'I am very happy with the squad and the way they are playing at this moment.'
When Maharaj Krishan Kaushik and Ravinder Pal Singh stood on the victory podium in Moscow 40 summers back, little did they know that cruel twist of fate would put them together in life and now in death.
The multi-million dollar World Series Hockey suffered a huge jolt just days before its start, with six top Indian players withdrawing from the league, from December 17. Goalkeepers Bharat Chetri and PR Sreejesh, star drag flicker Sandeep Singh, defender Sardar Singh, and forwards Tushar Khandker and Yuvraj Walmiki have preferred country over the unsanctioned league.
Stung by five suspensions after an ugly showdown with Pakistani players during a match, the Indian hockey team management will consider appealing against the penalty insisting that it was their arch-rivals who were at fault during the fracas.
India squandered an early lead before going down 1-3 to Great Britain in the inaugural match of the Tri-Nation invitational tournament, their final warm-up event ahead of the Olympic Games in Santander, Spain.
The Indian hockey team defeated South Africa 6-5 in a thrilling third test at the capital city of Cantabria in Spain.
India dazzled with a near-perfect performance to stun world champions Australia 4-3 in a pulsating round-robin match of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament at Ipoh on Monday.
Defending champions India quelled a late Korean surge to eke out a narrow 3-2 victory and stretch their unbeaten run in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament on Sunday.
Defending champions India produced an inspiring display and scored thrice in the second half to beat archrivals Pakistan 4-2 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Friday.
Tushar Khandker fired in a field goal as India defeated holders South Korea by a solitary goal to win the bronze medal in the men's hockey competition of the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
Ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh continued his red-hot form and struck twice as India defeated France 4-3 in the keenly-contested first hockey Test at the National Institute of Sport and Expert Performance (INSEP) in Paris.
India pumped in four goals in the second half to rout hosts Belgium 6-0 in the third and final hockey Test and clinch the series 2-0 at Wellington, Brussels.
India rounded off their impressive tour of Canada with a 3-2 victory over the home side in their final game to win the seven-match hockey Test series 6-0, at Tamanawis Park, Surrey, Canada. India, who led 2-1 at half-time, scored through Prabhjot Singh (21st minute), Gurwinder Chandi (31st) and Tushar Khandker (49th). Wayne Fernandes flicked home twice for Canada, in the 26th and 46th minutes. One match in the series was drawn.
Indian hockey team suffered their first defeat on their Australia-New Zealand tour when they went down 3-5 against Australian Development squad at the State Hockey Centre in Brisbane, on Tuesday night.
Rani Rampal led the team to historic victories in the Women's Asia Cup in 2017, silver at the 2018 Asian Games and played a critical role in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in 2019 by scoring the deciding goal that helped India qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
'If we want to ensure this isn't a once-in-four-decade phenomenon, then we have to produce 1,800 players all the time, create infrastructure, so that we are constantly challenging at the top of the ladder.'
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