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News 20 September 2014

All the news for Saturday 20 September 2014


Asian Games Results

Japan 8 Bangladesh 0
Malaysia 8 Singapore 2
Pakistan 14 Sri Lanka 0
Oman 0 China 5

17th Asian Games, Incheon 2014 Official site



Malaysia 8 Singapore 2

Malaysia beat Singapore 8-2 in the Asian Games Hockey Group A match on Saturday and will next play Bangladesh, followed by S Korea and Japan.

Need to beat two more teams to confirm semi-finals spot, and in cross-over, India or Pakistan the likely opponents.

MALAYSIA

Razie Rahim 2'min (PC) - MAS
Fitri Saari 3'min (FG) - MAS
Rahim Razie 17'min (PS) - MAS
Firhan Ashaari 30'min (FG) - MAS
Razie Rahim 35'min (PS) - MAS
Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin 37'min (FG) - MAS
Izwan Firdaus 48'min (FG) - MAS
Shahrun Nabil 51'min (FG) - MAS

SINGAPORE

Enrico Marican 11'min (PC) - SIN
Silas Noor Shah 28'min (FG) - SIN 

Jugjet's World of Field Hockey



Sardar leads Indian contingent at Asiad opening ceremony


Flag bearer of India Sardar Singh leads the team into the Opening Ceremony of the 17th Asian Games in Incheon. Hockey India FaceBook photo

INCHEON: Indian hockey captain Sardar Singh led the country's Asian Games contingent at the Opening Ceremony held at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium on Friday.

India has sent a 679-member contingent for the 17th Asiad which comprises 516 athletes and 163 coaches and support staff.

India will be participating in 28 disciplines as against 35 last time in the 2010 Guangzhou Games.

India had won 14 golds, 17 silvers and 34 bronzes to finish sixth at the 16th Asiad four years ago in the Chinese port city Guangzhou.

The Times of India



Imran leads Pakistan contingent at Asian Games opening ceremony



INCHEON - Olympian Hockey Captain M Imran led the Pakistan contingent at the 17th Asian Games which opened with a glittering, colorful and dazzling opening ceremony at Incheon Main Stadium here on Friday evening.

Smartly attired in national dress Shalwar Kameez and green waist-coat Pakistan athletes were cheered and greeted as they entered the stadium by the crowd. A Korean lady was carrying Pakistan's National flower Jasmeen was in front of Muhammad Imran, reports Ehsan Qureshi.

Popular Gangnam concert was also part of the ceremony which was watched and enjoy by jam-packed 62,000 strong crowd amid fanfare and pageantry in 45-nation competition. Top Korean singer thrilled the audience with songs as local present era, past history and ancient culture was displayed in an imposing fashion.

South Korean president Park Geun-hye, Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, Organizing Committee chairman and heads of all National Olympic Committees including POA president Lt Gen (r) Syed Arif Hasan was also present on the occasion.

March-past started with Nepal leading contingent as per the Korean Alphabet. Olympic Flag and Olympic torch was brought in to mark the occasion. When Korean president Madam Park Geun-hye declared the games open, a loud applause erupted from the crowd and dazzling colorful firework eliminated the skies. Korean and OCA flags were hoisted on the occasion and Olympic torch alighted which mark the official opening of the sporting extravaganza.

South Korean culture, known as the 'Korean Wave' or Hallyu, has swept through Asia in recent years generating billions of dollars in revenue from drama and pop music and Friday's ceremony drew heavily on its influence. Actress and model Lee Young-ae, the face of countless commercials across the region, lit the Asian Games cauldron and 'Gangnam Style' singer Psy delivered a rousing finale.

The ceremony, dubbed: 'Dream of 4.5 billion people, One Asia,' also featured traditional Korean performances of song, dance and poetry as athletes stood shoulder to shoulder behind the flags of 45 countries at the Incheon Asian Main Stadium. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), told the athletes: "We are delighted to welcome you and are looking forward to seeing you compete and perform based on fair play and respect. "You are the heart and soul of the Games."

From weightlifting to wushu, rowing to rugby sevens and swimming to sepaktakraw, the Games will showcase elite Asian talent in 36 sports, with the first of 439 gold medals to be awarded in the women's 10 metre air pistol team event on Saturday. Much of the attention will be focused on the pool where Olympic champions Sun Yang of China and South Korea's homegrown hero Park Tae-hwan will meet in a series of freestyle duels.

China has topped the medals table at the last eight Asian Games and is expected to do so again, while the hosts' target is finishing second, above fierce rivals Japan, for the fifth straight Asiad. China's vast delegation includes badminton great Lin Dan and London Olympic gold medallist Yi Shiwen while Japan expect great things from a swim team that took seven golds at the recent Pan Pacific Championships.

Olympic champions Yang Hak-seon and Lee Yong-dae will spearhead South Korea's campaign for 90 golds on home soil in a Games that will also put Korea's financial muscle and logistical capabilities to the test once again. After hosting the Asian Games in 1986 and 2002, and the Olympics in 1988, South Korea will stage the winter Olympics for the first time in Pyeongchang in four years' time.

