Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 21 Dec 2011 06:52

Anand interview
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1111221/j ... 907176.jsp

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 22 Dec 2011 07:12

Punjab will take on Orissa while surprise package Jharkhand face Haryana in the semifinals of the Junior Hockey National Championship at the Balewadi Sports Complex here on Wednesday.

http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_ju ... is_1628279
OGQ schedule released
http://www.fih.ch/en/competitions-149-2 ... ent:format
Italy, US, France, Canada, Poland in that order.... starting feb 18th.

Latest memsaab ki story that even I can see through

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-spo ... 736001.ece
Others too can see through...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 197970.cms

Athletes under 'Olympic Hopeful' programme

Archery: L Bombyala Devi, Deepika Kumari, Chekrovolu Swuro and Jayanta Talukdar.
Athletics: Vikas Gowda, Mayookha Johny, Tintu Luka and Krishna Poonia.
Boxing: Manoj Kumar, Devendro Singh, Jai Bhagwan, Vikas Krishn, Vijender Singh, Suranjoy Singh, Dinesh Kumar, MC Marykom, Neetu Chahal.
Badminton: Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa.
Rowing: Bajrang Lal Thakar.
Shooting: Gagan Narang, Abhinav Bindra, Ronjan Sodhi, Vijay Kumar, Sanjeev Rajput, Anuraj Singh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Mansher Singh, Manavjit Singh Sandhu.
Tennis: Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Sania Mirza, Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna.
Weightlifting: Sonia Chanu.
Wrestling: Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Rahul Aware, Narsingh Yadav, Mausam Khatri and Geeta Kumari.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 176648.cms

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 23 Dec 2011 00:50

Saurabh stuns Sugiarto
http://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-spo ... 739129.ece

Vishnu, Yuki get wild cards
http://www.thehindu.com/sport/tennis/article2739136.ece

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 23 Dec 2011 12:48

Hockey Championship: Haryana bag maiden national title
http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_ho ... le_1629092

The new penalty shootout format, wherein a player starts from 30-yard line with the goalkeeper under the bar and has eight seconds to beat, was introduced for the first time in the nationals.

Results: Final: Haryana 5 (Manish Rana 2, Ranjit Singh 2, Naveen Antil) bt Orissa 4 (Ignacius Toppo, Stanley Minz, Mikhal Barla, Bikas Kujur)

Third-place match: Punjab 6 (Sukhmanjit Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Mandeep Singh, Varun Kumar, Harsahib Singh, Gaganpreet Singh) bt Jharkhand 1 (Rajin Khandulna)

FIFA ranking: stays at 162 even if we had climbed points from 119 to 131. Wonderful.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 23 Dec 2011 22:59

Will Cricket be played in Summer Olympics 2012?

Asit P · Post by **Asit P** » 29 Dec 2011 15:57

No it will not be a part of this Olympics.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 04 Jan 2012 01:12

He runs to connect with God
Oldest marathoner Fauja Singh talks about his passion, life
Neha Saini
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 2
At a modest 5 ft 8 inches tall, he is a giant in the world of marathon history. For someone who couldn’t barely walk at the age of five, running a marathon and breaking world records at the age of 100 is a feat worth celebrating.

But Fauja Singh takes it as a pleasant ‘surprise’. “Every day I feel surprised at my feats and wonder how I was able to do it?” If that’s not being humble then his recently released biography, Turbaned Tornado by Khushwant Singh, is a must read. The British centenarian marathon runner of Indian origin, Fauja Singh is not just a sportsperson but an inspiration world over.

In Amritsar on a personal visit to International Fateh Academy, the running sensation, a marathon runner for all seasons and turbaned tornado (all his popular nicknames) shared doses from his life and his biography. “I was quite weak in my childhood and could barely walk. People used to call me ‘stick’ and never in my life I had thought that I would become famous,” says the marathoner, who survived on nothing but faith and positivity. That’s why he mentions in his biography, “Perhaps it was the Almighty's way of preserving my legs for later years.”

Running started as an escape for him after the loss of his wife and son. At 90, he set the world record for the men's over-90 marathon run in five hours and 40 minutes, which shot him to international fame and later repeated the records in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m. Recently this year, at 100, he created another astonishing human legend by successfully completing the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon running the 26.2-mile marathon in 8 hours 25 minutes and 16 seconds. With this he entered the Guinness World Record in his age category as the first human being to accomplish the gruelling feat. What motivates him? “I run while talking to God.”

