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News for 15 August 2019

All the news for Thursday 15 August 2019


African Hockey Road to Tokyo 2020 (Men) - Day 4
Stellenbosch (RSA)

Fixtures (GMT +2)

15 Aug 2019 11:00     KEN v ZIM (RR)    
15 Aug 2019 13:00     NAM v EGY (RR)    
15 Aug 2019 17:00     GHA v RSA (RR)    

Live streaming and full game replay on https://fih.live and https:www.facebook.com/ShoOTTSA/

Pool Standings

Rank Team Played Wins Draws Losses Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Points
1 Egypt 2 2 0 0 13 2 11 6
2 South Africa 2 2 0 0 12 1 11 6
3 Ghana 2 2 0 0 6 3 3 6
4 Namibia 2 0 0 2 2 6 -4 0
5 Kenya 2 0 0 2 4 10 -6 0
6 Zimbabwe 2 0 0 2 0 15 -15 0

FIH Match Centre



African Hockey Road to Tokyo 2020 (Women)
Stellenbosch (RSA)

Fixtures (GMT +2)

15 Aug 2019 09:00     KEN v ZIM (RR)     0 - 2
15 Aug 2019 15:00     NAM v RSA (RR)    

Live streaming and full game replay on https://fih.live  and https:www.facebook.com/ShoOTTSA/

Pool Standings

Rank Team Played Wins Draws Losses Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Points
1 Ghana 2 1 1 0 4 2 2 4
2 Kenya 3 1 1 1 2 3 -1 4
3 South Africa 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
4 Zimbabwe 3 1 0 2 3 5 -2 3
5 Namibia 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1  

FIH Match Centre



Hockey teams Tokyo quest in terrible start

Sikhumbuzo Moyo

THE Zimbabwe men’s and women’s hockey teams got off to a terrible start in their quest to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after losing their opening two games at a qualifying tournament in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Zimbabwe ladies lost their first match 1-3 to Ghana on Monday, with Sophie McDonald scoring the consolation goal. They again found the going tough against hosts South Africa, stumbling to a 0-2 loss on Tuesday evening.

The men’s side was hammered 0-6 by Egypt in their opening game before being further humiliated 0-9 by South Africa, leaving the Zimbabwean sides needing nothing short of a miracle in their next three games to stand a chance of securing a slot in the Olympics.

Zimbabwe men are in Pool B and take on Kenya today before facing off against Namibia on Saturday and wrapping up their tournament against Ghana on Sunday. The ladies date Kenya and round off their tourney against Namibia.

The top two sides progress to the semi-finals and winners in both the men’s and women’s categories will booking their tickets to Japan for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Hockey was the first Zimbabwean sport code to land an Olympic medal when the Golden Girls scooped gold in the 1980 Moscow Games.

The Chronicle



Olympic qualification at stake for England Hockey

 Mark McQuillan has been speaking to Canterbury's Grace Balsdon and Horsham's Maddie Hinch ahead of the competition


Maddie Hinch Goalkeeper, 2016 Olympic gold medallist

England Hockey have an opportunity to book their place at next summer's Olympics when they compete at the Euro Championship, which starts in Belgium this weekend.

However, the men's and women's teams know only a tournament win will be enough to seal Team GB's spot in Tokyo. If not, they will look to qualify via the play-offs later this year.

England's women are arguably in transition after Team GB's Olympic triumph in 2016.

But they still have their gold medal winning goalkeeper for guidance.

Horsham's Maddie Hinch admits results in their most recent competition were disappointing, but insists the group is in a good place ahead of the Euro Championship.



England's men's coach, Danny Kerry, says their top four finish was a good achievement.

One which has seen them go up a place in the world rankings to sixth ahead of the Euro Championship.

He says: "After an Olympic Games and a World Cup, a European Nations Cup is about as big as it gets. Europe is very strong in hockey, I think five of the world's top eight teams will be competing at this event. This year, we're particularly interested because we have all of the home nations represented, so as GB coach as well as England coach, I get an opportunity to see those Scottish and Welsh players playing in the top flight competition as well. So it'll be fantastic, very tight but fantastic."

ITV



Indian hockey teams set for Olympic Test event challenge

Captains Harmanpreet Singh and Rani Rampal remain confident


Rani believes that facing Australia before they take part in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers later this year will help her side in preparing well for the bigger challenges ahead 

Brimming with confidence ahead of the Olympic Test event here, the Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal and her male counterpart Harmanpreet Singh said their respective teams are capable of beating any side in the world and will not be intimidated by higher-ranked opponents.

The Olympic Test Event starts here on Saturday and both the Indian teams will be in action. They are preparing for the FIH Olympic Qualifiers to be held in November and the winners will secure their place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The World No. 5 men’s team is top-ranked at the Olympic Test Event and will be up against World No. 8 New Zealand, World No. 12 Malaysia and World No. 16 Japan. The team, being led by Harmanpreet, is without a few experienced players who have been rested, and will bank on the likes of the captain and his deputy Mandeep Singh for inspiration.

“We have a great opportunity to test younger players. Malaysia, Japan and New Zealand are good teams and we are now adjusting well to our chief coach’s ideas,” Harmanpreet said. “It will be a good test for us but we are well-prepared. It is a huge responsibility to have been given the captaincy,” added the 23-year-old.

Tough campaign

The World No. 10 women’s team will endure a comparatively tougher campaign as it faces World No. 2 Australia, World No. 11 China and World No. 14 Japan.

Rani believes playing a strong team before taking part in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers later this year will help her side. “We have a great challenge in front of us at the Olympic Test Event, but we are pretty confident of doing well. It will be a tough tournament, but we know we can beat any team in the world,” she said.

The Hindu



U.S. O-50 Men’s Masters Team Falls in Final Three WMH European Masters Championship Pool Games


Image Taken by Sports-Gallery.net, Hans Kramholler

KREFELD, Germany - August 14, 2019 - The U.S. O-50 Men's Masters Team concluded pool play at the 2019 World Masters Hockey (WMH) European Masters Championship at the Crefeld Hockey and Tennis Club in Krefeld with three losses.

O-50 Men’s Masters 0 - 5 Ireland

Ireland pressed from the first whistle applying pressure to the USA defense, making outletting difficult. That aggressive play combined with a few basic mistakes from numerous USA players allowed Ireland to open the scoring. Ireland dropped their strikers in deep and rotated very quickly making marking assignments difficult for the USA defense. The first goal came in the 9th minute from a quick restart and pass into the circle which was deflected into the net by David Sharpe. Two minutes later, Ireland tallied another through Richard Wilson.

The third goal came from a controversial penalty stroke being awarded as goalkeeper Pradeep Menon (Cuming, Ga.) made a sliding tackle, nowhere near the goal and incidentally tapped the opponent’s stick who had already lost control of the ball. The half ended with USA trailing 0-3.

The final two quarters, USA played consistently and had a little more control but allowed two goals in the 52nd minute, both from Andrew Cooke, as they fell 0-5.

O-50 Men’s Masters 1 - 3 Italy

In their third pool game, both opponents, Italy and USA, were looking for their first win of the tournament. An evenly matched game saw Italy score twice from penalty corners. The first came in the 7th minute from Andrea Bonazzi and the second in the 28th minute through Andrea Albertini. Italy applied constant pressure in the first two quarters and moved the ball well but USA matched their tempo and ball movement.

The half ended with USA earning a penalty corner but the direct shot from Hugo Mazzalupi (Wayne, Pa.) was saved by Italy’s goalkeeper Guido Demartin. Manny Morales (Miami, Fla.) and Damian Lanyon (Solana Beach, Calif.) were quick to find the rebound and managed to get the ball pushed under Demartin where Erik Enters (Harleysville, Pa.) was waiting to put it away.

The second half saw a tired Italy side which allowed for forward movement from USA. The red, white and blue moved the ball well around the back and then sent it forward when the opportunities came. In the final minute, Italy earned a penalty corner where Mario Mastino managed to score one more time to have the final result end 1-3.

