Hindu hardliner and Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath, who is now the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, minces no words when it comes to speaking his mind. Often, he has sparked off controversies with his comments on several issues. He has been often accused of making hate speeches and communalising issues.

Here are some of the controversial comments Adityanath made in the past:

1."Those who oppose Surya Namaskar should be prepared to leave India"

While participating in a ceremony at a temple in Varanasi in 2015, Yogi said that people who oppose yoga and ‘surya namaskar’ should either leave India or drown themselves in the ocean. He was speaking about the importance and history of yoga when he made the remark.

2."Mother Teresa was part of the conspiracy to Christianise India"

Speaking at a religious meeting at Basti in UP on June 21, 2016, Adityanath accused Mother Teresa of religious conversion and said,"Mother Teresa was part of a conspiracy to convert Hindus to Christianity. Hindus were targeted in the name of doing service and then converted by her. Incidents of Christianisation had led to separatist movements in parts of Northeast, including Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland."

3.“If they take one Hindu girl, we will take 100 Muslims girls”

The Hindu hardliner in a YouTube video message on August 27, 2014, made a controversial statement. He said that if they take one Hindu girl, we will take 100 Muslim girls. The statement had drawn criticism from many intellectuals and raised many people's eyebrows.

4."I will not stop till I turn UP and India into a Hindu rashtra"

Always known for making pro-Hindu statements, Adityanath made this controversial statement while addressing a gathering at Etah in UP in 2005.

5.“Shah Rukh Khan should remember that if the society boycotts his films, he will also have to wander in the streets like a normal Muslim"

The controversial BJP leader on November 4, 2015, compared Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan with Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed in response to a comment by the actor on intolerance. He said, “Shah Rukh Khan should remember that if the society boycotts his films, he will also have to wander in the streets like a normal Muslim….I am saying these people are speaking in terrorist’ language. I think there is no difference between the language of Shah Rukh Khan and Hafiz Saeed.”

In a strong move against the assault on one of their staffers by a passenger on Thursday, Air India (AI) has decided to prepare a ‘no-fly’ list of unruly passengers.

AI plans to release a list of undisciplined passengers and take stringent action against them for their defiant behaviour, sources said.

An AI staff member was allegedly assaulted on Thursday with slippers by Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad over seat issue, the sources said, adding that the MP allegedly hit the staffer for denying a business class seat.

"I had paid for a business class ticket. I have complained several times but no action has been taken. So, this time I lost my cool,” Gaikwad told media persons in New Delhi.

Accusing the AI staffer for misbehaving with him, Gaikwad, the first time MP from Maharashtra’s Osmanabad, admitted to hitting the staffer.

 “Haan maine usko maara tha, usne badtameezi ki thi (Yes, I hit him as he had misbehaved with me),” he added.

The AI staffer accused Gaikwad of using 'bad words' and 'humiliating' him in front of his crew members.

"R Gaikwad hit me, he used bad words and not only did he broke my spectacles but humiliated me in front of the whole crew," the victim said.

AI has lodged two FIRs against the MP – one, for assaulting their staff member and the other, for forcibly holding the flight and delaying it for 40 minutes.

In what is seen as a step that will affect Indian and other expatriates working illegally in the kingdom, Saudi Arabia has announced a 90-day grace period for illegal residents to return to their countries without facing any kind of penalties. The initiative is part of the oil-rich kingdom's 'A Nation without Violators’ campaign that was launched on Sunday by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif.

Prince Naif, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, called on violators to avail the opportunity during the amnesty period of 90 days beginning 29 March. If violators of residency and labour regulations take the opportunity to depart the country voluntarily, they will have the right to return to work legally.

During the grace period, those with expired residency permits or those who have switched jobs illegally can rectify their status or leave the country without paying any penalty.

It is after three years that the kingdom has announced the amnesty scheme for illegal workers. In 2013, more than 2.5 million visa violators had left the kingdom. Among them were about 1.5 lakh Indians. Another one lakh Indians rectified their visa status and remained in the kingdom. There are nearly four million Indian workers in the kingdom, constituting the largest expatriate community.

