Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 24 Jun 2017 22:13

Srikanth's final against Chen Long confirmed. Good chance for him to break the Chen Long puzzle, since the latter is tired coming into the final after two back to back 3-game matches, including a 1.5hr epic against Lin Dan.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 25 Jun 2017 03:52

The two hockey matches with pakjabistan:

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 25 Jun 2017 04:01

Nice match! Would have been 7-1 a second time if Akashdeep hadn't missed that sitter ~2 minutes into the 2nd video. Still 7-1 followed by 6-1 isn't bad.

Pity the same team that plays with so much anger and passion against TSP foundered against the Dutch and the Malaysians. We should have been playing the semis or finals now, not for 5th spot!

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 25 Jun 2017 12:35

Srikanth beats Chen Long. He is back to sublime form. Hope he doesn't loose it anymore and stays focused.

The problem is in the mind of Oltman. He still believes his team cannot beat the top teams. He tries to go defensive and looses and the team is unable to gather together after momentum loss. That is why they lost to Malyasia.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 25 Jun 2017 13:16

Well Malaysia is not a top team . We flattered them by losing to them . They're no better than Pakistan. I would give Oltmans a much longer rope. India is solidly top 6 team now. But it's a fact that there's a gulf between the top 3 (Aus, Ned, Ger) and that among the next 3-4 (Ind, Bel, Eng, Arg) all four are capable in various ways, but need a strong overall team. We missed our captain Sreejesh to injury as well.

Congrats to Srikanth! Fabulous vein of form, three finals and two titles. Multiple wins against the world #1 and other top 10 players and now beating the world and Olympic champion . This is a true reflection of his potential that he was on his way to squandering . I hope he keeps it up . He should be back into the top 10 now, possibly even top 5. Incredibly, in the 2017 Super Series season, the last three tournaments have been won by India in Mens Singles, and India has more singles titles in Super Series this season than any other nation:
2017 BWF Super Series
The first half of the season is over now. The World Championships are in 2 months, after which the remaining half of the season plays out.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 26 Jun 2017 07:53

Current Hockey team has several new players and new goal keeper! I like the way HI is rotating the players, building up the team, touring Europe for experience!! also the junior team is doing wonders!! Much better approach under HI and Coach Oltmans!!

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 26 Jun 2017 08:34

Yes, I think Oltmans is using the guaranteed qualification to the World League Finals and the World Cup to expose bench strength to hard opposition to build greater depth. We need to do something about PC conversion though - we are very profligate. We need 1-2 guys who reliably scare the daylights out of the opposition with their drag flicking.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 28 Jun 2017 19:30

In ICC women's world cup so far India has played one match and defeated England by 35 Runs.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 07 Jul 2017 22:17

India sitting atop in Asian Athletics Championship (6 Gold while China is 2nd with 2 Gold)

Asian Athletics Day 2: India athletes bag four golds amid drama
Last updated on: July 07, 2017 21:49 IST

India continued its fine run at the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships, winning four gold medals so far on a rain-hit second day of the competition in Bhubaneswar.

Indian quartermilers -- both in men's and women's section-- sensationally grabbed a gold medal each in the space of less than five minutes to consolidate the host country's lead on day two.

Nirmala Sheoran clinched the yellow metal in women's 400m, while Mohammed Anas grabbed the gold in men's 400m.

Meanwhile, P U Chitra finished on the top of the podium in women's 1500m race and Ajay Kumar Saroj won a gold medal in men's 1500m.

On Thursday, India bagged as many as seven medals, including two golds, to sit atop the medal tally.

he second day of the Asian Athletics Championships on Friday witnessed some dramatic incidents with the Indian men's 4x100m relay team being disqualified for a rule infringement while a 400m race was rerun because of an inadvertent fault of an official.

In a rare incident, Thursday's men's 400m semifinal race, which was won by India's Muhammad Anas, was run again Friday on the orders of the referee after protest by other countries.

In Thursday's race, the recall referee (who indicates a false start) inadvertently pressed his trigger but the race continued as there was no false start by any competing athlete.

Anas won the race easily but athletes of some participating countries protested, saying that the recall referee's action had disturbed them and impacted their performance, forcing the referee to order a rerun.

In the repeat race on Friday, national record holder Anas had to work harder than Thursday to finish six-hundredths of a second ahead of Iran's Ali Khadivar.

Unlike the first time around when he was in a commanding position heading into the home straight, Anas was behind the leaders today and had to pump himself up in the final 50 metres to win the race in 46.15 seconds.

Earlier, the Indian men's 4x100 relay team was disqualified for not completing the final baton exchange inside the permitted zone in the preliminary round heats.

