India Beat Netherlands In FIH Hockey Pro League Debut |

Image courtesy Hockey India
ndia
(world no. 5) played two Hockey Pro League matches against Netherlands
(world no. 3) at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubanesvar. In a
successful Pro League debut, India won both their matches. The results were as follows:
Date |
Result |
Goal Scorers - India |
Jan 18 |
India 5 - Netherlands 2 |
Gurjant Singh (1 min) Rupinder Pal Singh (12,
46 min), both PCs Mandeep Singh (34 min) Lalit Upadhyay (36 min) |
Jan 19 |
India 3 - Netherlands 3 (3-1) |
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (25 min) Mandeep Singh
(51 min), PC Rupinder Pal Singh (55 min), PC |
India got 3 points for the win in the first match, and 2 points for
the tie + shootout win in the second match. Vivek Sagar Prasad, Gurjant Singh and Akashdeep Singh all scored their
penalties in the shoot-out, while Indian goalkeeper P. R. Sreejesh
effected some fine saves to earn India the bonus point.
In the first match against Netherlands, Gurjant Singh scored India's first goal
just 13 seconds into the game. It was the fastest-ever goal by India, overshadowing Ajit Singh's
15th second strike against Argentina at the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
India's next set of matches in the Hockey Pro League are against
world no. 2 Belgium (February 8-9) and world no. 1 Australia (February
22-23), thus providing India with valuable match practice against the top 3 teams in the world.
India's 20-member squad for the Hockey Pro League matches against
Netherlands was as follows:
Goalkeepers: P R Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh (vice-captain), Amit Rohidas,
Birendra Lakra, Gurinder Singh, Khadangbam Kothajeet Singh, Rupinder Pal
Singh, Surender Kumar
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh (captain), Kangujam Chinglensana
Singh, Neelakantha Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad
Forwards: Gurjant Singh, Gursahibjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar
Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Sumit, S. V. Sunil, Akashdeep Singh
Officials: Graham Reid (head coach), Chris Ciriello
(analytical coach), Shivendra Singh (coach), Robin Anthony Webster
Arkell (scientific advisor)
|
Indian Women Win Two And Lose Two In New Zealand Tour |

India vs. New Zealand, Photograph courtesy Hockey India
he
Indian women's hockey team had a tour of New Zealand from 27th January -
5th February, 2020, where they played 3 matches against world no. 6 New
Zealand, and 1 match against world no. 5 Great Britain in Auckland.
India won two and lost two, and had the following match results:
Country |
Date |
Result |
Goal Scorers - India |
New Zealand |
Jan 27 |
New Zealand 2 - India 1 |
Salima Tete (Late 1st Quarter), PC |
|
Jan 29 |
New Zealand 1 - India 0 |
|
|
Feb 5 |
India 3 - New Zealand 0 |
Navneet Kaur (45, 58 min) Sharmila Devi (54 min) |
Great Britain |
Feb 4 |
India 1 - Great Britain 0 |
Rani Rampal (47 min) |
The Indian team for the New Zealand tour was as follows:
Goalkeepers: Savita Punia (vice-captain), Rajani Etimarapu
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjeet Kaur, Nisha,
Reena Khokhar, Salima Tete
Midfielders: Leelima Minz, Monika, Namita Toppo, Neha
Goyal, Pukhramban Sushila Chanu, Sonika
Forwards: Rani Rampal (captain), Lalremsiami, Navjot Kaur,
Navneet Kaur, Sharmila Devi, Udita, Vandana Katariya
Officials: Sjoerd Marijne (head coach), Janneke Schopman
(analytical coach), B. S. Ankitha (coach), Wayne Patrick Lombard
(scientific advisor)
|
Services Win 10th Hockey India National Hockey Championship (Men) |