Sources here said New Delhi was hopeful that the step initiated by the Saudi government would not lead to large-scale job cuts of Indians working in the kingdom.

The Saudi authorities are believed to have conveyed to foreign governments that the amnesty scheme was part of their attempts to regularise the job market. Saudi law clearly states that expatriates should work only under an Arab sponsor that brought them to the kingdom and engage only in the profession mentioned in their documents. In recent years, however, they claim they have detected many cases in which Indian and other expatriates come to the kingdom for a specific job but move on to take another to make more money, making their stay in the country illegal.

South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock's participation in the upcoming Indian Premier League was today thrown into jeopardy as he would require 4-6 weeks to recover from a finger injury that he sustained during the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington.

The 24-year-old De Kock, who has been a part of Delhi Daredevils since 2014, injured his right index finger during the second Test in Wellington that ended on March 18, with subsequent scans revealing an injury to the tendon.

“We will make a late call on his availability for the match (third Test in Hamilton) on Friday after he undergoes a fitness test with protective strapping to see if he will be able to bat or keep wicket. Either way, he is going to need a protected period of recovery which will take between 4-6 weeks. In the long-term, there is every likelihood of him missing out on the IPL because of the expected recovery time,” Proteas team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said.

“Being a wicket-keeper, every time he catches the ball there is strain on the finger and it makes it difficult to allow for sufficient time to recover. If he does not have the 4-6 weeks' recovery time, further activity could aggravate the injury and it could even jeopardise his participation in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy and the full tour to England,” Moosajee said in a Cricket South Africa statement.

Moosajee said a scan done in Hamilton on Wednesday revealed tendon damage to the last digit of the index finger.

“Quinton sustained an injury to his right index finger during the last Test match in Wellington. At the time, we had an x-ray done to exclude a fracture, and thankfully that was clear. However, he still complained of pain and discomfort in the finger so we had a scan done in Hamilton on Wednesday which revealed tendon damage to the last digit of the index finger.”

In case de Kock decides to give IPL-10, starting April 5 a miss, it will be a big blow for Delhi Daredevils as another South Africa batsman JP Duminy had three days back pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons.

Duminy led Delhi Daredevils in the 2015 edition. He had been a regular with the Delhi Daredevils squad since 2014.

Asserting that the government fully stood by its November 8 demonetisation, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said the decision was needed to "shock the shadow economy" running parallel to the country's economy.

Responding to a lengthy debate in the Rajya Sabha on the 2017-18 General Budget, the minister said that in the last seven decades, Indians have found ways and means to avoid paying taxes.

"As one goes to buy property, he is given two quotations (one with tax and another without tax)," he said, adding that this system needed to be shaken.

Jaitley also criticised the opposition, especially the Congress, for its protests against the demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, saying they "exaggerated" issues related to the ban on high-value currency notes.

"Some said new currency note of Rs 2,000 will be copied and it will lead to more crime," the minister said.

He said crime will continue as long as humanity exists and asked whether cash facilitated crime.

Announcing that the government was expecting to generate Rs 17 lakh crore through direct and indirect taxes during fiscal 2016-17, the minister said: "Only Parliament has the authority to decide how the funds would be used."

"The informal economy is being integrated into the formal one and the size of economy is increasing," he said, adding that it would help government support all welfare and developmental schemes.

Jaitley expressed happiness that the taxation base in India was increasing as more and more people were being brought under the banking system.

He appreciated the government's efforts on Goods and Services Tax and said that almost all decisions related to it vis-a-vis state governments were taken in a "very cordial manner".

Ever since she has debuted in Bollywood, Kangana Ranaut has been the talk of the town for various reasons. Sometimes it’s her acting skills that have forced critics to let their ink flow in her favor while sometimes it’s her way of throwing words at people that has taken over the center space in all the newspapers and entertainment websites.

Although her recent flick ‘Rangoon’ bombed at the box office, Kangana’s character of fearless Julia was loved by all. As strange as it might sound, all the characters that she has played on screen has borne an uncanny resemblance with her character in real life. 

