Page 3 - Hockey

India beat South Africa 6-3 to enter FIH Hockey5s Women's World Cup final

India registered a thrilling 6-3 win over South Africa to advance to the final of the FIH Hockey5s Women's World Cup here. Akshata Abaso Dhekale (7th minute), Mariana Kujur (11th), Mumtaz Khan (21st), Rutuja Dadaso Pisal (23rd), Jyoti Chhatri (25th) and Ajima Kujur (26th) scored for India in the semifinal on Friday night. Teshawn De La Rey (5th), captain Toni Marks (8th) and Dirkie Chamberlain (29th) were on target for South Africa. South Africa began the first half on a defensive note, waiting for counters to threaten the Indian goal. The game's first chance fell to South Africa but India goalkeeper Rajani Etimarpu was vigilant in front of the goal. It was a close-range reverse shot from South Africa's Teshawn De La Rey that gave them the early lead, which was short-lived as Akshata equalised for India with a powerful shot that beat South African goalie Grace Cochrane all ends up. But a minute later skipper Toni picked up a pass, dodged the keeper and found the back of the net t

Indian men's hockey team beats South Africa 3-0 at their home turf

The Indian men's hockey team continued its unbeaten run on the tour to South Africa, registering an easy 3-0 win over the hosts here. Captain Harmanpreet Singh (2nd minute), Abhishek (13th), and Sumit (30th) scored for the winners on Friday night. The Indians started on an attacking note and secured an early penalty corner, which Harmanpreet converted with a powerful dragflick to take the lead. With just a couple of minutes left in the first quarter, Abhishek managed to make the most of an attacking move and struck one past South Africa goalkeeper to double India's lead. Despite plenty of attacks from South Africa in the second quarter, India's defence maintained their composure and remained resolute in their determination to keep a clean sheet. Just at the stroke of half-time, Sumit managed to score another field goal as India took a comfortable 3-0 lead. South Africa started showcasing urgency after the change of ends, but failed to break the Indian defence. The cagey third q

Vandana returns to squad as Indian women eye fresh start in FIH Pro League

Smarting from the failure to make the Paris Olympics, a Savita Punia-led 24-member Indian women's hockey team will look to make a fresh start in the upcoming FIH Pro League matches. Savita will be assisted by Vandana Katariya, who returned to the side as vice-captain after recovering from a cheekbone fracture, which forced the senior striker to miss the Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi earlier this month. The Indian team endured a disappointing outing in Ranchi and failed to qualify for the Olympics after having made the cut in the last two editions. In fact, in the last edition at Tokyo, the Indians finished a creditable fourth. The Bhubaneswar leg of the Pro League will begin on February 3 and end on February 9, while the Rourkela leg will commence on February 12 and last till February 18. India will take on the United States, the Netherlands, China, and Australia twice each across both legs. The Indian women will begin their campaign against reigning Asian Games champions China on

India beat New Zealand 11-1 to enter FIH Women's Hockey5s World Cup semis

Rutaja Pisal scored four goals while Deepika Soreng struck thrice as India hammered New Zealand 11-1 to enter the semifinals of the FIH Women's Hockey5s World Cup here. New Zealand took the lead courtesy a goal from Oriwa Hepi (2nd minute) but India equalized within fifteen seconds as Deepika Soreng (2nd) found the back of the net with an astonishing finish. Rutaja (9th) put India in the lead before Mumtaz Khan (10th, 11th) quickly fired back-to-back goals. The goalfest continued with India again scoring two more quick goals, this time from Mariana Kujur (13th, 14th) as the first half ended with India leading 6-1. India's control of proceedings continued and Rutaja (22nf) scored her second goal of the match. Deepika (25th) also brought up her second goal before Rutaja (26th, 28th) added two more goals to her tally. Deepika (29th) then scored another goal to complete her hat-trick as India won the game 11-1. India face South Africa in the semifinal.

