News for 05 May 2016
All the news for Thursday 5 May 2016
Indian eves lose to Britain
India lost 2-0 to England in Marlow (UK) on Tuesday night.
Marlow (UK): The Indian women’s hockey team lost 2-0 to Great Britain in the opening match of the five-match Test series here.
The match started at a brisk pace for India as they won a penalty corner in the seventh minute but the opportunity went abegging as Anuradha mis-hit a rebound.
The Indian women kept pressing in the first quarter and Vandana’s deflection went into the opposition goal but the referee disallowed it, blowing the whistle for dangerous play.
In the second quarter, the Indian women kept pressing as Ritu almost gave India the lead but her shot was saved by the British goalkeeper.
Great Britain too had a good opportunity in the second quarter but could not convert the penalty corner.
In the third quarter, Great Britain took the lead with Ellie Rayar scoring in the 38th minute. The third quarter was completely dominated by Great Britain.
The fourth quarter saw India trying to find an equaliser but Great Britain scored their second goal with three minutes remaining on the clock. Rayar struck again via a penalty corner.
Despite the loss, the Indian women looked organised and they kept the British women on their toes. India play their second match of the series against Great Britain tomorrow.
The Tribune
Southern boys enjoying home turf advantage
Photo: www.photosport.nz
Playing at home hasn’t added any pressure to the Southern Under 21 Men’s team, and star player Johnny Thorn said the team are enjoying the experience.
“It’s really good to have that support – all the boys like playing in front of people they know. We have little kids coming that look up to players around Dunedin.”
The local fans have been kept entertained this week – all three of the team’s games have ended in a shoot-out, with the Junior Doggies coming out on top against Capital and North Harbour, but going down to Auckland.
“Going to a shoot-out in all three games has been frustrating – I feel like we have had some good chances in there where we have played real good patches of hockey.
“From past years it has been really good, in the past couple of Under 21 tournaments we have faded in the second half so it is good to see this year within the team we have a bit of fight and a bit of ticker.”
Thorn is another one of the Junior World Cup qualifiers contingent taking part this week.
Being a defender, Thorn is targeting one area in particular in his game as he looks to make the cut for the World Cup later this year.
“Distribution is a big aspect for me. It’s something I am continually working on. It is starting to show a wee bit but heaps of work still to do.”
With the points picked up from the shoot-out, Southern are still a chance of making the final against Canterbury on Saturday.
Thorn is happy with how his team has performed, but knows they need to step it up in the next two games if they want to play in the big game in front of their home fans on Saturday.
“We have shown in patches that we have the ability to put teams under pressure and score some goals it’s just a matter of putting in a complete performance and taking our chances when they come.”
A feature of last year’s team was their use of the social media app Snapchat – which included one member of the sides playing shirt making a journey around Wellington and being worn by various members of the public.
No such antics this year from the boys, but for those who wish to follow them, Thorn assures us they are still active.
“It’s a bit more scaled back this year but we are still running it this year under Southern Doggies. Being away from home last year it gave our supporters back home something to keep an eye on us.”
Wednesday was a rest day for all teams at the Under 21 tournament – a chance to re charge the batteries for a final push.
Play starts again on Thursday 5 May with two more round robin round to play.
Hockey New Zealand Media release
Black Sticks set for top hockey in Darwin
Photo: www.photosport.nz
The Black Sticks Women are part of a world class line-up of teams who will hit the shores of Darwin in Australia at the end of the month.
The fierce competition will see the Black Sticks, ranked fourth in the world, go up against Australia (3rd), Japan (10th) and India (13th) in a four nations tournament from 31 May – 4 June.
The tournament is part of the side’s build up for the Champions Trophy in London from 19-27 June and the Rio Olympic Games in August.
All games will be streamed LIVE through Epicentre.tv
MATCH SCHEDULE (All in NZ time)
Marrara Hockey Stadium, Darwin
Tuesday 31 May
Black Sticks v India – 7:30pm
Australia v Japan – 9:30pm
Wednesday 1 June
India v Japan – 7:30pm
Black Sticks vs Australia – 9:30pm
Friday 3 June
Black Sticks vs Japan – 7:30pm
Australia v India – 9:30pm
Saturday 4 June
Bronze Medal – 7:30pm
Gold Medal Final – 10pm
Hockey New Zealand Media release
Rio on the radar for Kiwi umpire Taylor
New Zealand umpire Simon Taylor is gearing up to play his part at the world’s greatest sporting event in Rio.