Here's is looking at some of her most outrageous comments that has given just the right amount of scoop to all the news baits:

When Kangana accused Karan Johar of nepotism

The unabashed actress chose Karan Johar’s platform to take a dig at him on national television. She called him a snooty movie mafia, who is unkind to newcomers and a flag bearer of nepotism. However, the matter was blown out of proportion and Karan Johar and Kangana ended up being a war of words. Karan, opened up in a talk show about Kangana, where he said that Karan is done with Kangana playing the victim and the women card, to which she replied that she was not playing the victim card but the badass card. This debacle between the two hotshots of Bollywood also gave rise to the nepotism debate.

When Kangana gave thumbs down to working with Khans

In Karan’s show ‘Koffee with Karan’, Kangana also made a very bold statement that she doesn’t want to work with any of the Khans of Bollywood. This statement had a very severe impact on the Khans as right after she made this statement, Shah Rukh Khan who was supposed to work with Kangana on a project, refused to be a part of it.

When Kangana said there is no competition for her

In an interview to a leading magazine, Kangana said that she doesn’t consider anyone her competition in the film industry. She further added that no other actress could have played the role of Datto in ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns or taken up a project like Queen. However, this comment of hers didn’t go down well with actress Divya Dutta who said that Kangana doesn't know there is a lot of talent around.

When Kangana had a cold war with Deepika

Kangana and Deepika Padukone's cat fight is a forgotten affair now. It all started with Deepika when she skipped the screening of ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’. At an interview, when Kangana was asked what her equation with Deepika was, she blatantly said that she just wanted to be left alone. She also added that she doesn't appreciate it when people interfere in her life.
 

The online registrations at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Research and Education (PGIMER) Chandigarh are apparently finding few takers due to ignorance.
Nearly every year around 25 lakh people enlist themselves at the PGIMER for getting treatment at the New Outpatient Office (OPD), Advanced eye center OPD, Advanced Pediatrics Centre, Advanced Cardiovascular Centre, Dental Centre and De-Addiction Centre.
But ever since the launch of the online-registration two years back, only two lakh patients have registered  for the OPD even as on average over seven thousand patients come for the OPD on a daily basis from northern states including Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand. On Thursday, the number of patients attended in the OPD was 10,917. The majority of these patients stand in the long queues, sometimes many for hours, to get the registration done even as online-registration helps the job done in a few minutes.
A senior PGIMER official said online registration was not even close to 10 per cent of the total registration despite the fact that it saves patients or their relatives from standing in long queues for the registration.
For the on-line registration, a patient is required to go to the PGIMER website, fill his personal details and name of the OPD department he intends to take treatment. After this, a patient is given an online-registration number using which he or she can go to the on-line registration counter and get his registration slip within no time.
 “We are constantly telling the people to get themselves registered online for the OPD. But they fail to attempt it as they are not technological friendly,” said Dr Ritesh Aggarwal, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, who is head of the hospital computerisation project.
“By enlisting on the web, one can spare time as they need not remain in long lines, but rather then they need to sit tight for the specialist. In this way, individuals who are enrolling on the web are not getting need over others. We are trying to come up with various advertising strategies which is help in creating awareness among people,” he added.

Sufi music offers a neutral space without belonging to any particular religion at a time when the public discourse is dominated by religious nationalism, says singer Dhruv Sangari.

“When there is so much unrest in the name of religion, sect and caste in the society today, Sufism is offering a neutral space to people, which does not belong to any religion in particular,” says Sangari, who is in Delhi for a Sufi music event 'Jashn-e-Mohabbat' tomorrow.

Comparing Bhakti and Sufi movements, Sangari notes that people have forgotten “our shared heritage” and it was only music that could remind people of it.

“People don't know that early Bhakti and Sufi saints used the movements to rebel against the caste system and religious orthodoxy. It is very important to bring back that idea of a shared existence and culture.

“We are a very unique civilisation and we should celebrate it. Music is good at breaking barriers that we have created through religions and other such elements that separate us from others,” says Sangari.

Citing the example of Amir Khusrau, Sangari says the Sufi poet penned several famous songs including 'Aaj Rang Hai', which talks of Hindu festival Holi.