Paris Olympics: India placed in tough Pool B in men's hockey competition

Asian Games champions and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists India are place in a tough Pool B in the men's hockey competition at this year's Paris Games. Eight-time champions India, who clinched a historic bronze medal in Tokyo after a hiatus of 41 years, have been clubbed with reigning Olympic champions and world no.2 Belgium, mighty Australia, Rio Games gold medallist Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland. The Indians are currently ranked third in the world, behind Belgium and the Netherlands, and they had found it tough to beat Tokyo silver medallist Australia and Argentina in the past. Pool A, meanwhile, consists of Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, France and South Africa. The International Hockey Federation announced the pools of both men's and women's hockey competition after the completion of the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers on Sunday. In the women's competition in Paris, there will be no representation from India, who finished a creditable fourth in Tokyo, as they

Pakistan hockey team fails to qualify for Olympics, former players sad

Pakistan's embattled men's hockey team has failed to qualify for the Olympic Games for a third consecutive time after losing its final shot at a Paris ticket in the FIH Qualifiers in Oman, a result that left the game's former greats here sad and outraged in equal measure. After losing 0-4 to Germany in the tournament's semi-final, Pakistan went down 2-3 to New Zealand in the third-place match last night, ending their chances of making it to this year's Paris Olympics as only the top-three made the cut. Pakistan's last Olympic appearance was in the 2012 Games where the team signed off 7th, a marginal improvement from its worst ever 8th place finish in the Beijing Games in 2008. The team is overall an eight-time medallist in the mega-event, three of them being gold (1960, 1968, and 1984). "What do you expect bhai (brother), when the team is sent to the Olympic qualifiers with just 18 days training whereas all the other teams have come there with months of preparation and training," ..

Chile beat Czech Republic 1-0 to finish seventh in Paris Olympics Qualifier

Chile rode on Fernanda Villigran's penalty strike in the second quarter to beat Czech Republic, the lowest ranked side in the tournament, 1-0 to finish seventh in the FIH Women's Olympic Qualifier here on Friday. Even though they failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics, it should be a morale-boosting win for the Chileans, ranked 22nd in the world, over world No. 31 Czech Republic. Viilligran scored the lone goal in the 27th minute during the seventh-eighth place classification match. It was Chile's only second over Czech Republic in the history of the game. The Chileans had also defeated Czech 6-0 in the pool stages here. Chile were by far the better side on display as they dominated the match from start to end. Chile kept up the pressure on the Czech defence from the onset and made innumerable circle entries but goals eluded them in the first quarter. Chile secured two penalty corners in the first quarter as against Czech's one but both the sides failed to break the deadlock.

Schopman wants her players to show up against Japan after Germany loss

Indian women's hockey team chief coach Janneke Schopman wants her players to show up against Japan in the third-fourth place classification match after their loss against Germany in the semifinals of the FIH Olympic Qualifier here on Thursday. India fumbled in the shootout to lose 3-4 after the match ended 2-2 at the end of regulation time. But India still have a chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics if they beat Japan on Friday as the top three teams from this tournament will qualify for this year's quadrennial extravaganza. "We will discuss it again. We need to give time to the disappointment. We have to rest tomorrow morning and I know they will be ready. Some of them are already ready but we need some time," Schopman said. "They get a little bit impatient and when they get impatient...but I can't always blame them for it. It was great that we could manage a large part of the game today. "I know we can play but we have to show up and have to keep fighting. We don't have a ..

Paris Olympics 2024 Hockey Qualifier Highlights: Germany beat India in SF

India chance for Olympics: While Germany booked a place in 2024 Paris Olympics along with USA, whom they face in the final on Friday, India will get another chance

Contrary to final scoreline, it was a tough match against Italy: Schopman

The Indian women's hockey team on Tuesday routed Italy 5-1 to enter the semifinals of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers here, but chief coach Janneke Schopman feels that the scoreline might not depict how tough it was out there in the middle. India finished second in Pool B behind USA and will now take on Pool A toppers Germany in the semifinals on Thursday. The top three sides from the tournament will qualify for Paris Olympics. "We have learnt from every match. In the first match, we didn't really play well. Our second game was really good and we were in control. This game against was a bit difficult, we struggled a little bit," Schopman said after the match. "The learning from here is that we actually fought ourselves back into this game and started dominating. "Italy is difficult team to play against, they are very skillfull, play hard. So lot's of learnings," the Dutch added. Schopman had words of praise for Udita Duhan, who scored a brace on her 100th international match on ...