The Indian team of John Anoorup, V K Elakkiya Dasan, J Debnath and Amiya Kumar Mallick finished the race ahead of Korea in a photo finish but was later disqualified to the disappointment of the host country.

It was a smooth race for the Indians till the first and second legs but the problem occurred during the exchange of baton between Debnath, who ran the third leg and Mallick, who ran the last lap. The exchange took a little bit longer than usual and did not complete inside the permitted zone.

The Indians were running in the third lane while the Koreans were on the fourth in the second heat.

The Korean team was later declared winners of the heat with a timing of 40.18 seconds. The other heat was won by China clocking 39.06 seconds. Chinese Taipei qualified for the finals with the second best timing of 39.40 seconds while Thailand had the third best time of 39.48 seconds.

The Indians were not the favourites in this event but could have pushed themselves for a bronze in front of home crowd.

"During practice, baton exchange has been smooth but today it (baton exchange) was not smooth and there was a mistake," Anoorup said after the race.

In the other event of the morning session, Anu Raghavan, Jauna Murmu and M Arpitha qualified for the women's 400m hurdles finals.

Juana (57.96 seconds) and Raghavan (58.26 seconds) finished second and third respectively behind Vietnam's Nguyen Thi (57.34 seconds) in the second heat while Arpitha was third in the first heat.

The top Japanese in the contest, Sayaka Aoki, who has a season's best of 56.32 seconds, came fourth in a quick heat number one and qualified as one of the fastest losers.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 10 Jul 2017 07:00

India finishes first in the 2017 Asian Athletics Championship with 12G 5S 12B for a total of 29 medals. Finished first both by total and gold tally. First time ever in the history of Asian athletics:
2017 Asian Athletics Championships
Most notably, Neeraj Chopra won the gold in Javelin as expected, throwing a championship record 85.23 metres. We also won bronze through Davinder Singh's 83.29m. Both are much higher than what used to be the national record before our javelin throwers suddenly exploded on the Asian and world scene. If Chopra throws 86m+ like he did while winning the junior world title, he has a chance to medal in the upcoming senior worlds.

India also won both 4x400 relays.

sum · Post by **sum** » 10 Jul 2017 08:13

^^ How did sudden surge even though Chinis/Japanese were around?
All teams are sent their A grade folks and we have improved so much?

Not some dhoti-shivering or sarcastic Q but a genuine one

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 10 Jul 2017 10:41

I think the field was weaker (but that is true of most of the annual meets anyway), and we took advantage of home field tremendously. Also, we have actually being doing well on the Asian stage. We were #3 last time, and #2 a couple of editions before that. We regularly medal but cannot convert S and B to G because we don't finish strongly. This time we did so extremely well.

Chopra for example was trailing in 2nd/3rd position until his last throw, but he saw the men's 4x400 win and was inspired to make his last throw the championship winning one. All three javelin medalists beat the previous championship record, with Chopra exceeding it by a huge 2.2m .

It's tremendous what Garry Calvert did to our javelin throwers. Our national record was ~80m until a year ago, and now we're pushing 87m, which is good enough for world/Olympic medal in most cases, and well past Asian standard, as Chopra's win (silver medal was 2 metres less than him) shows. Chopra came close to medaling in the IAAF Diamond League event in Paris last week, throwing 84.xx meters. He's building up towards the worlds, where he'll hopefully peak. If he manages 87-88m by then a world medal will be his next achievement, for the junior world champion.

He's easily the youngest in the world field today, at least 5 years younger than any of the best in the world, and yet throwing at their level. Properly managed, he'll get to 90+ and that'll very likely make him world/Olympic champion.

rahulm · Post by **rahulm** » 10 Jul 2017 10:58

Don't know where else to post this

‘Chak De’ role model Negi may be suspended in airport graft case

Mir Ranjan Negi, assistant commissioner of customs and former India hockey goalkeeper, the inspiration behind the Bollywood hit movie Chak De India, and his colleague may be suspended in the ongoing crackdown against corruption in the air cargo complex, Sahar

A case of seizure of 200 blank guns declared as toy guns went against Negi and Ganoo, sources said. A separate licence under the Arms Act is required to bring in blank guns unlike toy guns, The matter came out during an inspection by the directorate of vigilance after the goods remained uncleared for a month. "Ganoo had examined the guns and decided they were toy guns but before they were handed over to the importer, a vigilant official raised an objection

I know what a blank cartridge is but what Is a ''blank gun'? If it's a firearm then the case is serious.