Taylor was selected for Rio after a rigorous process that involved grading and discussion amongst technical officials from all around the world.
“We found out the full panel in September last year which gives us the opportunity to have a really good build-up and preparation. It is always exciting to get that email come through saying you are going to the Olympics,” he said.
“It’s the culmination of a whole series of tournaments which make up a career, from getting my international badge back in 2003, climbing up the ladder and getting up to the full world panel.”
Taylor is in Dunedin this week at the National U21 Tournament which is a huge positive for not only the players out on the field, but also Taylor’s fellow umpires on the U21 panel.
“It’s a really good way of getting things straight in your head to be out watching other guys and helping them out. We go through a process regardless of the level of the game, an opportunity such as this to get a whole lot of concentrated hockey is a really good development process for me and those young guys who are here.”
Taylor, a veteran of over 100 test matches, and on the back of a semi-final appointment at the World Cup in 2014 is using this tournament as preparation for the showpiece event. After this, it is more a factor of maintaining fitness as he builds towards Rio.
“We are in a maintenance cycle now, so some club hockey and Black Sticks squad matches as they build up to what they are doing before Rio. We will start doing some video clip work and some other stuff around our Rio group.”
Taylor has travelled the world and umpired in many different countries – some you would not even imagine had heard of the sport.
“This place called Ordos in China, which was basically a city which was being built as we were there. Everything was a quarter done but it was a bit weird - way out in the back blocks of China up in Inner Mongolia on the edge of the Gobi desert.”
Taylor will be back in action on Thursday as the Under 21 tournament starts up again and like the teams all umpires will be keen to finish the week strongly after a great first three days.
Hockey New Zealand Media release
Mannheimer record crucial win over Harvestehuder
Mannheimer’s superb run of form continued as they nicked a 2-1 win over one of their nearest rivals, Harvestehuder THC, building a five point lead at the top and moving them within touching distance of a playoff place.
USA international Patrick Harris scored the opening goal in the 16th minute and they held that advantage for a long time until Jan-Philip Heuer was able to finish off an excellent HTHC team move at the back post for 1-1.
That came with five minutes left but Mannheimer replied superbly with Patrick Hablawetz nicking the winner two minutes from the end.
The result, meanwhile, dropped HTHC down two places to fourth as Crefeld and Rot Weiss Köln took advantage of their slip.
MHC’s Sören Beßler said of the result was a fair one and “a tough fight at a high level”. He was particularly pleased with his side’s first half display, adding: "We got everything right, except for the fact that we did not make it 2-0. We gave everything to the end everything.”
Crefeld moved second on their own thanks to a 3-0 win at Blau Weiss Berlin while Rot Weiss were also 3-0 winners, beating Berliner HC. UHC Hamburg closed the gap on the top four with a 5-1 win over Nuremburg. They are three points off HTHC and Rot Weiss with a game in hand.
Euro Hockey League media release
Junior men drawing on past high-stakes success ahead of Pan Ams (with video)
Shaheed Devji
Canadian men celebrate after a semifinal shootout win against Spain at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in China.
With less then two weeks to go before the 2016 Junior Men’s Pan American Championship, the Canadian Under-21 Men’s National Team is confident.
They’re confident not only because of the preparation that has been put in over the last several months, but also because of what a core group of athletes on the team headed to Toronto has experienced in recent years.
Five Canadians – Amrit Sidhu, Balraj Panesar, Brandon Pereira, Floyd Mascarenhas, and Harbir Sidhu – competed at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. Two of them had already played in a Junior World Cup in 2013, and for all of them it was yet another opportunity to play international hockey at the highest level.
The Canadians finished second, bringing home a silver medal and a wealth of experience which has allowed them to feel comfortable heading into the Pan Ams.
“As a young player you don’t want to have too much going through your head, you just want to be able to play the game,” says Panesar of what he and many of his teammates have learned playing at top flight international tournaments. It’s the message he and the other leaders on the team try to impart on their teammates.
“The message we try and get around is just to focus on the game plan. So whatever the coaches tell us, that’s all we try to do. Before the game we don’t try to calculate in our heads we have to try win by three goals. We review our game plan. Whatever our tactics are, we just want to focus on those.”
