Hardik Singh, considered the backbone of the midfield of Indian hockey, has been nominated for the country’s biggest sports honour, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. Hardik’s role was very important in the team that won bronze medals for India in Tokyo Olympics 2021 and Paris Olympics 2024. In view of his consistently excellent performance in the last two years, the selection committee has recommended his name.

Hockey warrior from Punjab

27 year old Hardik Singh was born in Khusropur village of Punjab. For him, hockey is not just a game but a heritage. His father Varinderpreet Singh Rai himself was a hockey player, while grandfather Pritam Singh Rai was a hockey coach. Hardik learned the basics of hockey under his grandfather’s coaching. His uncles Gurmail Singh and Jugraj Singh have also been international hockey players. The special thing is that Gurmail Singh was a part of the Indian team that won gold in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Team control in midfield

Hardik Singh has been playing for the Indian senior team since 2018. As a midfielder, he controls the team’s play and creates a strong link between defense and attack. Till now he has played 166 international matches for India.

Apart from Olympic bronze, Hardik has played in the Indian team that won gold medal in the 2023 Asian Games. Along with this, he was included in the team that won gold in the Asia Cup 2025 played in Rajgir. Due to his consistent performance in big tournaments, he has become a reliable player of the team.

Selected hockey players to receive Khel Ratna

If Hardik Singh is honored with the Khel Ratna, he will be the seventh hockey player to receive this award. Before him, Dhanraj Pillai, Sardar Singh, Rani Rampal, PR Sreejesh, Manpreet Singh and Harmanpreet Singh have received this honour.

Arjuna Award also recommended

The committee of the Sports Ministry has also suggested the names of 24 players for the Arjun Award this year. These include Tejaswin Shankar (Athletics), Priyanka (Athletics), Narendra (Boxing), Vidit Gujarati (Chess), Divya Deshmukh (Chess), Dhanush Srikanth (Def Shooting), Pranati Nayak (Gymnastics), Rajkumar Pal (Hockey), Surjeet (Kabaddi), Nirmala Bhati (Kho-Kho), Rudransh Khandelwal (Para-Shooting), Ekta Bhayan (Para-Athletics), Padmanabh Singh. (Polo), Arvind Singh (Rowing), Akhil Sheoran (Shooting), Mehuli Ghosh (Shooting), Sutirtha Mukherjee (Table Tennis), Sonam Malik (Wrestling), Aarti Pal (Yoga), Trisha Jolly (Badminton), Gayatri Gopichand (Badminton), Lalremsiami (Hockey), Mohammad Afsal (Athletics), Pooja (Kabaddi).

In an unexpected development, Indian women’s hockey team head coach Harendra Singh has resigned from the post with immediate effect citing ‘personal reasons’. Hockey India said in a statement issued late in the evening, “Indian women’s hockey team head coach Harendra Singh has resigned from the post due to personal reasons.”

Harendra Singh took over the post only in April 2024 and it was understood that he would remain with the team till Los Angeles Olympics 2028. Sources said, the head coach of the team that finished fourth in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Sjoerd Marin of Netherlands, may return to this post in the Indian team.

In a sudden development, Harendra Singh has sent an email to Hockey India informing that he is resigning from the post with immediate effect. He also said that this is purely his ‘personal decision’.

Regarding this decision, Harendra said, “Being the coach of the Indian women’s hockey team has been a big achievement in my career. I have decided to resign due to personal reasons but my heart will always be with this great team. The journey with Hockey India will be special for me and I will continue to support their efforts to take Indian hockey to the top level.

Sources said that Marin may return as the coach of the Indian women’s hockey team, under whose guidance the Indian team finished fourth in a historic performance in the Tokyo Olympics. Marin resigned as head coach of the women’s hockey team in August 2021.

Sources have cited the poor performance of the team as the reason for the resignation. A source in Hockey India said, “In the last one and a half years, the team has not given the expected results even though all the desired facilities were given to the coach.” Fitness has also been a big issue and a dozen players in the team are injured.

Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey said in a statement, “We thank Harendra Singh for his services. His commitment to Indian hockey is well known. We will announce his replacement soon.

Harendra Singh Lucknow was the coach of the 2016 World Cup-winning Indian junior men’s hockey team. He was the coach of the US national men’s hockey team from 2021 to 2024 before returning as the head coach of the Indian women’s team. She became the head coach of the Indian senior women’s team in September 2017, which won the Women’s Asia Cup that year.

After this, he became the head coach of the Indian men’s team in May 2018 in place of Shored Marin, but in January 2019, he was removed from the post due to poor performance. Before this, he had also been the interim head coach of the men’s team thrice.

The performance of the Indian women’s hockey team has been disappointing in the last one year. FIH Pro League 2024 In 25, the Indian team registered only two wins in 16 matches and played three draws while it had to face defeat in 11 matches. The Indian team finished last in the nine-team table with 10 points and failed to qualify for the next season.

India won the title in the Asian Champions Trophy in Rajgir in November but there were second-rate teams from Japan and Korea. After losing the final in the Asia Cup, the Indian team could not qualify directly for the World Cup and now the qualifiers will have to be played.

Hockey India General Secretary Bholanath Singh said, “We thank Harendra Singh for his contribution to the Indian team. Indian women’s team’s preparation for the qualifiers will continue.

A shocking news has come out from the Indian women’s hockey team. The team’s head coach Harendra Singh has suddenly resigned from his post. He has taken this decision citing ‘personal reasons’. After which Hockey India issued an official statement confirming the resignation. Harendra, who took over in April 2024, was expected to prepare the team for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028, but this chapter ended early.

Sudden resignation… what is the real reason?

Harendra Singh informed about leaving his post by emailing Hockey India. He said that this is his personal decision and the time spent with the team was a big achievement of his career. However, sources say that the matter is not limited to just ‘personal reasons’.

According to sources, the team’s performance in the last one and a half year has been very weak. The atmosphere was tense due to fitness problems, continuously injured players and failure to live up to expectations. It is believed that this was the real reason which has led Harendra to this decision.

Old coaches can return again

With the resignation of Harendra Singh, the discussion has intensified that former coach of the Indian women’s hockey team, Shored Marin, may rejoin the team. Under his leadership, India had a historic performance in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and stood fourth. Marin left the post in August 2021, but looking at the current performance of the team, the chances of his return once again appear strong.

The team’s performance was very disappointing

The performance of the Indian women’s hockey team has been greatly affected in the last one year.

India won only 2 out of 16 matches in FIH Pro League 2024-25,

3 matches were drawn

Lost in 11 matches.

India could score only 10 points in this league. Not only this, the Indian team was at the last position in the table of 9 teams and could not even qualify for the next session.

Although the team won the title in the Asian Champions Trophy held in Rajgir, the competing countries did not bring their strong teams there. After losing the final in the Asia Cup, India could not qualify directly for the World Cup and now it will have to go through the qualifiers.

Hockey India’s statement

Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey appreciated Harendra’s contribution and said that the new coach of the team will be announced soon. General Secretary Bholanath Singh also expressed confidence that the Indian women’s team will continue its preparations for the qualifiers vigorously.

In the match played amidst cyclone Ditwah and heavy rain in Chennai, the Indian hockey team defeated Oman badly 17-0. This victory was great for the Indian hockey team in terms of scoring points and improving the goal difference, but the head coach is worried due to the team’s disappointing performance at the penalty corner.

Successful in only 4 out of 19 penalty corners

The Indian hockey team had earned a total of 19 penalty corners in this match, but only 4 of these were able to be converted into goals by the players. This shows that the Indian hockey team needs a lot of improvement in the penalty corner. However, one reason for this was the rain, because due to the rain the ground had become slow and heavy. However, better is expected from the world number 2 team. The weakness of penalty corners was also visible in the recently held Sultan of Johor Cup.

