India won its first gold medal in the Olympics in 1948 against British team, soon after it gained independence.

Manpreet, a dedicated player, said the team is all prepared to perform best on the podium, which according to his words will be a tribute to the frontline workers in the pandemic. 

“As we work hard towards the upcoming Olympic Games, we promise to fight all odds to win a medal for India,” he said. 

“And if we do get a medal, we would like to dedicate it to the true heroes of our country- the doctors and frontline workers who have worked tirelessly to heal our country through these tough times and saved millions of lives,” he added.

He was observed speaking in a video released by Hockey India.

India had earned eight golds in the Olympics. The last triumph was in the Moscow Games against Spain by 4-3. 

The skipper is elated and amazed by the efforts of each and every team player in the ongoing selection trials in SAI (Sports Authority of India) Bengaluru. 

“Everyone is pushing each other to give their best shot,” Manpreet concluded.

The post Determined to pay tribute to COVID warriors by vanquishing medal in the Olympics, says Captain first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Below are the highlights of the match:

Quarter 1 – In the first quarter, the Australia team without wasting time made a circle entry and gave a great shot but saved by Indian goalkeeper Krishan Pathak. In the next minutes, another great shot by Australia team and finally a goal in the 3rd minute with a score IND 0-1 AUS. Another great shot by team India at the goal but missed. Team Australia played aggressive and giving back to back shots but team India showed defensive skills to avoid further loss. PC was awarded to India but missed to score a goal. Next PC to Australia, but India kept on saving all the shots at the goal. Australia got possession and scored another goal. In the next minutes another great shot by Niakanta Sharma and finally a first goal of the match in the 12th minute making the score IND 1-2 AUS at the end of the first quarter.

Quarter 2 – In the second quarter, Australia team started with a great shot but no further loss. India got the free hit but missed the shot. Mandeep Singh showed great skills but the shot goes the wrong way. India team got possession in the next minutes by no goal recorded. India got a free hit again but missed. Another great shot by Trent Mitton of team Australia followed by a PC and another goal by Blake Govers making the score IND 1-4 AUS at the end of the first half.

Quarter 3 – In the third quarter, team India ruled the ball in initial minutes, but missed the shot at the goal. Multiple free hits to team India and multiple entries to circle, but all saved. Tim Brand of team Australia scored a goal in the 43rd minute making the score IND 1-5 AUS at the end of the third quarter.

Quarter 4 – Team India seemed aggressive to score goals in the last quarter and left no stone unturned to give great shots. A PC was awarded to India and finally the second goal by Rupinder Pal in the last minutes of the match thereby making the score IND 2-5 AUS. Team India played well but lost the second match of the series.

And finally, the Australian tour ended with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats for Team India.

Keep watching this space for further updates.

The post Men’s Team India Faced a Second Defeat in the Australia Five Day Hockey Match Series first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Below are the highlights of the match:

Quarter 1 – In the initial minutes, team India got the ball to score a lead, but missed. Aran Zalewski took the next charge and then the next minutes, PC was awarded to India but missed the shot at the goal. Then, a free hit to team Australia for the attack and they seemed aggressive to utilize the opportunity, but rescued by skipper Manpreet Singh. Another shot by team Australia but saved by Surender Kumar. Again a free hit to Australia and a next circle entry but missed. Nilakanta made the next circle entry but again missed. Again a great shot at the goal by team Australia but missed. A PC and a Penalty shot were awarded back to back to team Australia and they did it. Finally a goal by Blake Govers with the score IND 0-1 AUS at the end of the first quarter.

Quarter 2 – Team India seeking out for goal scoring opportunities to equalize the score and team Australia looking out for ways to strengthen their lead. Another PC to Australia and they did it again with a goal by Jeremy Hayward. Another great shot at the goal by Australia team but Vivek Sagar saved it. India got the ball possession and Kothajit makes a beautiful pass in midfield. The second PC was awarded to India to score a lead and the players seemed aggressive but missed. The opposing team got the ball possession again but no further damage. India got another PC and a great shot by Harmanpreet Singh by saved. Another PC was awarded to team Australia, but the score at the end of the first half remained IND 0-2 AUS.

Quarter 3 – In the third quarter as well PC was awarded to team Australia but saved by Vivek Sagar. Both the teams gave great shots but were unable to score a goal and the score remained the same at the end of the third quarter as well at IND 0-2 AUS.

Quarter 4 – In the final quarter, team India holds on to possession showing a great team spirit. A great shot by Rupinder Pal Singh but saved by the Australian goalkeeper. In the last minutes, two back to back goals by Australia thereby making the score IND 0-4 AUS. Team India tried hard and gave great shots as well by missed this time. Better luck next time.