Manish_P · Post by **Manish_P** » 10 Jul 2017 12:08

rahulm wrote:I know what a blank cartridge is but what Is a ''blank gun'? If it's a firearm then the case is serious.

Replica/Fake Guns which can fire only blanks... mostly used as a props in movies

More realistic looking and expensive than toys

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 10 Jul 2017 21:28

22 year old Nirmala Sheoran from Haryana wins gold in 400m

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 10 Jul 2017 21:29

India men 400m Win Gold and Silver

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 27 Jul 2017 00:25

http://www.rediff.com/sports/report/ind ... 170725.htm

India has won 13 of its last 15 matches, and is unbeaten in the last eight.
Such purple patches -- despite the relatively middling opposition they mostly confront -- are rare for Indian football, says Dhruv Munjal.

ver the past few weeks, Danny Batth, captain of the English side Wolverhampton Wanderers, has expressed a profound desire to play for India.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Batth

In Batth's case, whose father is Indian, the alacrity to swap his British passport for a blue jersey is easy to fathom.

His chances of playing for the England senior team are dreadfully bleak, illusory at best. And if he ever needed any more incentive to represent the Indian national team, then here's one: Only 83 places now separate his adopted homeland and the country of his father's birth in the world rankings.

A little over two years ago, that gap was appalling -- more than 150 places.

A month after Sunil Chhetri put on his Diego Maradona boots and glided past three dismayed Kyrgyzstan defenders in an unusual show of occult football nimbleness, before lashing the ball past the 'keeper in an AFC Cup qualifier in Bengaluru, the national side finds itself ranked 96 in the world, its best showing in more than 20 years.

India's highest ranking remains 94, achieved in February 1996. Bhaichung Bhutia was just a year old in international football back then.

The Indian side has been in the middle of a hot streak of sorts in recent months.

The team has won 13 of its last 15 matches, and is unbeaten in the last eight.

Such purple patches -- despite the relatively middling opposition they mostly confront -- are rare for Indian football.

ore than performances, however, some off-field astuteness and number crunching have gone into helping India break the century barrier in the FIFA rankings.

Last year, India persuaded Puerto Rico, a team now ranked 56 rankings below them, for a friendly, thumping a makeshift side hurriedly assembled by the North Americans 4-1.

More crucially, India didn't play a single game for the rest of the year, sagaciously keeping their average points per game statistic intact, a key yardstick that FIFA uses while collating the rankings.

The steady improvement is now being used as a catapult for a greater purpose: The 2019 Asian Cup.

This continual rise in rankings helped India draw Myanmar, Macau and Kyrgyzstan -- all worse off than them in the world rankings -- in qualifying.

And now, they are two from two in their group. The master plan seems to be bearing fruit.

The fact that this momentous jump has an element of chicanery to it, and must only be taken with a pinch of salt, isn't lost on anyone -- perhaps no one more than national coach Stephen Constantine.

"When I took over, getting the team under 100 was a major target. I'm glad we've reached there. But at the same time, this doesn't mean we've achieved a lot. It's a long road ahead," stresses the Englishman.

Despite the plausible scepticism, Constantine has made reasonable progress.

He has kick-started a scouting system that is spotting young players, many of whom are now playing for the national team.

"We've seen some gritty performances from the team. So there is fight. Most important, there is competition among the players. And, the fitness levels are much better than before," says football commentator and analyst Novy Kapadia.

Ever since he took over for the second time, from Dutchman Wim Koevermans in 2015, Constantine has called up more than 20 new players, including Anas Edathodika and C K Vineeth, who earlier this month won the AIFF player of the year and fans' player of the year, respectively.

Kerala Blasters central defender Sandesh Jhingan has also flourished under Constantine, becoming a robust mainstay in an otherwise historically problematic position for the Indian team.

"The coach has a balanced set of players that is extremely committed. Also, the scientific inputs that Constantine has been getting during training have helped," adds Kapadia.

Some others are not as impressed.

Eric Benny, former manager of the national team and whose management firm has partnered with French club FC Metz for the development of young players in the past, says the better ranking will come as a boost for enthusiasts of the sport, but it is difficult to say if the team has actually made rapid strides.

"This is a positive development for us as a fraternity. But I'm not a fan of how India plays. For years, we've been just hooking the ball up to Chhetri, hoping that he would score," he says.

"To get a true measure of how much we've improved, we have to start playing better opposition."

The excessive dependence on Chhetri has been an area of concern for a number of years now.

While the midfield trio of Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Rowlin Borges and Jackichand Singh is a hugely talented one, it seldom pops up with goals.

Jeje, Chhetri's strike partner, has turned provider, and Robin Singh, the only other number nine in the squad, is no longer an automatic starter.

