Category: Hockey

India men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh has two Olympic bronze medals in his cabinet but rues about missing out on World Cup glory, an anomaly that he wants to set right in the next edition of the mega event in 2026. India has won three World Cup medals to date – a bronze in 1971 (Barcelona), a silver in 1973 (Amstelveen, Netherlands) and a gold in 1975 (Kuala Lumpur) under Ajitpal Singh’s leadership. Harmanpreet, who won back-to-back Olympic bronze in Tokyo and Paris, the second one under his leadership, however, had won the Junior World Cup in Lucknow in 2016. “The goal will always be to bag Olympic gold and a World Cup medal. The way we performed in Paris shows that we can compete with top teams and win,” Harmanpreet told PTI. “Our immediate target is the next FIH Pro League matches and then win the Asia Cup and qualify directly for the World Cup. A World Cup medal hasn’t come for a long time and I want to fulfil that in my career,” said Harmanpreet, one the best defenders and drag-flickers of the world right now. “…Hope we can relive those golden days during our career. We will not surrender till we achieve that,” he added. The 2026 men’s FIH Hockey World Cup will be the 16th edition of the quadrennial tournament scheduled to be held from August 15 to 30 in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands. From a personal point of view, Harmanpreet wants to better his drag-flick skills and remain fit to prolong his career. “Drag-flick is getting tough day-by-day and the goal is to work on how to improve myself, bring in more variations and remain fit.” Harmanpreet credits current Indian women’s hockey team coach Harendra Singh for shaping his career and believes the women’s side drag-flicker and star forward Deepika is in good hands. “Deepika is doing great. She produced a great performance in the Asian Champions Trophy in Rajgir, Bihar. She is a good drag-flicker and a forward who can score. She is in safe hands under Harry (Harendra) sir,” he said. “I will never forget those days and the help Harry sir provided me.” By his own admission, hockey was a coincidence in his life as Harmanpreet never aspired to play the sport. “Hockey has chosen me as in my family there was no player, nor I had an interest in hockey. I had an interest in many sports like volleyball, football, athletics, basketball,” he said. “A coach in my school said try hockey and from the day I started hockey, I became a fan of it. I started the sport at 7-8 years.” Harmanpreet was the toast of the revamped Hockey India League auction recently, bagging ₹78 lakh bid from Soorma Hockey Club of Punjab. The HIL will be revived this season after seven years. The franchise-based league will be held in both men’s and women’s categoory this time. The men’s league will begin on December 28 in Rourkela, with matches continuing through two stages until the final showdown on February 1, 2025. The maiden women’s league will start from January 2, 2025, in Ranchi, with their grand finale slated for January 26. Harmanpreet believes the HIL will be a good learning experience for youngsters and will be a feeder line to the national team. “The biggest thing is that HIL is starting again. Happy that the highest bid was for me. These things give you motivation. Financially also you need to be strong. These things help in personal life,” he said. “The HIL is a good opportunity for youngsters to learn. In my career, HIL helped me a lot and definitely, it is a chance to play against top players of the world. “They (youngsters) will get to know what is their thinking, their understanding. HIL is going to benefit Indian hockey in future.” “We can get a lot of players from here who can represent India in future. This is the best opportunity before them,” he noted. But Harmanpreet said the hefty price tag will not add any pressure on him during the HIL. “There is no pressure because till the last day of my career, every match will be tough, I will take it as a responsibility. “The scenario will be the same in HIL as well, I will try to live up to the responsibility given to me,” he said.

