Dhanraj Pillay is a retired Indian field hockey player and former captain of the India national team. He also looks after the Air India Sports Promotion Board as a Joint Secretary based in Mumbai. For the last 5 years, Dhanraj is overseeing the SAG Hockey Academy in Gujarat funded by the Gujarat Government. He is widely regarded as one of the best Indian players of hockey.
Graham John Reid is a former Australian field hockey player who played as a defender and midfielder for the Australian national team. He managed the Indian men's national team that won a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Gregg Clark is a field hockey player from South Africa, who was a member of the national squad that finished tenth at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was also present at the Atlanta Games in 1996. The midfielder played for Durban, and a provincial team called KwaZulu Natal Raiders. He is also the most capped South African national hockey player with 250 caps and 42 goals.
Field hockey in India refers to two teams, the India men's national field hockey team and the India women's national field hockey team.
Adrian Albert D'souza is an Indian field hockey goalkeeper, who made his international debut for the men's national team in January 2004 during the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Adrian has more than 100 International Caps for his country in all competitions. He has played in all major field hockey tournaments, including the 2006 Hockey World Cup, 2006 Asian Games, 2007 Asia Cup and 2 Champions Trophies. Regarded as one of the most innovative and daring goal-keepers of recent times, Adrian brought the rushing technique to the hockey field. Adrian has competed in 3/4 major international hockey events : the Olympics, World Cup, and Asian Games with a total of 165 caps for his country.
The India men's national field hockey team represents India in international field hockey competitions, and is governed by Hockey India. The team was formerly under the control of Indian Hockey Federation. India was the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation. In 1928, the team won its first Olympic gold medal and until 1960, the Indian men's team remained unbeaten in the Olympics, winning six gold medals in a row. The team had a 30–0 winning streak during this time, from their first game in 1928 until the 1960 gold medal final which they lost. India also won the World Cup in 1975. India's hockey team is the most successful team ever in the Olympics, having won a total of eight gold medals – in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964 and 1980. India also has the best overall performance in Olympic history with 83 victories out of the 134 matches played. They have also scored more goals in the Olympics than any other team. They are also the only team ever to win the Olympics without conceding a single goal, having done so in 1928 and 1956.
The Pakistan national field hockey team represents Pakistan in international field hockey. Having played its first match in 1948, it is administered by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), the governing body for hockey in Pakistan. It has been a member of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) since 1948 and was founding member of the Asian Hockey Federation (ASHF), which was formed in 1958. Pakistan is one of the most successful national field hockey teams in the world with a record four Hockey World Cup wins.
Dilip Tirkey, is a former Indian field hockey player, politician and sports administrator. His former playing position was of full back. He was best known for his penalty corner hit. Dilip was one of the most difficult defenders to beat in the world and was known as "The Wall of Indian Hockey" He was an ex-captain of Indian hockey team. The first and only Hockey player from India to play more than 400 international matches Dilip Tirkey was the Former Captain of the Indian Hockey Team. Having played 412 international matches for India, Dilip Tirkey has represented India in 3 Olympic Games & was Captain of the Indian Hockey Team at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens. Under his captaincy, India clinched gold medal at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in the Final. The First-ever Tribal to receive Padma Shri Award, Dilip Tirkey is a former Member of Parliament of India in Rajya Sabha, former Chairman of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC), Chairman of Odisha Hockey Promotion Council & Hockey Odisha's ad-hoc committee. In September 2022, he became President of Hockey India. On 22 March 2012, he was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha as one of the three Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidates to the Upper House of Indian Parliament. Previously, Dilip Tirkey was working as chairman of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC), now he is working as the chairman of Odisha Hockey Promotion Council. In September 2022, he was elected unopposed to the position of the president of Hockey India. He is the first ever international hockey player to become President of Hockey India Dilip Tirkey Sports Research Development Foundation short and abbreviated as DTSRD is an initiative of Padma Shri Dilip Tirkey. DTSRD has its registered office in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Dibakar Parichha serves as the Secretary-General of DTSRD while Prime Abhilas is the Managing Director of DTSRD. The Founder – President of DTSRD is Dilip Tirkey
Jude Menezes is a former Indian field hockey goalkeeper who is currently the head coach of the Japan women's team. He also served as the goalkeeping coach of the Blacks Sticks Women's Team and the head coach of Auckland Women's Hockey Team. Jude represented India at 133 international matches, prominent among them the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, 1998 Hockey World Cup at Utrecht, Holland and 2002 World Cup at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He moved to New Zealand in 2002 and is coaching field hockey teams at the highest level.
