Welcome to the Fieldhockey.com Archives

Daily Hockey news updated @ 10:00 GMT

News for 07 September 2015

All the news for Monday 7 September 2015


India thrash Singapore 12-0 in Women's Junior Asia Cup hockey

CHANGZHOU (China): Indian junior women's team continued its winning ways as they thrashed Singapore 12-0 on Sunday in their second encounter of the 7th Women's Junior Asia Cup.

High on confidence after outplaying DPR Korea 13-0 on Saturday, Indian eves displayed an aggressive approach right from the first minute of the game.

Singapore, on the other hand, started on a cautious note and tried keeping the possession, but Indians with their experience went on the attack, piercing through their defense.

From the word go, the Indian eves kept on pressing for a goal and eventually earned a penalty corner early in the match. But unfortunately Jaspreet Kaur played the ball wide of the post.

However, a series of attack continued and Punam Balra finally broke the shackles in the 6th minute of the match to give India a 1-0 lead.

Singapore tried to score their first goal from the right flank but a composed Indian defense denied them any opportunity to open their account.

In the 10th minute, India captain Rani Rampal pushed a cross towards Anupa Balra, who doubled the team's lead.

India kept on attacking and scored the third goal in 15th minute when Preeti Dubey found the net. In the 25th minute, India got another penalty corner opportunity and this time Jaspreet made no mistake and extended India's lead successfully.

The Indian eves were leading 4-0 at the break.

In the second half, India maintained the same intensity.

Lily Mayebgbam scored from a penalty corner in the 49th minute. She proved to be too good for the Singaporean goalie.

Singapore defence gasped for breath as Indian managed to find the net at regular intervals thereafter. Scoring in 52nd minute, followed 59th, 61st, 64th, 65th, 68th and 70th minutes.

The Women's Junior Asia Cup 2015 is a qualification tournament for the FIH Junior World Cup (women) 2016.

India's next clash will be against China on September 9.

The Times of India



India beat Singapore 12-0

Post a convincing win over DPR Korea yesterday, India Junior Women Hockey team today thumped Singapore 12-0 in their second encounter at the 7th Women’s Junior Asia Cup. Riding on the momentum from the last game, India adopted aggressive approach right from the first minute of the game.

Singapore started the game on a cautious note and tried keeping the possession, but Indians with their experience went on the attack, piercing through their defense.

After a series of attacks in the early stage, Punam Balra finally broke the shackles in the 6th minute to give India 1-0 lead.In the 10th minute, Captain Rani Rampal pushed a cross towards Anupa Balra who helped double the lead for her team taking the scoreboard to 2-0 in their favor. India kept on its attacking spree and scored the third goal in 15th minute which was beautifully converted by Preeti Dubey as she was bang on target to find the nets. In the 25th minute, India with a penalty corner opportunity saw Jaspreet Kaur give India a 4-0 lead in the first half and which was the scoreline at the end of the first session of play.

In the second half India showed the same intensity. India gained a PC in the 49th minute and Lily Mayebgbam was too good for the Singaporean goalie as the scorecard ticked to 5-0. Indian team took its tally to 6 goals with the help of Gurjit Kaur’s effort in 52nd minute and which was followed by Lilima Minz 7th goal in 59th minute.

Indian Junior eves scored 5 more goals in 61st, 64th, 65th, 68th & 70th minutes respectively to give a comfortable 12-0 win over Singapore.

The 7th Women’s Junior Asia cup 2015 is a qualification tournament for the FIH Junior World cup (women) 2016. India’s next clash will be against China on 9th September at 04:45 pm IST.

Stick2Hockey.com



Avoid China drubbing

By Jugjet Singh

THE MALAYSIAN women's team must brace themselves from a double digit humiliation when they face China in the Junior Asia Cup at the Wujin National Hockey Stadium in Changzhou Monday.

China and India are the early favourites to qualify for the Junior World Cup as, three spots are on on offer in this tournament.