"It is not as if we can't play a better brand of football. Young players are not fully allowed to express themselves. There is too much information that is passed on, which never helps," says Benny.

Not that India's style of play has ever led to any pyrotechnics, but this team is perhaps still reeling from the hangover of Bob Houghton's reign where 'hit it out' became increasingly in vogue, much to the torment of fans and pundits alike.

"We have to think out of the box; we can no longer be afraid of doing that. Moreover, youth development must be a priority," says Benny.

For now, Constantine's stewardship and AIFF's arithmetic aptitude seem certain to spur India to the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

All they need to do is finish among the top two in their group, a task that seems rather straightforward after their opening two wins.

As for Batth, India's difficult citizenship rules make any discussion over his eligibility to play for India a non-starter.

While him playing remains an enticing prospect, the fact that we still have to look elsewhere for quality perhaps aptly -- and tragically — demonstrates how far we've actually come.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 05 Aug 2017 22:30

Vijender Singh wins his second WBO belt defeating Zulpikar of China.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 07 Aug 2017 20:45

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 07 Aug 2017 21:09

It was a tough fight in the end but he managed to hold on.

Dipanker · Post by **Dipanker** » 08 Aug 2017 08:23

Absolutely brilliant game by Anand yesterday at the Sinquefield Cup 2017, IMO must rank among his top 20 brilliant games of all time.
Anand's game have been on decline since his losses to Carlsen in the World Championship games and lately he hasn't won much in terms of top tournaments, the age is finally catching up with him. So it was good see him absolutely destroy Caruana who has been on Carlsen's heel for world #1 ranking.

Here is the game, enjoy, you can replay the moves using the controls.

https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2017-si ... na_Fabiano

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 11 Aug 2017 04:35

Neeraj Chopra didn't make the final of the World Championship javelin competition. Finished 15th when the top 13 made it through. However Davinder Singh Kang made the final, throwing 84.22 to finish 7th among 13 finalists. He's the only Asian in the final.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 11 Aug 2017 19:38

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/athletics ... 471300.ece

No Indian has ever qualified in the men’s javelin throw final round in any World Championships.

Unheralded javelin thrower Davinder Singh Kang pipped a more—fancied Neeraj Chopra, becoming the first Indian to qualify for a final in this edition of the World Athletics Championship.

Kang’s participation in the World Championships was earlier in doubt after he tested positive for marijuana in June but he was named in the 25-member Indian team as the banned substance was in the specified list of the WADA Code and does not attract automatic suspension.

No Indian has ever qualified in the men’s javelin throw final round in any World Championships and Kang’s performance brought some relief for the Indian camp, which has put up a shoddy show at the global event.

While Chopra, a junior World Champion was touted as India’s biggest hope, it was Kang, who quietly slipped in from nowhere attaining the qualifying mark of 83m with his third and final throw that cleared a distance of 84.22m.

Chopra’s best effort of 82.26m was slightly shorter than the qualifying mark.

“After I came to know that Neeraj did not qualify, I wanted to qualify for the final round. I wanted to do something for the country, I wanted to do something which no Indian has done before. By the grace of God, I did something for the country,” Kang told PTI after his event.

Coming into the championships, Neeraj was the cynosure of all eyes for the Indian contingent as he was considered the best bet for a top class show. His best effort came in his first qualifying throw.

He fouled his second attempt before clearing only 80.54m in his third and final throw to finish seventh in his group and 15th overall.

In fact, the 19-year-old World Junior record holder’s maiden World Championships ended with just thee throws.

Taking the field after Neeraj in the Group B qualification round, Kang sent the iron spear to a distance of 84.22m in his third and final attempt. He had a 82.22m in his opening throw and then came up with 82.14m in his second.

The 26-year-old Punjab athlete was under pressure to touch the 83m in his final attempt and he was the last man in that round.

All the throwers who clear 83m or at least 12 best performers was set to make it to the final round to be held on August 12.

But in the end, 13 throwers — five from Group A and seven from Group B — crossed the automatic qualification mark and all of them will compete in the final round.

Kang’s best effort of 84.22m put him in the seventh position among the final round qualifiers.

It was though not a surprise for Kang to qualify for the final round as he has a personal as well as season’s best of 84.57m and so 83m mark was not beyond his reach.

Kang had heavy strapping on his right shoulder due to an injury he carried into the Championship but is confident of putting up a good show in the finals on Saturday.

“I have been carrying a right shoulder injury which I sustained in May during the Indian Grand Prix but it is not that a big problem. Our team masseur put these straps today and I am OK. But I had to ask my friend Sri Lankan competitor (Waruna Rankoth Pedige) to help me with some stretching before my third and final throw,” Kang said.