While only two Canadians on the roster – Panesar and Pereira – have been to a Junior World Cup, another set on the Pan Am team went through the qualification process leading up to the tournament, meaning much of the team has been together, through ups and downs, for the better part of three years.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Panesar adds. “I went as one of the youngest players last time. This time I’m going as one of the leaders on the team, so I’m just going to try and take what I learned and try and pass it on and also try and perform myself.”
Panesar and his teammates with the big game experience will be passing it on to the rest of the Canadian team in Toronto, which will feature several athletes who will be playing in their first major tournament for Canada.
That’s where the experience gained in China and at the previous World Cup in India will be invaluable for a Canadian team that is looking to qualify for its second straight Junior World Cup.
“We know that we can win some meaningful games,” says Canada’s head coach Inderpal Sehmbi. “And it’s not just the group that went to the Youth Olympics or the World Cup, but the group that was involved in qualifying. So there’s some familiarity there.”
Coaching experience also plays a part in Canada’s readiness, as Sehmbi was also in China as head coach for the Youth Olympic Games team, and in India as an assistant coach for the 2013 Junior World Cup.
And as a result, its not only the players who have had the opportunity to learn from the previous high-stakes experiences.
“I think personally I have grown as a coach of the last couple of years,” he adds. “I’m not as controlling and I realize that I have a group of guys who know how to play the game, and I’m more comfortable letting them do that.”
And the hope is that letting them do that will once again result in success on the biggest stage.
Canada opens the 2016 Junior Men’s Pan American Championship on May 20 against Mexico at 2:30pm PT/5:30pm ET. The matches will be live streamed on the International Hockey Federation YouTube channel.
Canada’ schedule, results, and game recaps can be found here.
Field Hockey Canada media release
Chasing The Dream with USWNT Goalkeeper Jackie Briggs
“We need you in Mexico by tonight.”
The cell phone was pressed tightly to Jackie Briggs’ ear as she tried to make out the words of her team manager, past the wild screams above. Surrounded by the swirling lights of carnival games and the sweet aroma of kettle corn, Briggs was in Ohio staring at the empty seat of a roller coaster car. She was next in line. She checked the time on her watch – 8 p.m.
So she got creative.
The USA Field Hockey goalkeeper from Robesonia, Pa. made her way to Guadalajara, Mexico for the 2011 Pan American Games. She was waiting for the verdict if the team would call on her expertise for the event. The phone rang yet again, this time she was in a hotel far from the athlete village where little English is spoken. The other USA goalkeeper was officially out with an injury. Practice was in an hour. Briggs needed to be on the pitch. Without money or a true sense of where she was, Briggs made it to the turf. The team had to play in the middle of the pitch due to field issues, so Briggs didn’t even get a session of cage work in. She had one practice before the event started.
So she got creative yet again.
With minimal preparation, Briggs, fueled by sheer adrenaline, contributed to Team USA's defeat over Argentina to win its first Pan American gold medal and in turn, helped propel the team to earn a berth in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
“I wasn’t nervous at that point,” said Briggs. “I knew my job and was ready to get out there and play. Excitement kicked in and took over.”
London not only holds a place in Briggs’ heart, assisting the team to earn their right to play there for the Olympic Games, but London holds a place on Briggs’ couch. Her husband proposed to her in the UK as the Olympic Games were drawing to a close. When the couple picked out an adorable bulldog, the name London stood out.
Will there be a puppy named Rio in the future?
“Possibly,” she said as she laughed.
As a rising superstar goalkeeper, Briggs helped the Tar Heels win two NCAA titles before joining the U.S. Women's National Team in 2010 and making field hockey a career.
While at the University of North Carolina, she studied Studio Art with a concentration in painting. Out of college, Briggs expresses herself through many platforms, but photography is her passion.
“I love shooting senior pictures,” said Briggs. “I’ve shot seven weddings so far including Ali Campbell’s wedding.”
When she gets the chance, she’ll flip open her tray of water pastels or acrylics and turn a blank canvas into a work of art or a chic gift for a friend. Someday in her future, Briggs wants to attend graduate school for architecture so she can channel her love for art with math to capture them in more creative ways to design homes and buildings.
She’s constantly creating, or thinking of creating. The pitch is no exception.