The Indian women managed to overcome the disappointment of a pedestrian semifinal performance and upped their game when it mattered most, registering a 1-0 win over China in the final to successfully defend the Asian Champions Trophy at the Rajgir Sports Complex here on Wednesday. The scoreline may indicate it was a close contest and for the first-half, it was so before the Indians, like in every game, shifted gears in the third quarter and took control. And while China deserved credit for not making it any easier for India, the host was not troubled much once it went ahead. Deservedly, it was Deepika, who topped the table with 11 goals and was named player-of-the-tournament, who scored the lone goal of the match for India. Cautious start Unlike previously, it was a cautious start by India, aware that the Chinese would come hard, come fast and create chances early on. They did and for the first few minutes, India had to fight hard to survive the Chinese onslaught before slowly settling down, getting better at ball control. A penalty corner for China in the 18th minute saw Lalremsiami — adjudged the player-of-the-match — rush out quickly before Bichhu Devi went full stretch to clear the rebound with her stick. India’s constant push resulted in four quick penalty corners in the 20th minute but the team’s poor form with penalty corners continued, a mix of off-target shots, ineffective variations and some good saves by the Chinese goalkeeper. China managed a second penalty corner three minutes later but to no avail. But the Indians were slowly growing in the game and within seconds of resumption, in the third quarter, India earned its fifth penalty corner. The injection was not stopped cleanly but the ball was kept in play, dragged in and then Deepika unleashed a controlled reverse hit that the Chinese defence and goalkeeper had no answer to. Impressive The Indian attack was impressive even when it did not result in a goal. Sangita Kumari was a delight with her nippy runs and amazing ball control, repeatedly entering the Chinese circle. Captain Salima Tete’s speed was unmatched and Vaishnavi Phalke had a busy day on the flanks. And Sunelita Toppo was consistently brilliant in everythign she did, forward and at the back. Even with a wasted penalty stroke — Ting Li had no trouble saving Deepika’s feeble push after the latter had earned it, dodging past three defenders all alone — India stayed on course to victory. The results: Final: India 1 (Deepika 31) bt China 0. Third-fourth place play-off: Japan 4 (Mayuri Horikawa 3, Hiroka Murayama 24, Ayana Tamura 28, Miyu Hasegawa 35) bt Malaysia 1 (Azmyra Azhairy 48).

Young striker Sangita Kumari scored a brace as defending champions India defeated Malaysia 4-0 to open their campaign at the women’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament on a confident note in Rajgir on Monday (November 11, 2024). Sangita (8th, 55th minutes) struck twice, while Preeti Dubey (43rd) and Udita (44th) were the other goal getters for the hosts. India will next play South Korea on Tuesday (November 12, 2024). In other matches of the day, Japan and Korea played out a 2-2 draw, while reigning Olympic silver medallist China thrashed Thailand 15-0. The Indians completely dominated the proceedings in the first quarter even though Malaysia had the first shy at the goal in the form of a penalty corner in the fifth minute which they wasted. Thereafter, it was India all the way as they mounted attack after attack to put pressure on the Malaysian defence. India secured two penalty corners in two minutes and Sangita scored with a variation from the second effort in the eighth minute. Preeti then came close to doubling India’s lead twice. First, her push from close range was saved by the Malaysian goalkeeper, and then a minute from the first quarter, she struck the side post. Just seconds from the first quarter, India secured another penalty corner but wasted the opportunity. India continued in the same vein and dominated the share of exchanges with persistent attacks on Malaysia but lacked the finishing touch. The Indians earned four penalty corners in the second quarter but failed to capitalise on a single opportunity to go into the breather with a slim one goal lead despite dominating the match. The Indians kept up the pressure after the change of ends and secured another penalty corner two minutes after the changeover but failed to get past the Malaysian goalkeeper. Minutes later, Malaysia secured their second penalty corner but didn’t trouble the Indian backline. In the 43rd minute, India doubled their lead through Preeti who deflected in Navneet Kaur’s flick as India went for another variation from a set piece. A minute later, India extended their lead when Udita found the net with a slap shot from another penalty corner. The Indian secured yet another penalty corner in the 50th minute but this time Udita’s slap shot was saved by the Malaysian goalkeeper. Five minutes from the final hooter, Sangita scored a brilliant field goal. She first collected an excellent through pass from the deep, ran past two defenders and slammed the ball into the net with a fierce reverse shot.

