Indian Men Settle for Silver In Commonwealth Games Hockey |
India vs. Ghana in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, photograph credit Reuters
he
Commonwealth Games men's hockey competition was held from 29th July to
8th August at the University of
Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre. Midfielder Manpreet Singh, the captain of the
men's hockey team, was the co-flagbearer of Team India along with P. V.
Sindhu at the Games Opening Ceremony.
Malaysia decided against sending their men's and women's teams to the
Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, opting to focus on the 2022 Hangzhou
Asian Games instead. Unfortunately for Malaysia, the Asian Games got
postponed by a year, leaving them with no major tournament in 2022.
10 countries took part in the men's hockey competition, and were
grouped into two pools as follows:
- Pool A: Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa
- Pool B: Canada, England, Ghana, India, Wales
Indian men were thrashed by Australia in the final and had to settle
for silver in the Commonwealth Games hockey
tournament. India's match results were as shown below:
Stage |
Date |
Result |
Goal Scorers - India |
Pool |
July 31 |
India 11 - Ghana 0 |
Abhishek (2 min), PC Harmanpreet Singh (10, 35, 53), all PCs Shamsher Singh (14
min) Akashdeep Singh (20 min) Jugraj Singh (22 min-PS,
43 min-PC) Neelakantha Sharma (38 min) Varun Kumar (39
min), PC Mandeep Singh (48 min) |
|
Aug 1 |
India 4 - England 4 |
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (2 min), PC Mandeep Singh
(13, 22 min) Harmanpreet
Singh (46 min), PC |
|
Aug 3 |
India 8 - Canada 0 |
Harmanpreet Singh (7, 54 min), both PCs Amit Rohidas
(10 min) Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (20 min), PC Gurjant Singh
(27 min) Akashdeep Singh (38, 60 min) Mandeep Singh (57 min) |
|
Aug 4 |
India 4 - Wales 1 |
Harmanpreet Singh (19-PC, 20-PC, 40-PS) Gurjant Singh (49 min) |
Semis |
Aug 6 |
India 3 - South Africa 2 |
Abhishek (20 min) Mandeep Singh (28 min) Jugraj Singh (58 min), PC |
Final |
Aug 8 |
Australia 7 - India 0 |
|
This was the seventh consecutive gold for Australia in the seven
Commonwealth Games men's hockey competitions held so far.
The final placings were: 1 - Australia, 2 - India, 3 - England, 4 - South Africa, 5
- New Zealand, 6 - Wales, 7 - Pakistan, 8 - Canada, 9- Scotland, 10 -
Ghana
The 18-member Indian men's team for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth
Games was as follows:
Forwards: Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek,
Shamsher Singh
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh (captain), Hardik Singh,
Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh, Neelakantha Sharma
Defenders: Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh
(vice-captain), Surender Kumar, Varun Kumar, Jugraj Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh
Goalkeepers: Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak
Officials: Chief Coach - Graham Reid; Assistant Coach - Gregg
Clark; Manager - Shivendra Singh
|
Indian Women Win Bronze In Commonwealth Games Hockey |
Goalkeeper Savita Punia thwarts Olivia Shannon in
the shoot-out to win India the bronze, photo Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
he
Commonwealth Games women's hockey competition was held from 29th July to
7th August at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre. The Indian women
were looking to break their 16-year medal drought in the Games - they last won a medal in
the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
10 countries took part in the women's hockey competition, and
were grouped into two pools as follows:
- Pool A Canada, England, Ghana, India, Wales
- Pool B: Australia, Kenya, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa
Indian women won the bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games hockey
tournament, with match results as shown below:
Stage |
Date |
Result |
Goal Scorers - India |
Pool |
July 29 |
India 5 - Ghana 0 |
Gurjeet Kaur (3m-PC, 39m-PS) Neha Goyal
(28 min) Sangeeta Kumari (36 min) Salima Tete (56 min) |
|
July 30 |
India 3 - Wales 1 |
Vandana Katariya (26, 48 min), both PCs Gurjeet Kaur (28 min), PC |
|
Aug 2 |
England 3 - India 1 |
Vandana Katariya (60 min), PC |
|
Aug 3 |
India 3 - Canada 2 |
Salima Teta (3 min), PC Navneet Kaur (22 min) Lalremsiami (51 min), PC |
Semis |
Aug 5 |
Australia 1 - India 1 (2-0 SO) |
Vandana Katariya (49 min) |
3rd vs. 4th |
Aug 7 |
India 1 - New Zealand 1 (2-1) |
Salima Tete (29 min) |
England women won their first ever Commonwealth Games hockey gold.
