Birmingham:&nbsp;The Indian men's hockey team has suffered a setback ahead of the Commonwealth Games final against powerhouse Australia with young midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad ruled out of the gold-medal clash due to a knee injury.Vivek Sagar, along with skipper Manpreet Singh, has been the livewire in the midfield all through India's campaign in the Commonwealth Games here and he had come close to scoring against Canada in the Pool B match before the rival defence thwarted him.Vivek Sagar had also set up Akashdeep Singh with a penetrating pass in the circle against South Africa, but the forward could not score in the semifinal. India, though, defeated the Proteas 3-2 to secure a berth in the final.This is a big blow for India as they aim for their maiden Commonwealth Games gold as they will now be playing with only 17 members."This is to inform you that Indian men's hockey team midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad will not be available to play the final against Australia today at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. He has picked up a minor knee injury and has been advised rest. The team will be playing with 17 members today," said Hockey India in a statement on Monday.—IANS

The Indian men's hockey team has suffered a setback ahead of the Commonwealth Games final against powerhouse Australia with young midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad ruled out of the gold-medal clash due to a knee injury.

 India men's hockey team suffers big blow ahead of final as midfielder Vivek Sagar ruled out

Hockey

Birmingham: The Indian men’s hockey team’s route to the final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games here became easier as they will meet comparative lower-ranked South Africa in the semifinals after the latter qualified for the last-four stage ahead of New Zealand.The Indian men secured their place in the semifinals with a comprehensive 4-1 victory against Wales on Thursday which helped them top the standings as England finished with the same 10 points but with an inferior goal difference. England, needing to beat Canada by a 14-goal margin to top Pool B, could manage an 11-2 win, thus finishing second.In Pool A, South Africa, ranked 13th in FIH World Rankings, caused a big upset when they defeated the 9th-ranked New Zealand 4-3 in their last preliminary league match. That took South Africa to seven points, leaving the Black Sticks tied with Pakistan on four points from one win, one draw and two defeats. Pakistan, thus had a chance of climbing to the second spot if they managed to beat top seed and six-time champions Australia by a two-goal margin.But the Kookaburras were too strong for Pakistan and emerged 7-0 winner, topping the group with an all-win record.South Africa thus secured a place in the semifinals, the second time they will be playing in the last-four stage after the 2002 edition at Manchester.South Africa will now meet India in the semifinal on Saturday while World No. 1 Australia will meet England in the other semifinal.On paper, it would be easier for India to beat South Africa in the semifinals than New Zealand. Not only are they lower ranked than India but the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists had beaten them in both their matches in the FIH Pro League late last year.—IANS

The Indian men’s hockey team’s route to the final at the hockey Games here became easier as they will meet comparative lower-ranked South Africa in the semifinals after the latter qualified for the last-four stage ahead of New Zealand.

 Indian men's route to hockey final looks easier after South Africa upset NZ

The Indian men’s hockey team’s route to the final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games here became easier as they will meet comparative lower-ranked South Africa in the semifinals after the latter qualified for the last-four stage ahead of New Zealand.

<h4>Birmingham: As Indian hockey's goalkeeping stalwart PR Sreejesh gears up for the Commonwealth Games semifinal clash against South Africa on August 7, he is drawing inspiration from the team's bronze-medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which came exactly a year ago.</h4>&nbsp;The bronze in Tokyo 202 sparked the resurgence of India as a superpower in world hockey. Sreejesh, who played a crucial role in India winning the bronze medal, recalls the historic campaign fondly, saying, "I cannot believe it has been a year already, as I remember the Tokyo Olympics campaign very clearly. That moment was truly special as it ended the country's wait of over four decades. Now, the team is poised for bigger feats and definitely we are on the right path."&nbsp;India outclassed Germany in an entertaining bronze-medal tie that ended 5-4. "The last few seconds were very close, intense and we even conceded a PC. Thinking of those moments, I have goosebumps," recalled Sreejesh, as he gears up for the all-important semifinal clash at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.&nbsp;The star goalkeeper added, "We learnt a lot about ourselves as a team at the Tokyo Olympics, which has helped us improve as a squad, and now we are completely focused on the upcoming challenges such as the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela and the Paris Olympics 2024, where hopefully we can go even further. But first, our target is on the match against South Africa and we are all set." —IANS

As Indian hockey's goalkeeping stalwart PR Sreejesh gears up for the Commonwealth Games semifinal clash against South Africa on August 7, he is drawing inspiration from the team's bronze-medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which came exactly a year ago.

 A year on from historic bronze in Tokyo Olympics, Sreejesh says he still has goosebumps

