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News for 15 August 2018

All the news for Wednesday 15 August 2018


Hockey Series Open - Port Vila 2018 (Men) - Day 1
Port Vila (VAN)

Results 15 August

TGA v SOL     1 - 6   
VAN v SOL     8 - 3

Pool Standings

Vanuatu 1 1 0 0 8 3 5 3
Solomon Islands 2 1 0 1 9 9 0 3
Fiji 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tonga 1 0 0 1 1 6 -5 0


Hockey Series Open - Port Vila 2018 (Women) - Day 1
Port Vila (VAN)

Results 15 August

TGA v VAN     0 - 9
SOL v VAN     2 - 4

Pool Standings

Vanuatu 2 2 0 0 13 2 11 6
Fiji 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Solomon Islands 1 0 0 1 2 4 -2 0
Tonga 1 0 0 1 0 9 -9 0

FIH Match Centre



Vanuatu hosts next exciting Hockey Series Open



After a short break, the Hockey Series Open is back in action, this time in Port Vila, Vanuatu. 


The joint men’s and women’s event sees some of the developing nations of the Oceania region seeking to start their own exciting hockey adventures.

With one qualification place to the second round up for grabs it really is all to play for. The action starts on Wednesday 15 August and takes the format of a round robin followed by placement matches. The final round of matches, which sees fourth versus third and second versus first as decided from the pool match results, is on Saturday 18 August.

The four teams taking part in the men’s competition are Fiji, Tonga, the Solomon Islands and the host nation Vanuatu. In the women’s event, the same nations are participating.

Favourites for the women’s event, based on International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hero World Rankings (WR) are Fiji who have a ranking of 59. The Solomon Islands are close behind on 63 and will be looking to challenge Fiji for top spot. Tonga (WR:65) and Vanuatu ((WR:74) are both teams with ambitions to move up the rankings and spring a surprise on their higher ranked Oceania neighbours.

In the men’s competition, Fiji again hold the top ranking at 57th in the world, with Vanuatu (WR:64) eight places ahead of Tonga (WR: 72). The Solomon Islands currently sit at 88th in the world.

All four nations competed in the Oceania Intercontinental Hockey5s competition which ran alongside the Oceania Cup in October 2017. The experience of playing international hockey and all the stresses that such a challenge involves will have stood the teams in good stead.

At that event, Vanuatu took the men’s title, beating Samoa by a convincing 11-1 scoreline in the final. Captain Hiro Namu proved that he will be one to watch in the Hockey Series Open as he scored five of the 11 goals. The bronze medal went to the Solomon Islands after they beat Tonga 6-1.

In the women’s event, Fiji confirmed their status as one of the top teams in the region after they beat Samoa 5-2. Like their male counterparts, the Solomon Islands won bronze after defeating Tonga 7-2.

The winner of the men’s and women’s event in Port Vila will qualify for the Hockey Series Finals where there is the potential to then play in Olympic qualifying matches.

The Hockey Series plays a vital role in supporting the FIH’s ‘Equally Amazing’ ethos, which promises equal opportunities for hockey across genders and nations. For more details on the Hockey Series, click here.

FIH site



Indian hockey teams leave for Jakarta Games


Indian Hockey Teams , Twitter @TheHockeyIndia

Eyeing qualification to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Indian men and women's hockey teams left for the 18th Asian Games with hopes of winning gold.

While the 18-member women's team will begin its campaign against hosts Indonesia in a Pool B clash on August 19, the men will begin their title defence against Indonesia a day later.

Speaking about improving on their bronze medal at the last Asiad, women's team captain Rani said, "We are going into the Asian Games after a strong performance in the FIH Women's World Cup 2018 which has given us a lot of confidence.

"Though we were disappointed that we did not make the semifinal, winning a gold in the Asian Games will help fade the bitter memories of the World Cup." The women's team will face Korea, Thailand, Kazakhstan and Indonesia in Pool B and will have to finish in the top two to make the semifinals.

Meanwhile the men's team, grouped with Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong will be aiming to defend its title.

"We had good lead-up to the Asian Games with high intensity training camp in Bengaluru. We also did well in the practice matches against Bangladesh, Korea and New Zealand where we wanted to implement certain changes in goal-scoring positions within the striking circle because that was one of the areas we fell behind in the FIH Champions Trophy 2018."

"We have also worked a lot on our penalty conversion, defending and shootouts. Now we just need to execute perfectly in every single match and return home with the gold," stated goalkeeper-captain PR Sreejesh.

