The Indian Panorama

Tag: Asian Games

  • Hockey: Indian men continue to sweep continental titles and Asian Games are the latest

    Hockey: Indian men continue to sweep continental titles and Asian Games are the latest

    By Prabhjot Singh

    Those who had written Indian hockey off a couple of years ago are now forced to eat their words. India is back and back with a vengeance. In the past one year, Indian men have been making a clean sweep of  all continental tournaments. And the just concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou is the latest. In August, India won the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai.

    It not only makes India a direct qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Hockey competition, but also makes former Olympic champions an undisputed leader of the continental hockey.

    India exhibited great team effort and played superbly throughout the tournament scoring 58 goals and emerging the only unbeaten team in the tournament. India’s arch-rival, Pakistan, however, could not end the tournament the way it wanted. Though Pakistan ended on a winning note defeating Malaysia in the playoff for the fifth and sixth position, it expected to finish a little higher, at least on the podium.

    Now previous champions Japan, Korea, China, Pakistan and Malaysia will have to go through the rigmaroles of playing the Olympic Qualifying tournaments for a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Though initially Pakistan had offered to host one of the Olympic Qualifier Tournaments in Lahore, but it was taken away by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) quoting internal strife in the country as the reason. The tournament will now be held in Oman, the new hockey center of the continent after Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh. India’s return to the top was the culmination of a long-drawn effort that saw it making a clean sweep of continental tournaments it played this year.

    It added its sixth title to its kitty by defeating  defending champions Japan 5-1 in the Asian Games final. Earlier in the pool matches India recorded its biggest ever win (10-2) over arch rivals Pakistan.

    India started with a style by notching up 16-0 win over Uzbekistan in the opener followed by 16-1 win over Singapore. After taking a comfortable 3-0 lead against Japan in the next match, India conceded two goals in the closing stages of the game to end with a 4-2 win over defending champions Japan. After a record 10-2 win against Pakistan, India had little trouble in defeating Bangladesh 12-0 in its last pool game to finish at the top of the table.

    In the semi-finals, South Korea put up a splendid fight but it was not enough to upset the rhythm of the Indians looking for glory. India won the semis 5-3 for a place in the gold medal match. Pitted against the 2018 champions Japan in the final, India reiterated its supremacy to prove that earlier 4-2 win in the pool games was no fluke. India ended the summit clash with an impressive 5-1 win.

    Harmanpreet Singh. (Photo: Twitter)

    India’s title triumph was also a personal gratification for the team captain Harmanpreet Singh, a drag flicker. Though in the last FIH World Cup for men  hosted  jointly by  Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, one of reasons attributed for India’s poor ninth finish, was fewer goals from Harmanpreet than expected. He proved he is still the best as he scored in every match of significance. Even in the final, two of five goals came from his lethal drag flicks.

    India’s return to top position after a gap of nine years has warmed  the cockles of the hearts of Indian hockey fans the world over. Now the focus will be on the bigger challenge, the summer Olympic Games. Harmanpreet had incidentally played sheet anchor when India returned to podium at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games by remaining one of the top scorers. And in Hangzhou he proved beyond doubt that he is still the number one.

    Earlier this year, the FIH Hockey5s Asia Cup in Oman, India recorded a  2-0 win in a penalty shootout after a 4-4 draw  with Pakistan  in the final. Only  a week earlier, Indian women had won the gold medal at the same venue. Never before in the history of hockey any team had won so many continental titles in a row. As of today, India is the winner of Asian Games for men, Asia Cups, both for men and women, Asian Champions Trophy for men and Asia Cups, both for junior men and women.

    After the Asian Games title triumph, India has joined the hosts France, Australia men and women and the Netherlands men and women,  as direct  qualifiers for the 2024 summer Olympic Games. Later this month, Pan Am Games in Santiago will decide the teams, both men and women, that will represent Americas in the Paris Olympic Games.

    (Prabhjot Singh is a senior journalist. Read his articles at www.probingeye.com)