“I do some rather interesting things when I play,” said Briggs. “It’s kind of hard to explain. It’s like no other way I’ve seen played by a goalie. I do some odds moves that some may compare to ice hockey moves.”
She prides herself on taking a different approach to solving problems in her goalie pads and her teammates benefit from the calculated risks and out-of-the-box, or cage thinking Briggs provides.
“It’s fun to come up with different techniques to not get scored on,” said Briggs. “I’m shorter than most international goalies. So I have to be quick and use my power and explosiveness to take up as much room as possible. I’d say I’m very creative when it comes to goalie moves.”
From every angle of the world, nations will flip on the television and turn on the radio in August. With all eyes on Team USA during the Olympic Games, Briggs and her team have a clear message they want heard.
“We want to change the game of hockey,” said Briggs. “We don’t just want to be labeled as a really good or skilled team. We want to change the face of hockey and take it where no other team has taken it before. To come up with our own kind of nonstop, pedal-to-the-medal style of play.”
It's this fiery style of play separates the USWNT from the rest, but they're not afraid of sticking out anyway. They own it.
USFHA media release
Olympic Dream to Maternity Queen
Katie Evans in action for the USA Photo: WiSP
When Katie Evans was a mere 11 years old, she had a dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. The torch had passed through her town as part of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the young hockey player knew that on the pitch representing USA was where she wanted to be.
Fast forward to 2008 and right after the Beijing Olympics Katie began the final leg in achieving her dream. She was selected for the US team and hockey became her entire life. “My life became all about hockey, travelling the world, playing matches and wearing the USA uniform,” she recalls. “My ultimate goal was still ahead of me though. My eyes were fixed on the 2012 Olympics in London.”
However, Katie’s dreams were dashed when, in 2012, the coach cut the squad and Katie found herself off the roster. Within 24 hours of receiving the news, she was moving out of the Olympic Training Centre and back home to Pennsylvania.
Katie has given a series of interviews to the Women in Sport Podcast (WiSP), a magazine show that highlights women’s sport across the globe. The weekly podcast, hosted by regular presenter Chris Stafford and a host of female journalists and athletes from all over the world is giving a stage to female sports people.
In the case of Katie, it is a story of an athlete whose dreams were shattered but who picked herself up to create a new life. In this Olympic year, it is a story that will resonate with many athletes in many sports.
While plaudits and adulation are given to those who do make the grade, there are many, many athletes who have given their lives to training only to fall at the last hurdle. When the dream is shattered, what do you do next?
“I had graduated from college five years earlier, so I decided the best thing to do would be to get a job. The only problem was, in those five years, I had gathered zero work related experience. I could have coached and immersed myself back in hockey, but a return to the hockey world was not an option.”
When she did get a job, with a small division of fashion giant Ralph Lauren, Katie cried the whole way home from the interview. “This marked one step further from the hockey field. Every good thing that happened was always overshadowed by what would never be.”
As time went by, Katie was able to return to her sport. She played in a league in Manhattan: “It was strong and filled with talented and wonderful people. Most importantly, it was fun. It became a major part of the healing process.”
It was when she was out on a training run with a friend from the hockey league that Katie had her lightbulb moment. “I mentioned that I would always see women looking for maternity workout apparel… suddenly my mind became clear.” Katie and her friend spent the six mile run planning the new venture.
Four years after her heart was broken by hockey, Katie is on the verge of launching Babu Activewear – maternity wear that allows pregnant women to continue to exercise in style and comfort. “As fate would have it, by continuing to love the game, it provided me with another opportunity to pursue, and a new goal to fulfill.
“I miss hockey every day… I’m not sure the wound will fully heal. With that being said, I’ve also come to realise that the goals we craft ourselves are amazing and help us become the best version of ourselves.”
Katie gave this interview to WiSP, and she is just one of a number of female hockey players and coaches who have appeared on the show in the past year. With a dedicated hockey show all set to launch soon, WiSP is helping to raise the profile of hockey across the globe. To find out more, visit their website: www.wispsports.com
FIH site
Hockey veteran looking forward to Irish Olympic challenge
Ireland’s oldest international, Dorothea Findlater, has fond memories of epic US trip
Stephen Findlater
At 106 years of age, Dorothea Findlater (née de Courcy Wheeler) is the oldest living Irish hockey international. She won her first Ireland call-up in 1936. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times.
