Representative image.© Hockey India

Their campaign back on track after a jittery start, India will look to continue the winning momentum when they take on Paris Olympics silver medallist Germany in their next men’s FIH Pro League match here on Tuesday. India had a woeful start to their home leg matches of the Pro League, losing 1-3 to Spain in their opener. But the hosts bounced back strongly to tame Spain 2-0 in the return match on Sunday. With three points from two games, India are currently sitting in eighth place in the standings and will be desperate to climb up the table.

After a relatively off day on Saturday, the Indians looked a completely different side on Sunday, dominating for most part of the match and scoring two field goals through Mandeep Singh (32nd minute) and Dilpreet Singh (39th) to pocket all three points.

While the strikers shone bright in the second game, India’s chief coach Craig Fulton would be a bit concerned about penalty corner conversions.

Despite winning seven penalty corners across their two games, India failed to convert a single chance.

In the absence of India captain Harmanpreet Singh, who was rested for the second match, Hockey India League star performer Jugraj Singh cut a sorry figure from set pieces.

The forwardline comprising Dilpreet , Mandeep and Sukhjeet Singh have each netted a goal for India so far in the tournament and will be looking to add to their tally against Germany.

The Indian defence produced a much-better display in the second game, and were able to absorb pressure from the Spanish strikers.

Germany, who will be playing their first match of the India leg, are placed just above India in seventh place with four points from as many games and will be determined to turn their fortunes around.

Although Germany have won only one match in the tournament so far, their attack has been spearheaded by Raphael Hartkopf, Gonzalo Peillat, and Thies Prinz, who have scored two goals each.

Germany will aim to turn around their struggling campaign and secure vital points.

The two sides last met during a two-match Test series in New Delhi in October 2024, where Germany won the first game 2-0, but India bounced back in the second with a thrilling 5-3 victory.

However, Germany went on to claim the series through a shootout win.

Speaking on the upcoming matches, Harmanpreet said, “We are looking forward to our games against Germany. They are a quality team, and we know we need to bring our best performance to the field.

“After the positive result against Spain, our confidence is high, but we know there’s still work to be done. One of our main focuses is improving our penalty corner conversion, as it’s crucial to make the most of those opportunities in tight matches.” “The team is motivated and ready to build on the momentum from our last game. We’ve learned from both the matches, and we’re determined to bring our best performance to the field,” he added. 

The Indian men’s hockey team made a brilliant comeback to down Spain 2-0 in a return leg match of the FIH Pro League in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. India lost to Spain 1-3 in the first match of the leg on Saturday despite taking the lead through Sukhjeet Singh’s goal. On Sunday, however, it was a completely different looking Indian side as it dominated for most part of the match and scored two field goals through Mandeep Singh (32nd minute) and Dilpreet Singh (39th) to pocket full three points. India will next play Germany on Tuesday.

It was India who enjoyed the better share of ball possession and created more chances in the first two quarters but failed to capitalise those into goals.

India had the first chance in the fifth minute when Mandeep got a golden opportunity inside the circle, but the Spanish keeper Rafael Rivilla made a solid save to deny the Indian striker.

Seconds from the end of the first quarter, India earned back-to-back penalty corners, but Jugraj Singh faltered.

India custodian Krishan Bahadur Pathak made a fine save to deny Spain their first shot on goal in the 14th minute.

India dominated possession and pressed hard in the first two quarters, but failed to breach a resolute Spanish defence as both the teams failed to break the deadlock in the first half.

Two minutes after the change of ends, India secured another penalty corner but Spanish goalkeeper Revilla made double save to deny Jugraj.

But from the resultant free hit, Mandeep neatly deflected in Dilpreet’s pass from close range to hand India the lead.

Seven minutes later, Dilpreet scored his 32nd goal for India with a brilliant deflection after being set up by Mandeep and Gurjant Singh.

In the 43rd minute, Spain earned a penalty corner but their dragflicker Pepe Cunill missed the target.

India also got a penalty corner soon but Jugraj misfired again.