“It (injury) will be all right after a day’s rest. I want to give my best in the final round on August 12 and win a medal for the country,” Kang said, even though it looked improbable.

Neeraj came into the championships with high hopes and he was considered the best bet for India to have any shot at a medal. His season’s best of 85.63m puts him at 14th in the IAAF rankings coming into the World Championships.

He has a personal best of 86.48m, which he did while setting a junior world record last year.

He had three 85m throws this season and his two Diamond League appearances in Paris and Monaco last month — where he had finished fifth and seventh respectively — had given him confidence after rubbing shoulders with some of the best in the world.

However, he failed to make it count at the second most prestigious event in the sport after the Olympics.

“I tried my best but I could not clear the automatic qualification mark and I am disappointed. I gave a lot of effort in the first throw but it missed the 83m mark by a few centimeters. I have been training hard for this World Championships but I could not do well in the actual competition,” Chopra said after the event.

“It would have been ideal if a coach had come with me but that is not in my hands. I don’t know what had happened today, I cannot say now whether it was technical issue or other factors,” he added.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 15 Aug 2017 21:46

Manpreet Singh scored twice as Indian men's hockey team came back from a goal down to stun World No. 4 Netherlands 4-3 in a thrilling encounter at the Robo Super Series, in Waalwijk, Netherlands, on Sunday.

Manpreet (30th minute, 44th) was the star for sixth- ranked India, while Varun Kumar (17th) and Harjeet Singh (49th) also sounded the board.

Bob de Voogd scored two goals for World No. 4 Netherlands, who had a great build-up to the series with a 7-1 win over Germany last week.

Though India made a strong start with forward Ramandeep Singh finding an early chance to score, his attempt went slightly wide. Soon after, Netherlands drew first blood when they won a PC in the fifth minute.

The drag flick, however, found the foot of skipper Manpreet Singh resulting in a re-award which subsequently went into a penalty stroke. Mink van der Weerden broke no sweat in putting the ball past India goalkeeper Akash Chikte to give the Dutch a 1-0 lead.

India got over the early jitters with a strong display, largely controlling the midfield led by Manpreet who showcased top quality skill and stick work. The attacking approach helped with India finding a PC opportunity in the 17th minute.

Junior World Cup hero Varun Kumar then successfully beat Dutch goalkeeper to equalize the score. Though the Netherlands earned a PC soon after, the effort was tactfully saved by India goalkeeper.

India pushed the World no.4 team further when Manpreet brilliantly deflected Armaan Qureshi's cross pass in the 30th minute to give India a 2-1 lead.

India controlled the first half with better ball possession and opportunities created in the striking circle.

The contest intensified in the third quarter with Manpreet taking a brilliant shot on goal but the Dutch keeper came up with a class act to pad it away.

The following minutes saw the Dutch being awarded back to back PC but comeback man Amit Rohidas was effective as first runner to deny Dutch successful conversion.

India then set up a thrilling counter attack to put Netherlands under pressure but the Dutch goalkeeper made a good save again.

The third quarter, however, ended with India skipper Manpreet scoring another goal in the 44th minute to give India a 3-1 lead and take charge of the game.

A good build-up in the midfield followed by a quick-thinking effort by forward Lalit Upadhyay earned the PC. Though Dutch earned a PC with little less than two minutes left for the quarter to end, it was saved by Chikte.

India stayed on course to a win with Harjeet taking the lead to a formidable 4-2 with a well-struck field goal in the 49th minute.

In the final minutes, Nilakanta Sharma made a strong attempt but it was saved by Dutch defender. Though Bob de Voogd scored two goals for the Dutch, India sealed the match 4-3 and walked away with winning point.

India, who lost both their matches against fifth-ranked Belgium to start the European tour on a dismal note, will play Netherlands again on Sunday.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 15 Aug 2017 22:02

It needs to be mentioned that a full one third of this senior hockey team comprises newcomers from the strong junior side who are the current world champions. This tour is meant to expose these kids to the highest level of world hockey, which will stand them in good steed for Olympics 2020, which is Roelant Oltmans' last responsibility and one he's keen on building up for.

An effectively junior side losing 0-1 and 1-2 to Belgium and then beating the Dutch 4-3 is creditable; those two are among the world's top 4 sides.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 16 Aug 2017 02:09

Exactly! forwards Varun Kumar, Nilakanta Sharma, Armaan Qureshi, Amit Rohidas, Lalit Upadhyay are all new names!
While our traditional forwards like Ramandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, SV Sunil are little old which could be the reason of their lost against Malaysia and Canada.