Picked up speed after 15 minutes

In the first 15 minutes of this match in the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup, the Indian players were not able to create any special chances, initially the Oman players were playing very fast. But after 15 minutes the Indian players changed gears and gained momentum. The coordination between the Indian players was excellent, the passing game was also precise. Team India players defeated Oman players with their 360 degree spin and reverse hit. In the fourth minute, Arshdeep scored the goal with a brilliant pass from Ankit Pal.

Arshdeep, Manmeet and Dilraj scored 3 goals each

Of course, Team India’s players disappointed in the penalty corner, but their performance in the field gold was excellent. Arshdeep Singh, Dilraj Singh and Manmeet Singh scored 3 goals each. Ajit Yadav, Gurjot Singh and Ingalemba Luwang scored 2 goals each. Anmol Ikka also scored a goal in the 29th minute.

Of course, India won against Oman by a big margin, but still Team India will have to improve such poor performance in the penalty corner. India will have to work on this before the knockout round.

Asia cup hockey: India’s women’s hockey team suffered a crushing defeat of 1-4 from China in the Super-4 phase of Asia Cup 2025. In the match played in Hangzhou on Thursday, hosts kept dominance from the beginning. For India, Mumtaz Khan scored the only goal in the 38th minute, while for China, Xu Meerong (4 ‘, 56’), Chen Yang (31 ‘) and Tanjhuang (47’) scored goals. With this defeat, a difficult challenge has arisen in front of India to reach the finals.

Super-4 position in the table

After two matches, China’s team has reached the final with 6 points. Now the second finalist between the remaining three teams – India, Japan and Korea will be decided.

China – 6 points (2 matches, firm in final)

India – 3 points (2 matches)

Japan – 1 point (2 matches)

Korea – 1 point (2 matches)

The remaining matches

India will face Japan on Saturday and China will face Korea.

India vs Japan – 2:15 pm (IST)

China vs Korea – 4:30 pm (IST)

After these two matches, it will be decided which team will face China in the final.

Final route for India

If India defeats Japan in the match on Saturday, then India will have 6 points in the points table and India will make its place in the final. In this situation both Japan and Korea will be out of the tournament.

If the match of India and Japan is drawn, then India will get 4 points. In such a situation, Korea will have a chance to go to the finals, but they will have to defeat China by a margin of at least 2 goals, which is very difficult in view of the current form of China.

If India loses in this match, Japan will overtake the final race with 4 points and India will be out. Then the second finalist will be decided between Korea and Japan.

the road so far

India made a good start by defeating Korea in the first match of Super-4, but the defeat against China has increased its difficulties. Now the team will have to win against Japan to reach the finals.

Bet not just the trophy

Both teams, who have made it to the finals, will not only get a chance for the Asia Cup Trophy but will also get a direct ticket for the 2026 Hockey World Cup. The Indian hockey men’s team has already qualified the World Cup by winning the Asia Cup in Rajgir. Now everyone’s eyes are on the women’s team whether they will also be able to reach the finals and get the World Cup ticket.

India vs korea asia cup 2025: In the Asia Cup 2025, India has won the first match of Super-4 on Wednesday, 10 September. India’s women’s hockey team defeated Korea 4–2. In this match, Player of the Match Sangeeta Kumari was selected, who scored a score for India. Apart from Sangeeta, Vaishnavi Phalke, Lalremsiami and Rutuja Pisal also scored 1-1 goals. The Indian team is moving forward without losing any match in this Asia Cup. Team India’s next match in Super-4 will be against China on Thursday, September 11.

Snapshots of a Hard-Fought Win!