The final placings were: 1 - England, 2 - Australia, 3 - India, 4 - New
Zealand, 5 - Canada, 6 - Scotland, 7 - South Africa, 8 - Wales, 9-
Kenya, 10 - Ghana
The 18-member Indian women's team for the 2022 Birmingham
Commonwealth Games was as follows:
Forwards: Vandana Katariya, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur,
Sharmila Devi, Sangeeta Kumari
Midfielders: Nisha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika Malik, Neha
Goyal, Jyoti, Sonika, Salima Tete
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka (vice-captain), Gurjit Kaur, Nikki
Pradhan, Udita
Goalkeepers: Savita Punia (captain), Rajani Etimarupu
Officials: Chief Coach - Janneke Schopman; Assistant Coach -
Patrick Tshutshani; Manager - Ankitha Billava Suresh
|
India Finish Disappointing 9th In Women's World Cup |
India win the tiebreaker against Canada in the Women's World Cup
he
Women's World Cup, co-hosted by Spain and Netherlands, was held from
July 1-17, 2022 at the Estadi Olímpic de Terrassa in Terrassa (ESP) and
at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen (NED).
The 16 participating teams were grouped into 4 pools as follows:
- Pool A Chile, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands
- Pool B: China, England, India, New Zealand
- Pool C: Argentina, Canada, South Korea, Spain
- Pool D: Australia, Belgium, Japan, South Africa
The top teams from each group qualified directly for the
quarter-finals, while second and third-placed teams in each pool played
crossover matches with teams from other groups for the remaining spots
in the quarter-finals.
India won only 1 match in the entire tournament, and converted just 5 out of 46 penalty corners,
to finish joint 9th in the World Cup. India's match results were as shown below:
Venue |
Stage |
Date |
Result |
Goal Scorers - India |
Amstelveen |
Pool |
Jul 3 |
India 1 - England 1 |
Vandana Katariya (28 min), PC |
|
|
Jul 5 |
India 1 - China 1 |
Vandana Katariya (45 min), PC |
|
|
Jul 7 |
New Zealand 4 - India 3 |
Vandana Katariya (4 min) Lalremsiami (44 min) Gurjeet Kaur (59 min),
PC |
Terrassa |
Crossover |
Jul 10 |
Spain 1 - India 0 |
|
|
9th - 16th |
Jul 11 |
India 1 (3) - Canada 1 (2) |
Salima Tete (58 min), PC |
|
9th - 12th |
Jul 13 |
India 3 - Japan 1 |
Navneet (30, 45 min) Deep Grace Ekka (38 min),
PC |
Netherlands won the Women's World Cup for the 9th time. This was the
second time Netherlands won a hattrick of World Cup titles. They won
three consecutive World Cups in 1983 (Kuala Lumpur), 1986 (Amstelveen)
and 1990 (Sydney) and now again in 2014 (The Hague), 2018 (London) and
2022 (Terrassa/Amstelveen)
The final standings were as follows: 1 - Netherlands, 2 - Argentina,
3 - Australia, 4 - Germany, 5 - New Zealand, 6 - Belgium, 7 - Spain, 8 -
England, Joint 9 - India, China; Joint 11 - Japan, Ireland; Joint 13 -
Chile, South Korea; Joint 15 - South Africa, Canada
The following were the tournament awards:
- Odisha Player of the Tournament: Maria Granatto (ARG)
- Junior Player of the Tournament: Charlotte Engelbert (BEL)
- Goalkeeper of the Tournament: Belen Succi (ARG)
- Hero Top Goalscorer of the Tournament: Agustina Gorzelany (ARG), 8 goals
The 18-member Indian women's team for the 2022 World Cup was as follows:
Forwards: Vandana Katariya, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur,
Sharmila Devi, Navjot Kaur
Midfielders: Nisha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika Malik, Neha Goyal,
Jyoti, Sonika, Salima Tete
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka (vice-captain), Gurjit Kaur, Nikki
Pradhan, Udita
Goalkeepers: Savita Punia (captain), Kharibam Bichu Devi
Officials: Chief Coach - Janneke Schopman; Manager - Tushar
Khandkar
|
Narinder Batra Resigns As FIH President And IOA President |
n
July 18, temperamental Narinder Dhruv Batra resigned from his posts of
President of FIH, President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and
Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In separate letters
to the IOA, IOC and FIH, he cited "personal reasons" behind his
decisions.