Trailing by two goals, Spain pressed on the accelerator, earning a couple of penalty corners in the final quarter but the Indian defence stood tall in the absence of skipper Harmanpreet Singh, who was rested for the game.

Earlier in the day, the Indian women’s hockey team fought back twice before going down 1-2 in shoot-out against England after both the teams finished 2-2 in regulation time.

Paige Gillot (40th minute) and Tessa Howard (56th) scored from two penalty corners for England in the regulation timer, while India’s goals came from Navneet Kaur (53rd) and Rutuja Dadoso Pisal (57th). Kaur scored off a penalty stroke while Rutuja struck a field goal.

In the shoot-out, only Navneet scored for India while the likes of skipper Salima Tete, Sunelita Toppo and Lalremsiami faltered.

For England, Lily Walker and skipper Sophie Hamilton were on target in the shoot-out.

The win gave England a bonus point. India had earlier defeated England 3-2 in the first leg here on Saturday.

The Indian women will next play Spain on Tuesday.

England started on an aggressive note, dominating the early exchanges. They enjoyed the ball possession in the first quarter and secured the first penalty corner of the match in the ninth minute but failed to get past experienced Savita Punia in front of Indian goal.

England continued their domination and secured the second penalty corner in the 11th minute but once again failed to breach the Indian defence.

Kaur was by far the best player for India upfront, creating chances for her side with quick incisive runs.

Kaur secured India’s first penalty corner in the 16th minute, which resulted in another set piece but England goalkeeper denied Manisha Chauhan from the second attempt.

In the 21st minute, Kaur was once again denied by the English keeper from close range.

A minute later, India earned another penalty corner, but Deepika’s flick went wide as both the teams failed to break the deadlock in the first half.

After the change of ends, England had the first chance in the form of another penalty corner in the 38th minute and another two minutes later, which eventually broke the deadlock.

Gillot neatly deflected in a perfect slap shot from skipper Sophie Hamilton to hand England the 1-0 lead.

In the 53rd minute, India secured a penalty stroke for a stick tackle, and Kaur made no mistake from the spot.

Three minutes later, India goalkeeper Savita made a brilliant saved with her extended left leg from a set piece.

But minutes later, England secured another penalty corner and Howard deflected in Hamilton’s slap hit.

Soon after the goal, India withdrew goalkeeper Savita for an extra field player and Rutuja scored a brilliant debut goal from Sunelita’s pass to draw parity.

Seconds from the final hooter, England secured another penalty corner but India defended stoutly to take the match into the shoot-out.

India’s women’s hockey captain Salima Tete is confident that her team will give an improved performance when the Bhubaneswar leg of FIH Pro League commences on Saturday and will not be pulled back by its disastrous showing in the previous season. India will open their campaign against England at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium, hoping to erase the memories of an eighth-place finish last season, where they ended up only ahead of the United States. The other teams in fray here are Germany, Spain and world No.1 Netherlands.

India scored only 16 goals last season in comparison to champions Netherlands, who smashed a mind-boggling 63 goals.

The country is currently ranked ninth in the world, while powerhouse Germany are fourth, England seventh and Spain eighth.

“We had a disappointing season last time but I feel we are well-trained and prepared to do better this time around,” said Tete ahead of the India leg.

India will begin their campaign in the Pro League with two matches against England on February 15 and 16, followed by clashes against Spain on February 18 and 19.

The side will also face challenging opponents in Germany and world No. 1 Netherlands on February 21, 22 and February 24, 25 respectively.

“We can’t wait to play at the Kalinga Stadium again and win as many points as we can. We are facing challenging opponents but I am confident that the girls are ready to take on the challenge and do their best on the field,” Tete added.

Head coach Harendra Singh said he was optimistic about the team performing on an even keel against their higher-ranked opponents.

“The girls have worked extremely hard in the camp and I am confident that we have a squad, good enough to play on-par with all our opponents. With the support of the home crowd, we have crucial matches coming up and we need to focus on winning maximum points,” he said.