O-50 Men’s Masters 0 - 10 England

Taking on the tournament favorite was no easy task for USA. England were relentless in their press in the first two quarters and recycled their forward line over and over. Their fitness was no match as England scored five goals per half, fueled by a hat trick from Neil Pendle.

A small highlight came when Morales netted a penalty corner shot but it was inches too high and disallowed. The third quarter allowed USA to move the ball around a little bit at the back, but they still struggled with getting it upfield as England closed off all lanes. A few deep balls found Enters taking on England’s defense but he could not apply enough pressure to get into their circle.

The U.S. O-50 Men’s Masters Team will play their final game on Friday, August 16 at 5:00 a.m. ET against France. For more information regarding the WMH European Masters Championship including the full schedule, results, live stream, rosters and more, check out the official event page by clicking here.



USFHA media release



Akhimullah’s appetite for goals get bigger after tour in Europe

By AFTAR SINGH



KUALA LUMPUR: Youngster Muhd Akhimullah Anuar Esook (pic) has made a name for himself in the playing tour to Europe.

The 19-year-old forward from Kuala Terengganu netted three field goals in nine matches against the region’s top hockey-playing countries. He scored a goal against Spain to help Malaysia win 4-3 in a four-nation tournament in Barcelona last week.

Against world No. 3 Holland, the Tenaga Nasional player hit a brace although Malaysia lost 6-2.

Akhimullah said that the European stint was a valuable experience.

“It feels really good to score twice against Holland. They’re really a top team as they finished runners-up in the World Cup (in Bhubaneswar, India, last December).

“I’m also glad that I’ve found my scoring touch there. But I need to be more clinical in my finishing as I only scored in two of the nine matches that I played, ” said Akhimullah, who arrived home on Tuesday.

There will be no rest for Akhimullah as he is among 18 players headed for a four-nation competition in Tokyo which starts on Saturday.

Apart from Malaysia, the other teams in the fray are hosts Japan, India and New Zealand.

“My aim in Tokyo is to score more and be in the running for a place in the squad for the Tokyo Olympic playoff matches in October, ” added Akhimullah, who made his international debut at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh in March.

Akhimullah also played at the FIH Series Finals in Bukit Jalil in April, where Malaysia finished runners-up to Canada but failed to get his name on the score sheet.

Goalkeepers: S. Kumar, Muhd Hafizuddin Othman.

Defenders: Mohd Sukri Abdul Mutalib, Faiz Helmi Jali, Syed Mohd Syafiq Syed Cholan, Mohd Najmi Farizal Jazlan, Nabil Fiqri Mohd Noor, Luqman Nul Hakim Ahmad Shukran.

Midfielders: Mohd Marhan Mohd Jalil, Nik Muhd Aiman Nik Rozemi, Meor Muhd Azuan Hasan, Mohd Ashran Hamsani, Muhd Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal, Muhd Amirol Aideed Mohd Arshad

Forwards: Norshafiq Sumantri, Muhd Shahril Saabah, Mohd Noor Firdaus Rosdi, Mohd Akhimullah Anuar Esook.

The Star of Malaysia



Irish abroad looking to make their mark in new US season


Yasmin Pratt will line out with Monmouth. Pic: Adrian Boehm

The US university hockey season is fast-approaching with 15 Irish players looking forward to the Division One campaign with scrimmages coming up in the next week.

The system has proven a decent developing ground in recent years with Ayeisha McFerran, Roisin Upton, Megan Frazer, Bethany Barr and Sarah Hawkshaw completing four-year stints stateside.

At Monmouth University – rated 29th at the end of last season –Yasmin Pratt will join former Railway Union goalkeeper Kate O’Hogan at the Hawks. The Kilkenny College graduate was due to line out for the side last year but returned home at short notice to play the season with Muckross in the EYHL.

The Irish Under-21 panelist is now in position to take up her place and major in healthy and physical science. O’Hogan is in her second season after 10 starts last season with a save percentage of 0.714 and three clean sheets.

The Mount Anville graduate is mentored by former Kilkeel, Lisnagarvey and Pembroke man Dave Williamson who is now part of the USA national setup.

At University of Massachusetts (33rd last term), Michelle Barrett becomes the latest Crescent/Catholic Institute graduate to move to the US, taking up a graduate student position.

“I wanted to experience playing field hockey in the United States and UMass is providing me with this opportunity,” she said. “I also liked the graduate programs they offered. This means I can get the best of both worlds: playing a high level of hockey, while also getting a graduate degree in an area of my interest.”

At 42nd rated Vermont, another pair of former Muckross players are in situ. Claudia Cotter has played 36 times for the Catamounts in her two seasons to date while Clodagh Ferry had a fine debut year in 2018.

She was named in the American East Rookie team, landing two game-winning goals against Dartmouth and Cornell.

Former St Gerard’s player Robyn Murray is at 26th ranked Old Dominion where she appeared in all 17 games in her freshman year.

Kathryn Edgar will play her fourth year with the Temple Owls where the Lurgan woman was the college’s top scorer. They were rated 67th at the end of 2018 and she will get expert coaching from top USA international Michelle Vittese.

Mariana Birdthistle swaps Limerick for Lock Haven (61st last year) to vye for a goalkeeping role. She joins sophomore Niamh Sexton – who hails from Fermoy – at the university.

Claudia Cotter in action for Vermont.

Kelsey Hengerer embarks on her third year in the US, continuing the Richmond Spiders (51st) long association with Irish players with the Galway woman becoming a regular last term.

Muckross and Mount Anville speedster Niamh Gowing will compete for Providence in both hockey and athletics. She previously represented Ireland in the European Junior 4x400m championships and was part of the Irish Under-21 hockey panel.

She spent last season playing for Muckross while doing her first year at UCD but is now eligible for four seasons with the Friars (35th rated).

At Michigan State (41st), Jade Arundell – formerly of King’s Hospital and North Kildare – had a fine first season in 2018, making 122 saves in 20 games.

Katie Larmour – who captained MCB to the Kate Russell in 2016 – will hope to be able to return to action this season with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (11th rated in 2018). After two spectacular seasons, she only played one match last season but was named in the 2018 Academic All-Big Ten.

Kate Gourley moves from Pegasus to Delaware (16th) following an excellent season in which she won the EYHL and Champions Trophy crowns: “I chose Delaware because of the opportunity it gives me to combine playing top level collegiate field hockey with an outstanding exercise science major.

“I was attracted by the vision and priorities of the program and look forward to developing as a player, a student and member of the Blue Hens family.”

Her coach, Rolf van der Kerkhof, added: “Kate is an intelligent and dynamic hockey player, with a high level of both technical and tactical understanding and ability. With her experience gained as a member of the Irish U18 National Team, as well as for Pegasus Hockey Club in the EYHL, she will be able to organize the play and players around her.”

The side features Ulster man Jordan McKee as associate head coach. He is among a number of Irish coaches in the US with Mark Egner holding the same post at the William and Mary College.

Another Muckross star, Katie Ronan is embarking on her third year at Drexel (49th). 50th ranked Lafayette Leopards is the team of Sophie Carr – sister of Irish men’s international Jamie – will begin her third year in the US.

** The following list is the best of my knowledge; if anyone missing, let me know via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Monmouth – Kate O’Hogan; Yasmin Pratt
Umass Amherst – Michelle Barrett
Vermont- Claudia Cotter; Clodagh Ferry
Temple Owls- Kathryn Edgar
Lock Haven – Niamh Sexton; Mariana Birdthistle
Richmond Spiders – Kelsey Hengerer
Providence – Niamh Gowing
Michigan State – Jade Arundell
Rutgers – Katie Larmour
Delaware – Kate Gourley
Drexel – Katie Ronan
Lafayette Leopards – Sophie Carr

The Hook

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