Here at the ESPN daily blog, we bring you all the news from the dynamic world of Indian sports: a one-stop shop for everything to do with the wide variety of Olympic sports and franchise leagues.
February has plenty of prominent events taking place – which you can find listed out in ESPN India’s sporting calendar.
FIH Pro League: Netherlands beat India 4-2 in shootout
India fell to a shootout defeat against the Netherlands in the FIH Pro League, at the Birsa Munda International Stadium in Rourkela on Wednesday. The Netherlands took the lead in the fifth minute of the game, but India managed to find an answer towards the end of the third quarter, through Hardik Singh.
Both sides had a point from the regulation 60 minutes, but the Netherlands got themselves the bonus point in the shootout, as Shamsher Singh and Sukhjeet Singh proved unsuccessful for the hosts.
ISL: NorthEast United stun FC Goa
FC Goa suffered a blow in their race for the ISL league shield, as they fell to a second consecutive home loss, losing 2-0 to NorthEast United at Fatorda. Tomi Juric opened the scoring for NorthEast in the 69th minute with a penalty, before an 80th minute own goal from Odei Onaindia put the game beyond Goa.
Goa are now 4th in the standings, with 28 points from 14 games, the same tally as Mumbai City FC who are third. Mohun Bagan Super Giant, with 29 points from 14 games are second, while Odisha FC remain top with 31 points in 15 games.
PKL: Puneri Paltan finish top of league stages; Bengaluru Bulls beat Haryana Steelers
The curtain came down on the league phase of PKL S10 with two close games in Panchkula on Wednesday, as Puneri Paltan confirmed their spot at the top of the standings, with a come-from-behind 40-38 win over UP Yoddhas, who finished second from bottom after 22 games.
In the other game of the day, a much-changed Haryana Steelers side went down to the Bengaluru Bulls who finished their campaign on a high with a 53-39 win.
In the playoffs, Puneri Paltan and Jaipur Pink Panthers have qualified straight for the semifinals. Dabang Delhi will face Patna Pirates, and Haryana Steelers will face Gujarat Giants for a spot in the semifinals, which will begin in Hyderabad on January 26.
Turkish Women’s Cup Football: India beat Estonia 4-3
A brace from Manisha Kalyan inspired India to a 4-3 win over Estonia in coach Chaoba Devi’s first game in charge of the senior women’s national team. India’s first three points at the Turkish Women’s Cup was confirmed by further goals from Indumathi Kathiresan and Pyari Xaxa, in a game that they had to fight late on, after Estonia closed the lead down from 4-1 to 4-3 in the last ten minutes.
Table Tennis: Indian women lose to Chinese Taipei; men lose to South Korea in round of 16
Manika Batra won the first match of the tie to give India hope, but losses for Sreeja Akula, Ayhika Mukherjee and then Manika ensured that the Indian women’s team have to wait to confirm their ticket to the Paris Olympics, after a loss to Chinese Taipei in the Round of 16 of the World Team Championships in Busan, South Korea, on Wednesday.
Similarly, the men’s team also lost in the round of 16 to South Korea, going down 3-0, after losses for Harmeet Desai, Achanta Sharath Kamal, and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran.
What’s on today?
Hockey: Indian men’s team continue their Pro League campaign as they take on Netherlands in Rourkela. Match starts at 7.30 pm.
Football: The Indian women’s national team play Estonia in the Turkish Women’s Cup. In ISL, FC Goa take on NorthEast United. Match starts at 7.30 pm.
Kabaddi: In PKL, Puneri Paltan will be up against U.P. Yoddhas and later Haryana Steelers will face Bengaluru Bulls. First match starts at 8 pm.
Volleyball: In PVL, Bengaluru Torpedos are up against Mumbai Meteors. Match starts at 6.30 pm.
What happened yesterday?
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Table tennis: Indian men, women progress to knock-out phase of World TT Championships.
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PVL: Chennai Blitz secure dominant win over Kochi Blue Spikers.
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PKL: Pawan Sehrawat’s brilliant 4-point Super Raid steers Telugu Titans to thrilling tie with U Mumba.
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Tennis: Nagal, Ramanathan advance to pre-quarterfinals in Pune ATP Challenger.
You can check all the details of yesterday’s news events here
