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
Star Sports Select 2 HD/SD and Star Sports First will live broadcast IND vs JPN hockey match in India
It remains to be seen whether she will find a place in India's squad for the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Maintaining intensity throughout the 60 minutes of the game and consistency in finishing would be India's targets when the hosts take on Japan in the semifinal of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament here on Friday. No doubt, India will start as favourites after their unbeaten run in the round-robin stage, winning four matches and drawing one to top the points table. However, India would be wary of Japan, the only side the hosts have not beaten. The league match between the two sides had ended in a 1-1 draw. There is a wide gap in the world rankings between the two teams as India are at fourth spot as against 19 of Japan. But the home side should not forget that they had lost to Japan 3-5 in the semifinals of the 2021 edition in Dhaka after thrashing their opponents 6-0 in the league stage. India have scored the most number of goals -- 20 -- so far in this tournament but they missed chances galore against Japan in their league match, and the hosts will have to make amends o
Veteran Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh is taking one tournament at a time as far as his future is concerned and says he will "see how things happen" after the Asian Games in China in September-October. The 35-year-old goalkeeping legend is nearing 300 international matches after making his India debut in 2006. He is currently sharing the goalkeeping duties for India with Krishan Bahadur Pathak in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) here. "At this age, better don't ask me about the next two years. It's all about the next one. I am at the Asian Games, and after that, I'll see how things happen. I will take it one tournament at a time," Sreejesh told PTI when asked about the possibility of him featuring in another ACT. The ACT is a biennial tournament, but the venue and dates of the next edition is yet to be announced. "As (Novac) Djokovic said, '35 is the new 25'. So, I'm definitely there," Sreejesh said after India thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 on Wednesday. Sreejesh
India head coach Craig Fulton hailed his side's "structured" and "consistent" game in the 4-0 thrashing of arch-rivals Pakistan in their Asian Champions Trophy hockey match here and he's looking for his players to continue in the same vein in the semifinal against Japan. India's comprehensive 4-0 win in their last round-robin league match on Wednesday knocked Pakistan out of the tournament. Unbeaten India topped the league table with four wins and a draw and play Japan in the semifinals on Friday. "We did play a good-structured game. We did miss a few chances in the fourth quarter, but we did well overall," Fulton said during the post-match press conference. "We had some good consistency in each quarter, which we did the same during the Japan game (on August 4 which ended in 1-1 draw)." Japan sneaked into the semifinals ahead of Pakistan on better goal difference, though the two sides collected five points each. Japan had minus two goal difference as against minus five of Pakistan.
Star Sports Select 2 HD/SD and Star Sports First will live broadcast IND vs PAK hockey match in India
More matches between arch-rivals India and Pakistan will only benefit both sides as well as continent's hockey, home team captain Harmanpreet Singh said on Tuesday ahead of their high-voltage clash in the Asian Champions Trophy here. Unbeaten India are already through to the semifinals after three wins and one draw while Pakistan's last-four hopes depend on the result of this vital clash against India on Wednesday. A win for Pakistan will guarantee them a spot in the semifinals, but a defeat would leave their fate on the result of the match between China and Japan, also on Wednesday. "Matches are important for any team. If we play more matches together, it will surely help us and Asian hockey as a whole. But, it all depends on the situation, and I feel we should play a lot more against each other," Harmanpreet said during the press conference ahead of the match. Asked why the rivalry between the two sides has become less intense as compared to earlier times, Harmanpreet said, "It (
Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2023: India and Malaysia are into the semi-finals, and China has been knocked out. Check where the other team stands after the opening round of fixtures
Their semifinal berth already sealed, three-time champions India would look to guard against complacency when they take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a high-voltage last round-robin league match of the Asian Champions Trophy here on Wednesday. There has been complete contrast in the overall performance of both the sides in the tournament so far. While the hosts are unbeaten in the four games they played so far, Pakistan have managed only a win along with a couple of draws and a loss and their semifinal hopes depend on the result of this vital clash. A win for Pakistan will guarantee them a spot in the last four stage, but a defeat would leave their fate on the result of the match between China and Japan. If Pakistan lose on Wednesday, they will hope for China to upset Japan. In case Japan wins, the victory of margin should be lesser. Besides Pakistan would also hope for Malaysia to beat South Korea by a big margin, which would benefit the Men in Green. With three wins and a draw, Indi