For someone whose enthusiasm for life, running and healthy living is infectious and a model for all, Fauja Singh doesn’t even remember most of his feats. But one thing he sure knows, “I take care of my health. My trainer Harminder has put all his efforts to keep me going.” He runs 10 miles a day, loves gorging on alsi ki pinni, milk and kanak da parshad twice a day (which he says is his secret to fitness) and stays away from junk food. Also, “I don’t feel I am that old. I have friends who are as young as ten years old, and I am happy that I have my peace of mind,” says the runner who could go for a ten mile run even at 2 in the morning.

He has proved his mettle world over but Fauja Singh is yet to run a marathon in India. “I would love to participate if invited.” Being a Punjabi, he finds himself in a tight spot when asked about the status of sports in Punjab, “We have such talented sportspersons, but the lack of promotion and drug abuse marr their core. I don’t have an answer to it.”

Meanwhile, he keeps himself busy running for himself and his humanitarian causes.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 05 Jan 2012 02:52

After what seemed like years of trying, Sasikiran is back to 2700 exact. Soon, Abhijeet Gupta will beat up Hari on his way up, a matter of time. All this comes with massive losses for Anand and Humpy, 1 step up, 2 down.

Looks like I should focus on watching the amru football season ahead, not much to look forward to in the short while on the Injun scene. Will come back with the OGQ may be.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 06 Jan 2012 17:49

TN follows Gujarat in introducing Chess into schools: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 357522.cms

OT: JJ and Modi relationship is getting stronger.

Asit P · Post by **Asit P** » 09 Jan 2012 22:32

International teams are still afraid of India: Nobbs

I'm 100 per cent sure we will qualify for Olympics: Rajpal

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 11 Jan 2012 22:56

Press conferences, almost unfailingly, throw up dreary situations thanks to the rigmarole of monotonous queries and tired answers. Some players, nevertheless, jazz up such sessions with their distinct quirks. As Tipsarevic was addressing the media after his doubles final victory, a feeble voice from the back-row fired this question: “What do you think about Leander's poor service game?”

As the puzzled Serbian struggled to find an answer, Paes popped out with a wicked grin. The usually sombre hacks roared in laughter with Tipsarevic for company.

Bhupathi was quite a contrast to his colourful former partner; his responses barely grossed five words. Questions which ran to several lines were met with snappy responses. “Yeah we played well” was the 37-year-old's staple response in most interactions.
...
The audience response was tepid, especially in comparison to the years before. Many reasons were pointed out but the dwindling numbers on weekdays did cause concern. Mr. Reddy said as much: “There was a crowd of 2,000 people each on the first and second day and 2,500 on the third. The numbers have been down by around 1,000 people a day as compared to the last couple of years.”
...
The final, though, was marked by a raucous crowd. “With a cracker of a singles final and the presence of Leander (Paes) in the doubles event, very few tickets remained unsold. In fact, hardly 300 tickets were available for the final. The hardcore supporters have not gone away; they have offered amazing support throughout the tournament.”

http://www.sportstaronnet.com/stories/2 ... 601800.htm
The capacity of the stadium is 5500 odd, so 2500 means not even half-full. Plus, there are no big tickets these days. Somdev pulled out with injury would have dealt a big blow to the rabid die-hards. Not all is well with Chennai Open even though the very fact that this event has been running through multiple DMK regimes means that is a big surprise surprise and widely past expectations. I would have given it 3 years of life in the mid-90s if you asked me, not 16 and counting.

It was heartening to see youngsters like Jeje Lalpekhlua, Jewel Raja, Lalrindika Ralte and Subhasis Roychowdury making an attempt to take the fight to the rival camp. To be fair on them, their efforts forced even the impeccable Bayern defence to tighten their guard on a few occasions late in the match.

India’s display in the second-half did not really alter the scoreline. But it was definitely an eye-opener for the team management, who at times in the past few months seemed to have shown overwhelming faith on some of the senior players, ignoring the thrust of youth.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120111/j ... 991019.jsp
I remember PSV Eindhoven coming to India in the early 90s to play three friendlies. IIRC, the scorelines were 8-zip, 7-zip and 8-1. So yes, progress indeed.

