The list of core probables of the senior men's hockey team has been pruned down to 33 from 48 after a three-day selection trials held at the SAI Centre, Bangalore from July 25-27.
Ritu Rani has been named captain of the 8-member Indian women's hockey team that will play the semifinals of the World League Round 3 at Rotterdam, The Netherlands from June 13.
Indian women hockey could never recover from three early setbacks and ended up losing the Hawke's Bay Cup quarter-final 1-3 to Japan, in Hastings, on Thursday.
Pargat Singh played a key role in Michael Nobbs' appointment as India's chief hockey coach but the former captain now says it is high time the under-performing Australian is given the "marching orders".
The Indian hockey team will miss the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics amid speculation that the kit did not fit some of the players ahead of the parade to take place at the Maracana Stadium.
Hockey India President Narinder Batra has launched a scathing attack at India's Chef de Mission Rajeev Mehta and the other members of Indian Olympics Association, who are in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games. In response to the letter sent by hockey coach Roelant Oltmans to IOA complaining about the lack of basic facilities in the Games Village, Batra shared a picture in which players are made to live in 'unfurnished' apartments. Batra shared this image on social media targeting Mehta and the IOA.
Roelant Oltmans, the Indian men's hockey team's chief coach, says the new competition format of having quarter-finals in place of direct semi-finals at the upcoming Rio Olympics is not only beneficial for the Men in Blue but all small teams too.
The constant change of captain in the Indian hockey team is in bad taste and defies logic, feels Olympian and former India captain Gurbux Singh.
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.
Taking a cue from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Hockey India advertised for the position for the first time on its website http://hockeyindia.org.
There is a regular pattern in the performance of the Indian hockey team -- they start getting sloppy after posting healthy leads early in matches.
Continuing with their impressive run, India blanked Canada 3-0 to register their second consecutive win at the Hockey World League Semi-Final, in London, on Saturday
Plagued by injuries, India named a young 18-member squad to be led by the inspirational Sardar Singh in the crucial Asia Cup hockey tournament scheduled from August 24 to September 1 in Ipoh, Malaysia.
India chief coach Roelant Oltmans today said two yellow cards hurt the team badly and that resulted in its 1-2 loss to the Netherlands in a pool B men's hockey match at the Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. "We were on the attacking side until we got two yellow cards, which was a gamechanger. You had to fight with one or two less. That's not only difficult to score a goal but it also took away a lot of energy from the players that I'm not happy about it," Oltmans said.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
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.
An inconsistent India lost 1-3 to the Netherlands to slump to their second defeat in the tournament and finish at the bottom of Pool B at the Hockey World League (HWL) Final in Raipur on Monday.
Indian men's hockey team slipped one place to occupy sixth in the FIH rankings after their lackluster show in Rio Olympics while their female counterparts surprisingly gained one position to be at 12th in the latest charts released on Tuesday. The Indian men's side crashed out of the Olympics in the quarterfinals by losing to eventual runners-up team Belgium 1-3 while the women's team failed to get past the group stage.
While every other team practises their hardest in the few hours left for the Rio Olympics 2016, the Indian contingent was left looking for rooms, extra pair of jerseys and assembling chairs.
Skipper Sardara Singh has been rested for third Asian Champions Trophy. In his absence, Hockey India said, midfielder Manpreet Singh will lead India's 18-member squad for the tournament in Kakamigahara, Japan, from November 2-10.
With less than 10 days to go for their opening match in the FIH Champions Trophy in London, Indian men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans said he is eyeing a top three finish in the high-profile tournament. Oltmans believes if things go according to plans, the team will stand a good chance to win a medal in the Champions Trophy. "Everybody knows we are good in the knockout stage. But Champions Trophy this year will be slightly different and we need to finish top two to play the final and be top four to play for bronze. "It will be interesting to see how our players will cope to this situation and face the challenge. Our realistic expectation is to finish in the top three," he said about his expectations from the event.
