News 24 May 2014
All the news for Saturday 24 May 2014
The Magnificent Seven
7 Ways to stay in touch during the Rabobank Hockey World Cup
If you are unable to be in The Hague for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup, don't dismay, FIH has a super seven ways of keeping all the fans up to date with every piece of action, as it happens. There will be no shortage of coverage or interaction at this year's event from social media to television broadcast to live stream and everything you could possibly need on our mobile app and website - you will not be disappointed!
There is no excuse - Seven great ways – let's celebrate hockey!
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Facebook will be your number one shop for great photos, updates and links to the most up to date information. You can join an expected 500,000 fans on Facebook liking, commentating or sharing all of the great Hockey World Cup action! Join us at facebook.com/fihockey |  |
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Twitter is your best way to stay in constant chatter with our hockey athletes as well as what’s happening second by second at the event! We will be tweeting live updates and instant replay goals throughout every game, while our Hockey World Cup athletes love to answer your questions! Join our already 29,000 followers and follow @FIH_Hockey and tweet along with #RHWC2014 |  |
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Instagram well be your best way to catch the behind the scenes snaps of the Rabobank Hockey World Cup. We will get up close and personal pitch side and re-post some of the best snaps from the players! We will tag and share so you can follow your favourite star and we will even re-post some of our best fan photos! Be one of our nearly 7,500 followers and follow at @FIHockey. |
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YouTube will be your chance re-live every great moment over and over again. We will be live streaming every match and posting highlight videos for every game. Don’t forget we will also feature a goal of the day and several other short features to keep you in tune with what’s happening in The Hague. We expect 1.25 million views for our content for the World Cup. |
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Global television broadcasting will hit over 80 countries and every single continent with Rabobank Hockey World Cup footage. So, put up your feet and catch all the best action on the TV. Click here to find out where in your country you can watch. |  |
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No event would be complete without its very own mobile app. Hockey ’14 is your walking world cup guide. Everything you need to know about the competitions, including a fan zone, a social wall and a guide to the onsite activities. The app is available for Apple and Android. |  |
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Last but not least be sure to keep checking our Rabobank Hockey World Cup Official Website for everything and anything to do with this spectacular men’s and women’s event – player statistics, goal counts, history of the competition and the road to qualification. The website is a mine of World Cup information. |  |
Boys are waiting for the World Cup to start: Sardar Singh
NEW DELHI: Indian men's hockey team captain Sardar Singh says his players are "all geared up" and waiting for the World Cup to start at the The Hague, Netherlands.
The team arrived here yesterday and the skipper said conditions here are ideal.
"There is a lot of excitement in the air here. I am feeling proud that I will be representing the country for the second time in a big tournament and we as a unit will put our best efforts and give a tough fight to the opponents," Sardar said.
"Our first match is with Belgium and we are fully geared up for it. We will stick to our strategies and planning put in place by the coaches. I can just say that all the boys are fully motivated and confident of doing well in the tournament," he added.
The team had a light recovery session on reaching the venue.
Chief coach Terry Walsh said, "We had a light recovery session after arrival here. The boys are in good spirits and have quickly settled into familiar surroundings here in The Hague."
The Times of India
Malaysia aim top-six placing at World Cup
By R. Ramaguru
The national hockey team at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on their way to The Hague, Holland, for the World Cup.
KUALA LUMPUR: The national hockey team left for The Hague, Holland, in high spirits as they reclaim their place among the world’s elite when they play in the World Cup on May 31.
But can they finish better than the eighth-placing achieved in the 2002 edition in Kuala Lumpur?
In The Hague, Malaysia are in Group A with Australia, Belgium, India, Spain and England. Group B comprises Germany, Holland, New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa and South Korea.
It definitely won’t be easy but national coach K. Dharmaraj’s men intend to defy the odds and surpass the top-10 target set by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC).
“For far too long we’ve been languishing in the 9th-12th placing playoff in the World Cup,” said Dharmaraj.
“We need to aim for a higher placing – like top six, perhaps. That’s the only way we can improve our game and compete against the elite on a regular basis.
“Let’s not forget that while we are looking for a good finish in Holland, we also have one eye on the Rio Olympics (in 2016), which we have yet to qualify for. That process starts with the Asian Games (in Incheon, South Korea) in September.”
Dharmaraj’s optimism has also been boosted by the fact that the players have closed ranks and put behind them the row over the selection process.