And unfortunately, both the giants are in Group A with Malaysia. India opened their campaign by whipping North Korea 13-0, and Singapore 12-0 Sunday.

Coach Lailin Abu Hassan is well aware that China would be an uphill battle.

"The 2-0 win against Singapore (on Saturday), despite providing us valuable three points, left us in an extremely undesirable position as our captain, (Surizan Awang Noh) picked up an injury on her left knee.

"There is a high chance that the skipper, along with Nurain Hidayah who pulled a hamstring muscle in the same match, will not be fielded for our match against China", said Lailin.

Surizan was injured after she collided with a Singapore player whilst jostling for a loose ball.

Against Singapore, Malaysia had 10 penalty corners but only managed to only convert two off direct hits.

"We lacked ideas against a team that practically camped in their own semi-circle. Our penalty corner conversion rate need to be much better against China, because we might not win as many as we did in the first game.

"Also, there is an imperative need for midfield creativity. We will analyse our game, as well as the opponents and strive for a better performance against one of the region's hockey powerhouse," Lailin added.

Group A: China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, North Korea.
Group B: South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan.

MONDAY: Malaysia v China; Wednesday: Malaysia v North Korea; Thursday: Malaysia v India.

MALAYSIA HOCKEY LEAGUE -- RESULTS: Division One Group A: TNB Thunderbolts 4 MSN-THT 0, MSSP-YP-SSP 3 Masum-USM 5.

Group B: Politeknik x UniKL Young Guns x, SSTMI 2 UiTM 3, Nur Insafi 1 ATM Airod 3.

Women's Group A: The Cops x ATM Pernama x.

Jugjet's World of Field Hockey



Amsterdam win ABN Amro Cup in Netherlands



AH&BC Amsterdam landed the ABN Amro Cup in style with a 4-0 final victory over hosts HC Rotterdam in the final this afternoon, backing up yesterday’s 4-2 win over Oranje Zwart.

Following the final, coach Alyson Annan says that this is a good sign ahead of the start of the new Hoofdklasse season.

"We have now played preseason games against almost all of the premier clubs and that gives us a nice picture of where we are,” she said. “I'm very happy with what I've seen of the team, though we are certainly not there yet. "

Rotterdam reached the final with a 4-3 Saturday win over Kampong. The Utrecht side, though, bounced back in the third place playoff with a 5-0 win over OZ.

HGC finished fifth with a 3-0 win over Den Bosch; Schaerweijde were seventh thanks to a 4-1 win against Pinoké. Newcomers Voordaan beat Hurley 4-1 in the ninth place playoff having beaten Bloemendaal a day earlier.

Bloemendaal were 3-2 winners against SCHC in the 11th place playoff.

Euro Hockey League media release



Police nab Mombasa Sports Club in hockey league

By Elizabeth Mburugu


Police vs Mombasa Sports Club(MSC). Kenya Police Edmong Simiyu(l) with the ball as Mombasa Sports Club Mariano Emadali blocks when they played Premier League at City Park. Police scored 8-0. ON 06/09/15 PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE

Kenya Police drubbed Mombasa Sports Club (MSC) men 8-0 in a Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) men's Premier League match played yesterday at City Park Stadium.

Hat-tricks from Police hitmen Moses Cheplaiti and Captain Brian Saina together with a goal each from Samuel Wokila and James Munyi were enough to give the 2013 champions the victory.

Skipper Saina told FeverPitch: "Our main objective this season is to reclaim our title, a victory at a time counts, if we remain focused and keep fighting, the trophy will surely return to us at the end."

Saina added that they were in good form but failed to utilise chances to score more goals in the first half.

"The league is tightly contested hence the need to score more goals just in case the eventual winner is to be decided on goal difference. We lost many chances in the first half which would have given us a better score line, we improved in the second half, scoring six (goals) and we look forward to do better in our next tie."

