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The Indian junior men’s hockey team began its campaign at the 4-Nations Tournament with a thrilling 6-2 come-from-behind win over Spain here on Friday. Rohit (28th, 45th minutes) and Sudeep Chirmako (35th, 58th) scored a brace each, while Amandeep Lakra (25th), and Boby Singh Dhami (53th) were the other goal getters for India. Nicolas Alvarez (1st) and Guiu Corominas (23th) were on target for Spain. Spain started the match on a strong note with Alvarez scoring a field goal in the first minute itself to put pressure on India. The Indians continued to stitch plenty of attacks together, but Spain defended well to maintain its lead throughout the first quarter. India showcased its intent to get an early equaliser in the second quarter, but Spain doubled its lead with Corominas adding another field goal. Two minutes later, Lakra pulled a goal back for India from a penalty corner and Rohit added another in the 28th minute from a set piece to bring things back to level at half-time. After the...

  It was early into the second quarter of the Asian Champions Trophy final against Malaysia, and the pressure on the Indian defence was relentless. And soon enough, the Malaysians had taken the lead scoring their second goal of the match. Even before the bench had stopped celebrating the second strike, they scored a third. India were 1-3 down and the match was fast slipping away from them. Yet again, the spectre of underachievement was starting to loom large. The dream was turning sour and the agonising memory of a poor World Cup raised its head again. The Indian supporters were all in disbelief. That’s when it happened. Five minutes left for the third quarter to end. Clearly, something had changed. India were no longer the team defending. Something had happened and what we saw unfold was the most dramatic five minutes of hockey. In five minutes, India scored two goals and almost had another. Against a spirited Malaysian team and from a 1-3 deficit, the Indians ended the third quar...

India stayed on course for a 4th Asian Champions Trophy with a comprehensive 5-0 win against Japan, not only avenging the 1-1 draw in the league stage but also making its superiority evident, dominating the proceedings all through. It will now face Malaysia, playing its maiden ACT final, after the latter eliminated defending champion Korea from the competition with a 6-2 win.  Malaysia reached the final by defeating South Korea 6-2. Team India will enter today with confidence after beating Malaysia 5-0 in the league match. India’s goal year came after a scoreless first quarter. Akashdeep Singh (19), Harmanpreet Singh (23) and Mandeep Singh (30) scored to give India a 3-0 lead in the second quarter. Sumit (39) and Karthi Selvam (51) also hit the target, making the Japanese team, who almost gave up the match, complete for India’s victory. Earlier, the Malaysian team reached the final by attacking without allowing South Korea to touch the ground. Korea scored the first goal in the sec...

India are well and truly on a roll at the Asian Champions Trophy. On Friday, they overwhelmed reigning Asian champions Japan 5-0 in the semifinals at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium. It was yet another big-margin win for India. In their previous encounter, they had beaten Pakistan 4-0. In the final on Sunday, India will play Malaysia, while Japan will take on South Korea in the third-place playoff. From the very beginning, three-time champions India embraced an aggressive high-press strategy, while Japan opted to position themselves deep in defence to counter the home team’s onslaught. India's initial scoring opportunity materialized in the form of a penalty corner, but Japan's goalkeeper Takashi Yoshikawa thwarted the attempt, denying who else but captain and PC specialist Harmanpreet Singh Akashdeep Singh (19'), Harmanpreet Singh (23'), Mandeep Singh (30'), Sumit (39') and karthi Selvam (51') scored in India's win, putting the hosts in title contention...

The lucrative  Hockey India League  (HIL) is likely to be re-launched early next year as the national federation on Monday announced its exclusive commercial and marketing partner for the event. HIL was stopped after the 2017 edition due to financial issues and  Hockey India  ( HI ) is now looking new partners to revive the league. "The HIL was a big success for the game and we are now in the process of reviving the league early next year," a HI source told PTI. India hockey player Jarmanpreet Singh still remembers how excited he felt when he was signed on by the Punjab Warriors for the 2015 Hockey India League season. It was a star-studded side that featured the likes of Jamie Dwyer, Mark Knowles, Chris Ciriello, and Shivendra Singh. For the then 19-year-old budding defender, hoping to play with the big names in the sport, this was an opportunity to get a running start. Jarmanpreet, now a mainstay in the Indian team, is one of the many national team members who got ...

Once the last beat of the Kollywood songs ended here at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium on Wednesday, the game of the tournament started with a near disaster for India. Pakistan were celebrating a goal in just 95 seconds after the start. The stunned Chennai crowd, with hands on hips, watched the replay on the big screen after a video referral, and then erupted in joy as  Hannan Shahid's strike was disallowed. The wake-up call saw the Indian defence regroup and get its structure back. For the next 12 minutes, it was free-flowing hockey, with both the sides defending well, until the dying seconds of the first quarter, when India earned their first penalty corner (PC) and skipper  Harmanpreet Singh  sounded the board for the first of his two goals . It was a comprehensive win for India over Pakistan in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Chennai on Wednesday. In a match attended by Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and cricketer R Ashwin, India won 4-0.  Captai...

  It wasn’t their most convincing victory. Nonetheless, India put it past South Korea 3-2 in their fourth round-robin match to maintain their winning run at the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Chennai on Monday. Three wins and a draw have given India 10 points and a top position in the table. Importantly, they have already qualified for the semifinals.  India took the lead in the sixth minute through Nilakanta Sharma, who found the net after Sukhjeet, having received the ball from Sumit Shamsher Singh, jinked past two defenders and passed it to Sharma.  But in a see-saw match at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Korea equalised after just six minutes. Kim Sunghyun rifled the ball past Indian goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak, who was playing in his 100th international game. Then Harmanpreet Singh scored off a penalty corner in the 23rd minute. He aimed his shot low to the right of the keeper.   Ten minutes later Mandeep Singh made it 3-1. In the 58th minut...