It was widely felt that the selectors had opted for too many juniors and that the seniors were being sidelined.
“This (the closing of ranks) is a good sign and the senior players are all comfortable with the team. We have an important mission at the World Cup and having a disjointed team will not benefit anyone,” he said.
“The players understand that we have to work together and that is the most important thing for us now.”
Dharmaraj also sees the mix of young and senior players in the team as being good for the future.
“We have a lot of younger players coming through the ranks and this will see them challenging the established names for spots in the team,” he said.
“For now, the seniors deserve their places in the World Cup squad as it was they who helped us qualify. But, at the same time, I don’t want any player to take his place for granted ... they will all have to fight to keep their places.”
Malaysia will play a friendly against Holland on Sunday and against club side RC Rotterdam on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Star of Malaysia
Cal Cup 43 gets underway with 10 matches in Super Divisions
By Jawwad Qamar
Moorpark, CA: Women’s defending champions Jolie Pitts started the 43rd Cal Cup in style with a 6-0 blanking of Team HFS and Rick’s Chicks followed with an equally impressive shattering of Bay Dreams 8-1. Shaw Women’s Super Division then saw four straight shut outs: Montauk Manatees 3 – RUSH 0, Team North West 4 – Monarcas 0, Caliwood 5 – Rebel Strikers 0, Federacion Mexicana 3 – FHF Tigers 0.
Veteran Katie Grant of Montauk Manatees in control against RUSH for a 3-0 win - photo by Andrew Holt
Shaw Women's Super Division has 12 teams playing in three pools of four teams each. The ladies semi finals will include the three 1st place teams and the 2nd place team with the most points.
The Bulldogs began competition in the STX Men’s Super Division with a 6-1 easy win over Sonora from Mexico. Defending champions LA Tigers took care of Team HFS 4-1 next. The Bulldogs got their second victory of the day in the afternoon session defeating San Jose Khalsa 4-2. Montauk Sharks from New York closed out the Super Division session by handing Team HFS their second defeat of the day in an exciting encounter 3-2.
Will Holt scoring the only goal for Team HFS as they go down against LA Tigers 4-1 - photo by Andrew Holt
Men's STX Super Division consists of six teams playing in two pools of three teams. After Pool play, there will be two crossover matches between the 2nd and 3rd place teams. The winners will join the 1st place teams in the semi finals. The losers will play in the 5th place match.
All 152 teams in 14 divisions will be in action on Day 2 of Cal Cup 2014 on Saturday as the tournament goes into full swing. The weather has been perfect for field hockey or any outdoor competition and a large crowd is expected.
For all score, schedules and directions to the venues, please visit www.calcup.com.
Fieldhockey.com Exclusive
Wapda to face National Bank in repeat final today
Anwar Zuberi
KARACHI: Defending champions Wapda and runners-up National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) set up a repeat final after registering contrasting victories in their semi-finals in the 33rd National Junior Hockey Championship here at the Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium on Friday.
Three-time champions Wapda came from behind to beat a formidable-looking PIA by odd goal in five (3-2) while the NBP coasted to a lop-sided 4-1 victory over Punjab Colours in the two semi-finals.
Wapda take on NBP in the title clash on Saturday at 3:30pm. It will be preceded by third-fourth position playoff between PIA and Punjab Colours at 1:00pm.
The newly raised Wapda lacked the spark in the first two quarters as PIA surged to a 2-0 lead. After failing to capitalise back-to-back penalty corners in the first and second minutes, full-back Abu Bakar’s shot off third penalty corner beat custodian Talal Khalid to put the national airlines ahead in the 14th minute.
PIA continued their onslaught and forced fourth penalty corner in the 23rd minute but went unfruitful. However, they succeeded to double the lead through Amir Ali who scored from top of the circle following a timely cross from the right on the very next minute.
Wapda made some effort and forced two penalty corners in the 19th and 20th minutes but both efforts went in vain.
A rejuvenated Wapda entered the third quarter with a new vigour and managed to draw level by scoring two goals in a span of four minutes. M. Bilal Mahmood reduced the deficit in the 31st minute while Mudassir Ali struck on a penalty corner four minutes later.
As the match entered the fourth and last quarter and heading towards a draw, Mudassir brought smiles on the faces of his team management and colleagues scoring his second and match’s decisive goal in the dying moments by connecting a cross.