Alyson Regina Annan is an Australian field hockey coach and retired field hockey player, who earned a total number of 228 international caps for the Women's National Team, in which she scored 166 goals. Until January 2022, Annan was the head coach of the Netherlands women's national field hockey team; she led the team to a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil and a gold medal at 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as well as gold medals at the 2017 and the 2021 Women's EuroHockey Nations Championship in The Netherlands. During 2013 Annan gained the prestigious award of becoming a member of Sport Australia Hall of Fame.She is currently head coach of the China Women's National team.
Association football is the most popular sport in almost all Asian countries. Cricket is the second most popular sport in Asia, and is most popular in South Asia. Other popular sports in Asia include baseball, basketball, badminton and table tennis among others. There are also some traditional sports that are popular in certain regions of Asia, such as the traditional South Asian sports of kabaddi and kho-kho. Top sporting nations/regions in Asia include China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Islahuddin Siddique, also spelled Islah-ud-Din Siddiqui, is a field hockey player from Pakistan. He was born in Meerut, India.
J.M. (Joaquim) Carvalho is an Indian former field hockey player, Olympian, captain of Indian Hockey Team, and Men's National Team coach. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Sport is a significant part of life in India. The country has a very long sports history, with sports being a part of tradition, culture, finance and entertainment. People in India closely follow various sports and enthusiastically participate in them. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport in the country, and citizens often play it as a recreational activity; it generates the highest television viewership, and features full-capacity audiences in stadiums during international and Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. It is part of popular culture. However, in more recent decades, football has also become another popular sport in terms of broadcast viewership and stadium audience attendance. Kabaddi has grown into the mainstream, as well as badminton, tennis, and athletics. Kho-kho has grown into becoming the fourth-most viewed sport in India. India are the one of the power houses in field hockey. India won World Cup & multiple medals in field hockey in Olympics. During that time, Dhyan Chand was a notable player. Sports such as swimming and badminton are played as recreational activities and for exercise.
Rani Rampal is an Indian field hockey player. At the age of 15, she was the youngest player in the national team which participated in the 2010 World Cup. She has completed her schooling but was not able to get the graduate degree due to practice sessions and matches which were lined up. She plays forward on her team. She has played 212 international matches and scored 134 goals. She is currently the Captain for Indian Women's Hockey Team. She is also well known as a striker who often doubles up as mid-fielder. She has a great fascination with CWG. In 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri.
Jamie Dwyer is an Australian field hockey player. He currently plays for YMCC Coastal City Hockey Club in the Melville Toyota League in Perth, Western Australia. He also played for the Queensland Blades in the Australian Hockey League. He debuted for Australia as a junior player in 1995, and for the senior side in 2001. He has played over 350 matches for Australia and scored over 220 goals. He has represented Australia at the 2004 Summer Olympics where he won a gold medal and the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics where Australia won bronze medals. He has also represented Australia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games where he won a gold medal and the 2010 Commonwealth Games where he also won gold. He has won silver medals at the 2002 Men's Hockey World Cup and the 2006 Men's Hockey World Cup. He won a gold medal at the 2010 Men's Hockey World Cup and the 2014 Men's Hockey World Cup. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
Jagbir Singh the former Indian field hockey Centre Forward represented India in two Olympics, 1990 World Cup and was a leading light of the Indian team in all the major tournaments, for a decade, from 1985–95, including two Asian Games, the 1989 Asia Cup & Champions trophy.
Manpreet Singh Pawar is an Indian field hockey player. He led the Indian field hockey team to the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He plays as a halfback.
Balbir Singh Dosanjh was an Indian hockey player and coach. He was a three-time Olympic gold medallist, having played a key role in India's wins in London (1948), Helsinki (1952), and Melbourne (1956) Olympics. He is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time, a modern-day Dhyan Chand, a legend of the sport, and is widely regarded as the sport's greatest ever centre-forward. His Olympic record for most goals scored by an individual in an Olympic men's hockey final remains unbeaten. Singh set this record when he scored five goals in India's 6–1 victory over the Netherlands in the gold medal game of the 1952 Olympic Games. He was often called Balbir Singh Senior to distinguish him from other Indian hockey players named Balbir Singh. Singh scored 246 goals from just 61 international caps
Anil Alexander Aldrin is a player of the Indian Men's National field hockey team. His family hailed from Kerala in a place named Murukanpuzha in Trivandrum. He played as a defender for India from 1992 to 1999 and captained the country during his last years in 1999. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics at Atlanta. He also played in the Asian Games in 1994 and 1998, winning the gold in his second appearance at Bangkok, and he represented India in Champions Trophy in 1995 and 1996 at home in Madras. He also played two World Cups in 1994 in Sydney and under coach Vasudevan Baskaran in 1998 at Utrecht, the Netherlands. He serves as the Sports Director at Vidyashilp Academy, Bengaluru, India.
