To your knowledge, Asian Games are due next year and it is the direct qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In the Tokyo Olympics this year, India clinched a medal after a long wait of 41 years. The gleam of the Bronze victory hasn’t worn off yet and the news of the withdrawal of players, who contributed to this path-breaking achievement, caught everyone’s attention.

Staunch Rupinder Pal Singh has played 223 matches so far while stalwart Birendra Lakra played 200 matches, the last being in Tokyo, stressed on “time to allow the next generation of players to experience this great feeling for India” before leaving the stage for newcomers.

Evidently, the timing of such an announcement and gathering for the national team was not coincidental. Inside sources revealed that Rupinder, Lakra, and Sunil were all interested to carry on and expecting to “at least play till the 2022 Asian Games”, but the think-tank planned something different.

The alteration ritual after Olympics

It is not new to anyone that most of the nations opt for the “churn and change” policy after every Olympics cycle concentrating firmly on the players who can last the next four years. Fresh legs are called up and trained to get them going for the pinnacle of it all – the Olympics. And with India’s marvellous triumph at Tokyo, hopes are sky-high.

India has a glorious past at the Olympics, clinching a total of eight golds but failed to fetch any since 1980. Hence, it is understood why the federation, coaches and players don’t want to take a chance tasting victory after a wait of four decades.

Past one week the think-tank and the coaches held exclusive meetings with most of these players in New Delhi, and the players were informed that they were “no longer a part of the scheme of things for now, or even the future”, keeping in mind the next Olympics cycle. It was the termination point for them.

The players had two options, either to wait and watch until they got picked- which was unlikely- or sign off from the game. They chose the dignified way and retired than being dropped from the core group of next in the preference line.

However, retirements in hockey are infrequent. As a matter of fact, there are many players who haven’t announced their retirement until the present. But hockey too had to follow the trend par other sports and there are many dropped players waiting for their turn to get picked as the years passed by.

The last week’s incidents remind us of 2018 when famed midfielder and former captain Sardar Singh became India’s first top player in the recent past to officially announce his retirement.

It was September 2018, the national team had just landed in the country from their bronze-medal finish at the Jakarta Asian Games. The World Cup was due in just a few months at home. They had missed a direct opportunity to qualify for the Tokyo Games and also failed to defend their Asiad title, which had not gone down well with the think tank.

It is conceived that Sardar, who was not in the best of forms at that time, “was told that his services were no longer required”, leading to the hockey renowned’s exit from the game.

The list doesn’t end here, former midfielder Viren Rasquinha was possibly the first international player of modern times to proclaim his retirement hardly days after being omitted from the 2006 Doha Asian Games squad. In 2010, the legendary Dilip Tirkey quit after having represented India in a total of 412 matches, a record that still is unbroken.

India will miss its stars, but probably it was a decision best taken in the interest of the sport.

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From belonging to a place with a strong Naxalhold to holding the stick to escape an alcoholic father, the women team is equipped with determined and devoted members. What is it like to be a woman of dreams in a society where patriarchy still holds strong dominion? Let’s travel through their yesterday to get an idea of their journey.

Captain Rani Rampal, 26, is a forward player. She hails from Shahbad, Haryana. She’s been representing India internationally since 14. Her journey was full of hurdles. Rani was in Salwar-kameez when she holds the stick for the first time. Today, she is the key player in the national team. Known for her unmistakable ability to be at the right place at the right time, she made India name many gallantries to its account. She assisted the team win a Junior World Cup medal, Asian Cup, and was one of the key reasons why India could qualify for the back-to-back Olympics for the first time.

Neha Goyal is another player hailing from Haryana. The 24-year-old Midfielder, who hails from Sonipat, playing hockey came with two meals a day. This helped her to stay away from her alcoholic father and toxic home environment. She is representing the nation for the first time at the Olympics. Her debut was Asian Games, 2018, when she was just 18 years old. India won a silver at the Games and she was awarded the Hockey India Midfielder of the year award.

Defender Nikki Pradhan (27) gets frightened while remembering the old days when travelling even with parents was terrifying. She grew up in Hesal, Jharkhand, an area known to be a Naxal stronghold. Initial days were harsh. Grew up with financial constraints, Pradhan’s elder sister, who also played hockey, did labour work to get a hockey stick. Nikki, however, got her first pair of shoes and stick when she moved to an academy in Ranchi, 2006. It was in 2015 when she finally secured a spot in the team, just before the Rio Olympics, becoming the first player to represent the state at the Olympics.

Nisha Warsi (26) is another hockey star who made her international debut two years ago. Hailing from Sonipat, Haryana, Warsi’s father worked really hard to make sure the daughter’s needs are not compromised. But 2015 trembled the family with the father getting a paralytic attack and forcing her mother to work in a foam manufacturing factory to make ends meet. She waited for three years to get into the national team and since 2018, Warsi is unstoppable.

