Welcome to ESPN India's daily blog, where we aim to bring you all the news from the dynamic world of Indian sports: from the wide variety of Olympic sports to franchise leagues.
June has plenty of sporting action taking place - which you can find listed out in ESPN India's sporting calendar.
Stimac banking on team's mentality to take them through in tough Qatar qualifier
India head coach Igor Stimac is banking on the mentality that he has cultivated in his players, to get them through in the game against Qatar. He said, "Over the last five years, we have created hope within the team, which was never there before. I am proud of the boys, of how confident they are when they take the pitch.
"I've told them that the only thing they need to do is enjoy the game, be proud of their country, and take the opportunities that will make the 1.4 billion people back home happy," he said. "It's all about the 90 minutes for us tomorrow, and we are prepared to die on the pitch, if required."
You can read ESPN's full preview, written by Anirudh Menon,
FIH Pro League Aftermath: How are India placed before Paris?
The long and short of it is, not very well. Sukhjeet Singh is a bright spark and the evergreen PR Sreejesh impressed in the latest Pro League leg. But India are consistent only at being inconsistent, and they've added a new bad habit - they're horrible starters and are finding themselves chasing games from early on far too often.
Here's ESPN's Anish Anand reviewing India's FIH Pro League European leg.
What's on today?
A quiet day is on the cards after an action-packed day yesterday, but you can never tell when it comes to the wide world of Indian sports.
We will have the build-up to India's final FIFA World Cup second-round qualifying tie against Qatar, where a Sunil Chhetri-less India will have to earn a draw or more against the reigning Asian champions.
In addition, we'll have analysis of India's performance in the FIH Pro League as well as their preparations for the Paris Olympics.
What happened yesterday?
Tennis: Sumit Nagal won the Heilbronner Challenger and all but qualified for Paris Olympics
MMA: Puja Tomar became the first Indian to win a bout in the UFC
Hockey: India (M) and (W) ended their 2023/24 FIH Pro League campaigns with losses
Golf: Aditi Ashok missed the cut at the LPGA classic