Hockey India

The sports ministry on Thursday announced the discontinuation of the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement from this year onwards and the introduction of the Arjuna Award Lifetime in its place in a bid to "rationalise" the various sporting honours of the country. Instituted in 2002, the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award, named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, is given to individuals in disciplines that are part of the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, among others. In 2023, the award was given to former shuttler Manjusha Kanwar, ex-hockey exponent Vineet Kumar and kabaddi player Kavitha Selvaraj. "The various schemes for sports awards have been rationalised wherein Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced in place of Dhyan Chand Award. To recognise the efforts of coaches at grassroots/development level, they are now eligible for the Dronacharya Award," said a ministry statement. "The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced and will be .

India hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh expressed his excitement at playing his first international match at the iconic Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, where he attended his junior camp in 2013.

Germany outclassed India 2-0 in the opening match of their two-match Test series at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday (October 23)

Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium was built in 1933 as a gift to Delhi from the Maharaja of Bhavnagar. Originally designed as a multipurpose venue, it was initially named the Irwin Amphitheatre.

IND vs GER Highlights: Germany's relentless pressing and clinical finishing helped them grab the win in the first of the 2 matches in the series

The HIL governing committee, after multiple requests, allowed the unsold players to reduce their base price from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 2 lakh

While the most expensive players in both the men's and women's divisions are Indian, several international stars also garnered significant bids

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Singh, known for his incredible goal-scoring skills, became the most expensive player in the men's division

Indian men's team skipper Harmanpreet Singh believes that PR Sreejesh's extensive knowledge of modern hockey will greatly benefit the junior side as he takes on his new role as coach. Sreejesh's new innings as coach will begin when India take on Japan on October 19. "The amount of experience Sreejesh has, especially the knowledge when it comes to modern hockey because he has just retired, is a big plus point he has," Harmanpreet told PTI Video in an exclusive interaction. "When he shares it with the team then the youngsters will get to know, learn from his experiences, which will eventually help the team perform better. "But he has just joined two days back and has not spent much time with the side, but I have a lot of faith on him that he will manage it, the way he used to do with us and will enable the youngsters to enjoy success like he did," he added. On Sreejesh's future as a senior coach, he said: "You'll have to ask him about that. I believe he can do it, but coaching is a

Legendary Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was on Friday named the Director of Hockey in the Delhi franchise for the upcoming Hockey India League. SG Sports, Media and Entertainment (SGSE), part of the APL Apollo Group, has acquired the Delhi team, to be named Delhi SG Pipers, for the HIL, which is set to be revived after a gap of seven years. The corporate house has bought both the men's and women teams of Delhi. The league will be held in two venues -- Rourkela (men) and Ranchi (women) -- and will begin on December 28. While the men's competition will have eight teams, six sides will feature in the women's event, which is being held for the first time. The league will be played from December 28 to February 1. The sport's world governing body, FIH, has given a sanction of 10 years for HIL. The player auction for the league will be held here from October 13 to 15. A total of 10 franchise owners have come on board. Tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi is the CEO of the Delhi side. Having

There will be eight teams in the men's division in the returning season of HIL, while the women's division is announced to have six teams in total

Skipper Harmanpreet Singh, who powered India to a second successive bronze medal in hockey at the Olympics in Paris, was on Saturday nominated for the FIH Player of the Year Award. The 28-year-old ace drag-flicker, who was the top scorer at the Paris Olympics with 10 goals from eight matches, had previously won the award twice in a row from 2020-22. "It is a great honour to be nominated for the FIH Player of the Year Award again," the Indian defender stated in a Hockey India release. "While I am elated to be named among some of the best players in the world, I would like to acknowledge that it would not have been possible without the support of my team. "All the goals I have scored in the FIH Hockey Pro League, and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are because the team created those goal-scoring chances for me," he added. Harmanpreet has been nominated along with the Dutch duo of Thierry Brinkman and Joep de Mol, Hannes Mller of Germany and Zach Wallace of England. All international .

India are off to a perfect start in their title defence after winning two out of two games so far.

India started their campaign with a comfortable win over China, while Japan played a high-scoring draw with Korea.

Indian men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh said it's time to move on from the euphoria of a second successive Olympic bronze medal if the side desires to retain its Asian Champions Trophy title in Hulunbuir, China this month. Under Harmanpreet's leadership, India won a second successive bronze medal for the first time in over half-a-century at the Olympics in Paris recently. But Harmanpreet said it's time to move and start afresh after a deserving break for the Asian showpiece to be held from September 8 to 17. "With a brief break after the Paris Olympics, the team is ready to take on the best hockey playing nations in Asia and prove its mettle. "We had a good outing in Paris but hockey is a very close game, we cannot rest on our laurels," the skipper said before leaving for China in the early hours on Tuesday. "The aim will be to play high-octane hockey and retain our title." Besides India, the Asian Champions Trophy will feature Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan and hosts

The India vs Pakistan hockey match will be played on September 14 at 1:15 PM IST. The live streaming of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy will be available on the Sony LIV app and website

The 10-day tournament will kick off on November 10, while the finals will take place on November 20

Hockey India on Wednesday decided to retire the jersey number of goalkeeping stalwart P R Sreejesh at the senior level after he bid adieu to the game following his starring role in the country's second consecutive Olympic bronze at the just-concluded Paris Games. Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh said going forward no senior team player will be given the number 16 jersey although it will remain in circulation at the junior level. He also announced that the affable 36-year-old, who competed for nearly two decades, will take up the role of the junior national coach. "Sreejesh is now going to be the junior team coach and we are retiring the No. 16 jersey for the senior team. We are not retiring No. 16 for the junior team," said Singh at a felicitation function for the veteran and other members of the team. "Sreejesh dusra Sreejesh ko paida karega in junior team (Sreejesh will groom someone like him in the junior team who will wear the No.16 jersey)," he added. The playe

Skipper Harmanpreet Singh understands that Indian men's hockey team will enter the Paris Games with huge expectations and promised to return from the French Capital with grand success which they would celebrate with passionate fans, just like the triumphant cricket team. Eight-time champions India had ended their 41-year-old medal drought in Tokyo by winning a bronze medal. "When we won a medal in Tokyo, it was like a tonic for hockey in India. This time our responsibility has increased and everyone knows how much love and respect we have received after that medal," Harmanpreet told PTI Bhasha. "I will only say that you (countrymen) have been with us since the first day and we have also tried to give our best. This time too, we will give our 100 per cent from first to last match. Keep your faith in us, we will not disappoint you." Just like any other Indian, Harmanpreet was brimming with pride after India ended their 17-year-old wait for another T20 World Cup title. The Indian cri

His former colleague Janneke Schopman might have resigned from her post accusing Hockey India of differential treatment but Craig Fulton says he hasn't faced such problems and has got "solid support" from all quarters here. Schopman had served as the head coach of the Indian women's hockey team while Fulton is in charge of the men's side. Schopman resigned as the women's team chief coach in February. "I have had no problems so far. I have got good solid support, I have clarity in selection. I have got the backing of the senior players and they have got a good understanding of my stuff. From the existing staff to the new staff we are all on the same page," Fulton said. "Once you have that trust in the group, trust with players and have a really bright vision about what you want to do, what are your goals, what's the timeline, then I think you have a good chance of doing well in India." Fulton though added that life is a bit different in India for foreign coaches like him. "It's ..