Commonwealth Games 2022: Five Indian Hockey member tested positive for Covid-19

Five member of Indian hockey team have tested positive for Covid-19 who are preparing for Commonwealth games 2022

Jun 30, 2022, 9:52 AM2 min read

Five men of the Indian men's hockey team have tested positive for Covid-19. The team is currently preparing for the Commonwealth Games 2022. On Wednesday morning, the report came out following RTPCR tests conducted. They have to be in isolation for few days as they have mild symptoms.

Commonwealth Games 2022: Five men of Indian Hockey team test positive for Covid-19 | Hockey News | Sportz Point
Five men have tested positive for Covid-19. Image- Olympics

The infected five men include two players and three members of the support staff from the Indian men's Hockey team. They are the striker Gurjant Singh, coach Graham Reid and the three video analyst.

"The RTPCR tests were conducted on Wednesday morning. They have mild symptoms and have been isolated," Hockey India release stated.

Also read :Commonwealth Games 2022: Hockey India announces 18-member team; Manpreet to lead

Recently the 18-member squad has announced for the Birmingham 2022 games. Midfielder Manpreet Singh will lead the team and defender Harmanpreet Singh will accompany as a vice-captain. The men's team is currently training in SAI, Bengaluru.

The team recently played FIH Pro League at Rotterdam, the Netherlands on June 19. After the tour, the team got the permission to visit their families for six days. Then the 31-member core group had to return to the National camp in Bengaluru for three weeks. The training will continue till July 23 ahead of the team's departure for Commonwealth Games 2022.

Also read:Commonwealth Games 2022: Indian Men's and Women's Hockey team to face Ghana in their opening match

Indian Hockey team grouped in Pool B along with England, Canada, Wales and Ghana. Indian team start their campaign against Ghana on July 31.

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Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024: Full Winners List

The Khel Ratna Award 2024 was conferred upon four distinguished athletes: Harmanpreet Singh, Manu Bhaker, Gukesh D, and Praveen Kumar. The award ceremony will take place on January 17, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Jan 3, 2025, 9:50 AM3 min read

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024: Full Winners List - Sportzpoint.com

Four players, including Manu Bhaker, who won two Olympic medals at the Paris Olympics 2024, and World Chess Championship winner Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh will be honored with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024. The National Sports Award 2024 has been announced by the Sports Ministry on Thursday.

Also Read: Beatrice Chebet becomes the first woman to run 5km under 14 minutes in Barcelona

Apart from Manu and Gukesh, Indian men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympian Praveen Kumar will also be given the Khel Ratna Award 2024. 

The award ceremony will take place on January 17, 2025, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Khel Ratna Award 2024: Winners List

S. No. Sportperson Discipline
1 Shri Gukesh Dommaraju Chess
2 Shri Harmanpreet Singh Hockey 
3 Shri Praveen Kumar Para-Athletics
4 Ms. Manu Bhaker Shooting 

Manu won double medal in Paris Olympics

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024: Full Winners List - Sportzpoint.com

Manu Bhaker, 22, became the first player from independent India to win two medals in the same Olympics when she won bronze medals in the 10m air pistol individual and mixed team events at the Paris Games in August. On the basis of his two medals, India won a total of 6 medals in the Paris.

18 year old Gukesh is the new youngest world champion

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024: Full Winners List - Sportzpoint.com

18-year-old Indian Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest world champion and was also instrumental in the Indian team's historic gold medal in the Chess Olympiad last year. He defeated defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final.

Gukesh has become the first player in the world to win the title at such a young age. Earlier in 1985, Russia's Garry Kasparov had won this title at the age of 22.

Harmanpreet-led India won bronze in Paris

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024: Full Winners List - Sportzpoint.com

Under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Singh, the Indian hockey team won a medal for the second consecutive Olympics. They won the bronze medal in the Paris Olympics and the gold medal in the Asian Games 2022. At the same time, Harmanpreet has won the title of Player of the Year at FIH Awards three times.