Asked who would be India's toughest opponent this time around, Sreejesh said, "No team can be taken lightly because every single team would come with the mindset of winning the tournament and get direct qualification for Tokyo Olympics.

"However, I feel that with the potential we have in the current team we will be fighting to better our own performance and ensure we play like a champion squad."

Daily News & Analysis



Sjoerd Marijne interview: Women's hockey coach on World Cup defeat, takeaways for Asian Games and more

Amit Kamath


India coach Sjoerd Marijne. Image courtesy: Facebook @Hockey India

Sjoerd Marijne has an unenviable task on his hands. His side suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the Women’s Hockey World Cup earlier this month to Ireland in the penalty shootouts. To make matters worse, the team had barely 15 days to recover physically and mentally from the loss and play at the Asian Games in Jakarta/Palembang, where a gold medal also assures a spot at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

Ahead of the women’s team’s departure for Indonesia, Firstpost caught up with the Dutchman in Bengaluru on the sidelines of the national team’s short training camp to discuss the World Cup defeat, their preparation for Asian Games and the team’s psyche.

Edited excerpts:

India are currently ninth in the rankings — their best ever rank — and made it to quarters of the World Cup for the first time in four decades. What have you done right in your second stint?

I think it has to be fitness. The players' fitness has improved. Wayne Lombard, the Scientific Advisor, is doing a really good job with the girls, so that we can match the level of the other countries. The other thing is the mindset: it's all about self-confidence and belief. Our psychologist too has done really well. Our defensive structure also has helped us to make improvements. The girls are really disciplined, and that has helped us. We have not scored that much, but we have created chances, that is why we have done really well recently.

What were the biggest takeaways from the World Cup?

What went really well at the World Cup was the defending. If you look at the stats, we were the best defensive team. But we can create more, and finish more. And this will be important at the Asian Games that we create more opportunities and execute them. That is the most important lesson for us.

Has the frequency of penalty shootout training increased after the World Cup defeat to Ireland?

No, ever since I became coach, we have been doing it (training for shootouts) three times a week. The girls won at the Asia Cup through a shootout, so it's not as if our shootout skills are not good. You have to learn from what happened. We need to ask ourselves ‘Why did we lose?’, ‘where can we improve?’ You can only change the future. That's what we are training for now.

What did you do or say to the players to help them move on from the defeat at the World Cup?

If you lose, you can change that. You can't change the past, but you can change the future. That's the most important thing I told the girls. I told them that they should be proud of themselves, even if it at the moment it doesn't feel like that, since they lost in a shootout to Ireland, who we could have beaten. The players have to change their mind. We have a big tournament coming up. They're professionals, I'm sure they will.

Did the players need extra sessions with the team psychologist after the World Cup defeat?

No. We need to learn from our mistakes. Those things will not happen again. Otherwise, the loss will have been for nothing.  We look at the whole process with the shootout, what was going on in their heads. Did they feel pressure? Those kind of things we talked about. We do the same in the group psychological sessions. This will ensure that if we are in the same situation at the Asian Games, the same mistakes will not happen again. It's not just because of the World Cup, we do two or three psychology sessions a week.

Did the players feel pressure against Ireland?

The players didn't feel tense. The game was difficult because the Irish played really defensively. It was difficult to create chances.

You views on the Asian Games coming on the heels of a draining World Cup campaign…

The most important thing is that we leave the World Cup behind us. We were happy to have made it to the quarters, but disappointed that we lost to Ireland. Our disappointment at losing in the shootouts is really big. That's the first thing we worked on. We're now fine. We don't have much time as we have hardly any training sessions before the Asiad. All the players of the team are not here at the moment as some are attending pre-Asian Games functions. At this moment, our players are focussing a lot on recovery. Our players have had to travel a lot over the last few days which doesn't help with recovery. But the moment we reach Jakarta, the feeling to compete will be there. We will be ready for the Asian Games.

How do you make sure players peak at the right time for a tournament?

I believe a lot in the mental side of the game. We need to be fresh for the Asian Games. That's why we're emphasising so much on recovery. We're always focussing on ourselves.

Which teams will pose the biggest threat to India at the Asian Games?

China, Japan and South Korea. When it comes to rankings, we're all close to each other. Really close. We cannot say that just because we are World No 9, we're the big favourites. The matches will depend on really small things. That’s why we're not busy with teams like China or Korea or Japan. We're focussing on ourselves, and our process.