  • India maul Japan 5-0 to set up final date with Malaysia

    India maul Japan 5-0 to set up final date with Malaysia

    Chennai (TIP)- A dominant India mauled reigning Asian Games champions Japan 5-0 to enter their fifth Asian Champions Trophy final hereon August 11.
    India will take first-time finalists Malaysia tomorrow, while Japan will be up against South Korea in the third-place match. India got the first scoring chance of the match in the form of a penalty corner but Japan goalkeeper Takashi Yoshikawa made a confident save to deny home team skipper Harmanpreet Singh.
    The Indians enjoyed the bulk of the possession, while Japan played catch-up hockey. After a barren first quarter, India finally took the lead in the 19th minute through Akashdeep Singh. The veteran forward slapped in a rebound after Hardik Singh’s initial shot was saved by Japan’s second goalkeeper Takumi Kitagawa.
    India kept up the tempo and earned their second, and final, penalty corner in the 23rd minute and Harmanpreet sounded the board with a fierce low flick to the left of the Japanese goalkeeper. Just at the stroke of half-time, India tripled their lead through Mandeep Singh. It was Manpreet Singh who was instrumental in getting the third goal as he intercepted the ball in the midfield and then beat three Japanese defenders to set it up for Mandeep, who just had to direct the ball in.
    The trend continued after the change of ends. Sumit probably scored the goal of the tournament with a reverse stick flick into the net from a tight angle after being set up by Manpreet from the right flank.
    Young Karthi Selvam made it 5-0 in India’s favour in the 51st minute after being fed by an unselfish Sukhjeet Singh, who received a perfect aerial ball from Harmanpreet. While the goals came easily, it was the defence that stood out for the hosts, who didn’t concede a single penalty corner.
    Malaysia knock out defending champions
    Earlier, Malaysia blew away defending champions South Korea 6-2 with a superlative performance. Najmi Jazlan (9th and 21st minutes) and Shello Silverious (47th and 48th) scored a brace each, while Faizal Saari (19th), and Abu Kamal Azrai (3rd) scored a goal each.
    For South Korea, Woo Cheon Ji (2nd) and skipper Jonghyun Jang (14th) found the back of the net. Meanwhile, Pakistan ended their campaign with a 6-1 win against China in the fifth-place playoff match. Muhammad Ammad (10th and 52nd minutes) and Muhammad Khan (11th and 12th) and struck a brace each for Pakistan while Abdul Shahid (15th) and Abdul Rana (55th) scored one apiece. Source: PTI

  • Kaur Singh, only Indian boxer to have fought Muhammad Ali, dies

    Kaur Singh, only Indian boxer to have fought Muhammad Ali, dies

    Kaur Singh, an Asian Games gold medallist boxer and the only Indian to have fought against the legendary Muhammad Ali, died Thursday at a private hospital in Haryana’s Kurukshetra. He was 74 and had been suffering from multiple health issues.
    Coming from a farming family from the Khanal Khurd village of Sangrur, Kaur Singh joined the Army in 1971. He was at the front, in Barmer sector of Rajasthan, in the 1972 war against Pakistan and was later awarded the Sena Medal. It was during his stint in the Army that, Kaur Singh’s boxing journey began. He made his debut at the senior national boxing championship in 1979 and won gold. He repeated the feat for four consecutive years, till 1983. In between, he won the gold at the Asian boxing championships held in Mumbai in 1980.
    He emerged as a national hero in 1982, when he won the gold medal at the Asian Games in New Delhi. Following his achievements. His Asian Games gold earned him India’s second-highest sporting honour, the Arjuna Award in 1982. A year later, in recognition of his contribution to boxing, he was awarded the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth-highest civilian honour.
    He also represented India in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles.
    Interestingly, Kaur Singh had faced off with Muhammad Ali in a four-round exhibition match held in New Delhi in 1980. He took retirement from boxing in 1984. Kaur Singh, who retired from the Army in 1994, was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 1988 in recognition of his outstanding service.
    After retirement, Kaub Singh took to farming at his village. Locals recall how his intervention helped canal water reach their village and how he helped the hamlet get many other facilities.
    In December 2020, Kaur Singh joined several others from Punjab in returning his Padma Shri and Arjuna Award to the Centre in solidarity with the farmers who were protesting against now repealed agri laws.
    A biopic on Kaur Singh was slated to be released in 2020 but was postponed to July 2022 for a limited release due to the pandemic. Actor Karam Bathh played the legendary boxer and the film depicted how the veteran boxer struggled to accept prize money from governments.
    The Boxing Federation of India (BFI), the country’s governing body of the sport, paid tribute to Kaur Singh. “Boxing Federation of India deeply mourns the demise of Boxing Legend & Padma Shri, Kaur Singh Ji . Our heartfelt condolences and prayers to his family & friends,” tweeted BFI.
    Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed sorrow over the veteran boxer’s demise. Punjab sports minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer also condoled Kaur Singh’s death.
    Mann said Kaur Singh had made India proud by earning fame in the national and international arena of boxing. “From Khanal Khurd village in Sangrur, Kaur Singh shined like a star in the world of boxing and won a gold medal in Asian Games,” Mann said. The life and contribution of Kaur Singh will inspire budding players to work hard and excel in sports, Mann added.
    A biopic on Kaur Singh was slated to be released in 2020 but was postponed to July 2022 for a limited release due to the pandemic. Actor Karam Bathh played the legendary boxer and the film depicted how the veteran boxer struggled to accept prize money from governments.
    The Boxing Federation of India (BFI), the country’s governing body of the sport, paid tribute to Kaur Singh. “Boxing Federation of India deeply mourns the demise of Boxing Legend & Padma Shri, Kaur Singh Ji . Our heartfelt condolences and prayers to his family & friends,” tweeted BFI.
    Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed sorrow over the veteran boxer’s demise. Punjab sports minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer also condoled Kaur Singh’s death.
    Mann said Kaur Singh had made India proud by earning fame in the national and international arena of boxing. “From Khanal Khurd village in Sangrur, Kaur Singh shined like a star in the world of boxing and won a gold medal in Asian Games,” Mann said. The life and contribution of Kaur Singh will inspire budding players to work hard and excel in sports, Mann added.
    Source: The Indian Express