Praveen won Paralympic gold with a record in high jump

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024: Full Winners List - Sportzpoint.com

Para high jumper Praveen Kumar surprised everyone by winning the gold medal with an Asian record in the men's high jump at the Paris Paralympics. Praveen, who won a silver medal in the Tokyo Paralympics, gave the best performance of his career in the T64 event and registered his name in history by clearing a height of 2.08 meters.

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Amir Ali: A Journey From "tin briefcase" to Hockey Glory

Amir Ali, a 20-year-old hockey prodigy from Uttar Pradesh, went from helping his father in a garage to being sold for ₹34 lakhs in the Hockey India League.

Oct 17, 2024, 8:35 AM5 min read

Amir Ali: A Journey From "tin briefcase" to Hockey Glory

The Indian Premier League is a high-profile, cash-rich league that not only opened doors for the national limelight but has provided financial stability to many undiscovered talents. Players getting selected and jumping out of their comforting sofas out of joy is a very usual scene each and every time the hammer hits after a high bid.

This league has religiously followed its slogan, "Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi,” which translates to “Where talent meets opportunity.” Talents like Rinku Singh, T. Natarajan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Chetan Sakaria, etc. had received ample financial gain due to IPL participation.

However, there will be another name on the list of rejuvination: Amir Ali. Yes, of course, he is none from cricket but from another sport from India, Hockey, that once used to be popular. The 20-year-old young prodigy Amir, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, the state of Lalit Upadhyay, got his name in the Team Gonasika for a whopping 34 lakhs in the Hockey India League (HIL).

Who is Amir Ali?

When did Amir start his hockey journey? Idealy, it is at the age of 10, when a senior coach, Rashid Aziz Khan, noticed him at the KD Singh Babu Stadium. Khan used to mentor and groom the local young talents. Eventually, Ali resided in the same locality and got spotted. 

Amil Ali, however, has another identity—a helper to his father, Tasawar Ali, in his garage. Senior Ali is a motorcycle mechanic, having a small "tin briefcase" in the name of a garage "outside the main gate of the Jal Nigam office.

Recently, he has been named as the captain for the 18-member Indian junior team in the 12th edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup. The team coached by PR Sreejesh will tour Malaysia as the tournament will start on October 19.

India will begin their campaign against Japan on Oct 19, followed by matches against Great Britain (October 20), host Malaysia (October 22), Australia (October 23), and New Zealand (October 25). The top 2 teams will fight for the title on October 26th. 

Not only that, he is a promising face and is present regularly in the senior camp as a face in the team rebuilding plan.

The father-son partnership; the understanding between "hunar" and passion.

Amir Ali, the eldest of five sibling, had to join his father's business. May be it was a career option to him, or out of responsibility as a son, he stood by his father, believing it was "not one man's job."

Like the engines, his schedule was heavy too. He juggled between three roles a day—a student in the morning, a mechanic in the afternoon, and a hockey player in the evening. 

Like his hockey training started in 10, he started servicing bikes when he was just 12 years old. His father strongly believes, ‘yeh hunar hona chahiye.' The brothers must possess the skill, and they do so as all of them worked in the garage, as Amir does whenever he is at home. 

However, Tasawar never forced Amir to simply stick with education and garage. Rather, he arranged money for Amir's training. There were times when senior Ali borrowed money to meet Amir's sporting needs, while Amir skipped training to help his father in the garage.

But then he got selected in Saifai's Major Dhyan Chand Sports College. This not only facilitated his training but also eased the burden of his father in terms of providing hockey supplies.

Once a fan, now a colleague to Manpreet Singh

Manpreet Singh-sportzpoint.com

Thanks to Amir Ali for letting the fans know that craze has no limitations when it comes to sport. Yes, cricket dominating the Indian periphery is an undisputed truth, but there are lads like Amir Ali who won't think twice before 12 killometers, at the age of 10, just to watch Manpreet Singh playing for Ranchi!

The young Manpreet Singh was a part of the Ranchi Rhinos in the first phase of the Hockey India League. Amir looked upon him like an idol and never missed any HIL match where Manpreet played.

The former captain and two-time Olympic bronze medallist Manpreet, however, is now a teammate to the young Amir Ali. The Visakhapatnam franchise had stolen Manpreet for Rs 42 lakh, with Amir at 34 lakhs next to him.

