News for 16 September 2021
All the news for Thursday 16 September 2021
Team head to UK for tour after long hiatus
By K. Rajan
THE national hockey team will finally hit the pitch for a tour after almost two years when they head to the United Kingdom for friendly matches from Sept 19- Oct 22.
Olympic Hockey Hero PR Sreejesh Opens Up to Big B on Team India's Medal-winning Feat
India goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh opened up to Amitabh Bachchan about winning an Olympic medal in hockey after 41 long years.
PR Sreejesh and Amitabh Bachchan (IANS)
While conversing with host Amitabh Bachchan on ‘KBC 13’, India goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh talks about winning an Olympic medal in hockey after 41 long years.
Nilakanta Sharma: Hope my Olympic bronze will inspire youngsters of Manipur to take up hockey
Nilakanta, who was promoted to the senior rank in 2017, a year after winning the FIH Junior World Cup in Lucknow, believed the key to success for a player is continuous improvement.
Nilakanta was a vital cog in India's midfield in Tokyo, where the country ended a 41-year-old Olympic medal drought. - AP
Indian men's hockey team midfielder Nilakanta Sharma hoped his contribution to the country's bronze medal-winning feat at the Tokyo Olympics will inspire a generation of youngsters from his home state Manipur to take up the sport professionally.
"Definitely there is a lot of potential for Manipur hockey to grow further. A lot of good things are happening in the state and the emphasis is on creating good infrastructure. I hope my performance in Tokyo has inspired more youngsters from my state to take up hockey," the 26-year-old said in a Hockey India release.
Nilakanta was a vital cog in India's midfield in Tokyo, where the country ended a 41-year-old Olympic medal drought.
Nilakanta, who was promoted to the senior rank in 2017, a year after winning the FIH Junior World Cup in Lucknow, believed the key to success for a player is continuous improvement. He is targeting more laurels next year.
"I have had some time to introspect about my own performance over these past few years with the senior team. I think I have been very fortunate to have played along with some of the best players in India and have been able to learn a lot from them.
"I always like to keep things simple and execute what is expected of me. Each player is assigned a certain role by the coach and I just try to stick to it," he said.
"I believe there is a lot of scope for me to improve my own game from here on and build on this performance in Tokyo. It was absolutely an incredible feeling to win the bronze medal." On a break after the success in Tokyo, Nilakanta is eager to regroup with his teammates at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru when the national camp begins next month.
"We will now sit down as a team and analyse our performance in the Olympics. I personally like these team meetings because everyone contributes and gets to put across their views.
"We discuss what worked for us as a team and what didn't. Also, there is so much to learn from the leadership group which includes the senior players," he said.
Before Tokyo, India's last medal -- a gold -- came in the 1980 Moscow Games.
Sportstar
Staying in the moment helped us in Tokyo, says India women's hockey team defender Udita
The Hisar-born player is currently part of the 25-member senior women's core probable group for the national camp in SAI, Bengaluru.
File image of India women's hockey team. AP
Bengaluru: India women's hockey team defender Udita feels staying in the moment helped the side bounce back from a series of losses in the initial phase of Tokyo Olympics and eventually script history.
Preview: EHL Premier Divisions Return This Weekend
Nearly 11 months since the last fixtures were contested, the England Hockey League (EHL) Premier Divisions return this weekend to begin the 2021-22 season.
No. 10 Virginia field hockey extends its winning streak to four
The Cavaliers notched a third consecutive shutout en route to the victory
By Joseph Ascoli
Shutouts have been the name of the game for the Cavaliers recently, as they've notched three of them out of a total of five games. Courtesy Virginia Athletics
No. 10 Virginia continued their strong start to the season Friday, defeating Miami of Ohio 2-0 in Charlottesville in yet another shutout. The Cavaliers (4-1, 0-0 ACC) controlled much of the gameplay as the RedHawks (2-5, 0-0 MAC) struggled to find offensive momentum.
Indiana field hockey looks to bounce back against Iowa and Richmond
Indiana plays Iowa and the University of Richmond this weekend.
By Tyler Vaundry
Then-sophomore midfielder Mary Kate Kesler hits the ball Oct. 18, 2019, at the IU Field Hockey Complex. Photo courtesy of IU Athletics
After starting the season 3-0, Indiana field hockey dropped two of its last three games, but the team is looking to regain some of that early season success Friday against No. 2 ranked Iowa and Sunday against the University of Richmond.