Page 2 - Hockey India

Bihar's Rajgir to host 2024 Women's Asian Champions Trophy: Hockey India

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

Hockey India names PR Sreejesh junior coach; retires his No 16 jersey

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

Keep your faith in us, we will not disappoint: Hockey skipper Harmanpreet

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

Paris 2024: Hockey coach Fulton has no problems in India ahead of Olympics

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 ..

Hardik wins HI Men's Player of the year, Salima wins it in women's category

Star Indian midfielders Hardik Singh and Salima Tete were on Sunday conferred with the Player of the Year awards in men and women categories respectively during the sixth Hockey India Annual Awards here. Both the awards, in the name of legendary Balbir Singh Sr, carries a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh each. India vice-captain Hardik also bagged Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year, which carries a prize purse of Rs 5 lakh. India captain Harmanpreet Singh won the Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year and took home Rs 5 lakh, while veteran custodian PR Sreejesh was honoured with the Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year. Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year went to young striker Abhishek. Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Women, Under-21) was bagged by Deepika Soreng, while the recognition in the men's division, which is in the name of former India drag-flicker Jugraj Singh, went to Araijeet Singh Hundal. Both the awards carry a prize mo

PR Sreejesh aspires to be Indian hockey team's chief coach by 2036

Indian men's hockey team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh doesn't want to predict his future at the moment and will take a call on his retirement after the Paris Olympics but the veteran custodian aspires to be chief coach of the national side by 2036. Sreejesh, who will be featuring in his fourth Olympics this year, refused to believe that the upcoming edition in Paris could be his last outing in the sporting extravaganza. He remains optimistic but said once he calls it quits, he definitely wants to give back to the game in one or the other way. "For me, this Olympics is really important because at this age it is really hard for me to talk about next four year cycle. From the last Olympics, I was only taking one year at a time. The rest decision comes after the Olympics," Sreejesh told PTI in an interview. "I don't think so (it will be his last Olympics) because when you are 36 and doing a beep test of 20.8 , I think it's quite good. "(But) after my career I will take a break for sure. I w

It was becoming suffocating: Hockey India CEO Elena Norman on resignation

Outgoing Hockey India CEO Elena Norman on Tuesday said the work environment in HI was "suffocating" and she had no choice but to call it quits. After holding the position for 13 years, Norman resigned and even though HI did not reveal the specific reasons for her decision in its official statement, the Australian spoke out on what pushed her to exit. "Absolutely, it was getting tough to deliver in the fight between two factions. The environment was becoming suffocating," Norman told PTI in an interview. "There are two factions in Hockey India. There is (President) Dilip Tirkey and I and there is (Secretary) Bholanath Singh, (Executive Director) Cdr. R K Srivastava and (Treasurer) Sekar J Manoharan," she said. "There are guys who want power and then there is (HI President) Dilip (Tirkey) who is a nice guy, only after betterment of Indian hockey," the 49-year-old explained. What aggravated the entire situation was the non-payment of her remuneration for three months. "There were so

Indian men's junior hockey team to work on weak areas at national camp

Indian hockey colts will return to the national camp in Bengaluru to improve upon the weak areas they identified during their bronze medal-winning performance at the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia and come back stronger in the World Cup next month. India had topped their group to make it to the semifinals but lost to Germany in their final-four game before defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in the third-place playoff to settle for a bronze medal in Johor Bahru. The World Cup will be played in Kuala Lumpur from December 5. Team coach CR Kumar said while he wouldn't call it a great outing in Johor Bahru, but key areas of improvement in the team have been identified. "I wouldn't call it satisfying because there are some things we could have done better," Kumar said in a statement. India faced several top teams such as Germany, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Pakistan in the tournament. "We will use the weeks leading up to the junior World Cup to improve and sharpen the areas we identified d

Hockey India to give Rs 5 lakh to each player after Asian Games triumph

The Indian men's hockey team dethroned 2018 gold medallist Japan on Friday, claiming their fourth hockey gold in the Asian Games

Asian Games 2023: Women's hockey team loses to China 0-4 in semifinal

Favourites India endured a forgettable 0-4 drubbing at the hands of China in the women's hockey semifinals, a result that not only pushed the team out of the gold medal race but also denied it a direct entry to the Paris Olympics. Last edition's silver medallist India, the highest-ranked team in the tournament at world number seven, was no match to world number China, who were the bronze medallist in 2018 in Jakarta. Jiaqi Zhong (25th minute), Meirong Zou (40th), Meiyu Liang (55th) and Bingfeng Gu (60th) scored the goals for China. China started on an attacking note put pressure on the Indian defence from the start. The Chinese managed to enter their opponent's circle on frequent basis but failed to find the back of the net as the Indians defended stoutly. China's relentless pressure resulted in back-to-back penalty corners in the sixth minute but failed to get past India captain Savita in front of the goal. The Indians made a few circle entries but failed to yield any results f

Need to strengthen defence, have to be ready to switch tactics: Harmanpreet

Aware of the challenge that awaits India against Japan, men's hockey team skipper Harmanpreet Singh said they will need to strengthen their defence and be ready to switch tactics against the defending champions during their Asian Games clash on Thursday. India habe hardly been troubled so far, having won their first two games with big margins. India defeated Uzbekistan 16-0 in their opening Pool A game last week before mauling Singapore 16-1 in another lop-sided contest. However, India will perhaps face their toughest challenge yet in the competition when they take on the 2018 Asian Games gold medallists. "We are aware of the level of competition that we will face tomorrow. Japan have a strong unit and we are familiar with their strengths and weaknesses," said Harmanpreet Singh. "We have to focus on our own style of play, but we have to also be ready to switch tactics as and when needed on the field to get a good result." Japan too have been unbeaten in the Games, having beaten ..