When northeastern face racial discrimination, the 21-year-old forward player from Kolasib, Mizoram, Lalremsiami, came to the limelight to make people think otherwise. One of the finest forwards in the team, Siami, as she is called by her teammates, is central to the idea of playing high-tempo hockey. She became a part of the national team at the age of 16. At that time, speaking Hindi or English was a tough task for her to do. Sign language and monosyllables came to her rescue. While sharing the room with her idol, Rani Rampal, Siami blended into the team. She became the first female player from Mizoram to play at the Olympics and the 2nd Olympian from the state in 25 years after Archer C Lalremsanga.

Another sports star from the northeast is Sushila Chanu (29), who hails from the capital of Manipur, Imphal. One of the experienced players in the team in the last decades alongside Rani Rampal, she worked for the Railways in Mumbai earlier. Sushila captained the team at the Rio Olympics, which was the women team’s first appearance at the Games since 1980. She has over 150 caps for the national team, has played across the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and was instrumental in stunning out the Australians in the quarter-finals.

Growing up in a family of hockey enthusiasts, Deep Grace Ekka, 27, is a defender. She is the sister of former Indian goalkeeper, Dinesh Grace. The girl from Odisha followed the footsteps of her brother and wanted to be a goalkeeper as well, but was pushed to play as a Defender by her brother. It was her fondness for the sport that made her spend a huge amount of time at practice, but to other Lulkidihi-residents spending that much on the field for a girl wasn’t very appreciating. They criticise her for not doing her ‘chores.’ Ekka, however, had a supportive family. She went on to be a part of the team that won the Asia Cup in 2017. With over 200 caps, she’s now playing at her second Olympics.

A budding star, Salima Tete, 19, is another player from Hesal, Jharkhand. She is a midfielder. Tete’s hockey journey began the same way most people in India fall in love with sports – in a dusty maidan where the stones needed to be removed and the temporary goalposts had to be constructed. She was born in a Naxal stronghold area, which is also a hockey hotbed. In her initial days, she worked on the family’s farm and bought herself a stick with the earned money. Before Olympics, she had won 29 caps for the senior national team.

The 23 year old Udita Duhan is a Hisar native. Duhan, a defender, followed in her father’s footsteps by playing handball. Never had imagined Hockey as a career pursuit, she stopped playing handball soon her coach stopped coming for practice. On the advice of her mother, she decided to try hands at hockey and her speed caught everybody’s attention. In 2016 she was named captain of the team that won bronze at the U-18 Asian Cup. A year later she was elevated to the senior team and became a permanent fixture ever since.

Forward Vandana Katariya, 26, hails from the city of Nawabs, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Making it to the quarterfinals wasn’t easy, stepped in Vandana who stood against South Africa and secured three goals. She became the only Indian woman to score an Olympic hat-trick. The achievement arrived just three months after she faced a personal tragedy. Growing up in Haridwar, locals dissuaded her family from allowing their daughter to play sports instead of focusing on household chores. But her father was adamant to ignore the societal pressure and let the daughter pursue her dream. He passed away three months ago, and Katariya was unable to attend the funeral. She will now play for the team facing Great Britain for the Bronze on August 5.

Navneet Kaur (25), is a forward. She hails from Shahbad, Haryana and is one of eight players in the team who also battled at the Rio Olympics. She’s been one of the most consistent forwards of the country. With her debut in the Junior World Cup, 2013, when India won a bronze, she has been a part of several path-breaking performances. She considers Australian great Jamie Dwyer as her idol and on Monday, she put up a courageous performance defeating her hero’s national team.

Midfielder Monika Malik (27), is another player from Sonipat, Haryana. Her father Takdeer Singh Malik, ASI with the Chandigarh police, is fond of wrestling. But Monika affirmed that he never had imposed his likeness on her. She was free to choose the sport of her interest and Malik decided to pursue the hockey route. She started her hockey training at a government school in Chandigarh. She holds a business administration degree from Kurukshetra University. On the hockey field, she was a part of the national team in the Asia Cup in 2018, and 2014, winning silver and bronze respectively.

Defender Gurjit Kaur (25), belongs to the state of Hockey legend Dhyan Chand and Balbir Singh Sr. Hailing from Amritsar, Punjab, she claimed the lone goal at the Tokyo Olympics that made India win the quarterfinal against Australia. The defender has been chipping in with crucial goals throughout her international career, scoring eight at the Asia Cup triumph in 2017, and was the top scorer when India won the 2019 FIH Women’s Series Finals.

