Eight players from Pakistan, including former captain Rehan Butt, have signed up for the World Series Hockey (WSH), which will be held across eight Indian cities from December 15 to January 22, 2012.
New Zealand's win boosted their hopes of reaching the final of the annual tournament in Malaysia.
India's dream to win a gold medal in men's hockey event of the Asian Games came crashing down after they suffered a shocking 3-4 defeat at the hands of lower-ranked Malaysia in the second semi-final at the Aoti Hockey Field, in Guangzhou on Tuesday.
Consolation bronze in Asiad can't heal our pain, says hockey captain Sreejesh
Your chance to congratulate Dhanraj Pillay and his boys.
Hosts India, who are looking to win their second World title, are placed in Pool C along with Belgium, South Africa and Canada.
Flag-waving supporters blocked the exit gates at the airport and gave India hockey midfielder Yuvraj Walmiki and coach Clarence Lobo a rousing reception following the triumph in the Asian Champions Trophy.
World champions Australia outplayed Pakistan 7-0 to ease into the semi-finals of the Olympic Games men's hockey competition, while The Netherlands also stormed into the last four stage with an all-win record after spiking South Korea 4-2.
India dropped a place to ninth in the latest world hockey rankings, which Champions Trophy winners Germany lead. Australia are second and the Netherlands third.
Asian Games champions India came from a goal down to clinch an unimpressive 2-1 victory over hard-working Japan on the opening day of the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh on Wednesday. Squandering a series of scoring chances created by defence-splitting crosses that sailed across the goalmouth, India managed to earn full points against the lowly-ranked rivals through goals from young drag flicker Harmanpreet Singh (24th minute) and captain Sardar Singh (32nd) after Kenji Kitazato (17th) gave Japan the lead. Earlier, Pakistan banked on two goals from Muhammad Arslan Qadir to open their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Canada in extremely humid conditions at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium. Qadir opened the account with a field goal in the 27th minute and converted a penalty corner a minute later to give Pakistan a two-goal lead. Canada then pulled one back through Richard Hildreth's flash strike, but Muhammad Arshad capitalised on a 52nd-minute penalty corner to seal Pakistan's victory.
40 years back, on 15 March 1975, the Indian Men Hockey team accomplished a historic feat against Pakistan in the finals of the 1975 Hockey World Cup wherein they beat the opponents 2-1 to earn the title of 'Champions'.
Indian hockey team skipper Sardar Singh has asked the Pakistan players to apologise for their 'unacceptable' behaviour during the Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar in December 2014, backing Hockey India's stand of not allowing the stars from across the border to play in HIL. "Pakistani players are suffering a lot but what they did during the 2014 Champions Trophy was unacceptable. They still haven't apologised for their behaviour so I feel they shouldn't be allowed (to participate in HIL)," Sardar said on the sidelines of the unveiling of Hockey India League on Thursday.
India defeated Malaysia 2-1 in the men's hockey Pool A match to make the semi-finals at the Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast, on Tuesday. Drag-flick specialist Harmanpreet Singh scored both the goals in a thrilling match.
The 59-year-old Batra is one of the few sports administrators to head a national Olympic committee while heading an important international sports federation.
India-Pakistan tension at the Line of Control spilled over to the sporting arena on Tuesday, with Hockey India deciding to send back four Pakistani recruits of HIL franchise Mumbai Magicians following protests over the killing of Indian soldiers on the border.
India entered the final of the Asian Champions Trophy after registering a 2-1 win over arch-rivals Pakistan in Doha, on Monday.
India will once again return empty-handed from the Champions Trophy after losing 2-3 in the bronze medal play-off against arch-rivals Pakistan, who walked away with their first medal in the event in eight years.
India will not field its senior team at the Games as it will be preparing for the World Cup.
It was touted as the year which could herald a change in the fortunes Indian hockey, but 2018 turned out to be yet another saga of missed opportunities for the sport.
On-field achievements often jostled for space with off-field drama as Indian hockey endured a rollercoaster year during which the players scripted historical feats but coach Paul van Ass' acrimonious ouster and Gurbaj Singh's suspension created its share of storm.
The age-old malady of inconsistency remained unaddressed but Indian hockey did take baby steps towards global success in 2017, a year which reaffirmed the nation's continental supremacy in the sport.
The Olympic hockey semi-finalists will play two Tests in Chandigarh ahead of the Champions Trophy.
After venturing into football, Indian cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni felicitated Asian Games gold-winning hockey team vice-captain P R Sreejesh on behalf of the Kerala Cricket Association.
Defending champions India pulled off a 3-2 victory over Asian Games gold medalists Japan to enter the final of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament, in Muscat, on Saturday night. The world No. 5-ranked Indians had to draw on all their experience to overcome the Japanese, whom they demolished 9-0 in the league stage of the tournament earlier.
The sixth ranked India, who just needed a draw to seal a place in Sunday's summit clash, produced a superlative performance after the change of ends to pump in four goals -- three field strikes and one through penalty corner.
Defending champions India, with several experienced players in their ranks, have the upper hand in their opening encounter against Japan in the sixth men's Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament, starting in Hyderabad on Friday. India had beaten arch-rivals Pakistan to clinch the title in the last edition of the event at Karachi four years ago.
Five teams will play in two divisions of the league, which begins on January 13.
India coach Rajinder Singh believes the Asian style of attacking hockey will be the key to success.
The Indian hockey team has been invited for the first Mini World Cup by hosts Netherlands.
Ramandeep Singh scored two fine goals as the showpiece subcontinental hockey encounter between arch-rivals India and Pakistan ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw in the World League semi-finals at the KHC Dragons Stadium in Antwerp.
With an aim to make hockey faster and more viewer-friendly, Hockey Australia and infrastructure major LANCO Infratech Limited, on Tuesday, launched a new revolutionary nine-a-side tournament to be held in Perth from October 20 to 23.
India suffered their second straight defeat in the men's hockey World Cup, going down 2-5 to Spain in a fast-paced Pool B encounter at the Major Dhyan Chand National stadium in Delhi on Thursday night. It was another humiliating defeat for the hosts after the mauling by Australia by a similar margin.
Once renowned stars of their own sporting arena, former India hockey players Gagan Ajit Singh and Rajpal Singh will be in incharge of security at the PCA stadium, in Mohali, during ongoing ICC World Twenty20.
Unbeaten India looked the most convincing team in the tournament so far but the dangerous and defensive Koreans came tantalisingly close to register a stunning win over the Manpreet Singh-led side.
India were drawn against their Pakistan for an away Asia-Oceania Zone Group 1 fixture.
Bruised and battered by Australia, India will have to regroup their forces when they take on Spain in a crucial Pool B encounter of the hockey World Cup in New Delhi on Thursday.
If the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decides to follow the recommendations on reforms suggested by the Justice RM Lodha committee, one could soon find stadiums in Pune, Nagpur, and Rajkot hosting Indian hockey team's 'Test' matches or tennis team's Davis Cup games.
Former India hockey captain Sardar Singh claimed that former coach Sjoerd Marijne and current high performance director David John forced him to make a shock retirement in September.
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