Winning her first international cap 80 years ago in Philadelphia, Dorothea Findlater described the occasion as “just hockey”.
Ireland’s oldest living international, her reflections on the occasion are low-key, as if there was little difference in playing on the fields around Robertstown in her youth than playing an international tournament featuring several teams from around the globe.
“We always found ways to play wherever we could,” she says of her upbringing. The trip to the US on the week-long slow boat across of the Atlantic was an extension of that spirit. “I had done nothing like that before,” Dorothea recalls. “Whenever there was some kind of trip, I always tried to get involved. I loved to travel and to try and see the world especially so this was a great opportunity.”
Now 106, her sporting days have only just concluded. On her 100th birthday, she said her love of sport was a central part in keeping her in such good health for so long. Indeed, her time on Carrickmines golf club’s putting greens only ended in the past year.
“I said I would stop when I couldn’t stand up any more; they said ‘don’t worry about that, we will hold you up!’ she said of her decision a year ago to end her time on the putting greens.
Primary love
Hockey was the primary love, a passion she got from her mother and aunts and passed on through the generations – all the way to me, her grandson, as I make my career following the sport around the world.
Indeed, from her earliest days, this mixture of sport and adventure would be a central gene in her family’s make-up.
Her father, Captain Harry de Courcy Wheeler won the high stone wall championship at the Dublin Horse Show in 1904. He would later be among those accepting the surrender from Patrick Pearse during the 1916 rising.
Her mother Selina earned six hockey caps while her two aunts – Elise and Anita - earned seven each. Her uncle, Jack Knox, played in the first rugby match between Ireland and the All-Blacks in 1906 at Lansdowne Road – “a very clean match – no sparring and fisticuffs nor dirty work”.
The family home in Robertstown in the Bog of Allen doubled as a sprawling playground for Dorothea and her siblings.
“There were six of us [Children] so we didn’t really need anyone else,” she recalls. “There was always someone to play with, to swim in the canal or ride a horse or play tennis or hockey.”
The grounds also hosted Kilmeague Hockey Club where her mother and aunts regularly co-opted her and her younger sisters to play in their league team when barely 12 years old, playing regular games with “Mrs de Courcy Wheeler’s XI”.
As a right inner, she helped Kilmeague win the Portarlington Trophy and two West Cups while she received a call-up to the midlands representative team.
She had her first international formal trial of sorts in February 1928 for The Rest against Leinster in Milltown in a trial game with the Sports Mail newspaper saying her “first game in first class hockey, gave a wonderful exhibition. Her passing of the ball on every occasion was accurate and well-timed.”
Having captained Kilmeague’s run to another West Cup final when still in her teens, she switched to Trinity. It drew the attention of Leinster’s selectors, playing Ulster twice, terrorising the seasoned international Miss Chambers.
In a portrait of “Prominent lady hockey players”, again in the Sports Mail, she “ranked favourably with anything in the country”.
In her final year of college, the hockey connection was compounded when she became engaged to George Dermot Findlater in November 1931, a fine hockey goalkeeper who would later become a president of the Leinster Hockey Union. The international call-up was belated, coming in 1936. She simply states that “selections were based on performances during the year”.
While her assessment was under-stated, the tournament she was called up for was seen as a pivotal for the women’s game on an international level. By this time, hockey was a male Olympic sport but would not gain that status for women until 1980 while female World Cups did not begin until 1974.
The first conference tournaments took place in Geneva and Denmark with the “object of spreading field hockey and, through the game, offering opportunities for women of many nations to meet and become friends.
“[We hope to] progress even father (sic) towards its objects of raising the standard of hockey and increasing goodwill and understanding.”
Under the patronage of Eleanor Roosevelt, the third edition held at Philadelphia Cricket Club was to feature Ireland along with the USA, England, Wales, Scotland, Australia along with an “all-South Africa and Rhodesia” team and an “Ecetera” team featuring some of the other best players from around the world.
Dorothea was one of five uncapped players on the tour. Getting to the states was the first challenge, taking a week-long ferry across the Atlantic.
“It was great fun. England and Scotland had a team at the same time who were all on the same boat with us. Each night, each team would have to put on a performance – some sort of play or a dance – to entertain the other teams. Each night, there would be a dinner.