tarting as the youngest member of the Indian team as a 14-year old at the Olympic Qualifiers in Kazan in April of 2008, Rani Rampal officially called it a day at a felicitation function ion New Delhi on Thursday (October 24, 2024), bringing down curtains on a 14-year long career that saw her become the undisputed queen of Indian women’s hockey. Among the most skilled players to ever wear the India jersey — the 28 number retired by Hockey India as a mark of respect on the occasion — Rani’s journey through the years and ranks culminated in leading the team to a historic fourth-place finish at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and included breaking a 13-year drought to win the Asia Cup in 2017 and a silver at the 2018 Asian Games. Her accolades include Arjuna Award (2016), World Games Athlete of the Year (2019), Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Padma Shri (2020). Among the handful of Indian women players with more than 250 international caps and over 200 goals, Rani admitted it was not an easy decision but made easier by the realisation that there were no regrets looking back. “Deciding to quit playing is a difficult decision for every sportsperson. After not doing anything else for 15-16 years to decide to stop is not easy but I thought this was the right time. There was a lot going through my mind when the whole idea of retiring was being considered — good, bad, doubts, right, wrong — but before I finally took the decision, the only thing I thought was, ‘do you have any regrets in life? Why are you thinking so much then?’ “If there was some regret or an unfulfilled wish where you didn’t try hard enough, then maybe. But there was none. Yes an Olympic medal would have been nice but it was not for lack of effort. So that made it easier,” she told The Hindu. While her parents remain her pillar of strength, specially coming from the small village of Shahbad Markanda in Haryana, a state not known for encouraging women to even step out of home alone, Rani did not forget to credit coach Baldev Singh for her success. Baldev, through his academy while working with the Haryana sports department, has been the man behind not just making it the nursery of Indian women’s hockey over years but a feeder line for the national team that continues to this day. “There are different people who help you in different phases — starting with your parents because they are the ones who encourage and allow you to go out and play. Then coach Baldev Singh, who actually gave me an identity through hockey when I myself didn’t know anything about myself and polished my talent as a kid, something not many people can do. More importantly, he also taught a lot of life lessons outside sport that has helped me through my life. “Baldev sir was the one who told all of us, as kids, to never play for a coach but for the game. He used to say that there will be many coaches throughout your career but you should play to force every coach to play you in his team. He taught us that people will know you for hockey, they won’t bother once you stop playing. The game gives you the identity, not coaches. So play for the game, not for any person,” she said, nostalgic. The lessons, clearly, have stayed with her. From starting her international career with the late MK Kaushik through the likes of Harendra Singh and GS Bhangu and Sjoerd Marijne and Neil Hawgood, Rani has played under myriad coaches, all with different styles and philosophies but one constant – an appreciation for Rani and her skills. For her personally, the two moments that stand out are the time she earned her maiden India cap in 2008 and the Tokyo Olympics quarterfinals, when the Indian women stunned a rampaging and tournament favourite Australia, the skipper herself scoring the lone goal of the match that gave India a memorable semifinal spot. From being racked with doubts of a still-born career after a serious back injury in 2007 to leading the side to an Olympic high, Rani is content walking into a new role – she has already done FIH coaching courses and will be mentoring a new generation of players at the upcoming Hockey India League – with her head high, knowing it was a job well done.