A successful Incheon Games would go a long way to allaying any concerns that South Korea will struggle to be ready. A gold-medal laden performance would also be well received in South Korea, where the mood has been one of grief and despair following the Sewol ferry disaster in April. Of the 476 passengers and crew on board, 339 were children and teachers from the same school. Only 172 people were rescued and the remainder are all presumed to have drowned. While relations remain strained between Tokyo and Pyongyang, North Korean and Japanese athletes showed no signs of tension as they filed into the stadium one after another, the Korean alphabet putting the delegations beside each other.

The North Korean flag was also flying at the stadium, a week after complaints from ultra-conservative South Korean groups forced organisers to take them down from the streets in the host city and other venues. Tensions between North and South Korea are high and the two states are still technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

The Saudi athletic contingent marched into the stadium waving and smiling like all the other delegations but with one major difference - Saudi Arabia is the only country not to send female athletes to the Games, which are running under the slogan: "Diversity Shines Here". Their decision has drawn criticism from Human Rights Watch but Saudi officials have defended their stance, saying their female athletes were not 'competitive' enough for the Asian Games, a multi-sports event held every four years.

The lead-up to Friday's opening ceremony was also tarnished when a member of the Iranian delegation was thrown out of the Games after being charged with sexual harassment of a female volunteer at a soccer stadium.

A Palestine soccer player was also charged with the same offence and Sheikh Ahmad told Reuters that he was sorry the incidents had marred the start of the Games.

Sheikh Ahmad also told Reuters that Indonesia was poised to be named the host of the next Asian Games following Vietnam's decision to pull out due to financial woes. The OCA will make a formal announcement on the next host on Saturday at its general assembly. Wherever the Games land, the hosts will struggle to match Incheon's vibrant curtainrasier, which blended popular Korean culture with some of the country's leading sports personalities.

Actors Hyun Bin, Jang Dong-gun and Kim Soo-hyun, soprano Jo Su-mi, and Korean pop groups EXO and JYJ featured in a ceremony that took spectators through snapshots of Asian history, its rich culture, traditions and development. Korean sporting heroes also had their place in the spotlight, with golf major winners Pak Se-ri and Park In-bee appearing with Olympic weightlifting champion Jang Mi-ran and speedskater Lee Kyou-hyuk, who appeared at six winter Games.

The Nation



Korea will look to extend supremacy at home

S.THYAGARAJAN

INCHEON: A happy blend of professionalism supported by an admirable attempt to attain perfection as you touch down at the spick and span airport to soak in to the ambience of the 17th Asian Games. The formalities associated with accreditation are completed in a jiffy leaving the weary traveler after a long journey into an area of comfort.

For a nation which is on the threshold of hosting its third Asian Games-the first in 1986- and being the venue for one of the best Olympic Games noted for its unprecedented number of countries contesting under the IOC flag in 1988, the nitty-gritty of grasping of the complexities of conducting a mega event is quite transparent in every area.

Competitive hockey gets a little more focus in this soccer obsessed country thanks largely to the consistently good performances of the national teams, men and women, since 1986. It was at the Seoul Asian Games, a rehearsal for the Olympics that Korea announced its arrival as major force in the game. The gold medal triumph signaled a new era. Today, the Koreans are reckoned as one of the most formidable opponents on the contemporary scene.

What captured the imagination of the hockey fraternity, accustomed to the aesthetics associated with India and Pakistan was the athleticism and adeptness, especially in the area of penalty corners improvised by the Koreans.

Few countries in Asia and only a handful in the world today, have perfected the art of converting penalty corners with a measure of consistency as the Koreans.

In the men’s competition, Korea has won the gold medal four times (1986, 1994, 2002 and 2006) in 11 appearances with a silver medal (1998) and a bronze in 1958, the year when hockey was introduced in the Asian Games. The statistics only confirm that the men had cornered the gold on both the occasions when Korea hosted the Games. They are, understandably, gearing for this time before the home audience.

Equally interesting is the report card of the women, the winner of the gold four times in eight appearances with three silver medals. Only in 2006 did the women miss the podium finish. The aim now is to get a double.

The Seonhak Hockey Stadium, which is among the complex for conducting handball and boxing, was bristling with life on Thursday with the technical officials testing equipment and clock, which needs to be recalibrated to suit to the demands of the four quarter format, under the guidance and supervision of Brian Fernandez, the Tournament Director.

Interestingly, the administration of the Stadium is under the former Olympian Jeong Sang Hyun, who played here in 1988.

The teams are getting a feel of the blue turf at the venue and of course in the four-quarter format, which seems to have injected an element of excitement to the players as well as the spectators. Everyone seems to be looking forward to this here.

The Hindu



India has to live up to favourite tag

S. THYAGARAJAN

INCHEON: There is a filament of unanimity in giving India the favorite tag for the gold in the men’s hockey competition starting September 20. This is is largely because of India has the best record for Asia this year.

It was not a shining one by any stretch of imagination, but India performed better than Korea and Malaysia even as Pakistan, the defending champion, was languishing on the sidelines owing internal problems.

India finished ninth at the World Cup and secured the silver at the Commonwealth Games, while Malaysia ended last at The Hague and 10thin CWG. Even Korea managed only a 10th spot at The Hague losing to India.