The Ray of Hope

Leagues are often criticized as an open platform of commercialization. And there is no point of denying the fact. But what's wrong if commercialization lets art get exposed?

There are thousands and lakhs of Amir Ali's who have restricted themselves within the garage. A heavy pay check will encourage many young talents to take up this sport as a means of profession. Even if they do not break out into the national team, the bench won't stay empty.

League will provide them with the required limelight needed for being the talk of the town, as seen in cricket and other sports. Unlimited competition will come into the scene, hoping talents like Amir Ali can cope with it.

Restraining IPL-like criticisms

At certain point, things look exaggerating when people will bring huge and heavy names like Dhyan Chand or his son Ashok Kumar; KD Singh Babu or Mohammad Shahid; Zafar Iqbal or RP Singh behind young Amir's name.

Critiques will try to put him in their shoes, ignoring his beautifully crafted cut with the stick while beating the opposition's press. They will set aside his tacking skills but will remind him about Lalit and other names his state gifted to the Indian Hockey.

That's what critics do—forcefully trying to fit a Rishabh Pant in M.S. Dhoni's shoes, not letting him be himself, and definitely crashing the self-confidence!

Or bringing back flashbacks of his family struggles—how a basic smartphone was beyond his prescribed luxary—similar to how every time someone drags Jaiswal's struggles every time he smashes a good fifty or a century!

Let Amir's talents prevail. Let his stick do the talking, not his upbringing or the whatever legacy his state holds.  

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Hockey India League Auction Starts Today With Over 1,000 Players; Here are the Details

Hockey India League auction kicks off today with 1,000+ players, including legends across men's and women's teams. Here are all the details you need to know.

Oct 13, 2024, 7:00 AM2 min read

Hockey India League Auction Starts Today With Over 1,000 Players; Here are the Details

The most anticipated Hockey India League auction will start today, October 13th, at New Delhi and will continue till October 15th. More than 1,000 players have registered for the auction. This includes more than 400 domestic players. and over 150 international players. Apart from the playing hockey players in India, retired stalwarts like Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra.

The women's league has more than 250 domestic players and 70+ overseas players registered for the tournament.

Earlier, Hockey India had already mentioned the limited venues assigned for the tournament. These are: Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand, and Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha. Ranchi will host all the women's matches while the men's matches will take place in Rourkela.

Read Also: Hockey India League back after 7 years: All you need to know about it 

The Team Basics

Irespective of the men's and women's teams, each team can have a maximum of 24 players. Each team cannot bag more than 8 overseas players and should have 24 indigenous players that include at least 4 juniors.

How many teams will play the tournament?

The men's league will play 8 teams this year. The inaugural women's league will play 6 teams. The franchises that have confirmed their investment are

  • Charles Group, 
  • Yadu Sports,
  • JSW Sports,
  • Shrachi Sports, 
  • SG Sports and Entertainment,
  • Vedanta Limited,
  • Resolute Sports,
  • Navoyam Sports Ventures Private Limited

Purse details:

Each of the eight men's team will have a budget of 4 crores, while the women's tean will have 2 crore for the procedure.

As per the auction procedure, there is no upper limit of expenditure on a particular player, but accumulating the required number of players must be done within the purse.

Base price:

Three categories have been induced according to the ranks of each player: Rs 2 lakh (for juniors), Rs 5 lakh, and Rs 10 lakh.

Where to watch the auction?

Hockey India League has initiated their own Hockey India League Youtube channel where they will live stream the entire lauction procedure.

Other than that, DD Sports will broadcast the auction live, from Sunday.

On the first day, ie, 13th October, the auction will start from 2 pm. On the next two days, the auction procedure will commence on and from 9:30 am. in the morning.

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Hockey India League back after 7 years: All you need to know about it

After 7 years, the Hockey India League is making a comeback with a revamped format, with better planning and strong finance, and a dedicated women’s edition.

Oct 5, 2024, 11:10 AM6 min read

Hockey India League back after 7 years

The two-month span from March onwards is a festival beyond the yearly almanac. The Indian Premier League blocks all the mundane schedules for seasonal cricket fans. The grandeur it has and the craze and hype it injects into the audience are unmatched. The cash-rich league managed to get a brother in 2013, in Indian Hockey—The Hockey Indian League (HIL). Their motto was the same: popularizing the sport in the country.