The next match of the series is going to be held on 17th May 2018 at 14:30 hrs IST.

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

The post India Men’s Hockey Team’s First Defeat in the Fourth Match of Australia Tour first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Please find the below updates of the match:

Quarter 1 – In the first quarter, Indian players gave a great shot in the early minutes without wasting any time, but saved by the opposing players. The next shot was by Mandeep Singh but missed. In the following minutes, a PC was awarded to India and finally a goal by Rupinder. Team Australia also seemed focused, not to miss any of the goad scoring opportunity, but all the shots were saved. In the next minutes, there was another goal by Sumit Kumar followed by one more goal in the very next minute. The score at the end of the first quarter was IND 3-0 AUS.

Quarter 2 – The next quarter started again with team India’s great shots towards the goal. The opposing team seemed in pressure to score a goal before the end of the first half but missed, and the score at the end of the first half remained the same IND 3-0 AUS.

Quarter 3 – Third quarter again started with players of team India finding goal scoring opportunities. In the early minutes, there was a great shot by team Australia but saved by Sreejesh. Then, a PC was awarded to team India but saved. Another back to back shots by team Australia but unable to score a goal. In the last minutes, there was again a great shot by Mandeep Singh by missed. A PC was also awarded to team India but saved, and the score remained the same at the end of the third quarter as IND 3-0 AUS.

Quarter 4 – The last quarter started with the great shots by team Australia but team India continued to play defensive. Team Australia kept giving counter-attacks but failed to score a goal. Krishan Pathank showed his defensive skills by saving great shots of the opposing team. Finally, the match ended with another win of team India with a score of IND 3-0 AUS.

Well Done! Team India. We are looking forward to many more wins.

The next match will be on 13th May at 7:30 IST between Australia ‘A’ and India.

Keep watching this space for further updates.

The post Another Win of Men’s Hockey Team India Against Australia with a Score 3-0 first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Let’s have a look at the quick highlights of the match:

Quarter 1 – In the first quarter, both the teams were finding out the ways to score a goal first. A first fantastic shot at the goal was by team India but missed. Moving on with full enthusiasm, the Akashdeep Singh takes another shot the goal but unfortunately saved by the WA goalkeeper. So, the first quarter ends with a score of IND 0-0 WA.

Quarter 2 – In the second quarter, again the teams were concentrating on goal scoring opportunities. Harmanpreet Singh makes an early attack towards the goal but missed. And then finally in the 23^rd minute, Birendra Lakra gave a fantastic shot and yes, there’s a goal. Team WA also gave great shots at the goal but the Indian team saved and gave another shot to strengthen their lead. Even PC was awarded to team India. But, at the end of the first half, India was leading the match with a lead and a score of IND 1-0 WA.

Quarter 3 – Team WA were too committed to scoring a goal and gave a great shot in the early minutes of the third quarter, but missed. In the next minutes, India got possession but Gursahibjit Singh charges into the opponent circle and lost the possession. Both the teams tried hard to score a goal but at the end of the third quarter, the score remained the same at IND 1-0 WA.

Quarter 4 – In the final quarter, the team WA gave a great shot in the early minutes at the goal, but the team India saved it and focused on playing defensive along with strengthing their lead. In the 50^th minute, Harmanpreet Singh gave a fantastic shot and scored a goal by making the score IND 2-0 WA. Team WA got two back to back PCs but failed to score a goal.

Well played team India. All the very best for the upcoming matches as well. The next match will be on 10th May at 7:30 IST between Australia ‘A’ and India.

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

The post Men’s Hockey Team India Won the Match with 2-0 Against WA Thundersticks first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

The matches will be played from 8^th May to 17^th May. The schedule for five matches is as below:

• 8^th May at 15:30 IST between WA Thunderstics and India

• 10^th May at 7:30 IST between Australia ‘A’ and India

• 13^th May at 7:30 IST between Australia ‘A’ and India

• 15^th May at 14:30 IST between Australia and India

• 17^th May at 16:30 IST between Australia and India

According to Captain Manpreet Singh, this International tour and the matches with world class teams will prove to be a great exposure for youngest team members to build up their confidence in the upcoming FIH Final Hockey Series.

At the time of Departure, Manpreet reminds the team of Chief Reid’s words about how important is the value of a team player than that of an individual player. The team of youngsters and experienced players is well prepared and are fully confident to give their best shots.

Keep watching this space for further updates on the match.

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