Services - National Hockey Champions, photograph courtesy
Hockey India
he
10th Hockey India National Hockey Championship 'A' Division (men) was held at
the Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in Jhansi
from 23rd January - 2nd February, 2020. 18 teams took part in the
championship, and were grouped into the following pools.
- Pool A: Punjab, Services, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigadh, Tamil Nadu
- Pool B: Petroleum Sports Control Board, Mumbai, Comptroller &
Auditor General of India, Kendriya Reserve Police Bal (CRPF), Kendriya
Sachivalaya (Central Secretariat)
- Pool C: Punjab & Sindh Bank, Hariyana, Canara Bank, Bharatiya
Vishvavidyalaya Sangh (AIU)
- Pool D: Air India, Karnataka, Odisha, Gangpur-Odisha
Services and Air India reached the final of the national hockey championship, with the following
results:
Stage |
Date |
Services |
Date |
Air India |
Pool |
Jan 23 |
beat Uttar Pradesh 5-1 |
Jan 25 |
drew with Odisha 1-1 |
|
Jan 24 |
beat Tamil Nadu 3-1 |
Jan 27 |
beat Karnataka 3-2 |
|
Jan 25 |
beat Punjab 4-0 |
Jan 28 |
drew with Gangpur-Odisha 1-1 |
|
Jan 27 |
beat Chandigadh 5-2 |
|
|
Quarters |
Jan 29 |
beat Mumbai 1-0 |
Jan 30 |
beat Hariyana 2-1 |
Semis |
Feb 1 |
beat Punjab & Sindh Bank 2-0 |
Feb 1 |
beat Petroleum Sports Promotion Board 5-2 |
Final |
Feb 2 |
beat Air India 3-1 |
Petroleum Sports Promotion Board beat Punjab & Sindh Bank 3-1 to finish 3rd.
The following were the individual awards: Best Goalkeeper:
Adrian D'Souza (Air India), Best Defender: Jugraj Singh
(Services), Best Midfielder: Gurmail Singh (Punjab &
Sindh Bank), Best Forward: Mohammad Raheel (Air India),
Player of the Tournament: Jugraj Singh (Services)
|
Hariyana Win 10th Hockey India National Hockey Championship (Women) |

National Hockey Championship (Women's), photo courtesy
Hockey India
he
10th Hockey India National Hockey Championship 'A' Division (women) was held
in Kollam, Kerala, from 30th January - 9th February, 2020. 19 teams took part in the
championship, and were grouped into the following pools.
- Pool A: Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Bhopal, Hockey Him
- Pool B: Hariyana, Karnataka, Gangpur-Odisha, Rajasthan,
Bharatiya Khel Praadhikaran (SAI)
- Pool C: Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chandigadh
- Pool D: Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy,
Chattisgadh, Kendriya Reserve Police Bal (CRPF)
Hariyana and Bharatiya Khel Praadhikaran (SAI) reached the final of the national hockey championship, with the following
results:
Stage |
Date |
Hariyana |
Date |
Bharatiya Khel
Praadhikaran |
Pool |
Jan 30 |
beat Rajasthan 9-1 |
Jan 31 |
beat Rajasthan 7-0 |
|
Jan 31 |
beat Gangpur-Odisha 5-0 |
Feb 1 |
beat Karnataka 1-0 |
|
Feb 2 |
beat Karnataka 8-0 |
Feb 3 |
beat Gangpur-Odisha 5-0 |
|
Feb 4 |
drew with Bharatiya Khel Praadhikaran 3-3 |
Feb 4 |
drew with Hariyana 3-3 |
Quarters |
Feb 6 |
beat Odisha 4-2 |
Feb 6 |
beat Madhya Pradesh 2-2 (3-2 SO) |
Semis |
Feb 8 |
beat Maharashtra 3-2 |
Feb 8 |
drew with MP Hockey Academy 0-0 (2-1 SO) |
Final |
Feb 9 |
beat Bharatiya Khel Praadhikaran 6-0 |
Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy beat Maharashtra 2-1 to finish third.
|
Rani Rampal Wins World Games Athlete Of The Year Award |

Photograph credit The Olympic Channel
ndian
women's hockey captain Rani Rampal has won the International World Games
Association's 6th Athlete of the Year award. The association said in a
statement, "Indian hockey superstar Rani is the World Games Athlete of
the Year 2019! Huge congratulations! With an impressive number of votes,
199,477, Rani is the clear winner of the Athlete of the Year race. All
in all, over 705,610 votes were cast during the poll,"
Rani is the first-ever hockey player, and the first-ever Indian to
win the prestigious global award.
International World Games Association President Jose Perurena said,
"Rani is an inspirational athlete and a role model for many in India. It
was amazing to see the support the Indians, even as high up as Mr
Rijiju, the Minister of State, Youth Affairs and Sports gave to her in
this vote, together with the hockey fans all around the world. This is
what sport is about: uniting people from different backgrounds and
different countries."
There were initially 25 athletes, male and female, who were nominated
by their respective sports federations. It was later reduced to 10 in
the final round of public voting.
Rani has been a member of the national team since she was a mere
15-year-old back in 2008, and currently has more than 240 caps for her
country. She was instrumental in the Indian women's hockey team
qualifying for back-to-back Olympic Games for the first time. She scored
the winning goal in the Olympic Qualifier match against USA in
Bhubanesvar in November 2019 that gave India the ticket to the 2020
Tokyo Olympic Games.
|
Photograph of the Month |