  A dominant India roared back to winning ways with a 5-0 mauling of Malaysia in a round-robin fixture of the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy hockey here on Sunday. Local favorite Karthi Selvam (15th minute) and vice-captain Hardik Singh (32') were on target, along with skipper Harmanpreet Singh (42'), Gurjant Singh (53') and Jugraj Singh (54'). The result took India to the top of the table, helping them inch closer to sealing a semifinals berth. India began the first quarter on an attacking note, coming close to penetrating the Malaysian box and creating some very clear scoring chances. Meanwhile, Malaysia's Fitri Saari was green-carded for a harsh interception in the eighth minute. With the first quarter coming to a close, Harmanpreet ran towards the Malaysian box unmarked and passed the ball inside to Selvam, who comfortably tapped it in to give the hosts the lead. At the start of the subsequent quarter, India's Vivek Sagar saw a green card. However, India contin...

  For a team with a disproportionate share of victories in their face-offs, India has never been very comfortable against Malaysia. On Sunday, the host would be hoping to do better than the 3-3 draw it managed the last time the two met but it won’t be easy. Craig Fulton’s men have had contrasting outings in the two games they have played so far at the Asian Champions Trophy 2023,   struggling to score against Japan despite being the superior and dominant side. For a team with a disproportionate share of victories in their face-offs, India has never been very comfortable against Malaysia. On Sunday, the host would be hoping to do better than the 3-3 draw it managed the last time the two met but it won’t be easy. Craig Fulton’s men have had contrasting outings in the two games they have played so far at the Asian Champions Trophy 2023   struggling to score against Japan despite being the superior and dominant side  Malaysia, on the other hand, has come out al...

  Both sides will play their home matches in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. Following the announcement of the FIH Pro League Season 5 Calendar for 2023-24 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Thursday, the Indian Men and Women’s Hockey Team expressed excitement as they believe the exposure during this outing will help in the team’s preparations for Paris 2024. Both the teams will begin their campaign in home games scheduled to be held at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar, and Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, Rourkela. The Indian Women’s Hockey Team, who have been promoted to this edition of the FIH Pro League after being crowned Champions of the FIH Nations League, will take the field first against China on 6th February 2024 at the Kalinga Stadium. This will be followed by matches against Netherlands, Australia, and USA before they move to Rourkela, where they will take the field against China, Netherlands, Australia, and USA again. After the home matches, the Indian eve...

  The Indian men's Hockey team and Japan came up with a scratchy 1-1 draw in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy 2023, Indian Hocke here at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium on Friday. Harmanpreet Singh (43′) was the lone goal scorer for India while Ken Nagayoshi (28′) gave Japan a fine start. Riding on their splendid 7-2 victory against China in their Asian Champions Trophy 2023, Indian Hocke opener, India looked for yet another victory, but a determined Japan played with great tenacity to keep the hosts in check. Though the reigning Asian Games Champions Japan got off the blocks with the right tempo to build pressure on the hosts in the first quarter, India did well to win back-to-back PCs early in the game. It was Taiki Takade who was not five metres away from India’s free hit which prompted the PC. After three retakes, India couldn’t trap the ball on the top of the circle in the 4th attempt. Though Vivek Sagar Prasad tried to take a revers...

  The Indian Men's team made a grand start to their campaign at the Asian Champions Trophy 2023  with an astounding 7-2 win over China here on Thursday. It was raining goals at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Egmore, with Harmanpreet Singh (5′, 8′), Varun Kumar (19′, 30′), Sukhjeet Singh (15′), Akashdeep Singh (16′) entering their name on the scoreboard while charismatic forward Mandeep Singh (40′) achieved a personal milestone as he scored his 100th international goal. Playing in front of a boisterous home crowd, India got off to a roaring start in the first quarter with an assertive attack demolishing the Chinese defence. Having recently etched his name as one of the highest goal scorers in FIH Pro League history, Harmanpreet Singh continued his fine form with a perfect flick to score back-to-back goals in the 5th and 8th minute, giving India an early 2-0 lead. India continued to build on the momentum as the hosts created their third PC in the 1...

  South Korea to take on Japan in the tournament opener The long wait is almost over as the Hero Asian Champions Trophy 2023  is all set to commence on Thursday with thousands of hockey fans waiting to soak up the exciting and intriguing moments during the 10-day extravaganza at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Egmore, which last witnessed an international match in 2007.  The anticipation is evident with fans gathering at the stadium in the lead-up to the event only to get a glimpse of their favourite hockey stars.  While defending Champions Korea will be the team to watch out for, the reigning Olympic Bronze medal-winning Indian Men’s Hockey team will begin as favourites for the title. Riding on their recent outing in Spain, India led by one of the most successful dragflickers in world hockey Harmanpreet Singh will look to begin their campaign on a strong note.  “In tournaments like these, no team can be taken lightly. We are lookin...

  India are the joint-highest title winners in the competition history with three trophies to their name. Asian Champions Trophy 2023 is the seventh edition of the tournament organised by the Asian Hockey Federation. The previous edition was played in 2021 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with South Korea winning their maiden title, beating Japan 4-2 in the shootout of the finals after drawing 3-3 in the regulation time. India finished the last edition as the third best-placed team after securing a victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the third-place playoff game. India and Pakistan have three titles each, the joint-most in the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 history, and they shared their latest title in the 2018 edition. India comes into the tournament with the Asian Games and the qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympics on the back of their minds. And so, they would want to be at their dominant best throughout the tournament. They are also the highest-ranked ...