The "personal reasons" mentioned in Batra's resignation letter may
have been related to the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) raid on
his offices and houses in Delhi and Jammu just hours after his
resignation. CBI officials claimed to have recovered incriminating
documents and records relating to an alleged misappropriation of funds.
As a result cases were registered against Mr Batra as well as former
Hockey India officials "for committing illegalities for renovation and
furnishing of the office of IOA president in 2018."
Batra ceased to be President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)
back on May 25, when the Delhi High Court struck down the illegally
created post of 'Life Member' in Hockey India, courtesy which he had
contested and won the IOA elections in 2017. Being a Life Member had
granted Batra voting rights and unlimited tenure, which was against the
Sports Code of India for sports federations.
The court had also decided
that a three-member Committee of Administrators should be placed to run
Hockey India's day-to-day affairs. This judgement was in response to a
petition filed by former hockey Olympian Aslam Sher Khan, who challenged
the appointment of Batra as life member of Hockey India.
Batra's stay as IOA President was marked by public spats with
secretary general Rajeev Mehta and the Commonwealth Games Federation
(CGF). Batra claimed in an interview in 2019 that the Commonwealth Games
have no standard, and questioned "Why waste time by participating in the Commonwealth Games?"
During his tenure as FIH President, no Financial Reports for the past
three years were made publicly available. With Batra as president, the
FIH incurred a loss of $702,000 in 2019, double the deficit incurred in
2018, when also Batra was the FIH President.
During his stint with Hockey India, first as Secretary General and
then as President, Indian women's hockey had its worst Olympic
performance (12th and last at the 2016 Rio Olympics) and Indian men's
hockey had its worst Olympic performance (12th and last at the 2012
London Olympics).
In a stopgap move, the FIH appointed Executive Board Member and
President of the African Hockey Federation Seif Ahmed of Egypt as Acting
President. The next Presidential elections will take place during the
upcoming FIH Congress which is planned to be held virtually on November
4 and 5 this year.
|
Photograph of the Month |
Hockey team captain Manpreet Singh and badminton
star P. V. Sindhu served as flagbearers of the Indian contingent
he
Photograph of the Month for August 2022 is from the Opening Ceremony of
the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which was held at Alexander
Stadium, the main athletics venue for the Games.
The Parade of Nations - where athletes represented their respective
countries - formed part of the Opening Ceremony. The hosts of the
previous Commonwealth Games, Australia, entered first in the Parade of
Nations, followed by other countries of the Oceania region.
Countries from the regions of Africa, America, Asia, the Carribbean
and Europe (in that order) entered in alphabetical order in each region.
Host England was the last country to enter.
India was the third country among the Asian nations, after Bangladesh
and Brunei. The Indian contingent, consisting of 215 athletes competing
across 16 disciplines, was led by double Olympic medallist badminton
star P. V. Sindhu and men's hockey captain Manpreet Singh.