Any endeavor at predicting an outcome of a competition is likely to go awry. This is specially so here when the new four-quarter format comes into vogue leaving many guessing what is in store.

One positive factor that supports India’s chances relates to the quality and extent of training under the stalwart coaches, Roelant Oltmans and Terry Walsh. The exposure has been good and consistent. There is an acceptance of the fact that India has indeed progressed, albeit marginally.

Will India be under pressure to perform? However rhetorical the question may appear, it is imperative for the team to underline the fact that it is the best in the continent to be sure for the automatic berth for the 2016 Olympics.

A well-balanced outfit with a generous spread of talent in every layer it will be a huge disappointment if India fails to clear the final hurdle. True, it is not an easy task. The team has to achieve an appreciable measure of consistency to support the level of competence.

Everything revolves around the accomplished mid-fielder Sardar Singh. It is for the rest to give a helping hand to this doughty warrior who has never failed the team.

Efficient assistance from seniors like Gurbaj and Lakra, with adequate inputs from Manpreet and Mujtaba, can galvanize the front line. Then it is left for Sunil, Chandi and Akashdeep to bring everything to fruition. It is hoped that all the rehearsals at training sessions do not slip into the oblivion.

The popular expectation is that apart from India, it will be Pakistan, Malaysia and South Korea in the semi-final line up with a possibility of an upset entry by Japan.

In this estimate, Pakistan’s return is eagerly awaited to enlarge the strength of the Asian presence. With veterans like Muhammad Imran (captain), Muhammad Ifran, and Shakeel Abbasi and youngsters like Tausiq with Umar Butta, there is optimism of a Pakistani resurgence.

The convulsions that reverses at the World Cup and CWG brought to Malaysian hockey were immense. Coach Dharmaraj paid the price and a major shuffle took place. Under the new mentor, Arul Selvaraj, the team is fighting against odds to convince fans back home that what occurred was only a passing phase.

Under conditions best suited to their system and style, the Koreans do enjoy an upper hand. They were surprisingly innocuous in recent tournaments. The recovery may well come up here.

Always a difficult customer, Japan is ever ready to hand out a surprise packet. Add China also in this reckoning.

Bangladesh and Oman are the two qualifiers.

An intense battle for the medals is set to roll when Japan opens the campaign against Bangladesh.

The Pools: A: Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Bangladesh B: Pakistan, India, Oman, China and Sri Lanka.

Sarturday’s matches: Men: Japan v Bangladesh (9-30 a.m. IST); Malaysia v Singapore (11-30 a.m. ); Pakistan v Sri Lanka (1-30 p.m.); Oman v China (3-30 p.m.).

The Hindu



Pakistan face SL in Asiad hockey opener today

INCHEON: Reigning champions Pakistan will launch their campaign in the XVII Asian Games hockey competition on Saturday when they face minnows Sri Lanka in their opening group “A” match here at the Seonhak Hockey Stadium.

This will be a rare contest between 2010 Asian Games champion Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

However, it will be big test of Sri Lanka players as they are facing a major team after a long period.

“We know the Sri Lankans are not a very powerful team. But we will not take them lightly as every match is important,” chief coach Shahnaz Shaikh said on Friday.

He said they are looking forward to start in a confident fashion regardless of the opponent. “We cannot afford any complacency,” the former Olympian remarked.

While Mohammad Imran’s Pakistan were unable to get a good match practice against some of the big teams ahead of Asiad, the question remains as to why they could not arrange matches against lesser teams like Bangladesh, Japan and Korea to stay in the groove.

“Yes, I believe that Pakistan team needed a couple of good practice matches against the participating teams but those could not be arranged for one reason or the other,” admitted Shahnaz.

In the upcoming games, Pakistan will be facing a stiff challenge from hosts South Korea, arch-rival India and Malaysia in their bid to retain their title which they won at Guangzhou (China) four years ago.

Pakistan will be playing their showpiece encounter against India on Sept 25 which is expected to decide the fate of the Group “A” standing.

Pakistan is drawn in pool “A” alongwith India, China, Sri Lanka and Oman while pool “B” consists of Bangladesh, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore.

Pakistan will be up against the super-fit Chinese on Sunday and after a two-day rest, they will play India while their last group tie will be against minnows Oman on Sept 27.

In the other matches on the opening day, Japan play Bangladesh, Malaysia take on Singapore and China will be up against Oman.

Dawn



Pakistan hockey eager to start afresh

KARACHI: Defending champions Pakistan are looking to put aside a morale-shattering year in which they failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.

With the winner at the Asian Games getting a direct entry into the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, team manager Shahnaz Sheikh fears this could be a make-or-break time for Pakistan hockey.

“It hurt badly when we could not qualify for the World Cup and we do not want the same thing to happen to us at the Olympics,” said Sheikh, a renowned striker in his time.

“It is important to win the tournament here and avoid a tough qualification route to the Olympics.”

Pakistan will face minnows Sri Lanka in a rare encounter in their opening Group A match on Saturday.

The greenshirts have not played against an international side in 11 months, while Sri Lanka hockey is taking part at the Asian Games after 36 years. They haven’t played with an international team since a year-and-a-half.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Sheikh said, “Sri Lanka may not be a strong side, but we will not take them lightly.”