Asiad 2023: India hockey teams' full schedule, squads, match timings

The Indian hockey team would be aiming for nothing less than a gold in both the men's and women's categories as a spot at the Paris Olympics is up for grabs

India beat Pakistan in thrilling shootout, win inaugural Hockey5s Asia Cup

India emerged champions in the Men's Hockey5s Asia Cup here on Saturday, beating arch-rivals Pakistan 2-0 in a shootout after both teams were locked at 4-4 in regulation time. With the win, India have booked their place in the FIH Men's Hockey5s World Cup 2024. For India, Mohammed Raheel (19th and 26th), Jugraj Singh (7th) and Maninder Singh (10th) were the goal scorers during the regulation time, whereas Gurjot Singh and Maninder Singh managed to beat the goalkeeper in the shootout. Pakistan, Abdul Rehman (5th), captain Abdul Rana (13th), Zikriya Hayat (14th) and Arshad Liaqat (19th) were on target for Pakistan. Indian keeper Suraj Karkera made some vital saves before Pakistan broke the deadlock via Rehman in the fifth minute. Jugraj Singh got the equalizer for India just a couple of minutes later. India took the lead with Maninder Singh's reverse hit from a distance. Nevertheless, Pakistan struck back quickly and restored their lead through skipper Abdul Rana (13th) and Zikriya

Asian Games 2023: Akashdeep, Karthi big miss outs in India's hockey squad

Veteran striker Akashdeep Singh and young Karthi Selvam have been dropped but experienced Lalit Upadhyay made a comeback to the 18-member Indian men's hockey team selected for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Hockey India selectors dropped three players -- Akashdeep, Karthi and defender Jugraj Singh from the champion side of the Asian Champions Trophy held in Chennai earlier this month. Drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh and midfielder Hardik Singh will continue to don the roles of captain and vice-captain in the Asian Games. Jugraj has been replaced by Sanjay, while Lalit and Abhishek came in place of Akashdeep and Karthi. The team has two goalkeepers in veteran PR Sreejesh and Krishan Bahadur Pathak. Besides two goalkeepers, the Asian Games-bound team will have six defenders, five midfielders and as many forwards. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Savita Punia will lead the 18-member Indian women's hockey team in the Asian Games. Experienced Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Baljeet Kaur

Men's Asian Hockey WC Qualifier: India beats Oman 12-2, loses to Pak 4-5

India will next face off against Malaysia at 1430 hrs IST and Japan at 1930 hrs IST on Thursday, August 31

Asian Games: Rani Rampal not picked in probable list of women's hockey team

Just a couple of days after Hockey India appointed her as the coach of Indian U-17 women's team, former captain Rani Rampal found herself out of the 34-strong probables list for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, starting September 23. Rampal had on Thursday lashed out at the national head coach Janneke Schopman demanding an answer as to why she was being ignored despite her fair performances lately. While she accepted the HI offer to coach the junior side, she also was categorical about not retiring from competitive sport. "I am not retiring since I know I still have more to give to the sport as a player. I have this thing in me to not give up. If I had to, I'd have given up after the Olympics," Rampal had said during a HI event earlier this week. "We have showcased in our recent competitions that we are growing as a team and are constantly learning. The upcoming camp is an important one for us as we are spearheading our preparations for the Hangzhou Asian Games, which could be our road

Hockey ACT: Craig Fulton believes in training more than sideline coaching

India hockey team head coach Craig Fulton said following his team's semifinal win over Japan in the Asian Champions Trophy that he is not someone who likes giving instructions to players from the sidelines, but prefers imparting lessons during training. India thrashed Japan 5-0 in the last-four clash to set up a title showdown here with Malaysia on Saturday. Following the huge win, Fulton said, "I don't do a lot of coaching from the sidelines, but during training. That's where the ideas are installed. Maybe, there are a few things that have to change (during the match), but it's up to the senior players to take a call." India skipper Harmanpreet Singh, too, was all praise for Fulton for bringing in "structural changes" to the side. "Every coach has a different mentality. Our past coaches have been good. Even he (Fulton) is good. Every coach thinks about the betterment of the team," said Harmanpreet after the match on Friday. "He is doing a good job. While we have brought in struct

Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2023: India vs South Korea, check details

India will face South Korea in the 12th match of Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2023 today at 8.30 pm. Check when and where to watch the live streaming in India

Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2023: IND back on top, defeats MAL by 5-0

India defeated Malaysia by 5-0 last night and reclaimed its top spot in the Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2023 points table. India is to face South Korea in its fourth match on 7th August

India will win gold in 2028 LA Olympics if not Paris 2024: Bhola Nath Singh

Hockey India (HI) secretary general Bhola Nath Singh on Saturday claimed that India will definitely win gold at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if they miss out on the yellow metal in Paris next year. He said the current HI brass under former India captain Dilip Tirkey is leaving no stone unturned to take Indian hockey to the top again. "I have big plans for hockey and you will see some new things being introduced. We will try our best to change HI during this time," Bhola Nath told PTI. "I want to assure you that if not the Paris Olympics, India will surely win a gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics. If they don't, you can come back to me." To help Indian hockey recapture its past glory, Bhola Nath said HI is working on creating a bigger talent pool. He said plans are in place to give the junior teams the best facilities as the senior side, coupled with enough international exposure, which would again make India a major hockey powerhouse. "As far as the junior teams are concerne