Young blood is more hungry while old is tired! I like the new younger players!

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 16 Aug 2017 02:12

Here is a good article about Indian hockey

http://www.firstpost.com/sports/hockey- ... 46003.html

The Indian hockey team came to the Hockey World League Semi-Final aspiring for the podium; or at least the semi-finals, setting themselves up as contenders for the HWL Finals later this year. But after seven matches and three defeats, two of them to teams well below the pecking order, the team has left in their wake confused coaches, bewildered players, annoyed fans and deep disappointment.

After the 2-3 defeat that sent Canada to the 2018 World Cup as the fifth-placed team, India were left poring over stats that read: penalty corners 10; striking circle penetrations 26; shots on goal 18; players involved in striking circle attacks eight. To any coach in the world, these stats would signify the quality of a team. To the others, it would tell a different story — the Indian team dominated for long periods in each of the four quarters but were unable to achieve the only thing important in sport — victory.
India form a huddle during the World Hockey League Semi-Final match against Canada. AP

India form a huddle during the World Hockey League Semi-Final match against Canada. AP

Before the tournament began, Indian coach Roelant Oltmans said, “Teams that score three goals plus usually win 75 percent of the matches.” The three matches that India lost were 1-3 to Holland, 2-3 to Malaysia and 2-3 to Canada. Except for Holland, India dominated the rest of the two matches in every sense of the term. So what is going wrong for India?

The answers are simple and complex. Ric Charlesworth, considered by many to be a ‘super coach’, and who once coached India only to be left betrayed by the Indian hockey establishment said, “There needs to be a want in India to be champions. India needs to have that hunger.” On the quality part, Ric said only thing, “The world would die to have the quality that India possess.”

Quality alone couldn’t give India victory against Canada. In an earlier match in Pool B, India had dismantled Canada 3-0. But on Sunday, the margin could have been wider and could have bordered on the embarrassing for the Canadians. However, they won 3-2 against India. In almost every quarter, India dominated. The forwards did everything but score. But it’s never quite so simple.

Forwards either need to strike or create for the others to strike home. Neither happened. Both the goals against Canada came off penalty corners. And India had 10 of those in the match. Try as they might, Ramandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, SV Sunil and Talwinder Singh couldn’t guide a 235 mm sized ball into a space measuring 2.14 metres high and 3.66 metres wide. Across four quarters, over 26 attempts driving into the Canadian striking circle, they couldn't score.

Canada sat patiently, waited for counters, and scored off set pieces to clinch the match and a place in the 2018 World Cup. India didn’t have the pressure of trying to cement a spot in the World Cup. All they needed was to win against Canada, a team ranked four sports below them at 10th, and finish fifth. In sport, it's true that anything can happen. But it would have been more believable if India had been outplayed.

Canada scored in the third minute through a penalty corner flicked in by Gordon Johnston, a powerful, tall player who was also in the 2016 Olympic team that drew 2-2 with India at Rio. India then equalized in the seventh minute with a flick from Harmanpreet. In the 22nd minute, India took the lead off another penalty corner flick by Harmanpreet. In between, India couldn’t score of five penalty corners and almost 10 circle penetrations with eight shots on target. Till the end of the second quarter, not a single angled shot was taken on the Canadian goal. Akashdeep, Ramandeep and Sunil’s shots were all on the Canadian goalkeeper’s pads. There were, however, shots that Antoni Kindler really had to stretch for.

In the 40th minute, Keegan Pereira, almost knelt but drove the ball home. At 2-2, India were looking like a side that could still do all the attacking but were again caught on the counter. In the 44th minute, Johnston fired home the match-winner. India still had a full quarter. The flanks still raced in, and the forwards were all over the Canadian striking circle. Ramandeep missed deflections; Akashdeep couldn’t beat Kindler; Sunil shot over the ball while Talwinder tapped into the wrong player.

Canada hung on, like a climber on a precipice. Mandeep had a chance when he had the ball on top of the striking circle, with no one between him and Kindler. But he didn’t move ahead to beat the Canadian goalkeeper. He shot from his position, and the ball travelled high over the bar. Common sense tells us that India had a bad time, and luck was not on their side. History tells us that issues with the team persist. Every tournament can’t be an experiment ground. In this tournament, teams won against India to qualify for the 2018 World Cup — Malaysia and Canada are prime examples. Having said that, there is no doubt that Canada, and Malaysia in the quarter-final, deserved to win.

Pereira, who scored the second goal against India, said, “Obviously it was a tight game. We have not played particularly well against India since Rio. But we followed the gameplan and didn’t sit back as much as we did in the first Pool game against them. Once we got goals on the scoreboard, we knew we could hold on to that lead.”