The long-run execution fell short of finance and ceased in 2017. After seven long years, HIL is set to make a comeback. On Friday, October 4, Hockey India will inaugurate their HIL 2.0, having Women's Hockey their first HIL!

Hockey India League 2.0

It is a resurgence, rather than a revamp of the previous edition of the Hockey Premier League, with better planning and steady finance.

The IPL started after the 2007 T-20 World Cup win. This version of HIL is nothing but a by-product of two back-to-back Olympic bronzes and a gold in the Asian GamesHI has announced that the HIL will start with initially 8 teams in the men's and 6 in the women's edition.

A total of 10 franchise owners have come on board.

For the men's event, franchises that came forward are:

  • Chennai- Charles Group, 
  • Lucknow- Yadu Sports, 
  • Punjab- JSW Sports, 
  • West Bengal- Shrachi Sports, 
  • Delhi- SG Sports and Entertainment (team name: Delhi SG Pipers)
  • Odisha- Vedanta Limited (team name: Kalinga Lancers)
  • Hyderabad- Resolute Sports (team name: Hyderabad Toofans)
  • Ranchi- Navoyam Sports Ventures Private Limited.

The women team owners are:

  • Haryana-JSW Sports (team name: Delhi SG Pipers)
  • West Bengal- Shrachi Sports,
  • Delhi- SG Sports and Entertainment and 
  • Odisha-  Navoyam Sports Ventures Private Limited.

Each franchise will build a 24-player (men and women each) squad. Each team will have a mix of 16 Indian players, a mandatory inclusion of four junior players, and a maximum of eight international players.

To make the pre-tournament phases more scintillating, the auction procedure has been added to it. Three categories have been induced according to the ranks of each player: Rs 2 lakh (for juniors), Rs 5 lakh, and Rs 10 lakh.

The auction will take place between Oct 13 and 15.

However, the tournament will be restricted to venues only. Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand, and Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha. Ranchi will host all the women's matches while the men's matches will take place in Rourkela.

venues and franchises-sportzpoint.com
Photo credit: TOI

The main reason behind limiting it to two stadiums is finance and the craze. 

Finance

According to the Times of India, a huge sum of Rs 3,640 crore will be invested for Hockey Indian League purposes for the coming 10 years. HI  will chip in some 112 crore each year, mainly on HL's title sponsor and media rights.

A few sources informed that HI has promised to contribute a total of Rs. 1,120 crore for the coming ten years for the swift perpetration of the revamp.

The franchises will lay out around Rs 18 crores on each of the total 14 teams (men and women), each year, which translates into Rs 252 crore for 14 teams.

Thus, for 10 years, franchises will be shelling out Rs 2,520 crore largely on players and coaching support staff’s salaries. The expenditure also includes grants for grassroot development of the sport through their hockey academies.

Thus, considering HI’s contribution of Rs 1,120 crore and franchises’ spending of Rs 2,520 crore, HIL will boast of a total investment purse of Rs 3,640 crore.

Earlier, HO: wasn't limited to just two venues. But HI president Dilip Tirkey clarified that it has been done to reduce the travel and reservation cost of home and away matches. Additionally, the venues have been chosen keeping in mind the popularity of hockey in that place.

The inaugural women's event

From 2013 to 2017, the women's version of the Hockey Premier League wasn't available. For the first time, female hockey players in India will have a dedicated platform to showcase their skills on a large scale. 

The women's team has been an absolute spectacle in the Tokyo Olympics. Savita Punia was no short in fame when compared to PR Sreejesh in terms of skill. The windy Vandana Kataria, hopefully, won't be a name to those fans, but in all households.

It's not about promoting gender equality in a sport when a section of it is yet to rise its head in India. It's more about breaking taboos about women wearing skirts, like what Rani Rampal faced in her childhood. It is more about providing a well-structured hockey stick to the budding players instead of a mere bamboo stick!

