Locked inside the Sports Authority of India centre in Bengaluru due to the coronavirus forced restrictions, Indian Hockey players are utilising their free time to hone their English language skills, reading books and watching their favourite movies. The Indian men and women hockey teams are practicing at SAI centre Bengaluru where no unauthorised person can enter the campus.
Iconic boxer MC Mary Kom and ace archer Deepika Kumari were told they need not say sorry after returning without medals while hockey player P R Sreejesh was asked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he has learnt Punjabi when he hosted the Tokyo-returned Olympians at his residence.
India thrashed China 9-0 to stay in the hunt for top spot in the round-robin league competition of the fourth Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Kuantan, Malaysia on Tuesday.
India frittered away the advantage of a two-goal lead and were held 2-2 by Pakistan in men's hockey at the Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, among others, lavished praise on Kidami Srikanth for claiming the Australian Open title with a stunning win over reigning Olympic and world champion Chen Long.
Rupinder Pal Singh struck twice as drag-flickers ruled the roost to help India register a fighting 3-2 win over Ireland in their opening match of the men's hockey competition at the Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday.
Defending champions India made a mockery of Sri Lankan challenge pumping in 20 goals to remain unbeaten in the pool stages, setting up a tricky semi-final clash against Malaysia in the men's hockey competition at the Asian Games in Jakarta, on Tuesday.
Uttar Pradesh Wizards produced a fine performance to stun Delhi Waveriders 6-4 in a high-scoring round-robin match of the fourth Hockey India League (HIL) at the Shivaji Stadium in New Delhi.
Young Affan Yousuf scored two goals as Dabang Mumbai defeated Delhi Waveriders 3-2 in a closely-fought round robin match to stay on top of the leaderboard in the fifth edition of Hockey India League, in Mumbai, on Monday.
The Indian men, ranked fifth in the world, had earlier defeated world number 22 Russia 4-2 in the first-leg on Friday.
India went down 2-5 to World champions Belgium in the semi-finals of the Olympics men's hockey tournament in Tokyo on Tuesday.
India's captain Manpreet Singh and star custodian P R Sreejesh said the team needs to put aside the disappointment of losing to Belgium in the semi-finals and refocus for the bronze medal play-off on Thursday.
India swept the International Hockey Federation's annual awards on Wednesday, claiming all the top honours, based on a voting system which was lambasted as a "failure" by men's Olympic champions Belgium, prompting the FIH to say that it would try to figure why some associations did not cast their ballot.
Indian defender Surender Kumar will not play any role in the ongoing fourth Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament after being suspended for two matches following a deliberate foul during the game against Malaysia.
India will next play mighty Australia on Sunday.
Paralympic gold-winners Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Manish Narwal were also given the Khel Ratna at a dazzling awards ceremony on Saturday.
India captain Sardar Singh fetched a poor return of US $58,000 while Germany's Moritz Fuerste drew the highest ever bid in the history of the Hockey India League auction, bought by Kalinga Lancers for a whopping US $1,05,000 in Delhi on Thursday.
India bounced back in style to beat title holders Australia 3-1 via a shoot-out after both the teams were locked 2-2 at the end of regulation time.
Soundly thrashed by Australia in their last match, India will look to sort out their defensive woes when they take on Malaysia in their quarter-final match of the Hockey World League Semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium, on Wednesday.
India were made to toil hard by the world No 2 Australia before eventually losing the match in a close encounter.
A nervy India squandered a one-goal advantage as they allowed Canada to stage a fightback with a late strike and earn a 2-2 draw in their final men's hockey pool game of the Rio Olympics Games.
A structured defence and clinical attack saw India beat hosts New Zealand 3-1 in the final round-robin match of the double-leg Four-Nation Invitational Hockey Tournament, at Blake Park in Tauranga, New Zealand, on Saturday.
'Coaching centres across the world will make everyone watch this game, the quality of the match was top-notch'
Delhi Waveriders and Ranchi Rays played out a goal-less draw to share four points between them in a pulsating encounter of the fifth edition of the Hockey India League in Ranchi on Saturday.
An inspired India registered their first win over the Netherlands in 18 years when they stunned the World Cup and Olympic silver medallists 3-2 in a high-voltage encounter to finish third in Pool B at the Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
Rupinder Pal Singh's brace went in vain as Indian men's hockey team lost 2-3 to hosts Australia in a tense opening game of the four-nation Invitational Tournament in Melbourne on Wednesday. The Indians began positively against top-ranked Australia, showing positive intent and energy in the first quarter. However, the first 15 minutes ended in a stalemate. Indian youngster Affan Yousuf's attacking approach almost paid dividends early on had it not been for a solid defense from the Kookaburras.
At a felicitation function, in Bhubaneswar, to honour the men's and women's Olympics hockey teams, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, an ardent supporter of the game in the country, announced that the state will continue to sponsor the national hockey teams for another 10 years.
Defending champions India continued their unbeaten run as they beat South Korea 5-3 in the Pool A match to storm into the semi-finals of the men's hockey competition at the 18th Asian Games.
India wasted as many as five penalty corners seconds from the final hooter to go down 1-2 against Netherlands but still sealed a quarter-final spot at Rio Olympics hockey competition in Rio de Janeiro, on Thursday.
India's 16-member squad for Rio Olympics was announced on Tuesday in New Delhi. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will lead the side with SV Sunil as the vice captain.
Goalkeeper P R Sreejesh could feature in his first competitive event in eight months after being named in India's 20-member squad for a four-nation tournament in New Zealand. India will compete with Belgium, Japan and hosts New Zealand at Tauranga and Hamilton in the tournament, beginning January 17.
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.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
The Virat Kohl-led Indian cricket team shared a video message from the West Indies while other top sportspersons like MC Mary Kom, Sushil Kumar, Saina Nehwal and Sakshi Malik, as well as Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, greeted the fellow citizens through Twitter.
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.
Former India coach Anil Kumble is in the running for the Coach of the Year award in the inaugural edition of the Indian Sports Honours, instituted by the RP-SG Group in association with the foundation of skipper Virat Kohli.
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.
Captain Manpreet Singh and goalkeeper P R Sreejesh are among a few senior India players rested for next month's Olympic hockey test event in Tokyo. Besides Manpreet and Sreejesh, defender Surender Kumar was also rested.
India are now atop the leaderboard with five points from two games, but the Manpreet Singh-led side conceded a point to the Netherlands after drawing (during the regulation time) the second match of the contest on Sunday.
Sreejesh to lead India as team will experiment with different combinations and execute new tactics
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