Photograph courtesy One Thousand Hockey Legs
he
Photograph of the Month for February 2020 is of the newly unveiled mascot
of the Delhi-based NGO One Thousand Hockey Legs (OTHL). Three living legends of hockey
- Olympic gold medalists Harbinder
Singh and M. K. Kaushik, along with World Cup gold medallist H. J. S. Chimni together unveiled
the OTHL mascot, named Chhota Cheetah at the historic Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
OTHL is the flagship program of Hockey Citizen
Group, founded by hockey historian K. Arumugam and his friends in 2008
to create career opportunities through sport for the under-privileged sections of Indian
society, in the age group of 10 to 18.
The NGO organised its annual Sporting Month Program at the Major
Dhyan Chand Stadium.
Starting 20th Dec, 8-10 matches were held every day for different
age-group categories
of teams. A total of 242 matches were held during the month, with
the finals taking place on 15th January.
The NGO received Hockey India president's Outstanding Achievement
Award in 2015 and President of India's Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar
in 2016.
|
Money Matters |

Image courtesy AFP
ockey India
contributed USD 25,000 to their Australian counterparts
to raise funds for the victims of the devastating bushfires Down Under.
Hockey India also donated signed national team jerseys which will be
put for auction and the proceeds will be used through Red Cross to help
those affected by the wildfires.
Hockey Australia has expressed its gratitude in a letter to the
Hockey India president Mohammad Mushtaque Ahmed.
"On behalf of the Board and Management of Hockey Australia, we really
appreciate your support towards Hockey Australia's fundraising efforts
for the recent bushfires. The signed India team jerseys will soon be included on our auction
platform, and there is no doubt that the generous support of USD 25,000
towards the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal will be very well received," the letter said.
Hockey Australia said Hockey India's gesture will reinforce "the
strength of relationships between Australia and India including our
shared love for the sport of hockey."
The bushfires raging in Australia since September 2019 have
affected millions of acres of land, destroyed more than 2,500 homes,
killed more than 30 people, and millions of animals have perished in the fires.
|
Media Matters |

new streaming
service dedicated to Olympic sports in being launched in
the United Kingdom after this year's Tokyo Olympics.
The British Olympic Association (BOA), British Paralympic Association
(BPA) and UK Sport are joining forces with over 20 national governing
bodies to launch GB Sport Media, an over-the-top (OTT) broadcast
platform that will deliver the streaming content.
The media venture has been in development for nearly two years,
during which time over 2,600 hours of content across 26 Olympic and
Paralympic sports have already been secured. Former BBC and Discovery
executive Dominic Coles has been appointed as the chair of GB Sport
Media.
Jon Cockcroft, GB and England Hockey Commercial Director and GB Sport
Media Board Member said, "As the consumption of sports content changes,
this collaboration is a game-changing opportunity to grow the audiences
of Olympic and Paralympic Sport outside Games time. Through GB Sport
Media, we're looking forward to showcasing the skills and spirit of
international and domestic hockey, better connecting fans with the stars
of our sport and inspiring more young people to pick up a stick."
The concept was developed in partnership with advertising network
Omnicom Group, led by its sports consultancy Fuse.
|
Fun With Numbers |

