Current Affairs - Hockey

The 12th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2022 was held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh from 06 Apr, 2022 - 17 Apr, 2022.

• In the final, Haryana beat Tamil Nadu 3-1 via penalties to win the title.
• Haryana won the trophy for the first time since 2011.

• The Netherlands lifted their fourth FIH Junior Women's Hockey World Cup title after beating Germany in the final at Potchefstroom, South Africa.
• England defeated India 3-0 in the shoot-out after a 2-2 draw to claim the bronze medal in the third-place match.

• Indian Railways’ men Hockey team won the prestigious Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup held at Bhopal (MP) from 21.03.2022 to 27.03.2022.
• In the final, Railways team beat Army XI.
• Started in year 1931 as Obaidullah Gold Cup, the prestigious tournament carried on for decades and has produced many international players during its journey.
• It was last played in year 2016 and was organized after a gap of six years this year.
• Last time, in the year 2016, the tournament was won by BPCL and Railways team was runners up.

• The 2022 Women's Hockey Asia Cup was held from 21 to 28 January 2022 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Oman.
• Japan won their third title after a final win over South Korea.
• India was the defending champions but it secured the third place after beating China.
• With that win, India has also sealed a spot for the 2022 FIH Women's Hockey World Cup to be co-hosted by Spain and Netherlands later this year.

Rule 4.2

Defenders can keep wearing Protective Face Gear within 23m Area

• To make the sport safer for its athletes, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has allowed players defending penalty corners to keep their protective equipment on even after the ball goes outside the striking circle, but must remove them at the first opportunity inside the 23m area.
• Earlier, the players defending penalty corners were bound to remove their protective equipment immediately inside the circle once the flick was executed.
  • It was trialled in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar in December 2021, and received unanimous support from coaches, athletes and officials.

Rule 9.10

Aerial Balls

• Previously, intercepting a falling aerial ball was considered to be illegitimate but now the FIH has granted relaxation to players in this regard.
• Rule 9.10 was changed to allow for the playing of what is commonly referred to as Aerial Balls. The previous text did not cover for the possibility for players to safely intercept a falling ball, which is now seen as both legitimate and positive to the development of the game.

Implementation

• The FIH Rules of Hockey have come into effect from January 1 at the international level.
• National Associations have discretion to decide the date of their implementation at National level, based on their domestic seasons.

• Women’s Hockey Asia Cup 2022 will be held in Muscat, Oman from January 21-28, 2022.
• The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand but moved to Muscat, Oman.
• Goalkeeper Savita Punia will captain an 18-member Indian squad and Defender Deep Grace Ekka will be the vice-captain.
• Indian women are the defending champions at the continental event.
• The Indian women’s hockey team features 16 players who were part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where the Indian eves finished fourth.
• Regular skipper Rani Rampal will miss out as she is undergoing rehabilitation for a hamstring injury.
• China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand are the seven other teams competing at the Women’s Hockey Asia Cup 2022.
• India are drawn in Pool A with Japan, Malaysia and Singapore and will begin their campaign against Malaysia on January 21.
• The top four countries will qualify for the Women’s Hockey World Cup 2022 to be held in Spain and the Netherlands later this year.

Argentina won the 2021 Men's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, from 24 November to 5 December 2021.

• It was Argentina’s second title. France secured third place.
• India was the defending champions but lost to Germany in the semifinals.

Awards

• Player of the Tournament:Timothée Clément (France)
• Goalkeeper of the Tournament: Anton Brinckman (Germany)
• Top Goal Scorer: Miles Bukkens (Netherlands)
• Fair Play Award: Chile

India men's hockey team defeated Germany (5-4) to win the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

• This is India's first Olympic medal in hockey since they won the gold medal in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
• This is India's fourth bronze medal at the Olympics. They last won a bronze in the 1972 Munich Olympics.
• India is the most successful team at the Olympics in men's hockey with eight gold medals.
• It was a good journey for India men's hockey team in Tokyo Olympics, defeating New Zealand 3-2 in their opening group game, and then picking up wins over Germany (2-0), Spain (3-1), Argentina (3-1), and Japan (5-3) in the group matches. Barring the 7-1 defeat against Australia, and the 5-2 loss in the semifinal to the World Champions Belgium, India won all their games in Tokyo.
• Olympics Gold and Silver were won by Belgium and Australia respectively.

Women’s Hockey: Indian Team First from Country to Play Semifinal

• Indian women have done themselves and India proud with a valiant effort at the Tokyo Olympics.
• Captained by Rani Rampal, the team lost the Hockey Bronze Medal match 3-4 to the Rio Olympic champions at the Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo.
• At Tokyo Olympics, Indian Hockey team became the first women’s hockey team from the country to make it to the semi-final in Olympics.
• While Bronze was won by Great Britain, final match for Gold and Silver will be played between the Netherlands and Argentina.

• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Hockey India has announced the nomination of Indian men’s hockey team goalkeeper P. R. Sreejesh and former India women’s hockey team player Deepika for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
• Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement: For the Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement, Hockey India has recommended former India stalwarts R.P. Singh and Chingshubam Sanggai Ibemhal.
• Dronacharya Award: Coaches B.J. Kariappa and C.R. Kumar have been nominated for the Dronacharya Award.

• Hockey India has named midfielder Manpreet Singh as captain of the 16-member Olympic-bound men’s hockey team. This will be Manpreet’s third Olympics.
• Experienced defenders, Birendra Lakra and Harmanpreet Singh, were named vice-captains.
• Under Manpreet’s captaincy, the Indian team won the Asia Cup in 2017, the Asian Champions Trophy in 2018 and the FIH Series Final in 2019.
• India will begin their campaign in Tokyo on July 24 when they take on New Zealand in their first Pool stage match.