“One time, we were sitting down for dinner and I happened to be sitting beside the captain. The boat tipped high on one side and red wine poured down the table and onto the captain’s nice white shirt. He was not amused and he said whoever was steering the ship would be in an awful row!”
As for the matches itself, her memories are less vivid, saying it was “just hockey”.
“I don’t remember a huge amount about the games. Everyone we played were good” before joking “I think we lost everything”.
It is not strictly true – they did get a 10-1 pasting from England and pushed Australia close in 5-4 defeat. They would go on to record a 4-2 win over Wales and a 3-3 draw with Scotland.
Irish perspective
The only match that was officially capped, from an Irish perspective, was against the hosting USA side, a 4-1 defeat. The English side won all six games to claim the laurels.
After 11 days of the international tournament, the 13-player Irish squad embarked on an east coast tour for the next fortnight, taking in games in Worcester, Massachussets, New York, Rhode Island and Boston.
It remains an important Irish appearance on the world hockey stage though she is looking forward to witnessing an even bigger occasion later this year.
She was recently honoured at a celebration night in Trinity where all of the college’s former internationals were welcomed back. The event which included a question and answer session with Ireland’s most capped player Ronan Gormley and South African double Olympian Craig Fulton the guests of honour.
It was difficult to know who was more intrigued to hear the stories when the Rio-bound duo met my grandmother but, after all these years, she is thrilled to see Ireland finally make it to the elite level.
“I still enjoy getting out to games. I would know Mitch Darling’s family and I met a few of the players and the coach. I do keep up with the Irish men’s international team and am looking forward to seeing them at the Olympics.”
She does add, though, that the current game is a far cry from her four-week sojourn to the US.
“The game has become more aggressive. It was a more friendly game back in my time. No one would hack your legs or anything like that for fear of being sent off. It was a game for ladies. You wouldn’t have attempted to do anything like that!
“It has all became much faster and more skilful, the speed and the tackling. We just used to trot in our days.”
Stephen Findlater is a journalist and grandson of Dorothea Findlater
Irish Times
Sit down with SA Men’s Hockey goalkeeper
FIT: SA Men’s Hockey goalkeeper, Rassie Pieterse.
PAULSHOF – Fourways Review sits down with SA Men’s Hockey goalkeeper, Rassie Pieterse for an exclusive interview about his hockey journey and why he believes that hard work counts.
Paulshof resident, Rassie Pieterse, shared his experience as an SA Men’s Hockey goalkeeper.
“I started playing hockey at the very late age of 18 and I have always had a passion for sport. I did a lot of sport, but rugby was my number one… After some serious injuries, I had to stop rugby. One of my good friends at university was a hockey player and he convinced me to join the club and it all started there for me in 2002,” he expressed.
Pieterse, who is now managing director of TK Sports South Africa, added that hockey gives him the chance to travel the world and meet interesting people. He also loves pushing himself to greater things and that is why he enjoys the challenge of playing international hockey. Tournaments such as the Olympics and World Cups make it all worth it for him to carry on.
“My role in my team as the goalkeeper means that I play a huge role in the defence, be it communicating, organising, reading penalty corners and so forth, but mainly it is to keep the ball from getting into the net,” the number 23 player said.
“My favourite hockey memory to date is playing against Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympics, to packed stadium, with God Save the Queen and a 2–-2 draw… it was a great game with a special atmosphere.”
Pieterse said it was every player’s dream to leave a legacy, which he hopes to do too, but he also wants to make sure that people remember him for making a difference both on and off the field, not always playing with pure technique but always giving it his all.
“My advice to young players starting their hockey career… [it may sound clichéd], but it is hard work counts. It is standard to work hard if you want to be the best – but to play with your heart and soul, that is the key… the player with the most hunger is usually the most successful one,” Pieterse expressed.
Details: www.smarttrainer.co.za
Fourways Review
A hockey tale of two brothers
By Nabil Tahir
Arslan scored twice in the 2014 Champions Trophy 4-3 semi-final win over arch-rivals India and remembers it as the best moment of his life. PHOTO COURTESY: ARSLAN QADIR
KARACHI: Pakistan hockey has been blessed with a prestigious list of families who have given their all to serve the nation. From Akhtar Rasool’s family to the pairing of Samiullah and Kaleemullah Khan Niazi and Tousiq and Atiq Arshad, Pakistan has been fortunate to see these great men don the green shirt.