What were you doing at 19? Well, the Hisar teenager Sharmila Devi is representing India at the Olympics. The forward made her international debut in Tokyo at the Olympic Test Event in 2019. She was also on the scoresheet when India beat the United States 6-5 to secure qualification. Sharing her journey, she explained that her inclination for hockey developed at a little age while accompanying her grandfather, a former national player, to a local ground. It was the balls used in Hockey, Volleyball and football which she found fascinating. It took a while to choose one sport as a career.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)

The post Poverty, Hardships, Struggle, couldn’t break the hopes of eves of team India; a journey to Olympics first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Although day 5 wasn’t that lucky but hopes are still high for a better ending.

Tokyo Olympics started from July 23 and Hockey matches is being held in Oi Hockey Stadium.

The post Great Britain claimed victory against India first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

The men’s team is under the captainship of Manpreet Singh Sandhu, while Rani will lead the women’s national team. 

Graham Reid, chief coach of India’s men hockey team, shared how excited the team is to perform their best on the podium. “The team is absolutely excited. They have all worked really hard for this moment and it is time to convert the sacrifices made over the last couple of months and years into desirable results in Tokyo,” expressed Reid, as quoted by The New Indian Express. 

“As I have always said, our aim will be to perform best match-by-match. The team is mentally prepared to face the challenges on and off the field in Tokyo,” he added further.

In their first Pool A match team India will face New Zealand on July 24, then take on Australia on July 25. The series will continue with matches against Spain on July 27 and Olympic Champions Argentina on July 29 and host Japan on July 30.

“As we leave Bengaluru, we are filled with gratitude towards the staff at SAI Bengaluru, Sports Authority of India and Hockey India who ensured we got everything needed in the last 15 months while training in a bio-bubble. Hockey India and SAI have been a huge support in our preparations,” Reid said before departing for Delhi from Bengaluru.

On the other hand, women’s chief coach Sjoerd Marijne agreed with Reid as she was quoted saying, “It was quite emotional for us when we had our last training session yesterday (Friday) in SAI, Bengaluru. This group is really special. They are very strong mentally and I believe this will be one of our assets when we take on big teams in Tokyo. We are geared up for the challenge.”

Earlier on a virtual meet, Capt. Manpreet shared with PM Narendra Modi how dedicatedly team India is preparing itself to bring back the glory to the sport. The clip of their conversation was shared on PM’s Twitter handle and later retweeted by TheHockeyIndia. See here:

The post Aimed to bring back the glory team India took off for Tokyo first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Below are the highlights of the match:

Quarter 1 – The first quarter started with a PC to team Ireland, but Bichu Devi saved it in the early minutes to avoid any loss. Both the team were seeking out ways to score a goal first but were unable in the first quarter and the scoreline remained at IND 0-0 IRE at the end of the first quarter.

Quarter 2 – In the second quarter, PC was again awarded to team Ireland, but again saved by Bichu Devi. Other great tries by both the teams but no goal was scored by either of the team and the score at the end of the first half remained the same at IND 0-0 IRE.

Quarter 3 – In the third quarter, team India got the PC, and finally Gangandeep marked a goal in the 45th minute, making the score IND 1-0 IRE at the end of the third quarter.

Quarter 4 – In the final quarter, team Ireland got another PC to equalize the scoreline, but unfortunately they missed with team India leading the final match of the series at a score IND 1-0 IRE.

Well Done Team India!

Keep watching this space for further updates to the upcoming matches.

The post Jr. Women Hockey Team India Won the Final Match too of Cantor Fitzgerald U21 International Series first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Below are the highlights of the match:

Quarter 1- The first quarter started with both the teams finding ways to score a goal first and team Ireland did it first in the 10th minute thereby making the score IND 0-1 IRE at the end of the first quarter.

Quarter 2 – The second quarter team India was focused on scoring a goal to equalize the score, but missed and the score at the end of the first half remained the same at IND 0-1 IRE.

Quarter 3 – In the third quarter, team India got a PC and Reet nailed it by scoring a goal in the 35th minute, thereby making the score IND 1-1 IRE.

Quarter 4 – In the last quarter, PC was awarded to team Ireland but they missed it. In the next minutes, Sharmilla of team India strengthen the lead with a great shot by making the score IND 2-1 IRE and won the match.

The next match of the series will be against Scottland on 3rd June at 18:00 hrs IST.

Keep watching this space for further updates of the match.

The post Jr. Women’s Team India Won Another Match of Cantor Fitzgerald U21 International Series first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Below are the highlights of the match:

Quarter 1 – The first quarter started with both the teams looking out for the ways to score a goal first. However, the team Ireland did it early in the 7th minute making the score IND 0-1 IRE.

Quarter 2 – Again the team Ireland got the PC to strengthen their lead but saved by team India’s goalkeeper Bichu Devi. India juniors, along with playing defensive gave great shots but missed, and the score at the end of the first half remained the same at IND 0-1 IRE.

