In the FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final 2012-13, the Indian team outplayed the European team by 6-2 in which young Mandeep Singh scored two back-to-back goals. In the second season of FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final, India again met France in the semi-final round in Belgium and defeated them 3-2.
While every other team practises their hardest in the few hours left for the Rio Olympics 2016, the Indian contingent was left looking for rooms, extra pair of jerseys and assembling chairs.
Derick Knos from Western Australia will work closely with the Indian team till the World Cup, to be held at Monchengladbach from September 6 to 17.
India will seek to end 43 years of hurt when they begin the Hockey World Cup campaign against South Africa on Wednesday.
With their eyes firmly focused on 2016 Olympics, Indian men hockey team's chief coach Roelant Oltmans feels the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be an ideal preparation for his boys ahead of the Rio Games. The team, currently training at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru, will face New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, Japan, Canada and hosts Malaysia in the 25th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia starting April 6. With a good mix of youth and experience players up his ranks, the Dutchman feels the squad has what it takes to go all the way. Oltmans has been laying emphasis on having specialists in the team and the implementation of the same has paid rich dividends in the previous season. "We have specialists in each department now and that is helping the boys understand their role better. Hockey India League has definitely helped us tap some good talent but now it's all about showcasing their mettle in the international stage," Oltmans told reporters here.
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.
'Graham Reid's resignation is his personal decision but at the end of the day somebody has to take the blame for this awful show.'
Prior to the tournament, the team will participate in a four-nation tournament at Bilboe, Spain.
Hockey India appointed former Olympic gold-medallist V Baskaran as a coach of the men's national team on Wednesday and he will work under the recently-appointed chief coach Terry Walsh.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
A win away from rewriting history after a long gap of 15 years, Indian colts would look to showcase their best and leave nothing to chance when they take on Belgium in the summit showdown of the men's Junior Hockey World Cup in Lucknow on Saturday. The wintry Sunday could turn out to be the biggest day for these Under-21 Indian hockey players as they chase a dream of winning the mega event for the second time. India had earlier won the trophy way back in 2001 in Hobart, Australia. This is India's third entry into the final of the Junior World Cup after having finished runners-up in 1997. Assured of the silver medal, the Indians would now eye nothing less than the yellow metal.
India captain Sardar Singh asserted that they have a lot to play for in the ongoing Hockey World League Semifinals.
A day after his dramatic announcement to quit, Terry Walsh decided to continue as India's chief hockey coach after the country's top sports officials assured him that his concerns will be addressed in a fresh contract.
They had to go from the Nehru stadium to the National stadium to fetch water for their daily needs during the camp.
The Sports Ministry removed the Rs 2 lakh cap on the salary given to Indian coaches for training elite athletes in a bid to encourage them to produce better results. The move is also aimed at attracting former players to become high performance trainers.
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.
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.
'We have to convert our penalty corners successfully and aim at having at least two or three goals through the corner, besides creating the same amount of chances in every quarter.'
Scenario-based training, specialist coaches as coach Reid wants to take it one game at a time.
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.
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.
Chief coach Rajendra Singh said that his boys were in a high spirit and they would certainly perform their best in the championship.
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.
Leander Paes feels India will find it tough in singles but the country can hope to win a medal in the Asian Games
Joshna Chinappa is making a 'mind-boggling' sixth appearance at the Asian Games, having made her debut as a 15-year-old a couple of decades ago in 2002.
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.
Mumtaz edged Belgium's Charlotte Englebert for the Player of the Year award by a margin of just three points after votes cast by experts (40%), teams (20%), fans (20%) and media (20%) were tallied finishing with a total of 32.9 points.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