Joining this prestigious list is the brother pairing of Arslan and Faisal Qadir, sons of former national player Abdul Qadir.
The duo were introduced to the sport by their father at a very early age and since then they have always featured together, be it the school team, their club, the junior hockey team or the national side.
“We used to play many sports including cricket, tennis and football, but our main interest was hockey and we always got selected in the same team and were the best partners,” recalled Faisal while talking to The Express Tribune.
Talking about how he got inspired to pick up the sticks, he said, “I have witnessed Pakistan reach the sky and it instilled in me the passion to do something for my beloved nation.”
The journey begins
Hailing from Punjab’s remote city of Dera Ghazi Khan, Arslan and Faisal used to play in local grounds. Arslan recalled how he used to play with his father’s hockey stick and how his interest in the game developed with Faisal and his selection in the school’s team in 2008 — the exact moment where their journey to the national side began.
“My interest in the game developed in the eighth grade when Faisal and I were selected in the school’s hockey team for an inter-school tournament,” said Arslan. “After that I was selected for the Pakistan Hockey Federation’s (PHF) U16 as a striker, while Faisal made it to the U14 team as a defender.”
After being selected for the U16 and U14 teams, the duo caught the eye of former national player and Olympic gold-medallist Tauqeer Dar, who took them under his wing to develop their skills at the Dar Hockey Academy in Lahore — a venture of Dar himself.
The duo then featured in the 2009 National League where they earned their call-up for the national junior team.
While it is extremely difficult for newcomers to establish their place in the starting line-up, the duo fitted like a glove. They featured in each and every international tour that Pakistan’s junior side undertook from 2009 to 2013, which included two Asia Cups, the Youth Olympics in 2010, three Sultan of Johor Cups, four foreign tours and the 2013 Junior World Cup — a remarkable feat on its own.
Arslan, a striker, has the honour of topping the scoring charts at the 2010 Youth Olympics of Singapore, where his 10 goals helped Pakistan bag a silver medal — the country’s only medal in any discipline in the Youth Games.
Donning national colours
Having played at every level except for the national side, the next obvious step for the pair was to feature in the senior side. And while the competition to make your place in the first team is fierce, the brothers managed to make their national debuts together.
Pakistan were gearing up for the 2013 Champions Trophy and had scheduled a tour of Australia to give the youngsters some match practice. Arslan and Faisal both made their debuts in Australia and the brothers can never forget the excitement of donning the national colours of Pakistan.
“When we played the first match for Pakistan, it felt great. We were honoured to be part of the Pakistan team and wearing the green shirt was a matter of pride for us,” said Arslan, while Faisal added: “The players who get a chance to play for their national team are the lucky ones. I am glad we are one of them.”
Following the visit to Australia, the team then went on to play the Champions Trophy and what better way was there for them to start their careers than by winning the trophy in their first-ever major tournament.
The duo became regular starters for the Greenshirts and rarely sat on the bench but just ahead of the 2014 Champions Trophy, Faisal fractured his leg during trials and was unable to play the tournament.
However, his brother kept the family name flying high when he became a national hero after scoring twice in the 4-3 semi-final win over arch-rivals India.
“That has been the best moment in the green shirt for me till now,” said Arslan. “It was all down to the hard work by the team and the way we played against a difficult opponent on their home turf. That’s what made it even more memorable.”
The Express Tribune
Punjab girls thrash Mumbai 14-0 in jr Nationals
Chandigarh: Punjab thrashed Mumbai 14-0 in a Pool C encounter of the junior women’s hockey National Championship (Division A) in Ranchi on Wednesday.
Amrinder Kaur scored a hat-trick (12th minute, 31st, 32nd) and Rajwinder Kaur scored a brace (42nd, 61st).
Bhopal beat Chhattisgarh 4-1 in another Pool C clash. Khundrakpam Lanchenbi scored a brace for Bhopal (31st, 34th).
Haryana thrashed Hockey Patiala 5-0. It was Haryana’s second win — they had beaten Uttar Pradesh 3-0 and drawn 2-2 with Karnataka. It was the Patiala team’s second loss in three matches. They had beaten Karnataka 2-1. In the other matches,
Uttar Pradesh beat Karnataka 3-0, Jharkhand thumped Hockey Gangpur-Odisha 7-0 and SAI beat Maharashtra 2-0.