Spirited India women's hockey side eye Italy to keep Paris hopes alive

Their campaign back on track after a wobbly start, India would look for another spirited all-round performance to outwit lower-ranked Italy in their final pool match and progress to the semifinals of the FIH Women's Olympic Qualifier here on Tuesday. The Indians, ranked sixth in the world, did not have the best of starts to the tournament as they lost to world no. 12 USA 0-1 in their opening Pool B match. But the Savita Punia-led side bounced back strongly and produced a masterclass performance to beat New Zealand 3-1 in a must-win match on Sunday, which kept their Paris Olympics hopes alive. Having missed the bus through Asian Games, the ongoing tournament is India's only chance to qualify for this year's Olympics as top three teams from here will book Paris tickets. The USA are atop Pool B with two wins, while India and New Zealand currently have three points each but the hosts are below the Black Sticks on goal difference. And come Tuesday, the Indians would look for nothing le

International Hockey Federation defends decision to legalise hockey betting

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Sunday defended its decision to partner with Sweden-based betting firm Spring Media for a four-year cycle, stating that it is a vehicle to generate funds for the development of the game. The FIH recently partnered with Spring Media to offer fans a betting package that includes all its events, representing more than 1,300 matches across four years. While many in the fraternity raised eyebrows following the move, the FIH backed its decision, saying that legal betting is the way forward in the world of sport. "We have signed with a legal betting entity, so there is no question at all of integrity. It's completely legal and controlled. "And of course, when it comes to integrity and of the hockey members in general, not only linked to betting but every type of behaviour, the FIH has an integrity code in place and has an integrity unit since couple of years," a top FIH official told PTI on the sidelines of the Women's Olympic Qualifier here.

Women's Hockey Olympic Qualifiers: India beat NZ 3-1 to keep hopes alive

India on Sunday rose from the ashes to tame New Zealand 3-1 with a spirited performance in their second pool match of the FIH Women's Olympic Qualifier to keep alive their hopes of securing a ticket to Paris Games. The Indians, who dropped a rung to seventh in the world rankings released on Saturday, did not have the best of starts in the tournament, losing to lower-ranked United States 0-1 in their opening Pool B match. In contrast, New Zealand registered an easy 3-0 win over Italy on Saturday. But it was complete turnover from the Indians on Sunday. Leaving behind the USA disappointment, the Indians produced all-round hockey on Sunday and used every corner of the turf to build their attacks with short and crisp passes. This was what India's chief coach Janneke Schopman pointed after USA match and the girls seemed to have attentively listened to the Dutch, which was evident from the team's much-improved performance on Sunday. Salima Tete had a brilliant game and was involved in

'Do yourself a favour and show up': Schopman's message that did wonders

"Just do yourself a favour and show up." This was India's chief coach Janneke Schopman's message to her wards ahead of the must-win Pool B FIH Women's Olympic Qualifier match against New Zealand here on Sunday. Schopman gave the message after India lost 0-1 to the United States in their opener on Saturday and a loss or draw against New Zealand would have dented their hopes of qualifying for the Paris Olympics. But the Indian women dished out "near-perfect" hockey to tame New Zealand 3-1 in their second match. "I said that no one's perfect. We are going to make mistakes but that doesn't matter. We just have to play and said to them 'just do yourself a favour and show up today'. The biggest message was we need to connect as a team and we need to play together and I think they did that today," Schopman said after the win. "It was close to perfect. We defended really well. New Zealand is a difficult team to play against because of their high balls. We could have awarded ourselves with

Didn't play to our strength: Schopman on Indian women's hockey loss vs USA

India did not have the best of starts in the FIH Women's Olympic Qualifier, losing 0-1 to USA in their opener here on Saturday, and the team's chief coach Janneke Schopman admitted that her side didn't play to their strength. Having missed the opportunity to book Paris Olympics ticket through last year's Asian Games, it is world no. 6 India's only chance to qualify for the quadrennial extravaganza. India wasted chances galore, including as many as seven penalty corners and some from open field play, to start their campaign on a disappointing note here. And Schopman said her wards were guilty of straying away from their style of play. "I know we are a good team, we weren't the lesser team even though we lost. We were outsmarted. We created chances but did not have composure and confidence on the ball that I am used to see in training and in matches previously," Schopman said after the match. "We rushed a little bit, we were forcing and may be that's because we were 0-1 down. We hav

