News 12 August 2014
All the news for Tuesday 12 August 2014
Kiwi young guns set for Youth Olympic Games
The New Zealand men and women are all set to depart for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.
The Youth Olympics run from 16-28 August 2014, with nine players named in each side who will play under the new Hockey5 format introduced by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
With only five players on the field, side boards and no penalty corners, the game is fast and exciting while also making it more viable for smaller countries to compete.
Both the New Zealand teams enjoyed the new format and won their respective qualifying tournaments held in Vanuatu in March this year.
There will be 10 nations competing, with two pools of five nations in each.
New Zealand Youth Olympic Hockey Teams
Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, 16 – 28 August 2014
BOYS
David Brydon, Canterbury (17)
Robbie Capizzi, North Harbour (17)
Fynn Edwards, (GK) North Harbour (18)
Richmond Lum, Auckland (18)
Dominic Newman, Canterbury (17)
Hayden Phillips, Central (16)
Aidan Sarikaya, Midlands (17)
Dylan Thomas, Central (18)
Mackenzie Wilcox, Central (17)
Non-Travelling Reserves
Ethan Martin, Midlands
Joseph Robertson, Capital
Bryan Schofield, Canterbury
GIRLS
Isla Bint (GK), Auckland (16)
Frances Davies, Midlands (17)
Ella Hyatt-Brown, North Harbour (16)
Bridget Kiddle, Capital (17)
Su Arn Kwek, Auckland (18)
Tyler Lench, Auckland (17)
Catherine Tinning, Canterbury (18)
Casey-Mae Waddell, Central (17)
Tayla White, Auckland (17)
Non-Travelling Reserves
Amelia Marlow, Auckland
Amy Robinson, Midlands
Lilliana Wiles, Capital
TEAM MANAGEMENT
Dave Kosoof, Head Coach (Boys)
Lincoln Churchill, Assistant Coach (Boys)
Caryn Paewai, Head Coach (Girls)
Verity Sharland, Assistant Coach (Girls)
Robyn Neil, Manager
Facts about the Youth Olympics and Hockey5:
• All hockey games at the Youth Olympics will be played at the Hockey Field at the Youth Olympic Sports Park from 17 to 27 August, 2014. For the schedule CLICK HERE
• Hockey’s ten-team tournament for both men and women will consist of two national teams per continent.
• The International Hockey Federation (FIH) were encouraged by the IOC to implement an alternative game for the Youth Olympics based on a smaller number of players with simplified rules. The FIH went through a process of consultation with FIH committees and expert panels as well as industry experts in developing this game. Hockey5s is a new initiative which FIH will be reviewing and developing in the next few years.
• The vision of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and adopt and live by the Olympic values; it enables them to participate in a high performance sporting event in the spirit of cultural exchange and education. It is also an opportunity for innovation in the dynamic world created by the younger generation.
• To be eligible to participate in the Youth Olympic Games, athletes must have been born between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 1999.
• 180 athletes will compete in the hockey tournament. There are 222 events in 28 sports. 3,808 athletes from 204 nations/regions are expected to participate in the Games.
The Hockey5 format at the Youth Olympics is as follows:
At the conclusion of pool play:
a. The top 4 teams in each pool will play quarter-finals in accordance with FIH Tournament Regulations for Hockey5s
b. The 5th teams in each pool will play off to determine 9th and 10th place.
After the quarter-finals:
a. The winners will play semi-finals in accordance with the FIH Tournament Regulations for Hockey5s
b. The losers will play classification matches to determine 5th – 8th place; the winners of these matches play off to determine 5th and 6th place and the losers 7th and 8th place.
c) The winners of the semi-finals play for the gold and silver medal (1st and 2nd place) and the losers of the semi-finals play for 3rd place.
For more information on the Hockey5 rules, CLICK HERE
Hockey New Zealand Media release
Hockey team may be out of Asian Games - Tengku Abdullah
By S Ramaguru
Tengku Abdullah said he would not hesitate to take the drastic move if there is no 100 commitment from the players. - NIK NAIZI HUSIN/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah is ready to withdraw the national team from next month’s Incheon Asian Games in South Korea.
He said he would not hesitate to take the drastic move if “there is no 100 commitment from the players”.
In fact, Tengku Abdullah put forth the pull-out suggestion at the MHC council meeting but it was shot down by the council members. Instead, the council endorsed the replacement of the entire team management with a new set of officials.