Former champion Indian Oil Corporation knows a thing or two about handling pressure situations. Against an Army side, playing, probably at its best, IOC showed its class by scripting a 3-2 win in the semifinals of the 95th MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup All-India hockey tournament here on Saturday. Earlier, in the other last four clash, defending champion Indian Railways outplayed Odisha 4-0, courtesy a hat-trick by Joginder Singh, to enter the final. The tie that drew all the attention was the one between IOC and Army. After a tug-of-war that didn’t yield any goal in the first two quarters, IOC struck out of the blue in the third. A sliding push home by Aarman Qureshi off a pass from the left from Gujinder Singh, put the team ahead. IOC struck again at the start of the fourth quarter when Sumit Kumar pushed a rebound home off a penalty corner. At that stage, things looked difficult for Army. Cyril Lugun’s goal through a stroke gave the required push for Army. It was the phase when Army was at its menacing best, attacking IOC from both flanks, earning three penalty corners. It, however, couldn’t convert any of them. IOC’s third goal through a Gujinder stroke didn’t deter the spirit of Army one bit. It earned three back-to-back penalty corners, out of which the last one resulted in a stroke. Cyril’s conversion off a corner brought back the required spirit in the Army camp and in the last two-odd minutes, Army gave all it had, but IOC was in no mood to relent. The results (semifinals): Railways 4 (Joginder Singh 1, 38 & 43, Yuvraj Walmiki 16) bt Odisha 0. IOC 3 (Aarman Qureshi 36, Sumit Kumar 46, Gujinder Singh 55) bt Indian Army 2 (Cyril Lugun 47, 57).

International hockey will return to New Delhi after a 10-year gap when Olympic bronze-medallists India take on world champions Germany in a two-Test bilateral series starting on Wednesday (October 23, 20), aiming to test some new faces and extract revenge for a recent heartbreak inflicted by the visitors. For the last 10 years, the capital’s Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, once considered the spiritual home of the game, has not hosted any international match. The last game played was the 2014 Hero World League Final, although inter-departmental hockey has been held here occasionally. But the two Tests against the world No.2 and Paris Olympics silver-winning outfit on Wednesday (October 23, 2024) and Thursday (October 24, 2024) would be a perfect comeback for the sport. It has been learnt that over 12,000 fans have already registered for the free tickets on offer through a private ticketing portal. The National Stadium has a seating capacity of just over 16,000. The two Tests hold great significance for Indian hockey, which is on an upswing following back-to-back Olympic bronze medals in Tokyo and Paris. In the French capital, the Indians, under the talismanic and in-form Harmanpreet Singh’s leadership, lost 2-3 to Germany in a closely-contested semifinal. “This series is not just about the two teams playing; it’s about reviving the spirit of hockey in Delhi. We hope this will inspire more young players from the region to take up the game,” Harmanpreet had said after the rubber was announced. That sentiment aside, India also have a very good opportunity to avenge their loss in Paris. But the Germans will be a hard nut to crack as they are the reigning world champions and displayed that fortitude in Paris, going down only in the shoot-out to Netherlands in the gold medal match. Going by rankings, the Germans are favourites as India are currently placed fifth in the world but in modern hockey, there is hardly any difference between the top 10 teams and anyone can beat a high-placed rival on their day. In the last five encounters between the two sides, India hold an edge, having won three and lost two. India have been on a high since the Paris Olympics. A new-look team retained the Asian Champions Trophy title in September, beating hosts China 1-0 in the final. That was India’s fifth ACT title. The Indians have fielded a mix of youth and experience for the two matches, thereby highlighting chief coach Craig Fulton’s vision of planning for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The most notable inclusion in the squad is defender and drag-flicker Varun Kumar, who is returning after a sabbatical from the game that was forced by allegations of sexual harassment by a junior volleyball player. His name has since been cleared in the matter. The Indians will be led by star drag-flicker Harmanpreet, who is enjoying the form of his life and mid-fielder Vivek Sagar Prasad will be his deputy. The hosts, however, will continue to miss the services of mid-field mainstay Hardik Singh, who is still recovering from an injury he sustained at the Olympics. Fulton drafted in some new faces in mid-fielder Rajinder Singh and striker Aditya Arjun Lgale, who will be making their international debut. Besides Vivek, veteran Manpreet Singh will be in charge of the mid-field. Striker Mandeep Singh, who was rested for the ACT, will look to dazzle upfront in the company of Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, and Dilpreet Singh among others. The Indian goal will be manned by Krishan Bahadur Pathak and Suraj Karkera, who lived up to expectations in the ACT in Hulunbuir, China after the legendary PR Sreejesh’s retirement. The two matches will provide the newcomers and comeback-men a chance to prove their mettle in front of the team management and national selectors.