The Express Tribune



India eye big win over Sri Lanka in Asiad opener

INCHEON: Eyes firmly set on the gold medal, which has eluded them for the past 16 years, the Indian men's hockey team would look to open its Asian Games campaign with a big win against minnows Sri Lanka in a Pool B match at the Seonhak Hockey Stadium on Sunday.

After the islanders, the Sardar Singh-led side will face Oman on September 23 before more tough encounters against arch-rival Pakistan (September 25) and China (September 27).

Two-time gold medallist India, who stood top of the podium in 1966 and 1998, would definitely be looking for thumping wins over Sri Lanka and Oman to boost their confidence before they take on the big guns.

The Asian Games will be the first major international hockey competition to feature the new format where the duration of the game has been reduced from 70 to 60 minutes. The game will also be played in four quarters of 15-minute each instead of the regular two halves of 35 minutes each. There will be a 40-second time-out when a penalty corner is awarded and after a goal is scored.

The new format was introduced by the International Hockey Federation to make the game more fast-paced and viewer friendly and the Asian Games will be a test of character of India's adaptability to changing rules.

India is the second-best among Asian teams in world rankings at no.9 behind four-time winners and tournament hosts South Korea.

But going by the amount of international exposure Terry Walsh's boys had in the last one year, which includes the World Cup and Glasgow Commonwealth Games, India are definitely touted as one of the title favourites in the 17th edition of the Asiad.

For India, the added incentive to win the gold here is a direct berth to Rio Olympics as the winners of the Asian Games will earn a direct entry into the 2016 mega-event.

Having failed to utilise the opportunity in the last edition after losing to Malaysia in the semifinals of the 2010 Guangzhou Games, the Indians would be desperate to avoid a repeat this time around.

Unlike other participating nations, the Indians would approach the Asian Games high on confidence after having bagged the silver in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games earlier this year.

India have fielded the same bunch of players that represented the country in the Glasgow Games and the plus point for chief coach Terry Walsh is that the group looked settled.

There would be plenty of hunger in the belly of the Indian players as the country last won gold in the Asian Games in the 1998 edition in Bangkok and Sardar and his team-mates would be eager to break the 16-year-old jinx here.

India's first two matches against minnows Sri Lanka and Oman are expected to be goal routs but the encounters will also give Walsh a fair bit of idea about how his wards have adapted and made use of the new rules.

India's chief coach Walsh has been upbeat about his ward's chances in the Asian Games but warned his wards against complacency.

"We are progressing really well. There is a considerable difference in our level of performance from pre-World Cup to post-Commonwealth Games," he said.

"We have a realistic chance (of winning the gold) but we will take one game at a time," Walsh said.

Insisting that India and Korea are the teams to beat in the Asian Games, Walsh said, "I think this group of players sincerely believe that if they play to their potential they can win the title."

Besides the players, the pressure would also be high on India's highly-paid foreign coaches -- Walsh and High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans -- as anything less than a gold might just see their ouster despite having a contract will 2016 Olympics.

All in all stakes are very high for the eight-time Olympic champions India in the Asian Games as a gold here will not give them a direct ticket to Rio but also help in reviving the dipping profile of the game back home.

The Times of India



We want to win gold, qualify for Rio 2016, says Rani Rampal



Indian hockey's feared forward Rani Rampal talks to Shekhar Luthra about the impact of new format and chances of her team in Incheon. Excerpts...

How is the new rule of four quarters going to change the game?
See, it can be looked at both ways. It's tougher because the game will become faster, more intense and be more demanding on body. But if you look at it from the other angle then it could be a little easier too. We used to play for 35 minutes without a break. But now we play 15 minutes and then there's a two-minute break. The total playing time has decreased too, to 60 minutes from the earlier 70.

How do you see your team's chances here in Asian Games?
The women's hockey in Asia is a bit topsy-turvy. The Chinese are top ranked here with a world ranking of five and South Korea and Japan are also ahead of us. But on ground, I feel that Indians are not much behind all three of them and can beat anyone on their day. We are playing China, Malaysia and Thailand in our pool and that's what we're focussed on right now. We want to top the pool so that we can play semifinals with the second team of the other group.

Is a direct qualification to Rio Olympics 2016 your aim too, like the men's team?
Certainly, the winner here in the Asiad would get a direct ticket to Rio. All our girls are determined to give their best on field to win gold and subsequently qualify for the Olympics. So, every time we play, every match we play, we are not going to be complacent.

In last year's Asia Cup, India finished third behind Japan and South Korea. The win against China would have been heartening?
In modern game, the team which scores more on penalty-corners wins more games. It has become difficult nowadays to score field goals. Our coach Neil Hawgood has changed the way we play now. We attack more and together. And fall back on defence together when ball is lost to opponents. The other teams in the world also play like this and that's the reason the defences are generally packed. This has made it difficult for all teams to score field goals.

So, penalty corner conversion is the only solution?
Converting penalty corners gives you more opportunities to score in crunch games. We have been trying different variations in penalty corners to surprise our opponents. That's why there is no single drag flick expert in our team. There are separate players as drag-flicker, hitter or slapper, to suit different situations.

How much have you progressed in this area?
This is an ongoing process. There are different experts because we can't use the same variation against different teams. Otherwise, we'll become predictable. Every team now tries and sorts out opponents with the use of software. They watch video recordings in order to make advance strategy against them prior to the match.

DNA



Perform or perish: India's foreign coaches under the cosh

Narain Swamy

BANGALORE: India's ensemble of foreign coaches will be the first to hear the crack of the sports ministry's whip if their wards underperform at the Incheon Asian Games. Among those whose jobs are on the line are hockey's super coaches Roelant Oltmans and Terry Walsh.

According to sources, the sports ministry will not entertain any excuses for poor performance as it feels it has spent enough in getting the best of coaches for its sportspersons. A detailed appraisal has been scheduled after the Asiad and barring a few exceptions, foreign coaches have been told in curt terms: perform or perish.

While the contracts of a majority of the coaches and support staff end in December this year, the others - particularly those from hockey, shooting and athletics - have been committed to a deal until the 2016 Rio Olympics.

A gold medal in hockey is what Sports Authority of India and the ministry expect from its men's team as it fetches the country the bonus of qualifying directly for the Rio Games. "Anything lesser than gold will be viewed seriously," sources said. "We are paying over $30,000 to the experts in hockey. They have been on the job for some time now. It's time they delivered."

Similar targets have been set for coaches involved in other high-profile sports where performance hasn't matched potential in recent times. Incidentally, SAI has 27 foreign coaches and seven support staff on its rolls.The salary payout is around $195,000 a month, which works out to around Rs 1.2 crore.

"This is not all. Their salaries are tax free. We pay their income-tax, which is a sizeable chunk.Add to this food, accommodation and other perks and the amount spent on each coach almost doubles," sources said.

The Times of India



Hockey captain: It's time to redeem ourselves


National hockey captain Azlan Misron (centre) and the players during a training session at the Incheon Asian Games on Friday. - KAMARUL ARIFFIN/ The Star

INCHEON: Malaysian hockey is in the pits. And captain Azlan Misron wants the team to pull themselves out of it, beginning at the Incheon Asian Games.

Azlan and his team-mates have a chance to redeem lost pride by beating Singapore in their opening Group A match at the Seonhak Stadium on Saturday. Malaysia will then take on Bangladesh the next day.

Azlan said they cannot afford to drop points against either Singapore or Bangladesh.

“These two teams are considered the weakest in our group and we cannot drop any points. Not even a draw. We must secure full points against both these teams,’ he said.

Azlan said the embarrassing 4-2 loss to lowly Trinidad and Tobago in a group match at last month’s Glasgow Commonwealth Games still rankled the team.

“I have told the players to put aside the Glasgow outing and focus on the Asian Games. There is no point looking back. It is a lesson that we have to learn from and not allow it to happen again,” said Azlan.

“There are expectations from the public and I see this outing as a means to regain the trust they have in our team,” he said after a morning training session at the Seonhak Stadium.

Malaysia finished a disastrous seventh in Glasgow and the team were severely criticised. On their return, there was a change in the coaching set-up with coach K. Dharmaraj and his assistants being replaced by the interim team of A. Arulselvaraj and Tai Beng Hai.

Only five players from the Commonwealth Games are in the Asiad team. They are Mohamed Razie Rahim, Izwan Firdaus, Faiz Helmi, Meor Mohamed Azuan and Ahmad Kazamirul Nasruddin.

Arulselvaraj said they would field their best team against Singapore and Bangladesh as part of their build-up for the tougher games against South Korea (Sept 25) and Japan (Sept 26).

“As I have said earlier we have a new playing structure and this match against Singapore will show us how the players have adapted to the system,” said Arulselvaraj.

“I want to see improvements in our team work and playing structure as we progress in the Games. We have our own targets and it is important that we all work together to reach it.”

Arulselvaraj, an assistant to former national coach Paul Revington from October 2012 to December 2013, is advocating the use of two midfielders instead of the regular three.

He wants to make the team more mobile in attack and defence.

“It is all about having the numbers both up front and in defence.

“I’m not only looking at the team scoring more field goals but also to ensure we are not caught napping when there is a counter-attack.

“I believe that the players are fully aware of what is required and will rise to the occasion,” he said confidently.

The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) have revised the target for the team. Initially, the target was to win the gold. After the Glasgow debacle, it was revised to a place in the final.

This Asiad is also a qualifying tournament for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics with the gold medallists getting an automatic berth.

The Star of Malaysia



Malaysia not alone with lone hockey goalie

INCHEON: Malaysia are not the only hockey team to have only one goalkeeper for the Incheon Asian Games.

Defending champions Pakistan, India and hosts South Korea are also taking the same route.

Pakistan chief coach Shannaz Sheikh said that with each team being allowed to register only 16 players, the decision to take only one goalkeeper was the natural choice.

“We need more outfield players to have greater and better options. It would have been good if the Incheon organisers had allowed the teams to register 18 players like the other top international competitions,” said Shannaz, who is back at the helm of the Pakistan team after staying away for almost a decade.

“I took over the team five months ago and the target is to retain the gold here. I believe we have a team capable of winning the title again.”

Pakistan have drawn up a contingency plan in case goalkeeper Imran Butt is injured. They have either Aamar Butt or Mohamed Dilber as stand-in.

For India, their main goalkeeper is P.R. Sreejesh and his back up is defender V.R. Raghunath.

“It is not that big a risk as most of the top teams here will be using one goalkeeper,” Sreejesh said.

Arch-rivals Pakistan and India are in Group B with China, Oman and Sri Lanka.

Group A has Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Bangladesh.

The hockey event starts on Saturday at the Seonhak Hockey Stadium.

The Star of Malaysia



New rules: Hockey steps into unknown

Rohit Mahajan

Incheon - Hockey is going to step into the unknown, and it’s unclear what changes that would bring into the sport. The duration of a match will come down by 10 minutes. Instead of two halves 35 minutes each, we’re going to have four quarters, 15 minutes each, from now on. The half-time will last 10 minutes, and there will be two-minute breaks after the first and third quarters.

These rules have been used in friendly matches and some domestic events, like the Hockey India League. But Asian Games would mark the international debut of this new system. What will this do to the game? No one knows for sure, but opinion seems to have settled on one point —the game will become much faster. That’s exactly what the international hockey federation (FIH) wanted to do — make the sport faster to make it more attractive.

But can the sport really become faster? How much quicker, for instance, can a player run? Aren’t they already running as fast as they possibly can?

“The game will become much faster now,” Pakistan coach Shahnaz Sheikh said the other day. Indian coach MK Kaushik doesn’t quite agree. “Nothing of the sort… What difference can it make?” he told this writer here today. “How much faster can a player run? The game was fast earlier too, wasn’t it?”

But players are now going to play 15 minutes continuously, instead of the 35 earlier, aren’t they? Won’t that make those 15 minutes more intense? “But we’ve have had the rolling substitutions, so fresher players were regularly coming in to play, so it’s not that the intensity was not high earlier,” Kaushik said.

Kaushik, actually, wondered if the new format will help the game much. “I don’t think it will benefit the players much,” he said. “Players take a bit of time to get into a good rhythm, and there are going to be interruptions after 15 minutes… I’m not sure if the three stoppages would be a good thing for the game or the players.”

Kaushik, though, said that the rules are there and they’ve no option but to follow them, like it or not. “They (international hockey federation) have put these rules into place, so we’ve got to plan accordingly,” he said. “So we’ve been positive about this and have prepared to do our best.”

India’s high performance director Roelant Oltmans is also non-committal about who could gain from the changes. “It can help India, but that is the case for a lot of other teams, too,” he said earlier this month.

Oltmans has said that the system would allow India to put their best players on the field for longer period of time.

Kaushik isn’t really sure if it would help India – “we do take a bit of time to find a rhythm”. “I and he (Oltmans) have our views, which could be different,” Kaushik added. “We could have different mindsets about this. But until and unless we play in this format, how will you know what will happen? We’re waiting to see what is going to happen.”

The whole of the hockey world waits, too, to see what slicing the halves further does to the sport.

The Tribune



Made-for-TV format to test hockey rivals

INCHEON: Field hockey enters a new era on Saturday when the Asian Games becomes the first tournament to be played under a new made-for-TV format of four quarters and time-outs.

The new rules will see the traditional two halves of 35 minutes each replaced by four 15-minute quarters, with additional 40-second time-outs before penalty corners and after goals have been scored.

The rules, approved in March mainly to benefit television, reduce a match from 70 minutes to an hour, but eliminate time wastage for penalty corners or goal celebrations by teams.

India’s Australian coach Terry Walsh said teams could lose momentum due to various breaks in play that include a two-minute stoppage after the first and third quarters and the usual 10-minute interval at half-time.

“Many teams will feel the effects,” said Walsh. “Momentum and the flow can be lost by these breaks. But at least the full 60 minutes will be utilized during a match.”

Indian players have experimented with the new format in the domestic league, but Walsh said the advantage would lie with the team that comes out running after a break.

“Our form over the past few months give me confidence that we have a great chance to win the gold medal,” the former Australian international said.

India, once the masters of the game with eight Olympic titles, have endured a hard time at the Asian Games, winning the gold medal just twice in 1966 and 1998, both times in Bangkok.

In contrast, arch-rivals Pakistan have won the competition eight times and hosts South Korea, the highest-ranked Asian team at number eight, on four occasions.

Walsh’s optimism stems from India’s victory over the Koreans in the play-off for the 9-10 positions at the World Cup in June, and a second-place finish behind world champions Australia at the Commonwealth Games.

India, hailed as the best side in the Asiad competition four years ago in Guangzhou, had to be content with a bronze medal after being stunned by Malaysia in the semi-finals.

Defending champions Pakistan are looking to put aside a morale-shattering year in which they failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.

With the winner at the Asian Games getting a direct entry into the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, team manager Shahnaz Sheikh fears this could be a make-or-break time for Pakistan hockey.

“It hurt badly when we could not qualify for the World Cup and we do not want the same thing to happen to us at the Olympics,” Sheikh, a renowned striker in his time, told AFP.

“It is important to win the tournament here and avoid a tough qualification route to the Olympics.

“Our main rivals will again be India, South Korea and Malaysia. The competition will be tough but we have prepared the best we could and I am hopeful of our chances.”

Malaysia, who finished last at the World Cup, have still to recover from the embarrassing 4-2 defeat at the hands of lowly Trinidad and Tobago at the Commonwealth Games.

Malaysian officials removed coach K. Dharmaraj and appointed Arul Selvaraj, but a brief tour of Incheon last month to acclimatise to the artificial turf ended in two defeats to junior Korean teams.

Malaysia are drawn in the same group as South Korea along with Japan, Bangladesh and Singapore. India play Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka and Oman in the other group.

Two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, China’s bid for a fourth successive women’s title will be tested by the hosts, who won the gold four straight times between 1986 and 1998.

The Express Tribune



Black Sticks tests treat for Taranaki hockey fans

MURRAY HILLS


LIKELY STARTER: Sophie Cocks playing for the Black Sticks in the Oceania Cup in Stratford last November. ANDY JACKSON/Fairfax NZ

Taranaki hockey followers have plenty to look forward to over the next few weeks.

The main attraction is the two tests between the Black Sticks and the United States women's teams at the Stratford Turf on October 18 and 19. They're the first games in a six-test series between the two countries, with the other games in Palmerston North and Carterton.

And the Future Black Sticks men and women are also heading to Stratford for training camps.

Hockey New Zealand events manager Richard Palmer said he expected the test series to be very close.

"New Zealand are ranked fourth in the world and the United States seventh. But at the recent World Cup, the Americans finished fourth and we finished fifth. It should be a good series."

Palmer said ticket sales had been steady for the two tests.

"They only went on sale a week ago. Steady would be the best way of putting it, they're tracking along reasonably well," he said.

"Stratford treated us well when they hosted the Oceania Cup. The turf is up to standard and the infrastructure is there. There's more permanent seating, there's a video tower and a scoreboard. Everyone is looking forward to being in the region again."

Palmer said the Future Black Sticks men's squad were holding a camp in Stratford next week.

"They're in Stratford from the 26th to the 29th. They'll train there and visit five schools," he said.

Palmer said the Future Black Sticks women's squad would also hold a camp in Stratford in November.

"There's also a possibility the Indian Junior women's team will play a couple of matches."

Stuff



Manzoor sets sights on Jr World Hockey Cup

Mohsin Ali

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan junior hockey team head coach Manzoor-ul-Hasan has set his sights on the Junior World Hockey Cup in Australia in 2016.

Talking to The Nation, Manzoor said: “I have taken the reins of the junior players with a mission to groom them and recommend them to Shahnaz Sheikh for the senior team.”

“We started the first phase of training in Karachi some two months back and now it is the second phase of the training camp at Naseer Bunda International Hockey Stadium. The camp will continue till October 4, the players then will be given three-day rest for Eid holidays,” he added.

“We invited a total of 50 players in the first phase and short-listed 30 from the first phase and now invited 16 more players, as the total strength of the camp now stands 46. We will conduct trials on October 4 and 18 players will be short-listed for the 4th Sultan Johar Junior Invitational Tournament 2014 to be held in Johar Bahu, Malaysia. It will be the first real test of the juniors, as they will face the likes of India, Australia, England, Malaysia and New Zealand for the first time.  “I expect boys will perform well against all the opponents. I know, we have some very bright certain individuals, but I will not comment until I will check them in a competitive event,” Manzoor stated.

He said: “I don't want to put any pressure on the boys, as winning or losing at this stage doesn't matter most, the thing that matters for me is how they have learned and responded to our training. The main and utmost goal is to win the Junior World Cup. I still believe we have given very short time of only 13 months or so for preparing the team for the mega event, rather we should have at least given two years time to prepare for it. Anyhow, we will try to give more than 100 percent.”

“I have services of some of the most successful recent past players like Rehan Butt, Qamar Ibrahim and Irfan and I am sure their presence will be a big boost for the juniors and they will learn a lot for them. They have proved their credentials at the highest level, and now we will utilize their huge and vast experience to turn raw material into one of the best in the business,” said junior team head coach.

“The boys will be provided with best possible international exposure to help them prepare well mentally and physically, as the more they get mentally strong, the better results we will get,” he said.

“The main reason behind decline of hockey and acute shortage of players is just because of lack of government’s interest in the national game. During our era, bright future hopes were given admissions in schools and colleges even universities on sports basis and were given special marks. School, college and university hockey was the nursery of Pakistan hockey, but since long, all those practices were completely abolished. It was more than a setback for the sports loving kids, as parents don’t allow their kids to waste time on sports. It is my request the government should reconsider their past policies and immediately order restoration of incentives for the bright athletes and they should be given admissions on sports basis, not only in hockey but in other sports as well, as it will be in great benefit for sports and will help the country regain lost glory in all the major sports,” Manzoor concluded.

The Nation



Hockey India inducts Hockey Village India

NEW DELHI: Hockey India (HI) on Friday inducted Hockey Village India (HVI) as an Academy Member to reach out to underprivileged children who are keen to make a career in the sport.

HVI works towards the better future of underprivileged children in rural India in terms of sports and education. Former German international Andrea Thumshirn started the academy in Garh Himmat Singh, District Dausa in Rajasthan, in 2010 with the support of her German hockey friends and local ruling families.