"We went ahead with P. V. Sindhu because she is a two-time Olympic
medallist," said IOA acting president, Anil Khanna. "Similarly, Manpreet
Singh was chosen for ending India's 41-year-old Olympic hockey medal
drought with a bronze at Tokyo 2020 last year."
|
Money Matters |
Indian hockey captain Manpreet Singh features in
the promotional campaign of the INOX group for the 2022 Commonwealth Games
he
Indian Olympic Association (IOA), working with its marketing partner IOS
Sports and Entertainment, has roped in the following sponsors and
partners for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Category |
Corporate |
Sponsorship |
Sponsor |
Adani Sportsline |
Principal Sponsor |
|
JSW Inspire |
Principal Sponsor |
|
Amul |
Associate Sponsor |
|
INOX Group |
Associate Sponsor |
Partner |
Adidas |
Performance Footwear Partner |
|
Borosil |
Hydration Partner |
|
Herbalife Nutrition |
Official Nutrition Partner |
|
Manyavar |
Ceremonial Kitting Partner |
|
Sports for All (SFA) |
Sports Ed Tech Partner |
Some of these brands have a long term relationship with IOA, which
kickstarted with the Tokyo Olympics last year, and which will continue
through the end of the present Olympic cycle.
|
Media Matters |
ony
Sports Network is the official broadcaster of the 2022 Birmingham
Commonwealth Games in India.
The matches are being telecast live on Sony Six HD, Sony TEN 1, Sony
TEN 2, Sony TEN 3 (Hindi), Sony TEN 4 and on
the Sony LIV OTT platform. Well known Indian athletes like Viren
Rasquinha, Somdev Devvarman, Trupti Murgunde and Veda Krishnamurthy,
along with sports journalists Ayaz Memon and Siddharth Pandey are part
of the Games coverage.
Sony Sports Network launched a campaign "Birmingham mein Jeetega!
Hindustan Hamara" to rally support for the Indian contingent. The film
features Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister of Youth Affair
and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur, along with several Indian athletes, with
a rallying call to win medals at the Games.
Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports
Business, Sony Pictures Networks India, said, "After the huge success of
the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, it gives us immense pleasure to telecast
the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The broadcast rights for the
Birmingham 2022 positions Sony Sports Network as the home for
international multi-sporting events in India."
|
Records and Statistics |
he
August edition of records and statistics is on India's record in the Men's
and Women's Commonwealth Games hockey competition.
COMMONWEALTH GAMES MEN'S HOCKEY
- Going into the 2022 tournament, the Australian men have won 6
gold medals in the 6 editions of the men's hockey tournament held so far
- England has never reached the final of the Commonweath Games
men's hockey tournament
Year |
Venue |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
India |
1998 |
Kuala Lumpur (MAS) |
Australia |
Malaysia |
England |
4th |
2002 |
Manchester (ENG) |
Australia |
New Zealand |
Pakistan |
N/A |
2006 |
Melbourne (AUS) |
Australia |
Pakistan |
Malaysia |
6th |
2010 |
Delhi (IND) |
Australia |
India |
New Zealand |
2nd |
2014 |
Glasgow (SCO) |
Australia |
India |
England |
2nd |
2018 |
Gold Coast (AUS) |
Australia |
New Zealand |
England |
4th |
COMMONWEALTH GAMES WOMEN'S HOCKEY
- Going into the 2022 tournament, the Australian women have won 4
gold medals in the 6 editions of the women's hockey tournament held so far
- England has never won the Commonweath Games
women's hockey tournament
- Indian women's 2002 title triumph in Manchester was the
inspiration for the movie Chak de! India
Year |
Venue |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
India |
1998 |
Kuala Lumpur (MAS) |
Australia |
England |
New Zealand |
4th |
2002 |
Manchester (ENG) |
India |
England |
Australia |
1st |
2006 |
Melbourne (AUS) |
Australia |
India |
England |
2nd |
2010 |
Delhi (IND) |
Australia |
New Zealand |
England |
5th |
2014 |
Glasgow (SCO) |
Australia |
England |
New Zealand |
5th |
2018 |
Gold Coast (AUS) |
New Zealand |
Australia |
England |
4th |
|