“Songs like 'Aaj Rang Hai' may be taken for granted today, but these were big efforts made by the great thinkers of their era to bring people of different religions together.

“And it is not entirely forgotten today. I know Muslims in Benaras who go to Hanuman temple on Tuesday, dargah on Thursday, and mosque on Friday. They are the product of that shared heritage and mixed culture,” says the singer.

While agreeing that Bollywood films and music shows are doing their part to introduce Sufi music to larger masses, he also believes that it was unfortunate that Sufi music is seen mostly as a “tool of entertainment”.

“See, Sufism and Sufi music are not for entertainment. Sufism is a path to inner purification, and when we are talking about Sufi music it is simply a mean of Sufism to reach that inner purification.

“Although it is good that Bollywood has given it a platform, it has been used as a tool of entertainment,” says Sangari.

Calling for a need of “deeper engagement”, Sangari says that cinema is such a broad medium that it can “act as a catalyst” to bring more people to appreciate the ideology.

“You cannot simply use words like Allah, Maula aur Ali and say it is Sufi music. People in Bollywood feel audience likes Sufi so let's put a Sufi song. They don't understand the meaning, they would simply want some flavour of Sufi.

“On one side we have a song 'Tere vaste mera ishq sufiyana', which is made only for entertainment, and then there is a small shot of Nizamuddin's dargah in Rockstar, which has influenced people to move towards understanding Sufi music and Sufi culture. It shows how powerful medium like cinema can act as a catalyst,” says Sangari.

Three time Rishikesh legislator, Premchand Aggarwal was unanimously elected the speaker of Uttarakhand assembly speaker in Dehradun on Thursday. BJP gave preference to 56-year-old Aggarwal, completely ignoring claim of many senior party leaders. 

Congress decided not to field any candidate for the speaker post, paving way for Premchand to get elected unopposed. BJP had to face anger of senior legislator and former state assembly speaker Harbans Kapoor support for ignoring him for the coveted post.

Premchand Aggarwal holds a post graduate degree in commerce. He began his political career from the college days to move to state politics after the formation of Uttarakhand. He contested from Rishikesh assembly seat in 2007, 2012 and 2017- registering win every time.

The first session of the Uttarakhand assembly will kick off from Friday. Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat has made Prakash Pant the parliamentary affair minister and rest of the ministers will have to wait for their portfolios for a couple of days. As two slots of cabinet ministers are presently vacant, many BJP leaders are lobbing for the remaining posts. 

The Medical Teachers' Association in Mumbai on Thursday gave an ultimatum of 48 hours to the Maharashtra government to fulfill their demands of better security at hospitals and threatened mass resignation if their demands are not met within two days.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a meeting with the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) in Mumbai requested them to withdraw their strike immediately and join their duties.

He had earlier said that the state government will take strong action against those who attack doctors and will ensure doctors' security.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday asked the agitating doctors to resume duties and urged them to give some time to the government to provide them proper security. The court asked the state government to provide security to doctors at the government hospitals so they can work without any fear. The HC will hear the matter after 15 days.

Bombay HC chief justice said in the order that no punitive action should be taken against protesting doctors once they resume their duties.

For the fourth consecutive day on Thursday, over 3,000 resident doctors continued their mass casual leave protesting against growing incidents of attacks by patients' relatives on them.

Medical services in 17 government hospitals in Maharashtra, including four in Mumbai, were severely affected because of the strike.

Thousands of patients have been deprived of medical care in the wake of protest across the state.

With the internet playing a major role in our lives, binge watching has become a trend. From short films to web-series, we wait for them and our hearts ask for more. As much as we love mainstream Bollywood, we relate to some characters in web-series as they appear to be more realistic and resemble our lives.

After a busy week, weekends are dedicated to binge watching web-series on YouTube and other channels on the web.

Here are some actors who have fan followings as big as a movie stars because we totally adore them!

