He has not been on target for quite some time now and India captain Sardar Singh is itching to get a few in order to end his goal-scoring drought while leading his team Delhi Waveriders in the second edition of cash-rich Hockey India League that starts in Mohali on Saturday.
Hockey legend Ashok Kumar reckons India would have won a medal had the Olympics been held this year but the break in momentum will make a big difference now that the Games are pushed to 2021.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Australia and France made the quarter-finals of the Hero FIH Junior Men's World Cup after registering contrasting victories in their respective Pool B matches today at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday.
The Aussies routed Belgium 7-1 for their second successive victory in the Men's Junior World Cup hockey tournament.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Tokyo should remain the benchmark and source of inspiration till at least Paris 2024. In the shorter run, India's preparations for the Asian and Commonwealth Games next year must begin based on lessons learnt now, asserts Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry.
This time, India may win as many as 17 medals at the Games.
P R Sreejesh produced a brilliant display under the bar as two-time champions India stunned title holders South Korea 2-0 in a Pool B match to breeze into the semi-finals of the Asia Cup hockey tournament.
Savita, who was part of the Rio squad, believes the team is much improved now, evident from its recent performances against top sides.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
This was Apurvi's second ISSF World Cup gold of the year followed by a world record score in New Delhi in February.
List of international sports events affected by the coronavirus that has killed over 900 people and infected more than 40,000 in China
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
He was blessed with celestial ability, a once-in-a-generation player destined to pull India out of its hockey inertia and lay down for it a new, exciting, path of greatness. Then he was shot and unsure if he would walk, let alone play hockey again. Dhruv Munjal hopes Soorma, the biopic on Sandeep Singh's life, will bring him back where he belongs -- in the spotlight.
'But people shouldn't misunderstand me. It was not that I was disappointed to go back to women's team, I was not happy the way they handled it with men's team because I left on a really good moment.'
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Mary was back in her preferred 48kg category as she overcame the challenge from younger competitors to make it to the Indian team for the marquee continental event, which is to be held from November 2 to November 11 in the Ho Chi Minh City.
An Olympic campaign saved by the fortitude of three women, a cricket team that rediscovered itself under a bold and zealous Virat Kohli -- Indian sports in 2016 was a dramatic mix of highs and lows wherein athletes mostly raised the bar but administrators found new ways to embarrass the country.
As stalwart midfielder Sardar Singh called time on his illustrious International career, Hockey India on Friday congratulated the 32-year-old Khel Ratna awardee on his long-serving career that spanned over 12 years.
The view is that the attention on the national team is fleeting, incidental and dependent on the results they produce.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
If you don't have power in a game you are masters of, the world will walk all over you, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
A star-studded Indian shooting contingent will begin their Rio Olympics campaign on Saturday with in-form Jitu Rai hoping to launch the country's medal haul in an event which will also see his more illustrious senior colleague Abhinav Bindra aiming to end his glorious career on a high.
'Insignias or not, Dhoni's will remain the deadliest pair of gloves behind the stumps,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
India's chances of advancing to the final suffered a blow after they went down 1-2 to defending champions New Zealand in their penultimate round-robin league match of the 25th Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament at Ipoh in Malaysia. Goals from Ken Russell (28th minute) and Nick Wilson (41st) clinched victory for defending champions New Zealand, who managed to weather the hot and humid conditions better than the Indians, whose only goal came from Mandeep Singh in the 36th minute. Wilson's match-winner resulted from a defensive error committed by the Indians as they failed to clear the ball properly in their own striking circle. New Zealand benefitted from the loose ball in the Indian circle in the 41st minute, when a reverse shot from the goal-line was padded by the Indian goalkeeper and deflected to the middle. Defender Harmanpreet failed to connect in his reflex attempt to push the ball out and Wilson had the easiest task of shooting into the goal for what turned out to be the match-winner for the Black Sticks
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
India's limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, star wrestler Vinesh Phogat, TT player Manika Batra and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu were on Tuesday picked for this year's Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the sports ministry's selection committee.
Mehuli had topped the qualifying with a score of 628.8 earlier in the morning and led the eight-woman finals field after 10 shots with a score of 104.3, 1.1 ahead of Stephanie.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Jasjit Singh sent two rasping penalty corner drag flicks into the net as India edged past hosts Malaysia 3-2 to move to the semifinals of the Hockey World League semi-finals in Antwerp.
Keeping the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in mind, the sports ministry has included the doubles duo of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan, who won the Asian Games gold last year, have been kept in TOPS scheme.
'Olympics is once in four years, and athletes have only one shot at glory, and it's important to have a holistic approach, use science, use medicine, use technology and engineering in training and that will make a difference'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
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