Rio Olympics Hockey: Indian Men’s Team suffer second defeat, lose 1-2 to Netherlands

Indian Hockey Admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 06:06:20 +0000

A combative India muffed five penalty corners in the fag end and went down fighting 1-2 to the Netherlands in their fourth Pool B match of the Olympic men’s hockey competition here today.
With six points from four matches, India is at third place and will play Canada in the last game of the pool. Assured of a quarter-final berth, India will end up third in the poll if it wins against Canada.
For all their early exuberance, the Dutch’s frustration was rising as they were not able to get a breakthrough. However, as the second session opened, the Dutch earned their first penalty corner but Mink Van Der Meerden failed to beat goal keeper Sreejesh, but on the rebound Rogier Hoffman struck to give them the lead in the 32nd minute (1-0).
India defended deep in the closing stages of the third quarter, though SV Sunil and Raghunath were shown a yellow card each, leaving India down to nine men.
The Dutch would take full advantage of being a man up in the final quarter and stormed through with a series of penalty corners. Sreejesh stood strong, saving three in a row, before Van Der Meerden scored to give them the lead with six minutes of the game left (2-1).
After the game, captain Sreejesh was not happy with the result. “We muffed our chances. We can’t look at it as five PCs, it’s just one taken five times. This is the difference, we should convert in the dying minutes. I wasn’t surprised, it was a strategy. We needed to put pressure with an extra player and it worked, We earned 6 PC in the last five minutes.
“We are in the same position. We haven’t gone down. Winning two matches is crucial, rest is bonus. That will decide where you stand in the pool. It is better to win as many matches as possible.”
“We controlled the game well, we got opportunities. When we had nine players on the field, even then we controlled the game well. We could not convert in the end, we should have drawn the game. Like in the match against Germany, a small error cost us the game,” he added.

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Hockey India to Award Rs One Lakh to Women’s Team for Rio Olympic Qualification

Indian Hockey Admin — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 12:17:13 +0000

Hockey India have announced that the entire women’s hockey team will be given a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh for sealing qualification to the Olympics after 36 years. The Indian eves acheived the feat after a decent display at the EuroHockey Championship in London last August.
The India women’s hockey team had previously qualified for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, where they finished fourth.
Apart from the women’s team, the entire support staff will be awarded the cash prize from Hockey India. It will be handed over to the members of the hockey team on March 26 at the Hockey India awards in Bengaluru.
“It’s a very big achievement for women’s hockey in India,” India women’s hockey team skipper Ritu Rani was quoted as saying by Hockey India’s official website. “Till now, the Gold in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester was the most celebrated moment for women’s hockey, but by qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympics, we have managed to push the bar higher.
“A good performance in the Olympics will help to take women’s hockey in India a long way ahead. This recognition by Hockey India will further motivate us to put up a good show,” the 24-year-old halfback added.
Ritu, along with defender Dipika Murthy, forward Rani Rampal and goalkeeper Savita Punia are also in contention to bag the Women’s Player of the Year award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh.

Women’s Hockey Team Qualified for RIO Olympics 2016 – India Hockey

The Indian women’s team finished fifth at the Hockey World League semifinals in July last year, opening up an enormous opportunity for them to make it to the Rio Olympics. They could only confirm the spot for the 2016 Olympics if any of the two already-qualified teams reached the final of the EuroHockey Championship.
England, who had already sealed qualification to the Rio Olympics, got past Spain in the semifinal of the tournament and that paved the way for the Indian eves to make it to Rio 2016.
The mega quadrennial event is scheduled to begin in Brazil on August 5. Apart from India, Asian Games Champions Korea, Pan American Games champions Argentina, Great Britain, China, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the USA have sealed the qualification to the women’s hockey tournament of the Rio Olympics.
Source: http://www.ibtimes.co.in/india-womens-hockey-team-receive-rs-1-lakh-cash-prize-hockey-india-670613

The post Hockey India to Award Rs One Lakh to Women’s Team for Rio Olympic Qualification first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Rio Olympic 2016 - The History Book of Indian Hockey

Rio Olympics Hockey: Indian Men’s Team suffer second defeat, lose 1-2 to Netherlands

Hockey India to Award Rs One Lakh to Women’s Team for Rio Olympic Qualification