Statistics by B. G. Joshi
he
February 2020 edition of Fun with Numbers is on the German men's and women's
records in Olympic hockey.
German Men's Olympic Record
- There are multiple Germanys that took part in Olympic men's
hockey over the years:
- 1908 - 1936: Unified Germany
- 1952 - 1960: Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)
- 1964: German Democratic Republic - GDR (they defeated FRG in
a 3-match playoff to qualify for the Olympics)
- 1968: Both FRG and GDR participated separately in men's hockey
- 1972 - 1988: Federal Republic of Germany
- 1992 - present: Unified Germany
- For the purposes of this article, GDR's record in the
1964 and 1968 Olympic men's hockey competition is not included in
the table below
- Germany was the nation that broke the stranglehold of
India and Pakistan in Olympic men's hockey. These two sub
continental rivals had won all Olympic men's hockey gold for 4
decades (1928-68), before Germany won the Olympic men's hockey gold
in the 1972 Olympics
- After India (8 Olympic gold), Germany has the second best
record in Olympic men's hockey, with 4 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze
medals
- Germany is one of 4 countries to have won Olympic hockey gold
medals in successive Olympics. The other countries are Great
Britain, India and Netherlands
Year |
Venue |
P |
W |
L |
D |
GF |
GA |
Captain |
Coach |
Rank |
1908 |
London |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
Alfons Brehm |
Alfons Brehm |
5 |
1928 |
Amsterdam |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
11 |
3 |
Theodor Haag |
Georg Richter |
3 |
1936 |
Berlin |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
14 |
9 |
Erich Zander |
Detmar Wette |
2 |
1952 |
Helsinki |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
20 |
4 |
Wilfried Grube |
Kutti Weiss |
5 |
1956 |
Melbourne |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
6 |
Hugo Budinger |
Ernst Ludwig |
3 |
1960 |
Rome |
5 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
4 |
Eberhard Ferst |
Ernst Ludwig |
7 |
1968 |
Mexico City |
9 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
16 |
8 |
Klaus Greinert |
Hugo Budinger |
4 |
1972 |
Munich |
9 |
8 |
0 |
1 |
21 |
5 |
Carsten Keller |
Werner Delmes |
1 |
1976 |
Montreal |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
22 |
13 |
Fritz Schmidt |
Klaus Kleiter |
5 |
1984 |
Los Angeles |
7 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
14 |
6 |
Michael Peter |
Klaus Kleiter |
2 |
1988 |
Seoul |
7 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
7 |
Heiner Dopp |
Klaus Kleiter |
2 |
1992 |
Barcelona |
7 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
20 |
6 |
Volker Fried |
Paul Lissek |
1 |
1996 |
Atlanta |
7 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
13 |
9 |
Klaus Michler |
Paul Lissek |
4 |
2000 |
Sydney |
7 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
17 |
8 |
Chris Mayerhöfer |
Paul Lissek |
5 |
2004 |
Athens |
7 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
21 |
12 |
Florian Kunz |
Bernhardt Peter |
3 |
2008 |
Beijing |
7 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
14 |
7 |
Timo Wess |
Markus Weise |
1 |
2012 |
London |
7 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
20 |
14 |
Maxim Mueller |
Markus Weise |
1 |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro |
8 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
23 |
18 |
Moritz Furste |
V. Altenburg |
3 |
Total |
18 Olympics |
113 |
71 |
23 |
19 |
282 |
143 |
Medals: 4 Gold, 3 Silver, 4 Bronze |
German Women's Olympics Record
- Markus Weise has the unique record of the Golden Hat Trick in
Olympic hockey coaching
- Markus coached the German women's team to gold in the 2004
Olympics, and then coached the German men's team to gold in the 2008
and 2012 Olympics
Year |
Venue |
P |
W |
L |
D |
GF |
GA |
Captain |
Coach |
Rank |
1984 |
Los Angeles |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
9 |
9 |
Susi Schmid |
Wolfgang Strodter |
2 |
1988 |
Seoul |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
9 |
Dagmar Bremer |
Wolfgang Strodter |
5 |
1992 |
Barcelona |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
5 |
Susanne Wollschläger |
Rudiger Hanel |
2 |
1996 |
Atlanta |
7 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
10 |
11 |
Franziska Hentschel |
Berthold Routh |
6 |
2000 |
Sydney |
6 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
11 |
8 |
Katrin Kauschke |
Berthold Routh |
5 |
2004 |
Athens |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
11 |
Marion Rodewald |
Markus Weise |
1 |
2008 |
Beijing |
7 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
15 |
14 |
Marion Rodewald |
Michael Behrmann |
4 |
2012 |
London |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
8 |
Fanny Rinne |
Michael Behrmann |
7 |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro |
8 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
9 |
Hannah Kruger |
Jamilon Mulders |
3 |
Total |
9 Olympics |
55 |
27 |
18 |
10 |
93 |
84 |
Medals: 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze |
|