The Indian men's hockey core group will focus on skill development in the next few weeks after restarting the national camp with basic training, head coach Graham Reid said on Saturday, trying to overcome from the jolt of six players contracting COVID-19.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 4-3 in a pulsating third-fourth place play-off match to win the bronze medal at the Asian Champions Trophy men's hockey tournament, in Dhaka, on Wednesday.
Manpreet Singh and three other players test positive for COVID-19 ahead of national camp in Bengaluru.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
The Indians were nowhere near their last match performance against Japan as their defence crumbled under relentless pressure from the lower-ranked opposition from the onset of the match.
India were made to toil hard by the world No 2 Australia before eventually losing the match in a close encounter.
Six Indian men's team players -- skipper Manpreet Singh, striker Mandeep Singh, defenders SurenderKumar, Jaskaran Singh, drag-flicker Varun Kumar and goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak -- have tested positive after reaching Bengaluru for the national camp, scheduled to start on August 20.
After remaining unbeaten in their first three matches of the tour, World No.5 India were handed a lesson in hockey by the Kookaburras with Blake Govers (15th, 60th minutes) and Jeremy Hayward (20th, 59th) finding the net twice each.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is planning to have India and Pakistan play their home and away matches in Europe if the arch-rivals face off in the Olympic qualifying tournament for a berth at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
India outplayed reigning Asian Games champions Japan 7-2 to storm into the final of the FIH Series Finals hockey tournament, in Bhubaneswar, on Friday, assuring themselves a place in the year end's Olympic qualifying event.
The men's team last participated in an international competition in February last year when they played the FIH Hockey Pro League matches against Australia in Bhubaneswar.
Mandeep Singh struck twice as a below-par India struggled past minnows Russia 4-2 in the first-leg of the two-match hockey 2020 Olympic Qualifier, in Bhubaneswar, on Friday.
The huge gulf between the two sides was evident as India bettered its 86-year-old record when it defeated USA with a 24-1 margin in Olympics.
India played like champions and remained unbeaten throughout the tournament.
The Indian men's hockey team will have to guard against complacency when it takes on lower-ranked Russia, while a tricky contest awaits their female counterparts against United States in the two-legged Olympic qualifiers.
Coach Harendra defends junior players' selection for World Cup
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances