olympic qualifier, from March 1 to 9.
A sore threat is often the price he ends up paying for unleashing his verbal volleys and PR Sreejesh said he had come prepared.
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.
Jugraj made his International debut against France during the FIH Hockey Pro League matches in South Africa
Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Rana Mujahid is "frustrated" that the national sport is struggling to lure sponsors due to lack of international success in recent years and felt the scene was much better in India.
Two members of the small Pakistani contingent participating at the Rio Olympics have the country's military to thank for much of their training.
Asked about the lack of goals as India have scored just two in as many matches, Reid said, "There is no specific reason for that. I would have been worried if we were not creating opportunities."
PR Sreejesh says his dual role as India hockey captain and goalkeeper is to allow his team mates the freedom to express themselves in Rio but knows he must keep them focused on the medal hunt in the "magic world" of the Olympics. The 30-year-old was second choice at London 2012 behind then captain Bharat Chetri but has since established himself as the clear number one. He was named captain for the recent Champions Trophy in London where India rested some seniors, including regular captain Sardar Singh, ahead of the Rio Games.
Tennis great Leander Paes says it is "humbling" to be the first Indian tennis player and the first Asian male tennis player to be nominated for the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Veteran striker Sunil's participation in the mega event was always in doubt ever since he picked up a knee injury during the national camp in the lead up to the Asian Champions Trophy held in Muscat last month.
'We have been learning from him for so long. He shares his knowledge with all of us during goalpost training and gives us a lot of tips. So, I have a big responsibility.'
Pained by the turmoil in Indian hockey, an Indian doctor in London has offered Rs 10 lakh for the players who are staying away from the World Cup preparatory camp in Pune in protest against non-payment of their dues and incentives. Olympian and former chief coach Joaquim Carvalho said Dr James Leitao, a former student of Mumbai's Grand Medical College, has offered to help.
The two Koreas agreed during rare talks on Wednesday to form a combined women's ice hockey team to take part in next month's Winter Olympics in the South.
Denmark's Superliga to resume on May 28 says Danish League Association
All the members of the team that won the bronze medal at the Azlan Shah tournament found a place among the probables.
India will now face Japan, who upset five-time champions South Korea 2-0 in the other semi-final.
A few Indian stars will have to go through the disappointment of watching all the action from afar.
India's defence held its ground against desperate Great Britain as they clinched a 2-1 victory in the 36th Champions Trophy in London on Saturday. The victory puts India at the top of the league standings with four points. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh stood his ground against a number of shots at the goal, four of them on penalty corners, as India made use of a breakaway opportunity created by right winger SV Sunil and their defenders covered the angles well to emerge victorious. Playing deep inside their own territory in the first quarter against early British raids, India scored through Mandeep Singh on their first raid by Sunil in the 17th minute.
'Gorkhas are terrific soldiers. They are known the world over for their fighting qualities.'
Deputy Chef de Mission Balbir Singh Kushwaha said that facilities at the Games Village were good.
Did you know that Shah Rukh Khan's Chak De! India completed 14 years on August 10?
Talismanic midfielder Sardar Singh will lead an experimental 18-member India hockey team, which will be without as many as seven players including senior goalkeeper and vice-captain P R Sreejesh, in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia next month.
'If we want to ensure this isn't a once-in-four-decade phenomenon, then we have to produce 1,800 players all the time, create infrastructure, so that we are constantly challenging at the top of the ladder.'
Viren Rasquinha, who is the CEO of Olympic Gold Quest, stressed on the importance of sports psychologists for athletes in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics, which has been postponed to next year.
Five other elite track and field athletes have also tested positive at the SAI centre in Bengaluru.
India have won eight Olympic gold medals in the past, but their last top finish came way back in 1980 Moscow Games.
Soundly thrashed by Australia in their last match, India will look to sort out their defensive woes when they take on Malaysia in their quarter-final match of the Hockey World League Semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium, on Wednesday.
The eight disciplines comprised archery, badminton, table tennis, hockey, judo, gymnastics, swimming and weightlifting.
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