Drawbacks that got corrected

The 2013–2017 version of the Hockey Indian League had its financial drawbacks. But other than that, it had clashes of schedule,

A league that could have been as big as a festival, to the fans, couldn't manage to get an uninterrupted vacant place in the FIH calendar. The Hockey Pro League came into being, which ate up whatever space was remaining.

However, this year, President Tirkey and Secretary Bhola Nath Singh have assured that such disruptions won't happen from now on. Both have revealed that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has granted the window from December 28 to February 5 for the next 10 years.

HIL winners till 2017

2013- Ranchi Rhinos

2014- Delhi Waveriders

2015- Ranchi Rays

2016- Punjab Warriors

2017: Kalinga Lancers

Game recognizes Game

Sreejesh named Director of Hockey in Delhi franchise for upcoming HIL- PTI-sportzpoint.com
Sreejesh named Director of Hockey in Delhi franchise for upcoming HIL-PTI

Athletes investing in franchises is not new. So does hockey. Mahesh Bhupathi, the Indian tennis legend, has invested in the Delhi SG Pipers franchise

Adding further excitement, former Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who was freshly appointed as the coach for the junior hockey team, is now the mentor for the Delhi franchise. 

Hockey Indian League: Opening new doors to talent

Say, for example, the Indian Premier League! It is a cash-rich league because of the unwavering fan support, definitely due to the monetization of the league. 

But it has more efficacy due to its role in nurturing young talents. HIL is nothing short of that. The international players will not be just teammates but leaders and seniors whom the rookies will look up to.

This will increase the pace of the game, adding more skills and perfection to the drags and flicks. 

An Indian fan probably won't be expecting some foul on the body to get a penalty corner so that some Amit Rohidas or Harmanpreet Singh convert it into a goal. A basic wish to see a ball in play before hitting the net, just as Australians do, will be fulfilled hopefully.

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Hockey India names 40-member Indian Men's Hockey Team squad for the upcoming test series against Germany

The Indian Men's Hockey Team won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 and retained the title at the Asian Champions Trophy in China. The team will head into this camp following these recent successes.

Oct 1, 2024, 12:34 PM2 min read

Hockey India names 40-member Indian Men's Hockey Team squad for the upcoming test series against Germany

Hockey India, on Tuesday has selected 40 probable players for the coaching camp of the Indian Men's Hockey Team in Bengaluru in preparation for the two-match series against world champions Germany here later this month.

Also Read: Yo-Yo Test: Hardik Singh’s Revelation Sparks Debate Between Fitness of Cricketers and Hockey Players

Two matches will be played against Germany on the 23rd and 24th October at Major Dhyanchand National Stadium. The camp will run from October 1 to 19. The focus of the camp will be on honing the skills of the players and developing strategies during matches.

The Indian Men's Hockey Team won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 and retained the title at the Asian Champions Trophy in China. The team will head into this camp following these recent successes.

'This camp will allow us to improve our strategies'

India captain Harmanpreet Singh said the camp will help in ensuring that the team is well-prepared and in peak condition before facing Germany. "Playing against the world champions is a tremendous opportunity for us to showcase our abilities, and having an exciting mix of players in this camp will allow us to improve our strategies and build the cohesion needed,"

"Each player in this core group brings unique strengths and varying levels of experience and we'll be focusing on how to harness these individual talents and help us grow as players. Our objective is to create an environment where everyone pushes each other and by the end of this camp, we want to be an even stronger and better coordinated team." Harmanpreet added. 

Indian hockey players Varun Kumar and Karthi Selvam will return to the national camp.

Also Read: A Bronze costs just USD 100: Trembling Future of Pakistan Hockey Team

Goalkeepers

Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Pawan, Suraj Karkera, Mohith H.S.

Defenders

Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Sanjay, Jugraj Singh, Amandeep Lakra, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Varun Kumar, Yashdeep Siwach, Dipsan Tirkey, Mandeep Mor

Midfielders

Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen, Vishnukant Singh, Rajinder Singh, Poovanna CB

Forwards

Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Angad Bir Singh, Aditya Lalage, Boby Singh Dhami, Sudeep Chirmako, S. Karthi, Maninder Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh

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