India clinched their third Asian Champions Trophy title beating China at home in November last year, giving them the boost they needed after missing out on a Paris Olympics berth.

With a blend of experienced players like Savita, Sushila Chanu, Nikki Pradhan, Vandana Katariya, Udita, Lalremsiami and Sharmila Devi alongside star youngsters like Deepika, Sunelita Toppo and Jyoti in the ranks, India have a well-balanced squad.

Former India women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal is hopeful the Women’s Hockey India League (HIL) will set the platform for young girls to win national team berths for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane and beyond. Talking to SAI Media in Rohtak recently, Rani feels the first edition of women’s HIL will “deliver big time going forward”, the same way the women’s version of the Indian Premier League did for cricket. The first-ever Women’s Hockey India League 2024-25, scheduled between January 12 and 26 in Ranchi, features four teams – Delhi SG Pipers, Odisha Warriors, Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers and Soorma Hockey Club.

Rani Rampal will serve as a mentor and coach of the Soorma Hockey Club of Punjab. This will be her maiden stint as a support staff. The 30-year-old from Haryana, who has played more than 250 international matches, feels HIL has come at the right time when women’s hockey is trying to make a turnaround after not qualifying for the Paris Olympics 2024. 

“There may be four teams only this time but starting the league has been a long time coming. Hockey India needs to be complimented for this,” Rani told SAI Media, adding that this will be her first major step towards coaching the national team one day. 

“The men’s hockey team won back-to-back bronze medals in the Olympics in Tokyo and Paris because the foundation was laid by the men’s Hockey India League years back.  Now thanks to the introduction of the women’s HIL, we will get to see a lot of talented young women showcase their mettle in the 2032 and 2036 Olympics. This platform will turn out immensely fruitful,” she added.

HIL started in 2013 with six men’s teams. It was played for five years before shutting down largely for commercial reasons. It was revived after seven years with an additional women’s league.

Recalling the success of the women’s Indian Premier League (IPL) in terms of women’s cricket’s prominence, Rani continued, “Nobody knew much about women’s cricket, but now you see, how the sport has become so popular in the nation. Through the women’s IPL (WPL), people came to know about it and have started following the sport manifold.”

With the two veterans of Indian hockey in recent years – PR Sreejesh and Rani Rampal – taking up coaching assignments, Rani also wished the ‘Wall’ Sreejesh all the success he would bring forth as the Indian junior hockey team coach.

“Sreejesh has almost 20 years of international experience. The junior team will do very well because they will get to know how to perform in a high-level pressure situation,” said Rani.

Talking of coaching mindsets, Rani said she and Sreejesh had a few things in common. “I also want to share the same knowledge and experience with the youngsters during the women’s HIL so that they can be helped emotionally and mentally. We have to bring the best out of them.”

Representational Image.© PTI

Indian midfielder Shamsher Singh, who is currently co-captaining Delhi SG Pipers in the ongoing Hockey India League that India’s bronze medal at the Paris Olympics was farewell gift to the legendary PR Sreejesh. With their third-place finish in the Paris Olympics, the Harmanpreet Singh-led men’s team proved that the historic bronze in the Tokyo Games three years ago was not a flash in the pan. The Indian team, who was having a flawless campaign in the group stage with only loss, faced a shocking defeat against Germany in the semi-finals.

However, the Indians showed their true mettle and bounced back in the third place against Spain and clinched the bronze medal.

The medal ensured the legendary PR Sreejesh, one of the team’s biggest pillars for nearly two decades, got the send-off he deserved after he decided to retire from the sport.

“His absence will always be felt but the important factor is that who will be replacing him. We have faith in Krishan Pathak and Suraj Karkera, who have replaced Sreejesh in our team. Both the players have shared field with Sreejesh and our very experienced, so, that’s a good thing for our team.

Shamsher is currently leading Delhi SG Pipers in the ongoing Hockey India League in Rourkela, Odisha. On his role as a captain, Shamsher said that it’s a new experience but a great opportunity as a player.