Tengku Abdullah said he was concerned about the player power in the team and their lack of discipline.
He added that he will hold a meeting with the players to thrash out the problems in the team.
“I am willing to pull the team out for the Games if there’re no improvements. If the players are not able to give 100% to the team, they should say so and leave. There is no point in sending a team to the Asiad if the players are not disciplined enough to work and give their best,” said Tengku Abdullah after the council meeting.
Tengku Abdullah added that a report by a panel set up to investigate the World Cup debacle contained many issues, including some highlighted by the players.
He, however, said the report will not be made public.
But he did reveal that player power was among the reasons why Malaysia performed badly at the World Cup as well as the Commonwealth Games.
The Malaysians finished last in the 12-team World Cup in The Hague, Holland, in June. In the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Malaysia, finished seventh and also lost 4-2 to minnows Trinidad and Tobago in a group match.
K. Dharmaraj was the coach of the two tournaments. The MHC yesterday replaced him with Project 2016 coach A. Arulselvaraj.
Tengku Abdullah was also not pleased with some of his officials, warning them not to make unnecessary comments in the media and aggravating the issue.
Arulselvaraj was an assistant to Paul Revington when the South African took over as national coach in August 2012. Arulselvaraj, however, was moved to the Project squad in January this year when Revington quit the team. Tengku Abdullah then elevated National Juniors coach Dharmaraj to the senior team position.
On his new appointment, Arulselvaraj said: “I accept the challenge and will do my best. I will take some time out to look at the programme that is in place and make the necessary changes. One of the things that I will do is to look at the players in the squad. Then, I will work on the areas that have been identified as our weaknesses.
“I am familiar with the players as I have worked with them before. But with a short period of time left, it will be an uphill task for all of us,.”
The Star of Malaysia
Arulselvaraj is now the man
By S Ramaguru
Arulselvaraj (right) was the assistant coach to Paul Revington (left) when the South African was in charge in 2012.
KUALA LUMPUR: A. Arulselvaraj is now the chief coach of the national hockey team, replacing under-fire K. Dharmaraj.
Arulselvaraj’s first assignment is the Incheon Asian Games in South Korea from Sept 19-Oct 4. He will be assisted by former national coach Tai Beng Hai, who has also been named the team manager.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said the appointments were just an interim measure.
In a surprise move, the MHC also decided to replace the entire team management, including team manager George Koshy and assistant coaches K. Gobinathan and Nor Azlan Bakar.
“The changes are just for the Asian Games as we are in the process of looking for a foreign coach. We have to admit that the team have not done well and that the changes were necessary at this point of time,” said Tengku Abdullah after the MHC council meeting.
“We would like to thank Dharmaraj for having taken change of the team for the past seven months. Since he has a contract with us, we will redesignate him after a discussion with the National Sports Council (NSC).”
Tengku Abdullah admitted that the team management had failed in their objectives in the past two tournaments – the World Cup in The Hague, Holland, and the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Malaysia finished last in the 12-team World Cup. At the Commonwealth Games, Dharmaraj’s team finished seventh. The Malaysians also suffered a humiliating 4-2 defeat in the hands of minnows Trinidad and Tobago in a group match.
“Under the circumstances, we need to replace the entire team management,” he added.
Tengku Abdullah also pointed out that the changes were done on merit and not due to personal issues.
“We took into account the report from our evaluation panel. They looked into the preparations as well as the performance at the World Cup. It was clear from the report that there were major issues in the team.
“I don’t want to go into the details. But three important things were mentioned in the report. One was the fitness level of the team. It was not good enough. Then, there was player power and the discipline was really bad. All these started after the sudden resignation of Paul Revington in January.”
Tengku Abdullah said that he had given Dhamaraj a vote of confidence when he appointed him as chief coach in January.
“Unfortunately, the results did not measure up to our expectations. The problems in the team were also too big to be ignored,” he added.
As for Arulselvaraj’s target, Tengku Abdullah said he would be tasked to take the team to the Asiad final.
Earlier, the MHC had set a gold medal target for the team.
The Asian Games is a qualifier for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Only the gold medallists will be given an automatic berth at the Games.
The Star of Malaysia
Dharmaraj not bitter after ousted as national hockey coach
By S Ramaguru
KUALA LUMPUR: K. Dharmaraj is not bitter about losing his job as national hockey coach.