Curtains came down on Bhaichung’s illustrious career… But will the Bayern experience be a curtain raiser for Indian football. Let’s hope so.

Salute to the fighter-planet and the Michael Chang of Indian football. Godspeed on the footer club and hope to see many junior Baichungs from the stable.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 12 Jan 2012 01:02

India's Mangaonkar, Alankamony No. 2 in world junior squash.

India's Mahesh Mangaonkar and Anaka Alankamony have both moved up to the second spot in the World Junior Circuit Rankings issued by the World Squash Federation.

Title success in the Indian Junior Open in September last year helped the 17-year-old Mangaonkar achieve the second position - pushing Egypt's Mohamed Abouelghar, runner-up to El Shorbagy in Belgium, down to number three.

Alankamony, the 17-year-old from Chennai, followed her unexpected success in last year's Asian Junior Championships in Jordan by winning the Indian Junior Open at her home city in September to move up in the ranking chart.

In the Asian Junior Championships, Mangaonkar had finished with a bronze medal.

Another India, Apararajitha Balamurukan also made her way into the top 10.

Whilst Egyptian Marwan El Shorbagy retained his men's number one ranking, England's Emily Whitlock made her debut at the top of the women's list.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 12 Jan 2012 07:02

That's a great news!!!

Hiten · Post by **Hiten** » 12 Jan 2012 10:12

if non T20 variants don't put you to sleep, the 1st Test match played in independent India

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2LwIVplQzw

A small clip reporting a football match. Towards the end, one can see Field Marshal, then General, Cariappa giving away the trophies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUIXRE26sq4

chackojoseph · Post by **chackojoseph** » 15 Jan 2012 14:35

Ram Singh Yadav qualifies for London Olympics

Asit P · Post by **Asit P** » 18 Jan 2012 00:48

India eke out 2-1 win over South Africa in 2nd Test
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 526851.cms

Star drag-flicker Sandeep Singh converted a late penalty corner to hand India a 2-1 win over South Africa in the second hockey Test on Tuesday.

By virtue of this win, India now leads the five-Test series 2-0. The home team had on Monday defeated South Africa 4-0 in the series opener.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 18 Jan 2012 01:20

>> I remember PSV Eindhoven coming to India in the early 90s to play three friendlies. IIRC, the scorelines were 8-zip, 7-zip and 8-1. So yes, progress indeed.

stan bayern was in India few years back to play against MB youth team, not officially called so but practically so. they won 3-0, it was closer than the scoreline suggests, having watched it from the stands. it was also oliver kahn's last match.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 18 Jan 2012 01:51

why is aiff not scheduling any friendlies till march? there wont be any fifa rating jump till the matches are scheduled and won, no??! is this the off-season?

Asit P, the suud afrika series is a bit of a test-run for the more important OGQ. Winning this series 5-zip wont make an iota of a difference unless the folks win the qualifier, which is obviously not hard at all. All they need to do is just keep their damn heads and not get the blood run to their nether ends in the last 15 minutes of play. This team is settling in and is playing 50-55 mins of good hickey, not the last 15-20 mins. God knows what is even going on, seems something purely mental and we dont have a mental conditioning coach. We need depth in defence still, this is not nuff to go to the podium at Londonistan. I will take a top-6 spot as that means CT run for 2-3 years. And we sorely need to climb out of the rut called FIH rankings. Not gonna happen till we do well at AC, AG, OG, WCH or CT. Nobbs has so far been a welcome change from JB, amen to that. And I did nt believe I would say that on an assie coach, so more paper for me to eat. I will happily eat another notebook for these blokes to get to the top-6.

And I have lost absolutely all enthu on the ladies. Sorry, cant watch em anymore. Will probably take a generation of down time to sit and read through their news items.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 18 Jan 2012 03:18

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide-sh ... 120117.htm

Anuradha Vaidyanathan is India first Ironman athlete. The multi-tasking 30-year-old PhD holder and entrepreneur tells us about the challenges she's had to face and how she made it.

Very few of us may have even heard of the sporting event she represents. Fewer are probably aware of the extreme physical endurance it demands.