Sumeet Vyas

Annoying yet cute, perfectly imperfect boyfriend Mikesh from TVF Permanent roommates makes you fall in love with the idea of being in love and Chandan, the eldest sibling from TVF Trippling with Tiago makes you feel that living life to the fullest is a necessity. The tall and handsome Sumeet Vyas is not only a good actor but a web-series writer as well. His charming smile makes him one of the most loved web-series stars in India.

Bhuvan Bam

Popular on social media, BB ki vines made this guy so famous that now he stars in web-series and TV commercials. His comic timing, peculiar accent and brilliant acting skills have earned a huge fan following.

Manvi Gagroo

Girl next door look is what makes Manvi the heartthrob of web world. From TVF Pitchers to TVF Tripling with Tiago, she is the perfect example of bold and beautiful as she plays strong characters with her spellbinding smile.

Amol Parashar

Frequently seen in TV commercials and short films, Amol has given great performance in a number of web-series. His voice is mesmerising and the variation in his performance makes him take a permanent place in the list of popular web-series stars.

Jitendra Kumar

Jeetu is the guy to whom almost every IT professional in India relates. This IITian is an internet sensation and his versatility is going to make him stay in this list.

Go ahead and watch some more web-series to add more names to this list!

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday blamed the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) 'false' propaganda for the party's loss in
the recently concluded Assembly elections.

Addressing party workers at Khatkar Kalan in SBS Nagar district, the SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said it was the Congress which gained from AAP's propaganda as it pushed behind the developments works undertaken by the Parkash Singh Badal government.

"Topi wale (AAP) didn't gain anything from this false propaganda. But it benefitted the Congress,' he said adding that Badal government's development works were not taken into consideration by voters due to the AAP propaganda.

Badal said truth will soon come out as the people get to understand the difference between the SAD-BJP government and the Captain Amarinder Singh government which has already halted the developmental works initiated by the previous government.

"It's not a good beginning for the new government to take back the funds allotted for works in villages, towns and cities. Instead, they should given more funds to implement the projects started by our government, " Badal said.

Last week, the SAD president had said that people will realise SAD's value after five years saying, "It is like if someone eats too much, he ends up vomiting. So we actually gave people too much to eat,".

"Our value will be known when there will be drought for five years. Difference between good and bad is not known until acknowledged," he added.

The Congress returned to power in Punjab after a gap of a decade, with 77 seats in the 117-member Assembly. The AAP won 20 seats on debut and become the second largest party in the Punjab Assembly. The SAD-BJP alliance fared the worst with 18 seats (15+3).

Skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday skipped batting at India's net session ahead of the fourth cricket Test against Australia.

It was also learnt that pacer Mohammed Shami will not be picked for the match as he is still being monitored by physio Patrick Farhart.

Kohli is nursing an injury on his right shoulder sustained while trying to save a boundary in Australia's first innings at Ranchi.

While there were speculations that he would be forced to take a break, Kohli defied odds as he came out to bat even though he didn't score too many runs in the third Test.

on Thursday, Kohli was present at the ground with his teammates. With a bandaged right shoulder, Kohli took part in the customary warm-up. He did some under-arm throwing during fielding practice. Perhaps it was more to do with not exerting pressure on his hurt shoulder.

With India having another practice session slated for Friday, Kohli is expected to bat at the nets. Known for his guts, the India skipper will not even in his dream like to miss a match, which is set to have a lasting imprint on the series.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that Shami doesn't have a chance to be picked for the game.

“Shami was with the team in Ranchi also as Farhart is monitoring his progress. He was not named in the squad of 15 for the final Test. Sending him to play Vijay Hazare final was a part of that extensive rehabilitation plan,” a well-informed source told PTI on Thursday. 

The International agency of weather and climate, World Meteorological Organisation, has come out with a new theme on World Meteorological Day 2017: “Understanding Clouds”, as clouds are an important part in weather formation, which affects your mood – sad, happy, gloomy, pleasant and so on.

“The extreme weather patterns are continuing in 2017. adding at least three times so far this winter, the Arctic saw what can be called the Polar equivalent of a heatwave, with powerful Atlantic storms driving an influx of warm, moist air,” the World Meteorological Organisation report stated.