Quarter 3 – In the third quarter, Sharmila of team India finally managed to score the first goal by giving a brilliant shot and equalizing the score. In the next minutes, PC was awarded to team India to strengthen the lead but missed. In the last minutes, team Ireland gave another shot at the goal and made it with another back to back goal and made the score IND 1-3 IRE at the end of the third quarter.

Quarter 4 – In the last quarter, again, the team Ireland got the PC, and there was another goal. Team India played well but missed the match this time at a score IND 1-4 IRE.

The Jr. team will play the second match against Jr. Women Team Canada on 29th May 20:30 hrs (IST).

Keep watching this space for the further updates of the matches.

The post Indian Jr. Women Hockey Team Lost the Match Against Sr. Women Team Ireland first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Below are the highlights of the match.

Quarter 1 – In the first quarter, team Korea earned the first PC in the early minutes and gave a great shot at the goal by saved by Savita. Another PC to team Korea but no goal was recorded. In the next minutes, team India got the PC but missed the goal. Both the teams gave best shots but missed and the score at the end of Quarter 1 was IND 0-0 KOR.

Quarter 2 – In the second quarter, again the PC was awarded to team Korea, but team India played defensive to avoid any loss. The Korean team finally managed to score a goal in the 29^th minute, thereby making the score IND 0-1 KOR at the end of the first half.

Quarter 3 – Team India was seeking out goal scoring opportunities, but again the team Korea scored a goal with another back to bach goal making the score IND 0-3 KOR at the end of the third quarter.

Quarter 4 – In the final quarter, team India gave another great shot but missed unfortunately and the hosts gave another shot at the goal and recorded a goal again. In spite of trying hard, team India lost this time at a score of IND 0-4 KOR.

At the end of the series, the Chief coach said that the Korean team is good than ours, but the performance the Indian team gave in the first two matches was good. She added that we are improving and will continue to improve to give the best in the upcoming FIH finals in Hiroshima.

Keep watching this space for more updates of the upcoming matches.

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The team will first head towards Dublin to play two-day match series on 28th and 29th May’19. The first match will be with the Irish National team and the second one with Canada Jr. Women’s team. Then the next four day series scheduled to be held at Baranovichi, Belarus from 31st May to 4th June with four nations participating in the matches named India, Ireland, Canada and Scottland.

After this, the team will play a match on 6th June’19 against Irish National team followed by five-day match series scheduled to start from 9th June’19 in Belarus.

Below are the details of the team.

Goalkeepers – Bichu Devi Kharibam and Khushboo

Defenders – Ishika Chaudhary, 4. Suman Devi Thoudam (Captain), Priyanka, Mahima Choudhary, Simran Singh and Gagandeep Kaur (Vice-Captain)

Midfielders – Preeti, Mariana Kujur, Chetna, Ajmina Kujur and Baljeet Kaur

Forwards – Mumtaz Khan, Beauty Dungdung, Sharmila Devi, Reet and Lalrindiki

Upon the selection of the team, coach of Indian Jr. Women’s Team, Baljeet Singh said that the team is all set to compete against the stronger teams of the world. The selection is based on keeping all the crucial things in mind and hoping for the excellent performance in the upcoming matches.

All the Best Team India!

Keep watching this space for further updates to the matches.

The post 18-Member Women’s Junior Hockey Team India is All Set for Cantor Fitzgerald U21 International 4-Nations Tournament first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Below are the highlights of the match:

Quarter 1 – In the first quarter team, India got the PC in the early minutes of the game. After some fantastic shots, finally a goal by Lalremsiami in the 11th minute. Team Korea also gave great shots at the goal by team India saved them all by showing their defensive skills and the score at the end of the first quarter was IND 1-0 KOR.

Quarter 2 – In the second quarter, team India was seeking for another goal scoring opportunities to strengthen their lead, but missed. Team Korea also seemed aggressive to get a lead, but all the great shots were saved. India got the second PC and gave a fantastic shot by Korean Goalkeeper saved it to avoid any further loss. So, in quarter two, both the teams were unable to score a goal, and the scoreline remained same at IND 1-0 KOR in the first half.

Quarter 3 – Team Korea got the PC at the beginning of the third quarter and a great shot too, but unfortunately it was off the target, and no goal was scored. In the next minutes, team India makes a great circle entry and again a goal in the 40th minute, this time by Navneet making the score IND 2-0 KOR at the end of the third quarter.

Quarter 4 – In the last quarter, team Korea got the PC and finally a goal by Shin Hyejeong in the 48th minute. Another PC to team Korea but team India’s played defensive well and didn’t let them score a goal and the last quarter ended with India leading the match with a score of IND 2-1 KOR.

Well done team India!

The next match is scheduled for 22nd May 2019 at 11:30 hrs (IST).

Keep watching this space for further updates of the match.

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