Ironman one-day triathlon that involves a 3.8km swim, 180km bicycle ride and a 42.2km run. The relatively 'easier' triathlon event is the Ultraman -- a three-day stage race that involves a 10km swim, 420km bicycle ride and an 84.4km run

Anuradha Vaidyanathan is India's first Ironman athlete and one of the only 450 people in the world to have finished an Ultraman.

In 2009, Vaidyanathan finished the Ultraman in Canada, was placed 6th and was the youngest finisher. Barely three weeks later, she completed the Ironman Canada and became the only athlete to do so in the history of the race.

When she isn't breaking stereotypes in athletics, Vaidyanathan runs an Intellectual Property firm and teaches at IIT-Ropar.

In an interview, Anuradha Vaidyanathan tells us about the challenges in participating in a sport that few have heard of and how she overcomes them.

Could you tell us what is a triathlon and what does a triathlete do?

A triathlon is a three-sport event that involves swimming, biking and running (in that order).

There are various distances of triathlon (sprint, Olympic, half-Ironman and Ironman being standard one-day races and Ultraman being a three-day stage race with a 10K swim, 420K bike and 84.4K run).

A triathlete is usually a strange creature with major attention-deficit-disorder who is hyperactive and cannot be happy doing just one sport, thus they partake in three. This species is also known to be very emotionally attached to spandex, naming their bikes and singing songs to their shoes!

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 26 Jan 2012 22:47

Leander Paes in the Aussie open Mens Doubles final partnering Radek Stepanek. Plays the Bryan brothers.

Thank goodness Bopanna deepsixed the beard in favor of Bhupathi. Unfortunately they lost in the prequarters despite being the 4th seeds. Hope they become a mature pair in time for London 2012.

negi · Post by **negi** » 26 Jan 2012 22:50

Stepanek is a really good S&V player if he and Paes gel well then they can be a genuine threat to BBs in near future.

nelson · Post by **nelson** » 28 Jan 2012 18:04

Leander wins yet another Grand Slam event, along with Stepanek this time. Good, at least someone is winning in Australia.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 03 Feb 2012 06:59

Have you ever heard of the Elite League of American Football? Supposedly
there's a professional American football league that will began play
throughout India this coming year. Do you think it will succeed?... (google gives quite a few hits)

Vasu · Post by **Vasu** » 06 Feb 2012 18:25

Rugby'll has a better chance than American football in India. Of the 4 top American sports, only NBA has the highest chance of success given its an international sport. In fact, thats what the NBA plans to do now. The games are shown live on television and coaches and players visit India regularly. The last big name I remember is Dwight Howard.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 08 Feb 2012 20:32

New Delhi: Sahara India Pariwar, after dumping the Indian Cricket, has announced their support for Indian Hockey by announcing to sponsor the Men & Women National and Junior Hockey Teams for a period of 5 years. The sponsorship amount is 170 percent higher to the sponsorship amount given earlier by Sahara to the Hockey team.

Sahara statement said that the sponsorship is a part of Sahara’s program to promote sports at ground level. In addition to this, Sahara has adopted Indian Boxing, Wrestling, Archery, Shooting, Track & Field and Tennis covering support of a total of 95 sportsmen in these 6 games who are potential medal winners, until after London Olympics 2012 and is associated with other a sports at various levels.

Speaking on the occasion, ‘Saharasri’ Subrata Roy Sahara, Managing Worker & Chairman, Sahara India Pariwar, said, “It is our national game and we are proud to be associated with this game and are elated to continue our patronage and support for the game. We will achieve greater laurels and success in the sport of hockey in the coming years and Sahara India Pariwar is committed to the development of sport at all levels.”

Narendra Batra, General Secretary, Hockey India, said, “I take this opportunity to thank Sahara India Pariwar, specially ‘Saharasri’ Mr. Subrata Roy Sahara who is the greatest patron of sports, for coming forward and supporting the sport of Hockey. I am sure this association would encourage all the players to perform even better in the forthcoming International tournaments.