Cheplaiti opened the scores for the law enforcers six minutes into play as he sent the ball home past MSC goalkeeper Evans Juma to take an early lead. Four minutes later, he scored from the left from a Willis Okeyo pass to give Police a 2-0 advantage before the quarter-hour mark.

MSC in a move to stop the goal hungry Police resorted to defensive play that pinned them in their own half for the better part of the game. However, Police still dominated the game in all aspects but lost many chances to score goals and increase their tally, with the first half ending 2-0 in their favour.

Police began the second half on the offensive once again, restricting the Coast-based players to their own half. Police continued to attack and their efforts paid off in the 46th minute through a Wokila field goal.

Two minutes later Cheplaiti completed his hat-trick to make it 4-0. Veteran striker Munyi hit the board in the 51st minute before Saina converted a penalty corner in the 53rd minute. Saina added his second and a seventh for Police on the 58th before slotting his third a minute later. Timothy Kipruto wasted an opportunity to put his name on the score sheet, failing to score through a flick after a foul in the circle four minutes later.

MSC returned home empty-handed as they had earlier on lost 4-1 to Western Jaguars. Jaguars Victor Chidi broke the deadlock in the in the 27th minute as he scored the only goal of the first half. Gerald Simiyu made it two in the 43rd minute while James Juma made it three four minutes later.

Fredrick Arika Arika pulled one back for MSC in the 59th minute, Gibson Machinji sealed the 4-1 victory in the 67th minute.

In another Premier League encounter, defending champions Butali Sugar Warriors hammered Parklands Sports Club 7-1 to remain on course to retaining their title. Maxwell Fuchaka scored a brace for the champions while Barnabas Odhiambo, Brian Musasia, Seth Oburu, Emmanuel Simiyu and Vincent Odhiambo scored one-goal a piece.  Owen Oduor scored Parklands' consolation goal.

In the men's second division, Thika Rovers inflicted more pain on Impala with a 2-1 victory.

The Standard Online



Westlake Boys, Rangi Ruru Girls take honours



Secondary School teams played in 20 tournaments from North Harbour to Invercargill for the 2015 titles.

It was the first year of the new structure which saw the top two tiers for boys (Rankin Cup and India Shield) and girls (Federation Cup and Marie Fry Trophy) combine into a 32 team tournament.

Domestic Tournaments Administrator Aidan O’Connor said the new structure was a resounding success.

“The 32 team tournaments created a high standard of hockey and huge excitements particularly around playoff games,” he said.

“The St. Andrew’s (Christchurch) versus King’s College (Auckland) Rankin Cup semi-final will live long in the memory for all who witnessed it.

This year also saw the introduction of a drop-off scenario for tied games in playoff rounds which involved teams losing their goalkeeper and one field player initially for a five minute period, two further players for another five minutes, and one final five minute period of five on five action.

“This drop-off scenario proved to be a big success with exciting games all around the country including the Federation Cup final between Rangi Ruru Girls School and St. Margaret’s College (both Christchurch).”

Westlake Boys High School took out the country’s premier tournament the Rankin Cup with a 1-0 win over St. Andrew’s College, and Rangi Ruru Girls School defeated St. Margaret’s College 1-0 for the Federation Cup.

CLICK HERE for full results and placings

Hockey New Zealand Media release



Match point midfield


Harpreet Kaur Lamba


Manpreeet Singh with fiancee Illi Najwa Saddique

Manpreet Singh was all of 10 when one day his elder brothers, Amandeep and Sukhraj, locked him into the house at Mithapur in Punjab. They were afraid that their youngest brother would hurt himself while playing hockey.

“I was the favourite in the family, and they did not want me to get hurt since hockey is a very physical sport,” says the 23-year-old, adding, “I put on my kit and went to the terrace and jumped to the adjoining house, and reached the ground within 30 minutes. My brothers were stunned, but that day they understood my love for the game.”

Today, Manpreet has played over 100 internationals and was part of the Asian Games gold medal winning team in 2014.

