The Indian hockey team's Olympic qualification was not just celebrated in the country but was also lauded by their counterparts across the border in Pakistan who felt the side's presence in the mega-event is essential for the sport.
Pakistan's sports ministry on Thursday issued a No-Objection Certificate to the national hockey team to participate in the Hero Honda FIH World Cup, in Delhi from February 28 to March 13.
India conceded a goal in the dying minutes of the match and went down 3-4 to Great Britain in their second outing at the fifth Sultan of Johor Cup junior hockey tournament, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on Monday.
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.
Talismanic midfielder Sardar Singh will lead an experimental 18-member India hockey team, which will be without as many as seven players including senior goalkeeper and vice-captain P R Sreejesh, in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia next month.
The Indian men's hockey team's hopes of reaching the final went up in smoke after Australia handed it a 4-1 drubbing in their last league match of the Lanco International Super Series 9s in Perth on Saturday.
The proposed Bangalore event will now be a five-Test series between India and Belgium, the third team that was in the fray.
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.
India drew 2-2 with China in their second pool match of the Under-18 Asia Cup girls' hockey tournament in Shanghai on Wednesday. Rajni (22nd and 48th minute) scored for India from penalty-corners.
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.
Punjab XI from Lahore will be seen in action in the 43rd edition of the premier hockey tournament, commencing at the Mahindra stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
An inspired India battered Oman 8-0 in the opening match of the Asia Cup on Saturday.
'Terrorism and sports can't go along and Pakistan should understand that'
Pakistan's squad for the 12th hockey World Cup in New Delhi.
India on Friday pumped in three first half goals to stun fancied Pakistan 3-1 and set up a summit clash with the arch-rivals in the final of the Genting Four-Nation Under-21 Hockey Tournament at the Taman Daya Stadium in Malaysia.
Argentina took seventh place in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament, beating Malaysia 2-3.
'To play my first World Cup match in front of a packed home ground against Pakistan felt like a dream. I can still feel the atmosphere, how the stadium was, how people reacted and how we won that match. That was the best moment for me as a youngster.'
The Aussies will meet Korea, while Spain face Germany in the semi-finals of the men's hockey World Cup.
Despite drag-flick specialist V R Raghunath scoring just once from ten penalty-corners, and Rupinderpal Singh sustaining a serious thigh injury, India trounced minnows Oman 7-0 in men's hockey at the Asian Games, in Incheon, on Tuesday.
India eked out a hard-fought 2-0 win over lower-ranked China to progress to the semi-finals of the men's hockey competition at the 17th Asian Games on Saturday.
The Indian men's hockey team beat Oman 3-0 to register their first victory in the third Asian Champions Trophy at Kakamigahara, Japan, on Tuesday.
Pakistan beat archrivals India 4-1 to clinch the four-nation men's Singapore Challenge hockey tournament.
Pakistan avenged their Asian Games final loss when they beat India 4-3 in Bhubaneswar on Saturday to enter the Champions Trophy hockey final.
India stayed in contention for a podium finish in the Sultan of Johor Cup under-21 hockey tournament after a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over New Zealand in Johur Bahru, Malaysia, on Wednesday. Malak Singh scored for India in the 28th and 37th minute, after Kane Russel had put the Kiwis ahead in the sixth.
India and Pakistan scored resounding victories over Singapore and Bangladesh to finish first and second respectively in their groups.
Seventy two years ago, a newly independent India ventured to hold the the first Asian Games in Delhi with meager resources.
Pakistan beat India 6-1 in the four-nation Rabobank hockey tournament on Tuesday.
How India's athletes fared on Day 1 of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The ball hit the Indian captain on the wrist before ricocheting to his temple during the India-Pakistan hockey Test on Monday.
Taking strong exception to FIH's "weak" censure to Pakistani players for their obscene behaviour after beating India in the Champions Trophy semi-final, Hockey India decided that it would not host any event sanctioned by the world body until strong punishment is handed out to the offenders.
They blanked hosts Malaysia 3-0 in the final. Probodh Tirkey was voted player of the tournament.
The Pakistan Wrestling Federation on Tuesday claimed that its national team has been denied visa by the Indian High Commission for the upcoming Asian Championship scheduled to be held in New Delhi from May 10-14.
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.
Star players Rehan Butt, Mudassar Ali Khan, Tariq Aziz and Mohammad Shabbir are in the 18-member team for the December 10-18 Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Chennai.
Four key players, including ace drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh and midfielder S K Uthappa, were dropped from India's 18-man squad for the Hockey World League semi-final, in Antwerp, Belgium, from June 20 to July 5. Besides Rupinder and Uthappa, forwards Mandeep Singh and Satbir Singh got the axe.
Jean-Laurent Kierffer scored a brace as France stunned European champions Belgium 5-4 in a nail-biting encounter to enter the semi-finals of the ongoing Hero Junior Men's Hockey World Cup in Delhi on Thursday.
Impressed with the hockey team's showing at the recently-concluded Asian Games, Sports Minister Sarbanada Sonowal said the gold medal triumph could act as a "trigger" for more good things to come.
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