In the post-match media briefing, Oltmans pointed at the attitude of the players. “Canada had to win to qualify. We had already qualified. I think the attitude of the players was not at the required level. After beating Pakistan everyone thinks that is the only important game in the tournament. That is bulls**t, because Pakistan at this moment is not the team that you have to beat. You have to beat teams like Malaysia, Canada, other teams, England.” The Indian coach pointed out stats as proof of India’s dominance — 20 shots on goal from India and five for Canada, out of which they scored thrice.

The Indian coach, however, asked for patience. “I have said many times before and it’s not anything new, that we go from three different tournaments with different players, Azlan Shah, here and the tour in August, and after that we will come with the 18 players that will be the strongest team during the Asia Cup and the HWL Finals. So let’s wait and see. We are using these tournaments to come to the 18 players.”

Oltmans is right when he says that this tournament wasn’t a do-or-die one for the Indian team. “Do or die will be in October (Asia Cup),” he said. “Do or die will be in December (HWL Finals). I don’t know if it is good or not.”

Oltmans refused to discuss the negatives or the areas where the Indian team fell short. “There is nothing that I will discuss right now. That is nonsense. We have enough homework given by opponents. One of them is that if you create a lot but not score, at least you have to make sure that your defence stays well organised. With due respect to Canada, looking at all the statistics, we should have never lost this game.” The Indian coach also said that sometimes it’s good not to win because it clearly pinpoints areas that they have to work on.

For a fan base that wishes to see India on the podium outside of an Asian tournament, Oltmans had one message: “People in India and the media should understand that these boys are fantastic hockey players. They create more chances than any other team in the world. Maybe we have to support that, don’t look always at the result. Look at the process, and be sure that it is coming. That’s what I am telling you. Don’t worry. These boys have the quality to be back at the top.”

India played in London without Rupinder Pal Singh, who has been India’s most potent penalty corner convertor in recent times. Even Harmanpreet agrees that his absence cost India. The national team were also without their captain and No 1 goalkeeper P Sreejesh other and players like SK Uthappa and Birendra Lakra, even though Surender Kumar is turning out to be a brilliant defender.

One shouldn’t forget that recently Japan beat Australia for the first time in their hockey history at the 2017 Azlan Shah. In the end, processes begin and end with the coach and the support staff. Patience is always a key element. In a recent interview with The Guardian, the newly appointed Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino, said, "Experience shows that good results and bad results are part of the same packet. If you’re calm and you win people say: ‘The team is doing well because he’s calm.’ If you lose, they say: ‘He’s so calm he can’t get the team going.’ You can see a prince or a frog in every player, every coach, and everyone.”

At this moment, it’s up to the Indian hockey team and Oltmans to show whether they will remain frogs or turn into princes.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 16 Aug 2017 11:29

And the Indian junior-filled hockey team beat Netherlands again:
Indian men’s hockey team beat Netherlands 2-1, win series

Gurjant Singh and Mandeep Singh scored a goal apiece as a resolute Indian men’s hockey team overcome world No. 4 Netherlands 2-1 in an exciting encounter in Amsterdam.

Led by Manpreet Singh, the team last night featured nine players from the junior team, but still, beat an experienced Netherlands squad through goals from Gurjant (4th minute) and Mandeep (51).

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 16 Aug 2017 19:54

The junior team forwards are way way better than the senior team forwards.

Najunamar · Post by **Najunamar** » 18 Aug 2017 01:30

And now we beat the Aussies 4-3!

This team is finally bringing back the old glory days.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 18 Aug 2017 02:27

Nope! It is not Australia but Austria the country in Europe
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 093474.cms

NEW DELHI: Ramandeep Singh and Chinglensana Singh scored a brace each to help Indian men's hockey team end its 'Tour of Europe' on a high. India registered a thrilling 4-3 victory against Austria in their fifth and final match of the tour at Amstelveen in Netherlands on Wednesday.

It was Chinglensana's goal in the dying seconds which sealed the win for India, after they conceded two late goals to give Austria a chance for a comeback.

It was India's third victory on the trot, after beating the Netherlands in consecutive games. The young side led by Manpreet Singh finished their five-match European tour with three wins and two defeats.

Austria took the lead early in the first quarter, before Ramandeep scored the equaliser in the Q2 through a penalty corner.

India put the pressure on the Austrians by creating more penetrations through the midfield as the game progressed. But they couldn't convert them to goals and went into the half-time break with score reading 1-1.

India started the third quarter aggressively and Ramandeep thundered in a screamer through a reverse hit from the top of the circle to put the visitors in front for the first time in the match.

