Field hockey in India eliminated from the Beijing Olympics competition. This is the first time that the Indian men's team did not participate in the Olympics since 1928. India finished in 12th place (Last) in the 2012 London Olympics. On 26 Feb 2012, the India men's national field hockey team qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London after a gap of 8 years. The team had a resounding victory over France in the finals of the Olympic qualifiers by beating France by 8–1. Ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh, starred in the final against France by scoring five goals – including a hat-trick – all
Australian cricket team in India in 2000–01 was depleted, without leading leg spinner Anil Kumble. On the spinning tracks of India, this left them at a disadvantage, with the other spinners who had filled the void during the earlier part of the season being Sunil Joshi, Sarandeep Singh and Murali Kartik, all having played less than 10 Tests each. Harbhajan Singh, whose previous best Test figures were only 3/30, was entrusted with a heavy burden, having been recalled at the behest of captain Sourav Ganguly after previous instances of indiscipline. He was to lead the spin attack against an Australian team which had set a world record