Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had also wished the legend a speedy recovery.
Defending champions the Netherlands were off to a good start in the 29th men's Champions Trophy hockey tournament, that got underway in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, scoring a comfortable 4-0 win over Great Britain.
Indian men's hockey coach Harendra Singh wa, on Wednesday, sacked from the position following a disappointing 2018 and offered the task of helming the junior squad by the national federation.
India captain Bharat Chetri promises to play free flowing hockey when the eight-time champions step on to the blue turf at the Riverbank arena, in London, against The Netherlands in their opening match of the London Olympics on July 30.
Hockey fraternity including three former captains on Friday expressed shock over the decision to appoint women's team coach Sjoerd Marijne as head coach of the Indian men's side, saying the abrupt move 'defies logic'.
In the first quarter-final of the day, Germany eked out a narrow 3-1 win over Spain via the shoot-out after both the teams were locked at 2-2 in regulation time. Later, Argentina beat the Netherlands 2-1.
Indian junior women's hockey team goes down against Germany
Hosts India defeated Netherlands 2-1 in their second practice match ahead of the forthcoming hockey World Cup at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi on Friday.
India's chances of going through depends on the result of the last Pool A match between Ireland and Great Britain, later in the day.
India exploited a rusty German defence, punching three goals as the Harmanpreet Singh-led side outclassed the world champions to make a winning start to the London leg of the FIH Pro Hockey League in London on Saturday.
A heart-wrenching defeat in the semi-finals notwithstanding, a demoralised Indian men's hockey team will have to regroup quickly and aim for a second consecutive podium finish at the Olympics when it takes on Spain in the bronze medal play-off in Paris on Thursday.
Four-time champions Pakistan produced a lion-hearted performance before going down 0-1 to Olympic bronze medallist Germany in their opening Pool D match of the 2018 Hockey World Cup.
It was our own mistake that we went to the restricted area without our knowledge, acknowledges India captain Manpreet Singh.
The outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus has forced the Indian women's hockey team to cancel its tour of China, leaving the federation with the difficult task of finding an opponent to compete with as part of its preparation for the Olympics. The Indian women's team was scheduled to travel to China from March 14 to 25. However, due to the fast-spreading disease, that has killed over 636 people so far and infected more than 30,000 people, it has been cancelled.
Yuvraj, 30, was part of the Indian team that played in the 2014 World Cup at The Hague in the Netherlands.
Balbir Sr's three Olympic gold medals came in London (1948), Helsinki (1952) as vice-captain, and Melbourne (1956) as captain.
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.
Alexander Hendrickx struck a brace as Belgium notched up a thrilling 3-2 victory over India in the second match of the two-leg FIH Pro Hockey League tournament in Antwerp on Sunday.
India wasted as many as five penalty-corners seconds from the final hooter and went down 1-2 to reigning silver medallists the Netherlands in the Rio Olympics' hockey tournament on Thursday. The defeat saw the eight-time Olympic gold medallists slump to their second defeat in the competition.
Hockey legend Balbir Singh Sr on Tuesday suffered a cardiac arrest and his condition remains critical, his grandson Kabir said in a medical update. The 96-year-old, a triple Olympic gold medallist, was hospitalised in Mohali on May 8.
India's profligate women's hockey team let in a late goal and conceded another in extra time to go down 1-2 to Netherlands Antilles and squander the bronze medal in the third place playoff of the Olympic qualifiers in Kazan (Russia) on Sunday.
Eight-time hockey champions, India will open their campaign against The Netherlands on July 30 in the men's competition at the London Olympics.
The Belgians finished first in pool A and hence will be teamed against India.
India will aim for their first podium finish in 48 years in the men's Hockey World Cup as they begin their campaign with a tricky match against Spain in Rourkela on Friday.
The Indian men's hockey team will participate in the special sessions during a week-long camp at SAI, Bengaluru, to be overseen by India's chief coach Craig Fulton.
After a dismal eighth place finish in Rio Games, much is expected from the Manpreet-led side.
'Right now hockey is totally changed and anyone can beat anyone depending on the day. It depends on how many chances you create.'
India would look to carry on the momentum and seal a win against Great Britain in the quarterfinals of the men's hockey competition of the Paris Olympics in Paris on Sunday.
Tata group has been a constant in India's sporting landscape and the conglomerate's involvement only grew under Ratan Tata.
India would look to address their attacking woes against a plucky New Zealand for a place in the last-eight stage of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
The Indian Men's Hockey Team Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh opened up on the team's preparations for the upcoming 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation - International Tournament and Hero Asian Champions Trophy.
Captain Teun de Nooijer struck in dying minutes to lead the Netherlands to a thrilling 2-2 draw against defending Champions Germany in a Pool A hockey World Cup match and virtually booked a semi-final berth for his side on Sunday.
Hockey India said it has drawn up a list of competitions both for the senior men and women's teams in the run-up to next year's Tokyo Olympics. The detailed plan involves playing a number of matches against top teams in the world.
The Harmanpreet Singh-led side will continue their FIH Pro League campaign in the European leg in May-June.
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.
India lost to Olympic Champions Netherlands in the second Test of the Naval Tata Memorial Trophy.
The Indian women's hockey team will return to the Olympics after a long gap of 36 years as it qualified for next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday, after England made it to the final of the ongoing EuroHockey Championships in London.
It's business as usual for the Indian men's and women's hockey players as they prepare for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in a 'safe environment'. The Sports Authority of India Centre, which has been shut for outside visitors, is well-equipped for regular practice sessions and no unauthorised persons are allowed to enter its premises.
Hockey: India v Australia, QF