India Edged Past Korea 4-2 to Record their first Victory in the Super 4s of the Women’s Asia Cup 2025.#HockeyIndia #Indiakagame #WOMENSASIACUP2025 pic.twitter.com/o4hfgsqung

– Hockey India (@TheHockeyindia) September 10, 2025

Team India on top in Asia Cup

The Indian team topped the Women’s Hockey Asia Cup 2025 league matches in Pool B. India won a stunning 11–0 against Thailand in the first match. After this, the match with Japan was finished at 2–2. After this, India won 12–0 in the match against Singapore. After the league matches, Team India has also won 4-2 against Korea in Super-4. In this Asia Cup tournament, no team has defeated India so far.

A performance to remumber!

Sangita Kumari’s Brilliance Earns Her The award in India’s 4-2 win over korea.#HockeyIndia #Indiakagame #WOMENSASIACUP2025 pic.twitter.com/ikZZNDN19i

– Hockey India (@TheHockeyindia) September 10, 2025

Mahamukabala in Super-4

The Women’s Hockey Asia Cup 2025 has been held in China. The teams reaching Super-4 in this tournament are India, China, Japan and Korea. In this, all the teams will clash with each other. India has defeated Korea in the first match. Now Team India will also have to beat China and Japan to reach the finals.

Also read

Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav joined hands with Pakistani minister who threatened to attack nuclear attack, people’s anger erupted on social media

Hockey asia cup 2025: The Indian men’s hockey team gave South Korea 4–1 in the Asia Cup final played at the Rajgir Sports Complex on Sunday and won the trophy for the fourth time. With this victory, India has now become the second most successful country in the Asia Cup. Even after the defeat, Korea is at number one who has won the Asia Cup five times. India had earlier won the title in 2003 (Kuala Lumpur), 2007 (Chennai) and 2017 (Dhaka).

What did Gautam Gambhir say?

Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team, was also happy on this historic victory. He wrote on Twitter, “Very good, boys! Fantastic!” Significantly, Gambhir is currently present in Dubai with the Indian cricket team. The Asia Cup of the Indian cricket team is also going to start on 10 September. India’s first match will be against the UAE and on September 14, the Indian team will take on Pakistan.

The condition of the final match

In the match played in Rajgir, India kept control of the game in its hands from the beginning. Sukhjit Singh of India scored a brilliant goal in the first minute, after which Dilpreet scored a goal in the 28th and 45th minute of the match and strengthened India’s lead. Amit Rohidas ensured India’s victory by converting the final penalty corner into a goal in the 50th minute. Dane Son managed to score a goal in the 51st minute from South Korea.

The path of the World Cup is easy

This victory over Korea gives India directly admission in the next year’s Hockey World Cup 2026. The World Cup will be held from 14 to 30 August. The tournament will be played in Belgium and Netherlands this time. With this victory, the situation of India’s team has strengthened globally and this team raises hopes of great performance in the World Cup.

This journey of India’s hockey team is not only important from the point of view of sports, but also indicates India’s strong hold in the upcoming World Cup. The team will now gather to illuminate the name of the country on the next world stage with full preparation.

The Indian team won the title by defeating Korea 4–1 in the final of the Asia Cup hockey played in Rajgir. India has won the title for the fourth time. For the Indian team, Dilpreet Singh scored two while Sukhjit Singh and Amit Rohidas scored one goal each.

On the victory of the Indian team, Hockey India has announced 3-3 lakhs for all the players of the team and 1.5-1.5 lakh for the allied staff. There is an atmosphere of celebration in the Indian team camp after the victory. Congratulations are being received from all over the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also congratulated the team.

PM Modi wrote on X, congratulations to our men’s hockey team for a stunning victory in the Asia Cup 2025 held in Rajgir, Bihar. This victory is even more special because he has defeated the defending winner South Korea. This is a moment of pride for Indian hockey and Indian sports. Our players keep touching more heights and keep illuminating the name of the country, this is the wish.

Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said that I congratulate every player of the Indian team. Has won the Olympic medal, Asian Games, Asian Championships and now Asia Cup in the last two years. Korea won the finals in the final.

