Hockey

India suffered a 1-2 defeat at the hands of defending champions New Zealand in their round-robin league encounter.

"Australia scored four times from five circle penetrations, which does not reflect well out on our defence," said Oltmans after Australia beat India 5-1 at the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey.

Sardar said while the immediate aim is to win a gold in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh from April 6-16, the larger goal is to come up with a medal-winning show in the Champions Trophy, to be played in London from June 10-17.

Deepika Thakur converted a penalty corner in the last quarter to lead Indian women hockey team to a 1-0 win over hosts South Africa in their tour-opener.

Delhi took full advantage of home conditions to break their four-match losing streak with a 7-4 victory over defending champions and table-toppers Ranchi in a Hockey India League pool match on Thursday.

Akashdeep Singh struck a field goal in the 44th minute, while Gonzalo Peillat converted a penalty corner in 60th minute as Uttar Pradesh ease past Punjab to win in Chandigarh on Thursday.

India hockey captain's fiancee spoke exclusive to ETV, leveling serious allegations against him - amounting to blackmail as well as physical and mental harassment.

Sandeep struck the winning goal from a penalty corner as defending champions Ranchi Rays rallied to beat Jaypee Punjab Warriors 5-4 and jumped to the top position at HIL on Saturday.

Jackson scored a field goal and also converted a penalty corner as Ranchi Rays beat Uttar Pradesh Wizards 4-2 in the Hockey India League match in Lucknow on Friday.

German striker Florian Fuchs' field goal handed Mumbai a 2-0 advantage but two field strikes from Adam Dixon and Glenn Turner helped the hosts win the match after a defeat in the inaugural match against Uttar Pradesh Wizards.

World champions Australia lived up to their reputation as they bested Belgium 2-1 in the final to become the champions of the Hero Hockey World League Final on Sunday.

Asked whether he was satisfied with India s performance in the tournament, Oltmans said: "I am never satisfied. It s good to be in the semi-finals which means that we are close to no.4 but we can be more close.

India junior men's hockey team continued its winning form as it edged past hosts Malaysia 2-1 in their fourth league match of the Sultan of Johor Cup on Thursday.

The Hockey India maintained that it needs time to prepare its reply to the player's petition challenging the nine-month ban on disciplinary grounds.

An innovative rule, Sardar Singh up for grabs and a slight tweak here and there in playing regulations is sure to spice up the auction for 272 players on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the captain of the Pakistan team, Muhammad Imran has said that India was trying to create an issue out of a non-issue.