India men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans feels the one week break starting before the Champions Trophy will help the players rejuvenate themselves ahead of the Rio Olympics, the countdown for which has already begun. The 29-member men's hockey squad will be on a week's break before they rejoin on May 29 and Oltmans said the idea, behind the move was to ensure the players are feeling fresh and hungry ahead of next month's FIH Champions Trophy in London. "Starting June 5, the team will be away for almost a month playing two different tournaments in two different countries. Everything we do in this period will be demanding not just physically but also mentally," Oltmans said.
Sreejesh to lead India as team will experiment with different combinations and execute new tactics
Newly-appointed chief coach Graham Reid's biggest desire is to have a 'stable environment' for himself as well as his players.
Defender and dragflicker Varun Kumar who scored the maximum goals in India's successful campaign in Valencia will be joined by Vikramjit Singh and Gurinder Singh in the defence structure, while the midfield will be formed by Santa Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet, Sumit along with Harjeet Singh.
Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will lead an 18-member Indian men's hockey team in the fourth Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) to be held in Kuantan, Malaysia from October 20 to 30. With an aim to form a group of leaders, Hockey India selectors have named 24-year-old midfielder Manpreet Singh as the vice-captain of the side for this tournament in place of SV Sunil.
Indian hockey team's captain PR Sreejesh has apologised for letting the nation down after his team's 1-3 loss to Belgium in the quarter-finals at the Rio Olympics on Sunday.
Failing to sustain an aggressive start, the Indian men's hockey team went down to Spain 1-4 in its third match of the ongoing Europe Tour in Sant Cugat del Valles.
Having achieved the goal of a podium finish at the recently-concluded Champions Trophy in London, the Indian men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans has now set his eyes on his next big target -- the Rio Olympics.
From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to eminent sports personalities, the country was wholesome in its praise for the Indian hockey team's gutsy effort.
'The silver medal at the Champions Trophy has instilled the confidence that we can match or even beat some of the best teams in the world.'
While the 54-year-old Van Ass, who was at the helm of affairs of the Dutch team from 2010 to 2014, will take charge of the men's team, New Zealand's Anthony Thornton, 47, will replace Neil Hawgood as coach of the women's senior team.
Striker Gurwinder Singh Chandi failed to make the cut as Hockey India announced an 18-member squad, led by Sadar Singh, for the eight-nation Hero men's Champions Trophy, in Bhubaneswar, from December 6-14. Lalit Upadhyay, who was capped nine times earlier, has been drafted in place of Chandi in the squad, named by Hockey India selectors after trials at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi on November 18.
Former India captain Jude Felix has been appointed coach of the senior men's hockey team. The Olympian will work under chief coach Terry Walsh, Hockey India said on Wednesday.
India were dominated and outplayed by The Netherlands 3-1 in the last game of Pool B match of the Hockey World League Semi-final in London on Tuesday.
India's third-place finish at the Hockey World League Finals is a timely reminder of the improvement the team has made under Oltmans. But one must not get carried away.
Defender Gurinder Singh, midfielders Sumit and Manpreet who were part of the Junior World Cup-winning squad are slated to make their debut at the tournament.
Promising gymnast Dipa Karmakar, the women's hockey team and shooter Heena Sidhu on Sunday checked into the Olympic Village to further boost the Indian contingent at the Rio Games beginning on August 5.
In the FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final 2012-13, the Indian team outplayed the European team by 6-2 in which young Mandeep Singh scored two back-to-back goals. In the second season of FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final, India again met France in the semi-final round in Belgium and defeated them 3-2.
Leaking late goals has been something of an Achilles' heel for the Indian hockey team but captain Sardar Singh believes his team have addressed the issue as they head to Rio looking for the country's first Olympic medal in 36 years. Once-mighty India are the most decorated nation in the sport's Olympic history but the South Asians collected the last of their eight gold medals way back at the Moscow Games in 1980. Having failed to qualify for the Beijing Games in 2008, the team representing a nation of 1.3 billion people did recover to seal a spot at the London Games four years later only to finish last among the 12 countries taking part.