Belonging to a modest family in Mithapur, Manpreet has slowly, but surely, made his mark in international hockey. Talented, with a quick reading of the game, leadership qualities and consistent performances are a few characteristics that define the young midfielder, who has been a regular in the side since his debut in 2010.

Manpreet reflects, “It has been quite a journey from the junior India days. The beginning was indeed very funny, since my mother used to call me throughout the day. The family really worried about me. But when I was handed the India captaincy at the junior level, it changed both me and my family. It made me responsible and set me on the right path,” says Manpreet, who is an avid Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham fan, and much like the football duo, sports the number 7 jersey.

In November 2012, Manpreet led the junior team at the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia, and it was here that he found the most special person of his life: Illi Najwa Saddique.

A Pakistan-origin Muslim girl based in Malaysia, Illi was studying business administration and used to watch matches at the Johor Bahru Stadium, when one day Manpreet asked for her number. “It was love at first sight,” says Illi, who now works as a business consultant at a firm in New Delhi.

“The first time we went out for dinner, my mother had come to drop me. Manpreet straightaway approached her and told her that he liked me. My mother is usually strict in these matters but when she allowed us, I understood that he is the perfect one for me. I was surprised by his action, but could not stop myself from saying yes. He is the most understanding and complete person I have ever come across,” says Illi.

To which Manpreet adds with a smile, “It did not take me long to decide that she was the one for me, but it definitely took some effort for her to say yes!”

Today, the couple shuttle between Malaysia and India to spend time with each other, and also stay with each other’s families.“That was very important,” says Manpreet, adding, “I always wanted my family to be comfortable with Illi, and vice versa. The first time she came to our home in Jalandar, I was amazed to see the amount of love and respect my family showered on her. It was all I wanted. Today, she stays with them on days even when I am touring, and is already a part of the family. The funniest thing is the broken Punjabi that she has learnt and we all tease her about that. She has even learnt how to cook Punjabi food!” says the Indian midfielder.

Illi chips in, “Oh yes, now I can even deal with an autowalla in Delhi.”Things though aren’t always easy for the couple. In a society that is driven by social norms and religious beliefs, there are often some questions raised.

Says Manpreet, “For us, it is about love and understanding. We do not care about anything else. I was surprised when one of my fans asked me why I had chosen a Muslim girl, in fact it made me very angry. We don’t think there is any place for hatred or religion when it comes to two people and their decision to be together. Our decision is based on mutual understanding and respect. Today, we are so comfortable that we can understand each other’s feelings without even saying anything.” The couple got formally engaged last year. “We have our families’ blessings and support, and it makes us happy,” adds Illi, who is a regular sight at most matches in India.

“Prior to my visit to India, I was a little scared honestly. I used to watch some Hindi dramas and that scared me. I wondered if my in-laws would be as they showed it in the dramas. But, today I can tell you those dramas are useless! There is no reality in it. I remember the day I went to meet his family, they were very welcoming and nice. For them, I am their daughter. I love saag and paneer that my mother-in-law cooks, it is so delicious that I can now eat three to four chapatis with extra ghee! I look ahead to being back in Jalandhar as Manpreet’s family loves me more than they even him! I love them like my own too,” she adds.

With Manpreet now preparing for next year’s Rio Olympics, the duo believe marriage can wait. “It is a very significant year for Indian hockey. We had finished 12th at the 2012 London Olympics, and the pain is still there. The entire focus is on improvisation and I am very keen on doing well in Rio,” says the Jalandhar lad, who led Ranchi Rays to the title in the Hockey India League earlier this year.

The Asian Age



Up in hills, Indian colts finding their stride

Hit by overage mess, junior hockey team looks to come of age in serene landscapes of Shivalik range

Indervir Grewal


The junior men train during the high-altitude national camp at the SAI centre in Shilaroo, Himachal Pradesh. Tribune photos: Indervir Grewal

Shilaroo: The setting sun flushes the wide valley with soft golden light for one last time. The sky — a vibrant blue — and the unending hills — a deep green because of the monsoon — make for an arresting backdrop.

