Rotterdam: Held to a draw by lower-ranked Ireland in their FIH World League Round 3 opener, the Indian men's hockey team will have to regroup quickly and come up with something special against formidable Netherlands in their next Pool B match here on Saturday.
Ranked four places ahead of their rivals, India (11) started as overwhelming favourites against Ireland (15) on Thursday, but it didn't really show in their game as they laboured to a 4-4 draw.
Defence has been India's perennial problem and it hurt them against the Irish on Thursday. There was clear lack of co-ordination between Indian mid-fielders and the forwardline and they were also guilty of giving away the ball easily to their opponents.
But come on Saturday, the Indians cannot afford to commit the same mistakes against the Netherlands, who are ranked third in the world and are the current Olympic silver-medallists....more
02:38 PM, Jun 14, 2013
New Delhi: Hockey India on Monday announced India's 16-member men's hockey squad for the London Olympics, ending days of speculation. But as expected, the squad is without any major surprises. To be led by goalkeeper Bharat Chetri, only two changes were made from the squad that finished third in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Malaysia, with striker Yuvraj Walmiki and defender Rupinderpal Singh being left out for Gurwinder...
12:49 PM, Jun 12, 2012