Coach Craig Fultton said, “Our goal was to qualify for the Hockey World Cup 2026 by winning the Asia Cup and we have achieved it. However we were first thinking about this tournament. I am proud of the boys.”

Captain Harmanpreet Singh said, we had landed only with the goal of winning the Asia Cup and qualifying for the World Cup. The performance in the initial matches was not as expected, but we returned. Our performance in important matches was good and we kept trying better.

Hardik Singh said, we landed with the intention of making our dominance in Asia and qualifying for the World Cup. We had done well and was confident of victory. Our team is very balanced. We have dominated the Asia Cup. Victory is very happy.

Shilanand Lakra and Rajinder Singh expressed happiness over winning the Asia Cup. Both players said that the next goal of the Indian team is to win the medal in the Hockey World Cup.

India won the Hockey Asia Cup title by defeating South Korea 4–1. This is the fourth time when India has won the Asia Cup Trophy. Sukhjit Singh, Amit Rohidas scored one goal for Team India and Dilpreet Singh scored two goals. With this, India has avenged the 2013 final defeat, when South Korea won the trophy by defeating India 4-3.

India won the fourth time Asia Cup

In the initial moments of the match, Sukhjit Singh scored a goal and brought Team India to the frontfoot. India also got a penalty stroke in the first quarter, but could not score. The second quarter had started, when Jugraj Singh was suspended for 2 minutes. 10 players of Team India were on the field, despite this, the Korean team could not score goals. In the second quarter, Dilpreet Singh scored a 2-0 lead to Team India.

India was ahead 2–0 till half-time. South Korea started well in the third quarter, but Team India was successful in scoring goals. Dilpreet Singh took India 3–0 ahead of his second goal of the match. The fourth and final quarters also saw a tremendous competition, where senior player Amit Rohidas scored the fourth goal for India. In the match, the Korean team could score only one goal.

Team India completed revenge

This is the same South Korea, who defeated India 4-3 in the 2013 Asia Cup final and deprived them of the title. Now after a long wait of 12 years, the Indian team has succeeded in completing its revenge.

This can also be said to be amazing coincidence that in the last 31 years, no third team other than India and South Korea has won the title of Hockey Asia Cup. In the last 9 Asia Cup tournaments, South Korea has won the trophy five times and India 4 times.

Also read:

England scored more than 400 runs in ODI for 7th time, 415 target to South Africa in third ODI

In the Hockey Asia Cup, India defeated Malaysia 4–1. The first goal in this Super-4 phase match was scored by Malaysia, but after that Team India won the match with a big margin. With this victory, India has secured first place in the Points Tables of Super-4. Manpreet Singh, Sukhjit Singh, Shilanand Lakra and Vivek Prasad scored one goal for India.

Shafiq Hasan of Malaysia scored in the second minute of the match. By the end of the first quarter, Malaysia was moving 1-0 ahead. In the 17th minute, Harmanpreet Singh missed out on scoring a goal on the penalty corner, but Manpreet Singh scored a goal as soon as he got a chance and took Team India 1-1. 2 minutes after that, Sukhjit Singh gave India a 2–1 lead.

Team India dominated the second quarter, as Shilanand Lakra also scored in the 24th minute. The Indian team had taken a 3–1 lead by scoring three goals within just 7 minutes. The fourth and last goal of the match was in the 38th minute, when Vivek Prasad of India scored the goal. India retained the 4–1 lead till the end and registered a big victory.

India close to the final

The Indian team has almost confirmed the place in the final of the Hockey Asia Cup. If Malaysia defeats South Korea in the next match, then India also gets defeat against China, then it will reach the final. On the other hand, if Malaysia wins on Korea, then India will have to ensure that it plays a draw with China or win. India’s last match in the Super-4 phase is to be held with China on 6 September.

Also read:

Sachin Tendulkar’s family trip of the plan, daughter -in -law with daughter Sania Chandok and daughter Sara came to see