Thereafter, she managed to spread awareness of hockey in the surrounding areas and started training 50 boys and girls who later participated in various Under-14 and U-16 tournaments.

HVI opened their own school in 2013 to provide proper education and sporting facilities to budding players. Some German hockey players are now also volunteering to train young kids.

Spreading itself, HVI adopted Bhusawal Railway Boys (Maharashtra) and two more schools in South Goa in January this year and also plans to open a wing in Rohtak.

"HI has always strived to reach out to those who in spite of having the talent cannot reach the big platform. HI has always worked towards reaching out and identifying this talent. With HVI coming on board, our endeavour towards this initiative will strengthen and we are delighted to have them as an Academy Member," HI secretary general Narinder Batra said.

Andrea is the founding director of HVI.

HI now has 26 Permanent Members, 23 Associate Members, one Member through State Olympic Associations, eight Academy Members and one Hoc-Key Member.

The Times of India



Badal demands Bharat Ratna for hockey great Balbir Singh


Sardar Balbir Singh at the 1968 Olympic Games held in Mexico City. Photo: The Hindu Archives

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommended the name of hockey legend Balbir Singh for conferring the Bharat Ratna.

Sardar Balbir Singh (Senior), besides being a three-time Olympic gold medallist, has been recommended by the International Olympic Association for the rare honour of featuring him as one of the 16 greatest sportspersons of all times in the world since the start of the Olympic games. He is also the only player in the world to score five goals in an Olympic final of any team sport, an unchallenged record since 1952 and is featured in the Guinness World Records.



Three great wins

A statement from the Chief Minister’s office said that Mr. Badal has asked the Prime minister to consider Sardar Balbir Singh’s name also because he led the Indian hockey team to its third successive Olympic gold and featuring in all three as a player (1948, 1952 and 1956). And after his playing days were over, the hockey player continued to serve the nation steering India as team manager at the country’s only World Cup triumph at Kuala Lumpur in 1975.

“Sardar Balbir Singh shines as a rare and most outstanding legend in his lifetime, and no other sportsperson in the country or for that matter from any other country has ever scaled the heights of Olympic glory as he has done,” said Mr. Badal in his letter.

The Hindu



Punjab CM recommends hockey legend Balbir for Bharat Ratna

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Friday recommended three-time Olympic gold medallist and hockey legend Balbir Singh (Senior) for the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award.

Balbir is the only player in the world to score five goals in an Olympic final of any team sport. This unique record, which features in the Guinness Book of World Records, has stood unchallenged since the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Badal apprised the prime minister of Balbir's achievements.

"Balbir Singh shines as a rare and most outstanding legend in his lifetime and no other sportsperson in the country, or for that matter from any other country, has ever scaled the heights of Olympic glory as he has done," Badal said in a statement.

The Times of India



First Ever National Championship Hockey Squads Inducted into WCU Hall of Fame

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – West Chester University announced its Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2014, which was honored at the annual hall of fame banquet this past Saturday at the Wyndham Garden Inn in Exton, Pa. The class included six individuals and the 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978 women's field hockey national championship teams.

No other program dominated the landscape of intercollegiate field hockey quite like West Chester University in the mid-1970s. The Golden Rams rattled off four straight Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) titles from 1975-78 and laid the groundwork for future success of the West Chester University Field Hockey program. The 1975 National Championship marked the first ever AIAW Collegiate Field Hockey Championship. Under the direction of field hockey legend Vonnie Gross in 1975 and 1976, and her successor Robin Cash in 1977 and 1978, West Chester authored a combined four-year record of 71-1-9. The Golden Rams orchestrated a 65-game unbeaten streak over that same time period.

The introduction of the Class of 2014 marks the end of a lengthy selection process that began during the winter. A 10-member selection committee representing athletic administrators and current head coaches, former West Chester University athletes and Rams' Athletic Association members began the process of developing a workable list from the hundreds of athletes nominated. Only athletes that graduated from WCU were considered and only those 10 years removed from their playing days were eligible.

In addition, the selection committee followed a charter, established to support the West Chester University Athletics Hall of Fame that profiled a myriad of strict eligibility requirements for former athletes, coaches and administrators to be considered. "Primary" consideration for election to the WCU Athletics Hall of Fame was granted to accomplishments during an individual's tenure as an athlete, coach or administrator while at West Chester University. Honors attained or accomplishments that pre- or post-dated a candidate's time at West Chester University were granted "secondary" consideration.

Once the selection committee comprised its recommended list, the names were forwarded to Director of Athletics, Dr. Edward M. Matejkovic, for his review and official ratification.

USFHA media release



Volunteer at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio



Do you want to volunteer at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio?

The Rio 2016 Volunteer Program is your opportunity to take part in the world’s biggest sporting event and the application process to be a Volunteer at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio is now open.

To specifically volunteer in the Hockey Venue click on the link to pre-register.

People who have pre-registered will receive a special code to insert during the registration process for the Volunteers Program. This code will give you preference to be a Volunteer in the Hockey Venue.

Once you have your code, please click here to submit your full application.

Do not miss out on this great opportunity to participate and make the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, part of your own life’s history.

http://www.rio2016.org

FIH site

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