“While global temperatures hit a remarkable 1.1 degree- Celsius above the pre-industrial period, global sea-level touch record highs and the planet's sea-ice coverage dropped more than four million square kilometres below average in November an unprecedented anomaly for that month,” according to the WMO statement on global climate in 2016.

With time, humans have become more responsible toward poor climate condition, global warming and bad clouds formation. Gases and pollutions released from industries both small and heavy, thermal plants, coal, power plants, automobiles, burning of paddy stubbles in agricultural lands, bursting of crackers, burning of plastics and non-biodegradable items are some of the core reasons.

All the meteorological departments and climate bodies in India and world have transformed their technological mechanism to detect change in certain clouds and weather conditions to evade timely natural calamities and save depletion of natural resources.

All you need to know about World Meteorological Day

1. The World Meteorological Day was announced on March 23, 1950. Since then, this day has been observed every year.

2. WMO is a specialised agency of the United Nations and World Meteorological Day is an initiative by WMO.

3. This day is an attempt to celebrate the inherent beauty and aesthetic appeal of clouds, which has inspired artists, poets, musicians, photographers and countless other enthusiasts throughout history, as stated by WMO.

4. ‘Understanding Clouds’ is the theme of World Meteorological Day, 2017 to highlight the enormous importance of clouds for weather climate and water.

5. WMO supports the implementation of a number of environmental conventions and is instrumental in providing advice and assessments to governments on related matters.

Understanding Clouds

Clouds are mass of condensed water vapours that include minute particles of liquid water or ice which float in the atmosphere. Clouds also consist of non-aqueous liquid or solid particles like fumes, smoke or dust.

There are three types of clouds: High clouds, medium clouds and low clouds. High clouds are namely Cirrus, Cirrocumulus, Cirrostratus. Middle clouds are namely Altocumulus, Altostratus, Nimbostratus and Low clouds are namely Stratus, Stratocumulus, Cumulus, Cumulonimbus.

High clouds are thick and are found at top of high mountains or at the cruising altitude of a jet airplane. Middle clouds are comprised of water and ice and they are fluffy, white or grey clouds with lot of contrast between light and dark. Chances are there that they can bring rain. Low clouds are the ones that are found above tall buildings. These clouds block sunlight and can bring precipitation and wind.

Clouds give different feelings and moods to different people. Know your clouds to know your moods.

The BJP-led coalition ministry in Manipur was expanded on Thursday with induction of three ministers.

Governor Najma Heptulla administered the oath of office and secrecy at a simple function in the afternoon at Raj Bhavan.

The new ministers are T Radheshyam, Nemcha Haokip and V Hangkhalian — all from the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), the major partner.

In the 60-member assembly, the Manipur Chief Minister is allowed to have a council of 12 ministers.

On March 15, eight ministers, besides Chief Minister N. Biren Singh from the BJP, were sworn in. Out of the eight, one was from the BJP, all four MLAs of the National People's Party (NPP), one from the Naga People's Front (NPF), one of the Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) and one from the Congress, who had defected to become minister.

The lone Independent and one MLA of the AITC, who supported the coalition government, were not inducted. 

Y Joykumar of the NPP was made Deputy Chief Minister. Hectic lobbying is said to be going on for important portfolios.

Although the Congress had bagged 28 seats, it got reduced to 27 after the defection of T Shyamkumar.

High on confidence after scripting a 5-0 series whitewash over Belarus earlier this month, the Indian women's hockey team led by striker Rani on Thursday departed for West Vancouver to take part in the World League Round 2, starting on April 1.

The Indian eves will vie for top honours when they clash with teams likes Belarus, Canada, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile and Uruguay in the upcoming tournament.

“We go in as the top ranked team and we are confident we will finish in the top spot. We are going there 10 days before the start of the tournament so we will have enough time to get used to the turf, climate. We will also play two practice matches which will help us fine tune further,” said Rani.

Rani said the team has been working extremely hard in the national camp in Bhopal under the watchful eyes of chief coach Sjoerd Marijne and analytical coach Eric Wonink. Their training was also overseen by Hockey India's High Performance Director David John.