The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) relieved him of his job and named A. Arulselvaraj as the replacement.
Instead of launching an attack on MHC, Dhamaraj was cool about it. He said it was an inevitable move and described it “as the right solution for now”.
“There are too many problems hindering my performance. I don’t like to wash dirty linen in public. I think the MHC have done the right thing by naming Arulselvaraj as coach,” said Dharmaraj.
“I would like to thank the MHC president (Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahad Shah) for giving me the opportunity to take charge of the senior team for the last four tournaments. It has been a good learning curve and the experience will do me good for the future.
“I am not one to run away from a challenge. But with the situation in the team, I think we have to be realistic. Changes need to be made.
“I have no complaints about it. And I respect the decision taken by the president,’ he added.
Dharmaraj is now looking for his next posting as he is still a full-time MHC employee.
“I can always go back to another Project team, working with the junior players. There are other options too. I will discuss this with the MHC and see how I can contribute towards the development of the game in the country,” he added.
Dharmaraj also refused to blame the players for his quick downfall.
“I think it’s important for the national players to think of the country first, not individual glory. When you don national colours you have fight hard for the nation. If the players are selfish, then Malaysia will not achieve anything. Of course, there would be players glad to see me out as coach. It does not matter to me. I have always given my best in anything I do,” he said.
The Star of Malaysia
Musical chairs all over again
By Jugjet Singh
IN a game of musical chairs, Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah pressed the “pause button” again yesterday, and seated Arul Selvaraj onto the hockey hot-seat.
For Tengku Abdullah was left with no choice as a group of senior players played to the tune of Rihanna’s Russian Roulette and ripped Malaysia’s proud hockey tradition into shreds at the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.
“Player power”, as well as bickering officials, saw South African Paul Revington make a hasty exit after taking Malaysia to a fifth place finish in the World League Semi-finals in Johor Baru — which was enough to warrant a seat in the World Cup.
And then the music stopped for Dharmaraj as he was asked to dance to a new tune at the Azlan Shah Cup, the Champions Challenge 1, the World Cup and then the Commonwealth Games.
But Dharmaraj’s style of handling issues among players, which were plenty during the four tournaments, was not music to the ears of some, and they took it upon themselves to destroy hockey in the country.
The three-chair musical game is now left with a single stool, on which the MHC has placed Arul Selvaraj for a kamikaze mission to Incheon, South Korea.
For everybody knows that he needs to rebuild a team inside of 40 days, with fitness appearing as the bane, and it could turn out to be another nightmare.
For the record Arul, a former national player, went abroad to learn coaching and in South Africa he found Paul Revington and assisted him. And when Revington moved to Ireland, Arul followed as assistant, and then Revington was hired by Malaysia and bingo! Arul was back home as a package deal.
When Revington threw in the Malaysian towel, Arul was left out in the cold, and Juniors Coach of the Year for 2013, Dharmaraj was made the Seniors coach.
Arul was “demoted” to training the 2016 Junior World Cup team.
The messy affair has now boomeranged, while Arul has found himself on the hot seat, and the MHC mulling on what to do with Dharmaraj who has a contract until 2016.
The story is still in mid-play as Dharmaraj wished Arul all the best yesterday — with an “I’ll be back”.
“I am all for Malaysia, not for myself, as I wish Arul all the best and hope the players give their best and win a medal at the Asian Games.
“This is about hockey and not Dharmaraj, as I take a rest and maybe head to Europe and learn the trade from the best, as I will be back to help the country in the near future. I say ‘thank you’ to MHC, especially the president, who has helped me in various ways when I was coaching,” said Dharmaraj.
Arul said: “I will accept the post as a challenge, and even though I have only about 40 days to prepare the team for the Asian Games, I know the players well and will make a fast selection and release those not in need to play in the Razak Cup for their states.
“Hopefully, we can settle issues and work on fitness and make an impact in the Asian Games.”
And even before Arul could warm his hot seat, the music has started playing for the interim-coach as the MHC president announced yesterday that they are in the hunt for a foreign coach.
And when asked yesterday about the time-frame? Tengku Abdullah said “as soon as possible.”
He had just pressed the “play button” for Arul, as Another One Bites The Dust blasted out from the speakers of the MHC musical chair soap opera.
New Straits Times
Shahnaz hopeful of defending Asian title
Mohsin Ali
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan hockey team head coach and manager Shahnaz Sheikh described his team's preparations for the Asian Games as per expectations.
