Overview
- An exhibition game in New Delhi saw the Sports Minister’s XI beat Hockey India’s XI 3–1, with goals from Beauty Dungdung, Salima Tete and Krishna Pathak, while Manpreet Singh scored for the HI side.
- Hockey India launched the commemorative book ‘100 Years of Indian Hockey’, honoured legends including Gurbux Singh and Ashok Kumar, and opened a photo exhibition tracing the sport’s journey.
- A Nationwide Hockey Festival unfolded across roughly 500 districts with more than 36,000 players taking part in over 1,000 exhibition matches.
- Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya vowed continued government support as FIH president Dato Tayyab Ikram hailed India’s contribution to global hockey and recent Olympic resurgence.
- The Junior World Cup trophy was unveiled to start a 20-city tour as veterans in cities such as Pune and Mumbai urged stronger grassroots investment to rebuild participation.