“We were put through a rigorous training camp which began in the second week of January. We have worked a lot on our individual skills, brought in a few variations in our techniques to increase speed of play and the team has thoroughly enjoyed working under the new coaches who are very specific in their approach and ensure every girl in the team knows her responsibilities and what is expected of her.

“Apart from emphasis on fitness, there was also special sessions for mental training and it has helped the team a lot,” said the captain.

Vice-captain Deep Grace Ekka said that the series win against Belarus was a big confidence booster ahead of the World League Round 2.

“This group has been together for a while now and we know each others' strengths and weaknesses. I feel the series win against Belarus was a big motivator. There were minor mistakes that we committed against Belarus and we worked on correcting those mistakes these past few weeks,” she said.

“Our primary goal is to qualify for the World League Semi Final and to do that our focus will not just be on attack and speed of play but also a lot of emphasis will be on our defensive structure,” Ekka added.

The Hockey Women's World League Semifinal will be held in June and July with Johannesburg and Brussels set to be the two venues.

Speaking about the women's team progress over these past few weeks, Dutch coach Marijne said, “The team possess great skill to play fast but we have also emphasised a lot on defence because a good defence structure is what wins championships. We have worked on our own small targets and I am hopeful they will fetch us good results.”

Squad:
Goalkeepers: Savita, Rajani Etimarpu.
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Gurjit Kaur, Renuka Yadav, Lalhlunmawii.
Midfielders: Deepika, Navjot Kaur, Ritu Rani, Monika, Lily Chanu Mayengbam, Namita Toppo.
Forwards: Rani, Vandana Katariya, Poonam Rani, Sonika, Anupa Barla.

High on confidence after scripting a 5-0 series whitewash over Belarus earlier this month, the Indian women's hockey team led by striker Rani on Thursday departed for West Vancouver to take part in the World League Round 2, starting on April 1.

The Indian eves will vie for top honours when they clash with teams likes Belarus, Canada, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile and Uruguay in the upcoming tournament.

“We go in as the top ranked team and we are confident we will finish in the top spot. We are going there 10 days before the start of the tournament so we will have enough time to get used to the turf, climate. We will also play two practice matches which will help us fine tune further,” said Rani.

Rani said the team has been working extremely hard in the national camp in Bhopal under the watchful eyes of chief coach Sjoerd Marijne and analytical coach Eric Wonink. Their training was also overseen by Hockey India's High Performance Director David John.

“We were put through a rigorous training camp which began in the second week of January. We have worked a lot on our individual skills, brought in a few variations in our techniques to increase speed of play and the team has thoroughly enjoyed working under the new coaches who are very specific in their approach and ensure every girl in the team knows her responsibilities and what is expected of her.

“Apart from emphasis on fitness, there was also special sessions for mental training and it has helped the team a lot,” said the captain.

Vice-captain Deep Grace Ekka said that the series win against Belarus was a big confidence booster ahead of the World League Round 2.

“This group has been together for a while now and we know each others' strengths and weaknesses. I feel the series win against Belarus was a big motivator. There were minor mistakes that we committed against Belarus and we worked on correcting those mistakes these past few weeks,” she said.

“Our primary goal is to qualify for the World League Semi Final and to do that our focus will not just be on attack and speed of play but also a lot of emphasis will be on our defensive structure,” Ekka added.

The Hockey Women's World League Semifinal will be held in June and July with Johannesburg and Brussels set to be the two venues.

Speaking about the women's team progress over these past few weeks, Dutch coach Marijne said, “The team possess great skill to play fast but we have also emphasised a lot on defence because a good defence structure is what wins championships. We have worked on our own small targets and I am hopeful they will fetch us good results.”

Squad:
Goalkeepers: Savita, Rajani Etimarpu.
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Gurjit Kaur, Renuka Yadav, Lalhlunmawii.
Midfielders: Deepika, Navjot Kaur, Ritu Rani, Monika, Lily Chanu Mayengbam, Namita Toppo.
Forwards: Rani, Vandana Katariya, Poonam Rani, Sonika, Anupa Barla.