Talking to The Nation on Monday, Shahnaz said: “The boys are working very hard on short corners and our main focus is on goalkeeping. In the past, the team suffered due to these two areas and now, I am very satisfied that our hard work for the last three months or so has paid great dividend, despite taking a few days rest in between, the players passed all the tests in flying colors.”
When asked about completion of third and last phase of the camp and about departure of team for foreign trip for preparations of the Asian Games, he replied: “Spain has confirmed series with Pakistan. The dates will be finalized soon. I have proposed the PHF August 20 for foreign series with different countries and clubs and return on August 31. It is now up to the federation to finalize the dates.” As many as 35 players have reported to the third phase of the camp. “We will finalize squad on August 16.”
When asked about central contracts to the players and other staff, Shahnaz replied: “We are still waiting for the contracts. I will urge the PHF to first award contracts to the players and other staff and then to me. I joined the federation with only one thing in mind and that was to take Pakistan hockey back to old glory days. I didn’t demand anything from the PHF. The matter of the fact is I have not set any conditions and not discussed a single thing with the federation as far as my personal terms and conditions are concerned.”
When asked about the IPC minister’s announcement of Rs 5 million for the federation instead of Rs 500 million, which the PHF was demanding, Shahnaz declined to comment on the issue and just stated: “One must keep in mind ground realities. The matter of the fact is Rs 5 million is not even enough for clearing dues of the players, coaches, selectors, how will it be possible for the PHF to send the team abroad for series and take the team to the Asian Games. In my sense, even Rs 500 million are not enough to prepare Pakistan hockey team, as we have to dig really deep to overcome root causes of Pakistan teams miserable performances. I am taking team out from almost ashes and it is my challenge no one could have done better than me and my staff in such a short span of time. I had worked tirelessly with the boys, visited different cities and remained in the camp with the players.”
“It was not an easy task to lift the morale of the players and prepare them mentally and physically in such a short span of time. The players looked dejected after failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in our history. But I give them new belief and the players responded well. But one must understand ground realities, we have not played a single international series or match for the last 10 months, while on the other hand, our rivals India, Malaysia and Korea are playing on consistent basis and involved in regular events. But even then we have quite realistic chances to defend the Asian Games title.”
Meanwhile, NADRA chairman M Imtiaz Tajwar visited national camp here at Naseer Bunda Stadium. Coach Shahnaz introduced Imtiaz with the players and other staff. He expressed his satisfaction over the players’ training and ordered his staff to visit the camp. Shahnaz advised Imtiaz to establish hockey teams of Nadra. It will provide jobs to the players and help a great deal to the country in finding players. Imtaiz promised to look into the matter and discuss with the sports department. Shahnaz also requested NADRA chairman to continue support to the PHF like they did in the past.
The Nation
Pakistan's Asiad hockey trials tomorrow
LAHORE: Trials to select final squad for the 17th Asian Games hockey event will be held at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium in Islamabad on Wednesday.
The national selection committee headed by Islahuddin Siddiqui alongside members Arshad Ali Chaudhry, Ayaz Mahmood, Khalid Bashir and Musaddiq Hussain will observe the performance of the probables, who are already attending a training camp at the same venue.
The Asian Games are being held in Incheon, South Korea in September.
It will be the first international competition Pakistan team will appear in under the new PHF set-up headed by Akhtar Rasool.
Dawn
Ayub hits four as NBP thrash HEC
LAHORE: Four goals by Ayub inspired NBP to a 7-2 thrashing of HEC here on Monday when defending champions PIA and Army registered nail-biting wins in the All-Pakistan NBP Gold Cup Hockey Tournament.
Ayub stole the limelight, scoring field goal in the 13th, 28th, 57th and 60th minutes. Attique (15th), Ali (29th) and Faizan (55th) were the other scorers for NBP while Mohsin Nawaz hit in the 29th and 35th for HEC.
Ehsanullah’s strike, meanwhile, helped PIA extend their winning run with a 1-0 victory over PIA.
Meanwhile, a 36th minute goal through a short-corner by Abdul Jabbar proved the winner in Army’s 2-1 victory over Wapda.
Habib-ur-Rehman put Army ahead in the 10th minute, cashing in on a penalty-corner. But Wapda restored parity in the 19th when Mohammad Jaffar struck a field goal before Jabbar netted the decisive goal.