“Keep it up, you have to win one more match on Saturday,” a jubilant Wapda team manager Saghir Ahmed told his players while praising their performance soon after winning the first semi-final.
Attributing the triumph to Wapda’s endowment scheme, he said some six to seven players of the present team are part of the programme.
“Poor performance of custodian Usman Malik and missing of at least three open sitters were the key factors of our defeat,” PIA coach and a former Olympian Qamar Ibrahim told Dawn after the match.
Meanwhile, the NBP asserted their superiority over Punjab Colours, second time in the competition, to live up to top billing. The former had beaten the latter 3-1 in the league stage.
The bankers scored three goals in a span of 11 minutes to change the complexion of the match after Punjab Colours had levelled the score one-all.
After the barren first quarter, the bankers forged ahead through Waseem Akram in the 17th minute. However, the lead was short lived as Qasim Ahmed brought the teams on even terms converting the team’s first penalty corner in the 35th minute.
Shan Irshad put the NBP in front (2-1) converting team’s fourth penalty corner in the 38th minute. Ateeque, the team captain, further consolidated the lead to 3-1 in the 45th while Adil Latif completed the fate in the 49th.
Before the second semi-final, both the teams were introduced to Commissioner Karachi, Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, who graced the occasion, and watched the match for some time.
Dawn
Dilapidated atmosphere mars junior hockey
KARACHI: The organisers take journalists for a ride. This is evident from their attitude in the 33rd National Junior Hockey Championship which concludes on Saturday.
In the absence of a proper seating arrangement, the journalists faced hardships while discharging their duties and were at the mercy of organisers. It is pertinent to mention that the press enclosure that was created on the eve of the second Champions Trophy in 1980 is in dilapidated condition with broken chairs and dust.
A separate seating arrangement for journalists was, however, made on the sidelines of the field on Thursday after the attention of organisers was drawn towards the apathy.
It is irony that millions of rupees are being spent on the event, journalists have to sit under scorching heat to watch semi-finals as selectors whose seating arrangements have been made close by were provided shed.
The less said the better. The whole championship has been marred by blunders and different versions of results of matches by organisers.
The biggest blunder was reported when custodian Saif Ali Khan, who is son of former Pakistan goalkeeper Shahid Ali Khan, was mentioned to have scored two goals for his team in quarter-final.
Surprisingly, no soul is moved and all this is going unnoticed in the presence of top hierarchy of the PHF. By the way where are we heading towards?
Dawn
FT missing penalty corner specialist
GIANTS Federal Territories (FT) have downplayed their chances of clinching the Malaysia Games hockey gold.
Team manager S. Samson said the team are lacking a penalty corner specialist who can give them an edge in what he expects to be a highly competitive tournament this year. FT’s hopes of winning a sixth straight title were snapped at the 2012 Games in Pahang when they went down to a Faizal Saari-inspired Terengganu in the final.
“We have a good batch of boys this year with three of them from the national juniors but so do a lot of the other teams competing here,” said Samson.
“Unfortunately, we do not have a good flicker who we can rely on for this tournament as Muhammad Shahril Saabah (pic) is away with the World Cup squad.
“We have tried four or five other players for the role but none are really at his level.
“This is a blow for us as scoring from penalty corners is an important aspect of the game.
“I am expecting a tough tournament as there are a lot of quality teams this year.
“We are not going to place unnecessary pressure on ourselves and will instead focus on each game as it comes.”
Muhd Taufik Abd Hamid, Norsyafiq Sumantri and Muhammad Amirul Aideed Arshad are the national juniors in the squad.
FT, who finished third in the National Under-21 tournament in December, are in Group B with Penang, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Sarawak and Kelantan.
They will open their campaign against Kelantan today.
New Straits Times
Haryana players found over-aged
NEW DELHI: Hockey India (HI) today disqualified six players from Haryana, currently playing at the ongoing 4th Hockey sub-junior national men championship 2014 (Division A), after they were found to be over-aged.
Following a complaint from participating teams, HI conducted independent medical tests and found six players not meeting the age bracket. It immediately disqualified those six players from the championship. A total of eight players took the medical test.
To qualify for the sub-junior's team, a player should be born on or after 1st January, 1998.
Speaking on the incident, Mariamma Koshy, President Hockey India said, "It is highly discomforting to see these youngsters taking the wrong route. Hockey India has a no tolerance level for such unpleasant incidents and the team manager has been told to ensure the return of these six players to their state immediately.