Sahara India Pariwar has been the official sponsor of the Indian Hockey Team (Senior and Junior Hockey Teams) since 2003. This support was extended to the Indian Hockey Team when the national game was in distress and facing apathy. Apart from being sponsor to the Indian Hockey Team, Sahara India Pariwar played host to Indian hockey team in Lucknow for their coaching camp for Champion’s Trophy – 2003. The organization arranged for the boarding, lodging, practice camps and traveling of the entire Indian Hockey Team. As a part of the Hockey World Cup preparation Sahara organised a physical conditioning team for the whole contingent in Germany.

Sahara India Pariwar also joined hands with Federation Internationale De Hockey (FIH) in 2004, the World’s apex Body for Hockey, and became the 4th Global Partner of the Federation for a period of 3 years. Sahara India Pariwar also felicitated the entire Indian Hockey Team, including both the players and the officials, on winning the Asia Cup – 2003 for the first time. Each member was awarded with a cash reward of Rs. 1, 51,000 in a glittering ceremony.

Sahara also rewarded all the players, coach and assistant coach of the Indian Hockey team with Rs. 2 lakhs each as a token of appreciation after India routed Pakistan in their World Cup match in 2010 and has provided for their insurance individually. Sahara India Pariwar paid Rs. 1 crore to Hockey India, for distribution to the players so that they can practice and play peacefully and happily for India in 2010, when the players were seriously concerned at their emoluments at a Camp hosted in Pune prior to the World Cup.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 08 Feb 2012 21:25

I'd like to thank our cricket team for their recent contributions to the financial encouragement and development of other sports in India

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 12 Feb 2012 07:01

Sports sponsorship: How companies are looking beyond cricket to connect with consumers

Shushmul Maheshwari, CEO of research agency RNCOS, says sponsorships are no more cricket-centric. "Sponsorship now plays an important role in a company's marketing mix and accounts for a significant chunk of the marketing budget."

To cite an example, Sahara's current sponsorship budget is Rs 550 crore for three-and-a-half years. Even a newbie handset maker such as Micromax has allotted up to 12% of its annual marketing budget for sponsorships, according to its marketing head Pratik Seal. Micromax, though, remains devoted to cricket, sponsoring tournaments such as the Asia Cup and the India, Sri Lanka & New Zealand tri-series in 2010.

Fortunately, the bigger companies are shedding their reticence for other sports. Airtel's F1 deal was worth $66 million. Hero spends nearly $3 million a year on the Indian Open golf tournament while cellphone operator Aircel's yearly sponsorship budget for the Chennai Open is around $0.7 million, according to Octagon.

Octagon director Prashant Singh says sponsorship of football, motor sports and golf have gained considerable ground in India. "It is because they have a quantity of followers or a quality of followers that brands are interested." Each of these sports, he says, makes it viable for organisers and rights-holders to tap into and monetise.

Singh says it is important to remember that the F1 craze, for example, was not born overnight. "India could not have hosted a popular and successful F1 race a decade ago - we did not have enough audiences and, consequently, enough investments from brands chasing the audiences."

Companies indeed want the biggest bang for their bucks. No executive would want to take his eyes off the bottom line though sports programmes are seen as prestigious sales tools. If more companies are game for football, it is with good reason. The Nielsen Company estimated that 81% of Indians would watch the live telecast of the football world cup in 2010.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 18 Feb 2012 03:25

Any news on hockey qualifiers? They were suppose to start today.

nelson · Post by **nelson** » 18 Feb 2012 09:15

^ The matches start today.
http://www.fih.ch/en/competitions-149-h ... pic:format

Honour at stake for India.
http://www.thehindu.com/sport/hockey/article2904395.ece

Asit P · Post by **Asit P** » 19 Feb 2012 01:19

India maul minnows Singapore 15-1 in Olympic qualifier

Next match tomorrow.

Asit P · Post by **Asit P** » 20 Feb 2012 17:06

India thrashes Italy as well

. We did quite well in terms of Penalty corner conversion, however our defense still seems to be the weak link!

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 25 Feb 2012 01:12

India beats poland 4-2 to enter into Finals against France.

So unless France beats India we are assured of Olympics hockey participation in Summer

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 022923.cms

NEW DELHI: Already assured of a place in the summit clash, favourites India had to sweat it out to keep their unbeaten run in the tournament defeating Poland 4-2 in the final round-robin match of the men's hockey Olympic qualifiers on Friday.

