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Two players and three support staff members of the Indian Men’s Hockey team have tested positive for Covid-19. Hockey India released a statement on Thursday stating that the five returned positive for the RTPCR tests that were conducted on Wednesday morning. It was further added that they showed mild symptoms and have been isolated from the rest of the group. No names were disclosed in the statement. Read More
India on Monday named a full-strength 18-member senior men’s hockey squad for the Commonwealth Games with Manpreet Singh returning as captain and drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh as his deputy. Hockey India (HI) had initially decided to send a second-string team to the CWG due to the short turnaround time between the Birmingham event and the Hangzhou Asian Games, which is a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Read More
Tributes are pouring in for Fred Sasakamoose, who died Tuesday at age 86 after being hospitalized with COVID-19. Sasakamoose was one of the first Indigenous athletes to play in the National Hockey League. “We are at a loss today. Fred Sasakamoose was a legend with humble beginnings. He will be dearly missed,” the Federation of Saskatchewan Indigenous Nations tweeted. “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Fred Sasakamoose. Fred holds a special place in the history of our great game,” tweeted Hockey Canada’s Tom Renney. Brigette Lacquette, the first First Nations woman to play for the Canadian women’s Olympic hockey team, said Sasakamoose paved the way for Indigenous players across the continent. “His story is just simply amazing and to have that perseverance and determination to get to where he [did] … it’s pretty crazy to think what he has overcome,” said Lacquette, who grew up in Dauphin and whose mother is from the Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan. “He’s a very humble man, soft spoken, and could really make you feel like you’ve known him your whole life. [He] was just an amazing person and someone that I’m very glad that…
The Champions Hockey League, one of Europe’s leading ice hockey competitions, canceled its 2020-21 season Tuesday because of the coronavirus pandemic. The CHL was due to begin next month in an already shortened format with a knockout bracket and no round-robin. League CEO Martin Baumann said the board decided Tuesday to cancel because of quarantine rules for international travelers and the recent rise in coronavirus cases across Europe. “Travel restrictions between participating countries were a big issue and even if many of them could have been potentially solved by receiving special permits from authorities, a lot of uncertainty and risks remained — especially as the epidemiological situation across Europe is currently worsening from day to day,” he said in a statement. “As of today, I’m convinced that we’ll be back in 2021-22 better than ever. But of course, no one can tell what COVID-19 brings. If the pandemic still affects ice hockey and the global economics a year from now, not only the CHL will be facing serious problems,” he said. Baumann said that as many as 12 first-round matchups could have been disrupted by travel restrictions. European soccer has forged ahead with its Champions…
It always had to come back to San Jose. Patrick Marleau spent the first 19 seasons of his NHL career with the Sharks and now the veteran forward returns for a third and likely final stint with the franchise. As a team, the stakes are low – San Jose is in a rebuilding trough right now – but for the individual, history is on the horizon: Marleau is just 45 games shy of breaking Gordie Howe’s record for games played in the NHL, a mark that currently stands at 1,767. While Marleau has spent the past couple of seasons chasing that elusive Stanley Cup (first with Toronto, then with Pittsburgh), now he returns home to Northern California to cement a legacy that is sterling, with or without a championship. “I still love playing,” said the 41-year-old Marleau. “I still love the competition and going after my dream of winning the Stanley Cup. As far as the record, you never know what can happen. But if it does happen, it would be something special, that’s for sure. And Gordie being from Saskatchewan, my home province, it would be a cool connection with him.” This is Marleau’s…
Thursday’s decision by NHL players to put games on hold was undoubtedly a significant moment for the sport. “It was a big moment for hockey, a big moment for society,” retired NHLer Joel Ward told Hockey Central on Friday when asked about his peers’ announcement on Thursday to press pause on the playoffs and stand with the rest of the sporting world in solidarity against racial injustice. As a founding member of the recently formed Hockey Diversity Alliance, Ward played a crucial role in the player-led postponement of Thursday’s and Friday’s games. Members of the HDA posted public calls to action directed at the NHL to join their pro sports peers across the NBA, WNBA, MLS, MLB, NFL and professional tennis to halt operations in a widespread demand for change. “For us, obviously hockey’s a different demographic from other sports and we thought it was a good opportunity for hockey to really step up,” Ward said. “We wanted to show solidarity. This is an important issue going on in society. People are dying — Black and people of colour are dying on the regular. Everybody sees it, and nobody’s doing anything about it. Everybody’s just…