Pakistan are aware of India's weak areas and they have to play smart hockey against the home side, head coach Muhammad Saqlain said on Monday ahead of a potentially high-voltage clash between the arch-rivals in the Asian Champions Trophy here. India and Pakistan face each other in their last round-robin league match on Wednesday. "Harmanpreet Singh and other centre forwards are some of the best players in the world. We are aware of their weakness as well, but we have to be smart against them," Saqlain told PTI on Monday. Pakistan managed a narrow 2-1 win over China on Monday to stay in contention for a semifinal berth. Saqlain said he's confident of his side making it to the final four. "Finally, we have got the three crucial points. We created quite some chances, especially towards the initial stages of the meeting. If we keep going like this, we can surely make it to the semifinals with this young team," he said of the win against China. Asked about handling pressure against th
Their semifinals spot guaranteed, India prevailed over defending champions South Korea 3-2 in their fourth round-robin fixture of the Asian Champions Trophy here on Monday, maintaining their unbeaten run in the continental hockey tournament. Even before the action got underway at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium, India had sealed their place in the semi-finals, following Japan's loss to Malaysia earlier in the day. Both teams began the match on a fast-paced note, playing mainly possession-based hockey. In the sixth minute, the deadlock was broken by the hosts, as Nilakanta Sharma tapped the ball in after Sukhjeet Singh dribbled the ball past a couple of defenders. Unfazed by the goal, Korea came up with a couple of chances of their own but the Indian defence was up to the task. However, the Koreans did not take much time to equalise as Sunghyun Kim hammered it in after Manjae Jung's low pass, in the 12th minute. In the second quarter, it was all about India as they came up
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
Courtesy of this draw, India would now have to be content with the second position on the points table in the Men's Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2023 being held in Chennai
India faces Japan in its second Asian Champions Trophy Hockey match today at 8.30 pm IST. The match will be played at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu
In the Asian Champions Trophy, the India vs Pakistan match will take place on August 9 at 8:30 PM IST.
Skipper Harmanpreet Singh and Varun Kumar scored two goals each as India thrashed China 7-2 to begin their Asian Champions Trophy hockey campaign on a winning note at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here on Thursday. Harmanpreet (5th, 8th minutes) and Varun (19th, 30th) converted two penalty corners each for India, while Sukhjeet Singh (15th), Akashdeep Singh (16th) and Mandeep Singh (40th) were the other goal scorers. China's two goals came from the sticks of Wenhui E (18th) and Jiesheng Gao (25th). The Men in Blue were off to a resounding start in the opening quarter, as it took them just five minutes into the contest to earn a penalty corner, and skipper Harmanpreet made no mistake in successfully converting it. It did not too long for India to double the lead. Three minutes later, it was another penalty corner and it yielded the same result through the same man, Harmanpreet. Down by a couple of goals early into the tie, the Chinese players struggled to penetrate the In
The Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2023 is set to begin tomorrow, i.e., August 3. India will host the event in Chennai, where six teams will participate to win the trophy
India vs China game will kick-start at 8:30 PM IST. The Live telecast of IND vs CHN match will be available on Star Sports First and Star Sports Select 2 HD
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey has said that the national men's team will travel to Pakistan for qualifiers in case it fails to directly qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning gold at the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, starting September 23. The team winning the continental event gold shall receive direct berth in the quadrennial extravaganza as per rule but other nations need to play the qualifiers and this time venues identified are Pakistan and Spain. "We will be trying to get the job done in Hangzhou. But, if for some reason, we fail to qualify, then there are a couple of venues that have been identified for the qualifiers - Pakistan and Spain. So, wherever it happens, we will definitely go," he said during a media interaction on the eve of the tournament on Wednesday. Travelling to Pakistan requires government clearance and it is there to be seen what will be the centre's stance in case situation demands that national hockey team is needed to travel to Pakistan to