"This should be an example for others and hope no such occurrence will be witnessed in future."
The matter will now be investigated by the Hockey India Disciplinary/Disputes Committee (Athletes and Members) for further review and action.
List of players found overaged: Dilawar Singh, Pardeep Kumar, Jasbir Antil, Amit Deshwal, Ravi Singh, Amit Kapoor.
The Times of India
Over 1500 women get Back to Hockey
Sevenoaks - Back to Hockey
Our Back to Hockey spring campaign is now in full swing and has attracted more than 1,500 women back to the game.
Run by clubs, Back to Hockey sessions are coached sessions where the emphasis is on making friends, learning new skills and most of all having fun! The sessions are aimed at women who may not have played hockey before or may not have played for a long period of time.
By the end of the campaign over 200 clubs across the country will have delivered Back to Hockey sessions. Bev Blackburn, Adult Participation Manager, said, "It’s great that so many women have wanted to give Hockey a go! Praise must also go to the clubs who have supported the campaign and the local promotion they have undertaken in order to attract the players to their sessions. We hope all those taking part will continue to enjoy the sessions and might even convince a few of their family and friends to go along with them"
We caught up with Anna after attending her first Back to Hockey session at Sevenoaks Hockey Club. Having not played since having children 16 years ago, Anna said "I had the most fun in ages! A very enjoyable evening that was well organised and run – it’s nice to see that just because we are older, we haven't lost our competitive streak! The coaches pitched it perfectly and I'm looking forward to next week already"
Below we've got a handful of the great tweets that people have been putting out about Back to Hockey!
'On my way home from my first @EnglandHockey #BacktoHockey with @WappingHC. Had lots of fun, will definitely be back next week!'
@ninabelk
'@EnglandHockey Back to Hockey is a great fun @HamptonHockey haven't played for nearly 20 yrs but with my sis having a fab time!'
@saspettigrew
'Loved @EnglandHockey Back to Hockey session @IpswichHC tonight. Already excited for next week! Thanks to all the ladies who attended.'
@Rixie1
'Had 27 women at my #BacktoHockey session last night @EnglandHockey. What a superb turn out!! #chuffed #eager #competitivetoo.'
@scouseborrowe
'@EnglandHockey Friday morning at The Edge, an institution for ‘Back to Hockey’ Ladies. Fun hockey, quality coffee and cake!'
@AlderleyEdgeHC
If you are interested in playing hockey again, you can find your local Back to Hockey session here. Don’t worry if the sessions have already started – you’ll be more than welcome to join!
Already taking part and want to win a Back to Hockey starter pack? Simply share with us how you are getting on! Post your stories, photos and videos on our Facebook page or tweet us @EnglandHockey with the #BacktoHockey. Details of the competition can be found here.
Below are a couple of the photos we’ve been sent so far!
Alderley Edge
Tavistock
England Hockey Board Media release
Our president, Leandro Negre named to Olympic Agenda 2020 Working Group
IOC President Thomas Bach names Leandro Negre to one of 14 Olympic Agenda 2020 Working Groups
(Photo: Mail Today)
FIH will have an opportunity to have a voice in the building of the Olympic Agenda for 2020. Our President Leandro Negre was recently named a part of one of 14 important Working Groups announced this week by IOC President Thomas Bach. It will be an exciting time for all of hockey as Leandro will be collaborating within his group specifically on Olympic Games Management.
“This is a great opportunity to be involved in the development of the Olympic Agenda for 2020,” said Negre after the announcement. “Collaborating with such a knowledgeable group of people to help plan the future for important Olympic themes will not only be a great experience but also very important for FIH.”
The IOC has an ongoing focus to be open and inclusive and as such, International Federations like FIH, as well as IOC members, athletes and National Olympic Committee members have been named to the various Working Groups. Proposals made by the Olympic Movement, the world of sport and even by individual members of the public will be looked at.
Discussions will also be focused around five key themes: the uniqueness of the Olympic Games, athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement, Olympism in action, the IOC’s role and IOC structure and organisation.
Leandro’s first opportunity to get into action will be in June, where after all of the Working Groups’ findings will get presented to the IOC Executive Board in July and again later that month at the Olympic Summit. Stay tuned to see the results that will come from Leandro’s participation in the building of the Olympic Agenda 2020!
[Full List of Working Groups]
FIH site