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 Photo: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images
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SPORT The triumph of hockey History may record 2003 as the year hockey, India's national game, rose phoenix-like to gain its place in the sun. The Indian team emerged triumphant in four out of six tournaments it played this year. After winning tri-nation tournaments in Sydney and Hamburg, it won the Asia Cup for the first time, beating Pakistan 4-2 in the final in Kuala Lumpur. The team next won gold in the Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad, and bagged fourth place in the Champions Trophy, thus ensuring themselves a berth in the next edition of the tournament. The junior team also won quite a few tournaments, most significant being a six-nation under-21 event in Poland. The International Hockey Federation took notice of the talent in the team and, for the first time, nominated five Indians for the world player of the year awards. Corporate house Sahara agreed to sponsor the team for eight years. Text: Ivan Crasto India win Afro-Asian gold 25th Champions Trophy
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