But the young men, tired and sweaty after a long and rigorous training session, don’t seem to notice the view. It could be because they have been here for almost a month now, as part of the high-altitude junior national camp. For most, it’s their first camp in the hills and despite their visible indifference, the beauty and serenity of this place is not lost on them.

“It’s been great; nice and quiet,” says the ever reticent Harmanpreet Singh.

He turns around to look at the hills across the valley, now shaded by white clouds. It is easy to understand what he is trying to say. Compared to the rush of Delhi, this place must feel like paradise.

“This is my first high-altitude camp and it has been great. This is a beautiful place; but more importantly it’s so peaceful here. In Delhi, we have to travel over an hour every day,” chief coach Harendra Singh says.

“It is perfect for training. There are no distractions here; all we do is train, eat and rest. The boys are so focused. And without much to do, the players have more time to mingle with each other; it helps in team-building.”

As another evening session comes to an end, a cold wind starts to blow from the north. The trainees quickly put on their tracksuits before continuing with the post-training stretching.

Setback

The 34-day long preparatory camp at the SAI centre in Shilaroo (around 50km north of Shimla), which started on August 9, for the core group of 32 has been organised keeping in mind the two big tournaments that are coming up — next month’s Sultan of Johor Cup and the Junior Asia Cup to be held in November.

But the preparations of the Indian team, seeking to defend its title for the second time in a row at the Sultan of Johor Cup, have been hit by a setback. After the Nationals, a training camp for 48 probables was organised in May, from which 33 were to be shortlisted. But as the camp was nearing its end, 17 boys were excluded — most of them were found overage.

“I had already shortlisted the players for this camp. Ten of the shortlisted players were also found overage. So I had to include the boys who had not been selected the first time,” says Harendra.

The coach is not only managing with many of the second-choice boys, he is also facing a shortage. Out of the 32, seven are goalkeepers. And with minor injuries to many players, Harendra has not even been able to test the boys in a match situation. “We haven’t been able to play a practice match because there aren’t enough players for substitutions,” says Harendra.

But why seven goalkeepers? “I wanted so many goalkeepers. We have always had shortage of good goalkeepers. This way we can develop good keepers at the junior level.

“I wanted 32 players apart from the seven goalkeepers. But with the overage mess, there was shortage. I have prepared another list of the players who might have missed out earlier and sent it to Hockey India,” he says.

Though a setback for him, Harendra says it will be beneficial in the long run, especially with the Junior World Cup scheduled for next year. “Imagine this happening next year before the World Cup. So it’s good that it has happened now. I still have over a year to build a team. The overage menace has to be stopped and this is a huge step. Many talented younger players miss out because of overage ones.”

“It has affected our preparation for the upcoming tournaments but I am not worried. I have told the players it’s not about winning but playing good hockey. My main focus is on next year’s World Cup. Now I have started looking for talented boys who might be a little younger,” says Harendra.

As the boys start the short climb back to the hostel, another quiet dusk comes to an end. There are no traffic jams, no car horns, no smoke, just the sound of the cold wind.

The Tribune



Shahzada Shahrukh dies

LAHORE: Shahzada Syed Shahrukh, a former hockey Olympian who later on earned a silver medal in cycling in the Asian Games, died here on Sunday. He was 89.

The deceased who had been fighting several ailments was laid to rest at a local graveyard.

Shahzada served as vice-captain of the Indian team in the pre-partition era before making it to Pakistan hockey team which took part in the 1948 London Games.

Later on, he switched to cycling and excelled in the discipline by earning honours for the country.

His soyem will be held on Monday at 5pm at the Wireless Compound opposite to Corps Commander House, Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Road.

Dawn

Fieldhockey.com uses cookies to assist with navigating between pages. Please leave the site if you disagree with this policy.
Copyright remains with the credited source or author