Instructed by head coach Graham Reid, Indian hockey players went through the nation’s rich history at the Olympic Games during the two-week mandatory quarantine period at the national camp in Bengaluru. Indian hockey boasts of an unparalleled record of eight Olympic gold medals, six of which were consecutively won over three decades. Coach Reid reckoned revisiting them was a good way to revitalise his players’ spirit ahead of the Tokyo Games next year. “During the last two weeks, we learnt about India’s extraordinary Olympic history,” Graham Reid told Hockey India. “The players’ job was to study a number of Olympic stories and present to the group their individual learnings and what can we use as a team going forward,” Reid explained. After a month-long break, the core group of Indian hockey players has now resumed training for a long away season ahead of the Olympic Games next year. “We will be using these next few weeks to work on everyone’s development plan and focus on skill development while we can improve their aerobic base,” Reid said. “I reminded the players that every action and decision we make will help us to either get closer to…
But sports have taken a backseat in light of the global pandemic and anti-racism protests spurred on by the unjust shootings and deaths of Black people at the hands of police in 2020. It has led to some intense conversations at home between my dad and I, along with my mom and my siblings. We’ve even discussed what we feel athletes and leagues can do to be proactive and take action during this weird time. Ultimately, whatever had to be done would have to affect the pocketbook of those who truly carry the most influence on lawmakers and professional sports owners. Athletes like LeBron James would have to be at the forefront of change for their respective sport. But whenever the NHL comes up in conversation, my dad usually scoffs. The NHL? The last bastion for white people in sport? They’ve proven to be behind the eight-ball in their treatment of Black players in the past, so why should they be taken seriously with their attempts at supporting Black Lives Matter? Do they even care? I am thankful to cover the sport as part of my living, while also enjoying games as a general fan.…
Hockey India’s high-performance director David John has resigned, just days after his contract was renewed by the sports ministry until September 2021. It is learnt that the federation has accepted the Australian’s resignation but the Sports Authority of India, his employers on paper, are yet to respond. It is learned that John has cited personal and health issues as reasons to return to Australia. But according to those in the know, John put in his papers after he was asked to report to the Hockey India office in Delhi every day as well as make trips to training centers around the country in the middle of the pandemic. When asked about John’s resignation as well as the reasons for it, Hockey India said, “no comments.” John did not respond to text messages. John, who was employed at a monthly salary of $12,000, has been working from home in New Delhi since the beginning of the lockdown in March. In May, Hockey India’s office had to be shut down after two staffers tested positive for the coronavirus. “David was not comfortable to travel to the office and other cities in the country as it posed health…
Hockey India’s long-standing High Performance Director David John has resigned from his post, days after his contract was renewed by the Sports Authority of India, apparently because of differences with the national federation’s top brass. Recently, John’s contract was renewed by the SAI till September 2021 but the Australian preferred to resign, claiming that he was being sidelined by HI for a long time. According to sources, John cited personal reasons behind his decision in his resignation letter to HI and SAI, submitted two days back. While sources said that HI has accepted the resignation letter, his official employer SAI is yet to take a call on the matter. “David was feeling frustrated for a long time after Hockey India had apparently sidelined him. He was being ignored from being a part of important team decisions by Hockey India top brass,” a source close to the development told PTI. “David was no more involved in team decisions and was only occupied with taking online classes for coaches and players, a thing which didn’t go down well with him. “The five-month break because of the COVID-19 pandemic was the trigger behind his decision,” he added. Read…