Rotterdam: An error-prone India need nothing short of a miracle to secure a direct berth in next year's hockey World Cup as they take on formidable Australia in the quarterfinals of the men's competition of the FIH World Round 3, here on Wednesday.
Six top teams - three each - will qualify directly for the 2014 World Cup to be held in Hague, The Netherlands from the two editions of FIH World League Round 3 - the ongoing event in Rotterdam and then the next one to be held in Malaysia from June 29 to July 7.
But for India it is now looking extremely difficult to be among one of those six teams as in the last eight round world ranked second Australia await them, a side against whom the Indians hold a poor record in the recent past.
India, however, could take heart from the fact that they put up a much-improved performance to eke out a fighting 3-3 draw against higher-ranked New Zealand in their last match to finish third in Pool B with two points....
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02:51 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Indian defence once again buckled under pressure to conceded soft goals and go down 0-2 to a dominating Netherlands side. India proved to be no match to the Dutch team that was relentless in attack and scored early through Billy Bakker (2nd minute) and Jeroen Hertzberger (18th). The win took Netherlands to 4 points while India, who next take on New Zealand on Monday, have 1. ...
07:32 PM, Jun 15, 2013
Rotterdam: Held to a draw by lower-ranked Ireland in their FIH World League Round 3 opener, the Indian men's hockey team will have to regroup quickly and come up with something special against formidable Netherlands in their next Pool B match here on Saturday. Ranked four places ahead of their rivals, India (11) started as overwhelming favourites against Ireland (15) on Thursday, but it didn't really show in their game...
02:38 PM, Jun 14, 2013
A spiriting Ireland outfit held India to a 4-4 draw in the opening match of the FIH Hockey World League Round 3, which also doubles up as the World Cup qualifier, at Rotterdam on Thursday. Rupinderpal Singh (40th and 65th) scored two goals for India off penalty corners, with Shivendra Singh (47th) and Akashdeep Singh (22nd) being the other two marksmen. For Ireland, Alan Sothern (25th), Peter Caruth (30th), Conor...
06:26 PM, Jun 13, 2013
Competitive training in Europe, anti-corruption education, experience of playing without seniors and fitness to match the best - Indian men's hockey team couldn't have asked for better all-round preparation to launch their quest to qualify for the 2014 FIH World Cup. The key to unlock the World Cup door lies with the FIH Hockey World League (HWL), where six top finishers from the two eight-team semi-finals will gain entry to...
01:45 PM, Jun 12, 2013
New Delhi: An 18-member Indian women's hockey team Saturday left for Rotterdam to prepare itself for the FIH Hockey World League Round-3 (semi-finals) to be held from June 13-23 this year. The Indian women will play five matches at Rotterdam, including one against Dutch national side and four against club teams, from April 22-29. The Indian team has qualified for the FIH World League Round-3 (Semi-finals), to be held at...
05:00 PM, Apr 20, 2013
Roger Federer cruised past Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 6-3 6-4 in the second round of the World Indoor Tournament. ...
08:30 AM, Feb 15, 2013
Federer, a two-time winner at the indoor hard court tournament in Rotterdam, beat Grega Zemlja 6-3, 6-1. ...
03:43 AM, Feb 14, 2013
Rotterdam: Roger Federer dismissed third-seeded Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday to win the ABN Amro World Tennis for his first title of the year. The top-seeded Federer jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set as Del Potro made an uncharacteristically error-prone start. The Argentine, who beat Federer in the 2009 US Open final, took a 2-1 lead in the second set before the Swiss...
10:31 PM, Feb 19, 2012
Rotterdam: Roger Federer extended his perfect record against Jarkko Nieminen to 13-0 as he reached the semi-finals of the ABN Amro World Tennis on Friday. The top-seeded Federer did not face a single break point as he won 7-5, 7-6 (2) for a 13th straight win over Nieminen of Finland in matches stretching back to 2002. The No. 3-ranked Swiss will face Nikolay Davydenko, who dispatched fifth-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet...
05:08 PM, Feb 18, 2012
Rotterdam: Second-seeded Tomas Berdych advanced to the quarter-finals of the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament on Thursday when Marcos Baghdatis retired with a leg injury in the fourth game. Also, third-seeded Juan Martin del Potro fired nine aces to advance with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Karol Beck of Slovakia. Baghdatis was injured in the opening games as Berdych raced to a 3-0 lead. A trainer strapped Baghdatis' calf and...
12:59 PM, Feb 17, 2012
Rotterdam: Top-seeded Roger Federer easily beat Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-4 in the first round on Wednesday to sail straight into the quarter-finals of the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament. Federer's second-round opponent Mikhail Youzhny withdrew with a foot injury, giving the Swiss star a place in the last-eight. The 16-time Grand Slam winner next meets Jarkko Nieminen, who overcame Lukasz Kubot 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (2). Federer is making his first...
01:08 PM, Feb 16, 2012
Rotterdam, Netherlands: Paul-Henri Mathieu fought back from a set down on Monday to upset fourth-seeded Feliciano Lopez 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the opening round of the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament. Sixth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine also went out in the first round, losing 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2 to Lukasz Kubot of Poland. Mathieu, ranked 733 in the world after missing the entire 2011 season with a knee injury,...
04:36 PM, Feb 14, 2012
Rotterdam, Netherlands: Roger Federer says he was misunderstood and he did not blame Switzerland teammate Stanislas Wawrinka for their Davis Cup loss to the United States. In comments translated from French, Federer appeared to criticize Wawrinka's performances in the 5-0 first-round whitewash at the weekend. But speaking at a pre-tournament news conference on Monday at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Federer said there was no rift with...
04:34 PM, Feb 14, 2012
New Delhi: Over the years, Hollwood has had its share of thrilling smuggling heists. Contraband is not one of the better ones. At best, it is mildly exciting, but not the least bit thrilling. The film is a remake of the 2008 Icelandic film Reykjavik-Rotterdam, directed by Baltasar Kormakur. Contraband stars Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Caleb Landry Jones as Andy, Ben Foster and Giovanni Ribisi. Mark Wahlberg plays the role...
04:35 PM, Jan 28, 2012
Lahore: Despite all the criticism heaped on Ijaz Butt for his decision to remove Shahid Afridi as captain of the ODI team, there is no possibility of his being sacked as Chairman of the Pakistan cricket Board in the near future. Well-placed sources in the PCB and in the ministry of sports told PTI that Butt would complete his three-year tenure as board chairman that ends in October this year....
12:03 AM, Jan 31, 2008
Aishwarya Rai's lawyer Girish Kulkarni on Monday alleged that her client was being maligned. ...
01:22 AM, Dec 12, 2006