Schedule and Results | Points Table

With this victory, India not only maintained a clean slate in the tournament, but also dashed Poland's London dreams as the European side needed atleast a draw or a win to secure their place in Sunday's final.

Poland's defeat means 18th ranked France will be India's opponent in the title clash after the later held Canada to a 1-1 draw in an earlier game.

Contrary to the final scoreline, the Indians were made to toil hard for the victory by the Polish team.

Even though India had the lions' share of possession in the match, they were far from impressive as they wasted numerous scoring chances, courtesy some poor finishing from the forwards.

The home team also cut a sorry figure during penalty corners as they converted just three out of the nine they earned in the match. On the other hand, Poland utilized two out of their three penalty corners.

Credit must also go to Polish custodian Mariusz Chyla, who was brilliant and denied the Indians on numerous occasions.

Sandeep Singh (26th and 70th minutes) once again starred for India, converting two penalty corners to take his personal goal tally in the tournament to 11.

Apart from Sandeep, experienced striker Shivendra Singh (59th) and VR Raghunath (65th) scored the other goals for India. For Poland Tomasz Dutkiewcz (13th) and Miroslaw Juszczak (63rd) sounded the board.

The 10th ranked Indians started on an aggressive note and mounted continuous raids into the Polish citadel from the word go.

The Indians got their first scoring chance in the ninth minute but the Polish custodian Chyla came up with a double save to deny the hosts.

Chyla first blocked Shivendra's shot from close range after the Indian striker was set up by a one-two from Tushar and Danish, and then the Polish goalkeeper brilliantly saved Sarvanjit's reverse shot from the subsequent rebound.

But it was Poland who stunned the moderate crowd present at the floodlit Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here, taking the lead in the 14th minute from their very first attack.

Poland scored against the run of the mill when Dutkiewicz converted their only penalty corner of the opening period with a beautiful dummy.

Jolted by the early goal, India pressed hard for the equalizer and in the process earned two penalty corners in quick succession, but failed to convert a single one as the Polish goalkeeper came up some stunning saves.

The Indian then earned two more penalty corners in a span of two minutes and from the fourth one Sandeep scored to go into the breather locked at 1-1.

The script was the same after the resumption of play as India continued to dominate the proceedings with consistent raids, but goals eluded them as their strikers lacked finishing.

In the 52nd minute, India earned two penalty corners in succession but on both occasion Shivendra failed to stop the ball.

Shivendra, however, made up for his mistake by giving India a 2-1 lead seven minutes later, deflecting home Sarvanjit Singh's cross. Poland equalised soon when Juszczak converted a penalty corner.

But it was not to be Poland's day as India converted two penalty corners in the last five minutes of the match through Raghunath and Sandeep to finish on top of the pool with 15 points.

sum · Post by **sum** » 25 Feb 2012 09:39

^^ Though i had decided not to see any more matches after the horrifying fiasco against Belgium in the finals of champions challenge few months back, just couldnt resist!

Still feel that our defence is very shaky and the final finishing is pi$$ poor though the fitness levels seem to have improved a lot going by the pace of the game. In yestredays match, till 5 minutes before the hooter, we had nearly 40 circle penetrations and 2 goals to show for it.

suryag · Post by **suryag** » 25 Feb 2012 13:33

At what time are the men's and women's finals ?

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 26 Feb 2012 07:38

Women's lost to South Africa and won't be going to Olympics!!

Men's have to face France for Olympics berth in 24 hours.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 26 Feb 2012 21:53

India qualifies for London Olympics beating France 8-1.

Gurneesh · Post by **Gurneesh** » 26 Feb 2012 22:07

Yippee.... Congrats to the Hockey Team.

Asit P · Post by **Asit P** » 26 Feb 2012 23:02

London Olympics here we come

.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 27 Feb 2012 01:55

India-Poland
[youtube]Sq-aaoCbEV0&context=C36907daADOEgsToPDskLo5RZHQpQ72kRrjtoiBk6V[/youtube]

India-Canada
[youtube]YGb_tDgTmAQ&context=C36907daADOEgsToPDskLo5RZHQpQ72kRrjtoiBk6V[/youtube]

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 27 Feb 2012 05:56

Thanks for posting these!!!! Hockey RULES!!!!