Birmingham: The Indian team, which has lost to England in the Olympic Games bronze medal match also, conceded early goals and were down 0-3 before getting a lone consolation goal in fourth quarter.Giselle Ansley (3′), Tess Howard (40′), Hannah Martin (53′) found the back of the net for England, while, Vandana Katariya (60′) was the only scorer for India.The defeat means India are places third in the group behind England (9 pts) and Canada (6) with points same as Canada but third on goal difference.The English side started the game aggressively and earned back-to-back Penalty Corners in the second minute of the first quarter. Giselle Ansley converted the second Penalty Corner and helped England take the lead at 1-0 in the third minute.India had a chance when Salima Tete made a fantastic run in the right flank, but she couldn’t find the back of the net. In the 12th minute, Salima produced a fantastic ball and Vandana Katariya tried to tap it into the goal, but the English goalkeeper Madeleine Hinch pulled off a great save. India obtained a Penalty Corner in the final minute of the first quarter, however, Gurjit Kaur couldn’t find the equaliser.Monika took a shot in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but unfortunately the ball went over the crossbar. The Indian team made another circle penetration in the 20th minute, but the English defence unit stood tall and kept their opponents at bay.The Indians continued to put pressure and earned a Penalty Corner 22nd minute. Deep Grace Ekka took a firm shot, but Goalkeeper Hinch made another fabulous save. In the 25th minute, Navneet Kaur helped India earn another Penalty Corner, but Gurjit couldn’t breach the English defence. The Indians kept trying to find the equalizer, but England managed to hold on to their lead at the end of the first half.Elena Rayer made a remarkable run through the centre in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but Udita pulled off a fantastic tackle and ensured that the English team didn’t extend their lead. England rode on the momentum and made another circle penetration in the 38th minute, but the Indian defence unit fought hard and kept the ball away from their goal.However, Sophie Hamilton produced a terrific ball and Tess Howard deflected it into the goal in the 40th minute to help England extend their lead at 2-0. India obtained a couple of Penalty Corners in the dying minutes of the third quarter, but they couldn’t find the back of the net.Salima took a shot in the 48th minute, but goalkeeper Hinch successfully pushed the ball away from the goal. Soon after, the Indians earned a Penalty Corner, but the English defence stood tall and continued to maintain a clean sheet.In the 53rd minute, Hannah Martin converted a Penalty Corner and helped England extend their lead even further at 3-0. In the last minute of the match, India obtained a Penalty Corner and Vandana Katariya tapped the ball into the goal to ensure that England don’t walk off the field with a clean sheet.–IANS

The Indian team, which has lost to England in the Olympic Games bronze medal match also, conceded early goals and were down 0-3 before getting a lone consolation goal in fourth quarter.

CWG 2022: Indian women’s hockey team lose to England 1-3

Birmingham:&nbsp;The Indian men's hockey team twice squandered a 3-goal advantage to be held 4-4 by hosts England in a Pool B match at the Commonwealth Games here on Monday.India took a solid 4-1 lead in the match with Mandeep Singh (13', 22') scoring a brace and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (3') and Harmanpreet Singh (46') contributing a goal each. But with Nicholas Bandurak (47', 53') scoring a brace, and Liam Ansell (42') and Phillip Roper (50') scored a goal each, England managed to hold on and earned a point from the match played at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash centre here and maintained their top position in Pool B table.Graham Reid's squad conceded possession to the home team, who were also the more aggressive side making 36 attacking circle penetrations as compared to 21 by the Indians. Around 83 per cent of their attacks resulted in a threat to the goal while in India's case, only 37 per cent of attacks resulted in shots at goal. The Indians continued to struggle with their penalty corner routine as they could score only two of the 15 they earned. In contrast, England earned three penalty corners and failed on all three. The Indian attackers like Mandeep, Jugraj Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, and Abhishek missed chances to score goals.India got off to a brisk start with Hardik Singh charging from the left flank soon after the starting whistle in the first minute to put England on the back foot. Minutes later, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay earned the first penalty corner for India, and he scored from the rebound to give his team an early lead.The young Vivek Sagar Prasad brilliantly came to India's defence after England earned a penalty corner of their own. With minutes left on the clock in the first quarter, Hardik Singh launched a brilliant counter-attack, as he sent the ball to Mandeep Singh inside the striking circle. Mandeep struck a powerful tomahawk into the net as India extended their lead to 2-0.Vivek Sagar Prasad and Hardik Singh continued to press deep on the left flank at the start of the second quarter. Sam Ward created pressure on the Indian defence from the right flank, as he tried to cross the ball to William Calnan inside the circle. But Krishan B Pathak stepped forward to close the angle and made a smart save to deny the opposition.Minutes later, Mandeep Singh created another goal for India with an outstanding move inside the circle as India extended their lead to 3-0. England's Christopher Griffiths took a shot on target, but could only find the sidebar, and India went to the half-time break with a 3-0 lead.As the second started, England started holding on to ball possession as they searched for an opening inside the Indian circle. But India continued to defend in numbers, not allowing the opposition any opportunity to get a shot on target. Mandeep Singh continued to be the target man inside the circle as Gurjant Singh tried to find him to create an opportunity, only to be stopped midway by England's defence. Liam Ansell managed to get the ball into the net before the end of the third quarter to reduce the margin for England.Gaining confidence from their first goal scored late in the third quarter, England started pressing deep in the final 15 minutes to try and further reduce the deficit. But a costly error in defense from England earned India another penalty corner, and Harmanpreet Singh converted it with ease to increase India's lead to 4-1.England's Nicholas Bandurak scored a minute later to make it 4-2. Phillip Roper broke through the Indian defence and hit the ball past goalkeeper Krishan B Pathak as England added another goal to the board. Nicholas Bandurak converted yet again from a counter-attack as England drew level, with minutes left on the clock. India faced some nervy moments with England building pressure but managed to hold on till the final whistle as the match ended in a 4-4 draw.The Indians went into a shell in the third quarter and thought they had done enough to win the match. They allowed England to attack freely and lost the advantage they had built.It was a disappointing result for India as claiming three points against England would have helped them top the pool and avoid running into Australia in the semifinal.—IANS