“My game style is same but the responsibility is different. Every player in the team contributes equally but as a captain, you need to take a step further. This is the first time that I am leading any team and I am honoured that Delhi SG Pipers showed trust in me,” he said.

“My main role as the captain is to create a comfortable environment for both foreign and domestic players. We need to find a perfect balance, in order to find out the strengths of all our players,” he added.

Currently, Delhi SG Pipers have played four matches in the ongoing HIL and have lost three matches and placed at the bottom of the points table. Their only win came against Team Gonasika in the opening match, where they won 4-2 in the shootout.

Delhi SG Pipers will now be squaring off against UP Rudras on January 11.

Belgian goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch dished out a stellar performance to help Soorma Club beat Kalinga Lancers 4-3 in a thrilling match of the Hockey India League at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela on Sunday. Jeremy Hayward (11th minute), Nicolas della Torre (35th), Harmanpreet Singh (50th) and Harish Somappa (52nd) scored for Soorma while Thierry Brinkman (5th), Sanjay (30th) and Gursahibjit Singh (50th) were on target for the Lancers. In the day’s second match, Tamil Nadu Dragons claimed a 2-0 win against UP Rudras to collect all three points.

Abharan Sudev scored the opening goal for Tamil Nadu Dragons in the 48th minute, while Thomas Sorsby added a second in the 60th minute to seal the issue in his team’s favour.

Earlier, in a match which saw the Lancers notch 26 circle penetrations and nine shots in comparison to the Soorma’s 14 and seven respectively, it was Vanasch’s heroics at the goal which laid the foundations of Soorma’s win.

The Lancers started strongly as they put pressure on the Soorma defence with multiple circle entries in the opening minutes. The Lancers deservedly took the lead in the fifth minute through Netherlands national team captain Brinkman.

Soorma got their first penalty corners in the 10th minute after a swift counter launched by Jeremy Hayward, but they wasted it.

Soorma only needed to wait a minute more for their goal and it came via a penalty corner. However this time, the injection went to Hayward at the second battery with Krishan Bahadur Pathak and Sanjay unable to fully block the Australian’s drag flick.

The ball hit both players before rolling into the goal to level the scores in the 11th minute.

The Lancers won a penalty corner right before the hooter went to mark the end of the quarter. The Lancers switched their tactics by injecting the ball to Sanjay at the second battery instead of the more experienced Alexander Hendricks.

The young Indian was on the money with his drag flick to give his side the lead right at the end of the first quarter.

The Lancers had a golden opportunity to extend their lead to 3-1 in the 21st minute but were denied by Vanasch.

It didn’t take long in the second half for Soorma to draw level once again. They won their fifth penalty corner in the 35th minute and Della Torre fired his drag flick right into the top corner.

The Lancers could have taken the lead in the 40th minute as they won a penalty corner. Vansach was once again at hand to save Hendrickx’s drag flick and keep out Antoine Kina’s attempt from the rebound.

In the 48th minute, the Lancers fashioned another good chance as Bandurak tried to hit the ball from between his legs from point blank range. Vanasch was positioned perfectly to save it.

Harmanpreet finally opened his HIL account in the 50th minute to give Soorma the lead for the first time in the match. The Indian captain fired his drag flick straight down the goal with Sanjay unable to save it.

The lead barely lasted a minute as the Lancers hit back through Gursahibjit Singh. Kina dribbled past Harmanpreet in the circle and made his way to the goal line. The Belgian player cut the ball back towards the front of goal where Gursahibjit turned it past Vanasch to make it 3-3.

There was barely any time for the fans to catch their breath before Soorma scored to snatch the lead. Phil Roper danced past a couple of defenders before playing the ball towards the far post. Harish Somappa slid in to poke the ball into the empty goal to make it 4-3 for Soorma in the 52nd minute.

The Lancers won a penalty stroke in the 58th minute as Vivek Sagar Prasad was judged to have deliberately brought down Aran Zalewski in the circle. Vanasch won the battle of the Belgians as he went the right way to save Hendrickx’s attempt.

File photo of Jagbir Singh.© X/@jagbirolympian

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