The Tribune
Obaidullah Cup: Runners-up trophy goes missing
BHOPAL: The 70-year-old runners-up trophy of the Obaidullah Khan Hockey Gold Cup has gone missing.
The trophy has been missing for the last three to four years and this fact came to light on Wednesday when state government's sports department announced that it wanted to organise the Obaidullah Khan Heritage Cup tournament. The Bhopal Hockey Association (BHA) wrote a letter to the sports department to return the trophy, while the latter claimed it had been returned to BHA.
The Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup was first held at Bhopal's Aishbagh Stadium in 1931. After Independence, this tournament turned out to be one of the most prestigious national hockey competitions in the country with regular participation of national and international players. However, the tournament could not be organised between 2002 and 2008 owing to infighting in the BHA. The tournament resumed in 2009 after a gap of seven years when sports department took the initiative. It was successfully organised by sports department in 2010 also. In 2011, one of the factions in BHA moved high court, claiming that only the association has the right to organise Obaidullah Gold Cup. On the direction of court, both sports department and BHA reached an understanding and the court permitted the former to organise the tournament while directing it to seek active cooperation from BHA. The tournament was last organised in 2012. However, BHA again moved the court in 2013, alleging the sports department was not cooperating with them. Since then the runners-up trophy has been missing.
I Rehman, secretary of BHA, alleged: "As the cup belongs to BHA, we demanded it back from the sports department. They had returned Gold Cup winner's trophy. Along with it they had given some other cup, which they claimed to be the runners-up trophy, but I had refused to take it as it was not the original runners-up trophy." He added: "Since then I have been corresponding with them regularly but they have not given any clear answer to it. On May 2, 2016, I wrote another letter and gave them a week's time to make their stand clear on the trophy. Else, we will be left with no option but to knock the doors of judiciary."
The sports department officials however insisted they had returned the trophy. "We have the receipt that the trophies have been returned to them," said a senior official. Reacting to it, Rehman said, "When I went to take both the trophies, I was told to give it in writing that I have received them. Later I was asked to collect them from their godown. When I reached there they tried to give me the replica of the runners-up trophy which I refused to accept."
The Times of India
Eastern Alliance Announced as Title Sponsor of USWNT vs. Chile
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Field Hockey is pleased to announce Eastern Alliance Insurance Group as the title sponsor of the upcoming U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Chile three-match test series. Set to take place at the Home of Hockey at Spooky Nook Sports in Lancaster County, Pa. May 14-19, this is the first-ever title sponsored series for USA Field Hockey.
“We are delighted to welcome Eastern Alliance as our title sponsor of the USA vs. Chile series,” said Simon Hoskins, USA Field Hockey Executive Director. “The support from such a prestigious corporate partner is well appreciated. Together we aim to put on a great experience on our Olympic journey as we take on Chile in Lancaster.”
Eastern Alliance is a specialty underwriter of workers’ compensation products and services for businesses and organizations in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and Gulf South regions of the United States. Founded in 1997 in Lancaster County, Eastern Alliance has grown into a market leader operating in 16 states, with over 9,000 policyholders and direct premium writings of $237 million in 2015. Eastern Alliance is proudly represented by more than 250 independent insurance agency partners.
“We are extremely proud to sponsor the U.S. Women’s National Field Hockey Team as they prepare for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games right here in Lancaster County,” said Michael L. Boguski, President of Eastern Alliance. “This team exemplifies the American spirit of hard work and determination. It truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity to actively support a world class team who lives and trains in our backyard.”
Tickets for the series are still available online and can be purchased by clicking here. Tickets are $18 for adults and $10 for discounts (under 18, senior citizens and military).
About Eastern Alliance:
Eastern Alliance is a specialty underwriter of workers’ compensation products and services for businesses and organizations in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and Gulf South regions of the United States. Eastern Alliance is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ProAssurance Corporation, and has offices in Lancaster and Wexford, Pennsylvania; Charlotte, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Carmel, Indiana; Grandville, Michigan; Franklin, Tennessee; and, Madison, Mississippi. Eastern Alliance’s Web address is www.eains.com.
USFHA media release