FIH Women's Hockey Olympic Qualifiers: Profligate India lose 0-1 to USA in

A profligate Indian team squandered chances galore to lose 0-1 to lower-ranked United States of America in its opening match of the FIH Women's Olympic Qualifier here on Saturday. Ranked sixth in the world, India dominated the possession and created numerous scoring chances, including as many as seven penalty corners, but failed to breach the American defence. USA, ranked 24th in the world rankings, scored the solitary goal of the match through Abigail Tamer in the 16th minute of the Pool B match. The defeat would make India's road to Paris tougher as it will be up against stronger teams in next matches. There was hardly anything to separate the two sides in the first quarter which witnessed a keenly-contested battle. Both teams managed a few circle penetration but goals eluded the two sides. The Indians, however, were guilty of not using both the flanks unlike USA who build their attacks from both corners. India's woes from penalty corners remained unchanged as they wasted as ma

Olympics Women's Hockey Qualifier: NZ women excited to play hosts India

New Zealand women's hockey team is determined to prove a point during its maiden visit to India, with coach Phil Burrows terming the Black Sticks' second pool match against the hosts as "special" moment for his wards. Both India and New Zealand are placed in a tough Pool B in the FIH Olympic Qualifier here, alongside Italy and the United States, while Germany, former Asian Games champions Japan, Chile and Czech Republic are in Pool A. New Zealand, ranked ninth in the world, will open their campaign against Italy on Saturday before taking on world no. 6 India the next day. "We know game 2 is going to be pretty crazy for the girls. None of our group have experience of playing in India before, so the second match will be pretty special for them," coach Burrows said ahead of their match. "Germany certainly is a favourite, India is going to be tough to beat in their conditions. We want to be there as well. It's a tough pool, we just have to play well and try to get to the ...

Eyeing Paris Olympics berth, Indian women's team opens campaign against US

Putting behind the disappointment of finishing third at Asian Games, the Indian women's team will look to cash in on home advantage and secure a ticket to Paris as it faces the USA in its FIH Olympic Qualifiers opener here on Saturday. Hosts India, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, US, Chile and New Zealand are the eight teams vying for the top three slots here to book their Paris berths. The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11 this year. World number five Germany are the highest ranked team in the tournament, while India are a rung below in sixth. New Zealand are ninth in the rankings chart, followed by Japan (11th), Chile (14th), US (15th), Italy (19th) and Czech Republic (25th). India are placed in Pool B alongside New Zealand, Italy, and the United States, while Germany, former Asian Games champions Japan, Chile and Czech Republic are in Pool A. After the US game, India will meet New Zealand (January 14) and Italy (January 16). The semi-finals will be p

Hockey coach Fulton picks big squad for Four-Nation tour of South Africa

India has picked a jumbo 26-member squad for the men's Four-Nation hockey tour of South Africa this month to check out as many players as possible in the crucial Olympic year. The tournament, which will mark the comeback of former captain Manpreet Singh after a break, will be played in Cape Town from January 22 with the other competing countries being France, the Netherlands and hosts South Africa. The Indians will be led by Harmanpreet Singh, while FIH Player of the Year Hardik Singh will be his deputy. "We are quite excited to get on with the season in the Olympic year with the South Africa tour where we will play quality teams," said India chief coach Craig Fulton. "We have chosen a big squad in order to give players exposure and it will also give me an opportunity to see some of the players in competition mode ahead of the Pro League," he added. Youngsters Araijeet Singh Hundal and Boby Singh Dhami have been included following an impressive outing with the junior Indian side.

Confident of entering 3rd successive Olympics: India women's hockey captain

Indian women's team is confident of booking a third successive Olympic berth and its knowledge of the conditions here will put it in good stead ahead of the eight-team hockey Olympic Qualifiers, said attacking midfielder Navneet Kaur on Monday. The Indian team, led by Savita Punia, had won the Asian Champions Trophy at the same venue of Marang Gomke Jaypal Singh Mundha AstroTurf Hockey Stadium in November last year. The hosts defeated Japan 4-0 in the final to secure their second consecutive title in the competition. "Arriving in Ranchi early has helped us gain quite a few sessions on the main pitch and it has also helped us acclimatise to this weather," Navneet said in a Hockey India release. "Since we have also played in this venue before, during the Women's Asian Champions Trophy, we know the pitch well." Fuelled by their historic fourth-place finish in the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Indian side spent about a week understanding the conditions. The Indian members also visited and