Today’s fixtures: PIA vs HEC; PAF vs Railways; NBP vs Army.
Dawn
National Bank crush HEC 7-2
LAHORE: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Army notched up victories against their respective rivals on the fourth day of the ongoing All Pakistan NBP Hockey Tournament at the National Hockey Stadium here on Monday. NBP outclassed Higher Education Commission (HEC) 7-2, PIA defeated Pakistan Air Force (PAF) 1-0 and Army defeated Pakistan WAPDA 2-1 in a thrilling match.
The last match of the day between Army and WAPDA was full of thrill and drama and the crowd enjoyed every moment of the proceedings. Army took lead in the 11th minute when they got a penalty corner and full back Habib-ur-Rehman made no mistake. After the first goal, the match entered into a thrilling stage as both teams engaged themselves in a tough tussle to keep control of the ball. Eight minutes later WAPDA’s Mohammed Jaffar levelled the score through a beautiful field goal. In the third session, Army again took lead through Abdul Jabbar in the 36th minute on a penalty corner. After that WAPDA forwards exerted pressure through their aggressive moves and stick work but Ali Rehman, the alert goalkeeper of Army, thwarted their attempts. In the dying moments, WAPDA earned a penalty corner in the last minute of the match, Ali firmly guarded his post and saved a hard push. Munawar and Munir Ahmed supervised the match.
Earlier, NBP had a field’s day as they completely dominated the proceedings of the opening match against HEC. Ayyub with four field goals (13th, 28th, 57th, 60th minutes) was the star of the match while Attique (15th minute), Ali (29th minute) and Faizan (55th minute) also shared honours with one goal each. HEC scored two goals through Mohsin Nawaz in 29th and 35th minuets. Kamran Sharif and Afzal supervised the match.
PAF demonstrated immense resistance against much superior PIA in the second match of the day. PAF defenders frustrated a number of attacks launched by the forwards of the national airliner. Particularly their goalkeeper Qurban saved at least two certain goals. PIA’s Taimur Malik initiated a move and earned a penalty corner which was turned into a penalty stroke due to foul of PAF players and Ehsanullah neatly pushed the ball into the net to score the winner. PAF missed a fair chance in the 43rd minute when their forwards couldn’t match the speed of their captain Saeed Shah who was looking at them for a pass. Kamran Husain and Zahid Hameed were the field umpires.
The Daily Times
Olympic hockey stars Nick Catlin and Iain Lewers sign for Holcombe
By Mike Haymonds
Nick Catlin and Iain Lewers have signed for Holcombe Nick Catlin and Iain Lewers have signed for Holcombe [GETTY]
LONDON Olympians Nick Catlin and Iain Lewers are the highest profile pre-season signings by Holcombe in their bid to gain Premier status.
The pair are joined by current England goalkeeper George Pinner after the Kent club signed Barry Middleton and Dan Fox last season.
Last campaign the men’s team just missed the play-offs for a top-flight berth after finishing one point behind Southgate, one point adrift, in the East Conference.
Holcombe’s women, who won promotion to the Premier League last season, have also been busy recruiting, Nicola White and Sam Quek moving from Leicester and Reading respectively.
The men will be strong contenders to go one better while the women are expected to mix it with the top teams Canterbury, Reading and Surbiton.
England performance director Danny Kerry does not see both men’s and women’s Premier leagues having just four or five powerful teams as adverse developments.
“The clubs without the same financial resources will have to develop strong youth policies to compete,” he said.
This is the route taken by Surbiton who, as a community club, can only pay coaches, not players. They have over 850 juniors on their books and run 37 teams.
Surbiton men’s coach, former Australian international Todd Williams, said. “I love being at Surbiton.
“How other clubs operate is up to them but ours is a policy of choice which benefits the club, not just the top team or certain players.
“Our model provides the best coaching for our juniors and supports our top players who are then actively involved in making the club better.
“I'm not sure the paying clubs get the same benefit and in any case a team is only as strong as its weaker players, not its stronger ones.”
Surbiton no longer suffer the problems they had between the Athens and Beijing Olympics when they had up to seven English members of the Olympic men’s training squad.
Frequent non-availability due to international commitments was a main cause of the team’s underachievement. Despite their stars, they failed to qualify for Europe until the season before last when they only had Scottish, Irish and Welsh internationals.
Daily Express