Pop sensation Psy brought the house down 'Gangnam Style' as Incheon laid out the red carpet for over 13,000 competitors from 45 countries with an exhilarating opening ceremony to launch the 17th Asian Games at the main stadium on Friday.
India put up a spirited show before squandering the early lead to go down 1-3 against defending champions Australia in a league match of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, in Ipoh.
A resurgent Indian hockey team, with its penetrative attack and solid defence, can actually challenge for the top spot in the Champions Trophy.
This past week, the Indian hockey team recorded a rare Test series win against world champions Australia. It was a significant achievement by the men in blue - hockey, not cricket - as it was for the first time in four years that India had beaten Australia.
India missed chances aplenty in their opening two games of the ongoing 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament and national captain Sardar Singh minced no words when he said that the team's forwardline will have to play more responsibly to give themselves any chance of reaching the final.
India entered the final of the men's hockey tournament at the Asian Games after a solitary goal victory over South Korea in the semi-finals, in Incheon, on Tuesday.
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.
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.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Paris Masters ahead of the tournament's start on Monday for "personal reasons", the French Tennis Federation announced on Friday.
The Sports Ministry dropped para-sports coach Satyanarayana from the list of this year's Dronacharya awardees due to a criminal case pending against him, but made no changes to the names recommended for the Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards.
The Indian men's hockey team secured a 3-2 win over New Zealand in a nail-biting third game to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in four-Test series at Christchurch on Friday.
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.
Jasjit Singh sent two rasping penalty corner drag flicks into the net as India edged past hosts Malaysia 3-2 to move to the semifinals of the Hockey World League semi-finals in Antwerp.
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.
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.
India has huge expectations from these champions. Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi and Norma Godinho glance at their chances at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
India wasted chances galore in their 1-2 defeat against arch-rivals and defending champions Pakistan in a keenly-contested Pool B match of the men's hockey competition at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon on Thursday.
A spirited Ranchi Rays overcame a two-goal deficit to hold defending champions Delhi Waveriders to a 2-2 draw in a league match of the third Hero Hockey India League (HIL) in Ranchi.
The hosts will face arch-rivals Pakistan for a place in the final, the latter scoring 4-2 upset win over eight-time champions The Netherlands earlier in the day.
Sania Mirza's was officially named for the coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award on Friday. The Hyderabadi lady is only the second tennis player to be nominated for the country's highest sport honour.
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.
India's 572 athletes hope to return home with an overflowing treasure chest of medals.
The Indian men's hockey team's habit of conceding late goals continued to haunt them as reigning double Olympic champions Germany scored seconds from the final hooter to steal a 2-1 victory in a thrilling Pool B match at the Rio Olympics on Monday.
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.
India's defence caved in under pressure as a rampaging Australia crushed them 6-2 in the last league fixture of the FIH World League semi-finals in Antwerp.
- 'I hope our training on creating early pressure will be evident when we go into the competition'
India cricket captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu were on Monday recommended for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by the awards selection committee.
Fitness is key to any team's success in fast-paced modern-day hockey and the Indian men's national team can be rated among the top five.
Title holders Delhi Waveriders register their first victory of the season, following a 3-1 win over debutants Dabang Mumbai in a league match of the third edition of the Hero Hockey India League.
India came up with a spirited performance to draw with Olympic champions Germany 3-3 and register their first win at the Hero Hockey World League Finals in New Delhi.
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.
'If the appointment of Salman Khan helps promote sports in our country, then what's the harm?'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
While there are rumours that Sardar Singh's axing is because of his dip in form in recent times, the team's chief coach and High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans said the move was necessitated to relieve the ace midfielder from excess responsibilities.
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".
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.
India conceded a soft goal in the fifth minute of the second semi-final encounter when Cedric Charlier scored from a field strike for Belgium, which eventually separated both the teams at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel stadium.
With only one Asian Games gold to show after four days of competition, India's hopes of improving on their medal tally in China four years ago are diminishing fast.
For Indian hockey, 2016 was a year in which much was promised and achieved as well. It was also a year where India made significant and visible advancements but deep down somewhere the pain of missing out on an Olympic medal will remain for four more years.
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