Ritu rested, Deepika to lead India women at Hawke's Bay Cup

March 18, 2016

New Delhi, Mar 18: Hockey India (HI) on Thursday decided to rest captain Ritu Rani for the eight-nation Hawke's Bay Cup to be held in New Zealand from April 2-10 as it announced the women's squad to be led by defender Deepika.

rituAce midfielder Ritu, leading the side since 2012, is currently part of the national camp in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Bengaluru. But she will not travel with the 18-member squad to Hasting, New Zealand in order to be in perfect shape in the Olympic year.

"There are no injury issues with her (Ritu). She is training with us. She has been rested," senior forward Poonam Rani said.

In place of Ritu, seasoned Deepika has been assigned the responsibility of captaining the side. P. Sushila Chanu will be her deputy.

"It's an important tournament for us especially in an Olympic year. A good performance in New Zealand will definitely boost our confidence. The team has players with enough talent and skills to get the better of some of the higher ranked teams in our pool," said Deepika.

India, currently ranked 13th according to the latest world rankings have been grouped in Pool B with New Zealand (4th), China (5th) and Ireland (15th). Apart from India, both New Zealand and China have also qualified for the Olympics.

Pool A consists of Australia, Korea, Japan and Canada. The pool league matches will determine the seeding for the quarter-finals with all eight teams proceeding to the knock-out stage.

The challenge for the Indian team would be to improve upon their last year's seventh place finish. India will take on the formidable hosts in their opening encounter on April 2, before going up against Ireland on April 3 and China on April 5.

Training under the vigilant eyes of chief coach Neil Hawgood, the Indian eves will be aiming to put up an improved show in the tournament and further fuel their spirit ahead of the most crucial 2016 Rio Olympics.

"The Hawke's Bay Cup will give the team a useful competition exposure. We will be trying out some new combinations and strategies," Hawgood said.

"It's also a good opportunity to test the bench strength. Our preparations have been good and we are hoping for a good performance in New Zealand," the Australian coach, who is in his second stint with the side, added.

The squad:

Goalkeepers: Savita, Rajani Etimarpu

Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika (captain), Sunita Lakra, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam (vice captain), H. Lalruatfeli, Namita Toppo, Nikki Pradhan.

Midfielders: Lilima Minz, Navjot Kaur, Monika, Preeti Dubey.

Forwards: Rani Rampal, Poonam Rani, Vandana Kataria, Anuradha Devi Thokchom, Sonika

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Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

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News Network
January 24,2020

Auckland, Jan 24: K L Rahul and Shreyas Iyer smashed quick-fire half-centuries, while skipper Virat Kohli made 45 as India defeated New Zealand by six wickets in the first T20 International to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series here on Friday.

Chasing a challenging 204-run target, Rahul smashed 56 off 27 balls and together with Kohli shared 99 runs for the second wicket to lay the foundation for the chase.

Later, Iyer (58 not out off 29 balls) and Manish Pandey (14 not out) remained unbeaten as India chased down the target with an over to spare.

Earlier, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor smashed scintillating half-centuries to power New Zealand to a challenging 203 for five.

Opener Munro blasted six fours and two sixes in his 42-ball 59, while skipper Williamson treated the Indian bowlers with equal disdain, hitting them out of the park four times in his 26-ball 51.

Taylor then clobbered an unbeaten 54 off 27 balls. His innings was laced with three sixes and as many fours.

Opener Martin Guptill also chipped in with a 19-ball 30.

Earlier, India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to field.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah (1/), Shardul Thakur (1/44), Yuzvendra Chahal (1/32), Shivam Dube (1/24) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/18) snapped one wicket each.

Brief Score:

New Zealand: 203 for 5 in 20 overs (Colin Munro 59, Kane Williamson 51, Ross Taylor 54; Jasprit Bumrah 1/31).

India: 204 for 4 in 19 overs (Shreyas Iyer 58 not out, K L Rahul 56, Virat Kohli 45; Ish Sodhi 2/36).

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Agencies
May 25,2020

Chandigarh, May 25: Legendary former hockey player Balbir Singh Senior died in a private hospital on Monday, his family said.

He was 96 years old. His condition was critical for nearly a fortnight.

He was undergoing treatment at Fortis Mohali and was in a "semi-comatose condition".

He was hospitalised on May 8 with high fever and breathing trouble. His COVID-19 test came negative.

Balbir was part of the Indian teams that won gold at the 1948 London Olympics, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956. His record for most individual goals scored in an Olympic men's hockey final remains unbeaten.

Balbir had set this record when he scored five goals in India's 6-1 win over Netherlands in the gold medal match of the 1952 Games.

He was the head coach of the Indian team for the 1975 men's World Cup, which India won and the 1971 men's World Cup, where India earned a bronze medal. He was also conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri in 1957.

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