The constant pressure resulted in another goal for India, with Chinglensana tapping in the ball into the nets after receiving a clever pass from Varun Kumar.

With less than ten minutes left in the match, Austria scored two quick goals to level the scores and left the Indian side stunned. But India vice-captain Chinglensana scored a brilliant goal with just ten seconds left on the clock to give India a well-deserved victory.
Top Comment
Great....good result by our hockey herosdedeepan917

India started the tour on a wrong note and lost both their matches against fifth-ranked Belgium. But the sixth-ranked India came out strongly in the second phase of the tour and defeated the higher-ranked Netherlands (world number four) twice in two games to resurrect their tour.

Six uncapped players were included in the Manpreet-led squad for this tour. Chinglensana was named Manpreet's deputy while some of the key players who featured in the World League Semi-Final were rested.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 20 Aug 2017 20:58

The badminton world championship starts on Monday. The men's and women's draw look good for Indians. To add the No 1 Taipei girl is not playing.

Ankit Desai · Post by **Ankit Desai** » 20 Aug 2017 22:12

Wrestling world championship also starts from Monday. Action pack week ahead.

Indian Squad.

Men's Freestyle:
Sandeep Tomar (57kg), Harphool (61kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), Amit Dhankar (70kg), Praveen Rana (74kg), Deepak (86kg), Satywart Kadiyan (97kg), Sumit (125kg).

Women's wrestling:
Vinesh Phogat (48kg), Sheetal (53kg), Lalita (55kg), Pooja Dhanda (58kg), Sakshi Malik (60kg), Shilpi (63kg), Navjot Kaur (69kg), Pooja (75kg).

Greco-Roman:
Gyanender (59kg), Ravinder (66kg), Yogesh (71kg), Gurpreet Singh (75kg), Harpreet Singh (80kg), Ravinder Khatri (85kg), Hardeep (98kg), Naveen (130kg).

-Ankit

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 20 Aug 2017 22:36

Ankit, what are our chances at the wrestling worlds ? With Yogeshwar and Sushil gone, the 65-74kg ranges which used to be our strongest, seem a little bare now. I hope our women manage to medal, especially Vinesh who will seek redemption for her horrific injury-driven exit at Rio 2016.

Ankit Desai · Post by **Ankit Desai** » 21 Aug 2017 01:01

Suraj wrote:Ankit, what are our chances at the wrestling worlds ? With Yogeshwar and Sushil gone, the 65-74kg ranges which used to be our strongest, seem a little bare now. I hope our women manage to medal, especially Vinesh who will seek redemption for her horrific injury-driven exit at Rio 2016.

FS:Bajrang Punia (65kg),

WW:Vinesh Phogat (48kg), Sakshi Malik (60kg) (Sakshi scaled a weight category but still having Olympic experience can not written her off. We all saw what Sushil became after getting bronze. I am fan of Vinesh though. Tough fighter. Ranking her higher than Bajarang. It is all Japanese in WW though. Amazing dominance by Japanese in WW.)

-Ankit

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 21 Aug 2017 11:23

Thanks Ankit!

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 21 Aug 2017 19:16

Wrestling results. Our guys are crashing out in 2nd round as expected!

http://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/opento ... meSize=839

Greco-Roman 71 - Yogesh Yogesh's place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Yogesh Yogesh (India) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Takeshi Izumi (Japan) won by decision over Yogesh Yogesh (India) (Dec 3-1) <--- close lost by 2 points

Greco-Roman 75 - Singh Gurpreet's place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Mindia Tsulukidze (Georgia) won by decision over Singh Gurpreet (India) (Dec 5-1)

Greco-Roman 85 - Ravinder Khatri's place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Ravinder Khatri (India) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Viktor Lorincz (Hungary) won by tech fall over Ravinder Khatri (India) (TF 8-0) <-- Rout., lost by 8 points

Greco-Roman 98 - Hardeep Hardeep's place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Hardeep Hardeep (India) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Vilius Laurinaitis (Lithuania) won by decision over Hardeep Hardeep (India) (Dec 5-2) <-- close call.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 21 Aug 2017 19:32

We are pretty much no hopers in Greco-Roman right now. I think we had one world medal in Greco Roman; the rest have all been Freestyle.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 21 Aug 2017 20:25

The desi style which they learn when they grow up is freestyle. Maybe the best go to freestyle and the next best GR.

Srikanth and the mixed doubles teams hae moved to the next round.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 21 Aug 2017 22:12

Tanvi Lad and Sameer Verma move to next round. Attri/Reddy loose in doubles.