Difference between Indian hockey players and players from other teams…

The way they are trained in the past is different than the country where I come from. We're trained more tactically, while here they train more technically. Sometimes, for me it's difficult to understand why they take certain decisions and then CR Kumar (assistant coach/team manager) tells me that's the way they learnt at the academy. That helps me understand their choices better. It's very much improved now and looks a lot like the way I want the team to play. You can see that in our defence. A lot of our players understand my ways. But sometimes, to be sure, I ask CR Kumar (assistant coach/team manager) to translate. To unlearn what they have learnt growing up is really difficult. But I try to show them that there are other ways. Take for example, how India players like to run with the ball. That's good also at times, so I don't want to remove that. But you have to know when you can do it. Wait for the right moment. Look at Netherlands, they're the world champions now. They only play give-and-go. Pass, pass, pass. We can add that more in our play. Then our skills will really have a big advantage.

Firstpost



Hockeyroos Turn Focus To Olympics With Japan Four Nations

Ben Somerford



Hockey Australia (HA) today confirms the Hockeyroos will compete in the Four Nations Women's Ibaraki International Tournament in Japan next month.

Third-ranked Australia will come up against Argentina (fourth), United States (12th) and hosts Japan (14th) in the event which runs from 12-16 September at the OIC Field at the Ritsumeikan University Osaka Ibaraki Campus.

The Four Nations comes shortly following the Hockeyroos’ fourth-place finish at the 2018 Women’s World Cup in London which saw the side rise up two spots to third in the FIH Hero World Rankings.

The event will also give the side a taste of Japanese conditions with less than two years until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

HA High Performance Director Toni Cumpston said: “The Four Nations Tournament is part of Hockey Australia’s agreement with the Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture which will also see the Kookaburras visit Japan next year ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“Following the Hockeyroos’ fourth-place finish at the 2018 World Cup our focus for the women’s programme is on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the Four Nations Tournament is an important step towards that.

“It is an opportunity to acclimatise to Japan and expose our athletes to the conditions we’ll face in Tokyo.

“We’re thankful and appreciative of the Ibaraki City and Japan Hockey Association’s support and we’re looking forward to developing the relationship as we build up towards Tokyo.”

The Hockeyroos team to play at the Four Nations will be announced on Monday 27 August.

The Japan Hockey Association will live stream each game online for free, with link details to be shared closer to the first match. Follow @Hockeyroos on Twitter for live commentary too.

Match Schedule:

Wednesday 12 September 2018 5:30pm AEST – Argentina v USA
Wednesday 12 September 2018 7:30pm AEST – Japan v Australia
Thursday 13 September 2018 5:30pm AEST – Australia v Argentina
Thursday 13 September 2018 7:30pm AEST – Japan v USA
Saturday 15 September 2018 3pm AEST – Australia v USA
Saturday 15 September 2018 5pm AEST – Japan v Argentina
Sunday 16 September 2018 2:45pm AEST – Third place play-off
Sunday 16 September 2018 5pm AEST – Final

Hockey Australia media release



Five minutes with Eddie Ockenden

Alexie Beovich



He may have played more than 300 games for Australia but there’s still plenty we didn’t know about new Kookaburras co-captain Eddie Ockenden.

We chatted to him about a variety of random topics for five minutes to get to know him a bit better!

What’s your full name?

Edward Clive Ockenden. Clive is my dad’s name.

Do you have any nicknames?

Not really a nickname, I’ve always been called Eddie or Ed.

You’re from Tasmania, where exactly?

I’m from Hobart, it’s a great place.

Who is your favourite Tasmanian of all time and why?

There’s a couple. When I was really young it was Matthew Wells. I really looked up to him. He was the age where Hockey started to be on TV so I could follow him. Also Ricky Ponting for obvious reasons. He’s a great Tasmanian.

Ever met Ricky?

I’ve met him a few times, he’s a good bloke!

Favourite thing about Tasmania?

Being able to get outdoors in a number of different ways very quickly. Everything is on our doorstep. I can go to the beach, up a mountain or completely into the wilderness, all within an hour or so. It’s a special place.

How did you spend your leisure time in your youth?

In my spare time I played a lot of sport. I played a lot of different sports. I was fanatical about playing sports and I still love it. I remember going camping a lot with my family, exploring and walking. I like doing those things now still.

Do you like any other sports?

I played a lot of cricket, Hockey, tennis and a bit of athletics. I loved Hockey because it was a team sport and I was always drawn to having people around and being in a team. I love that aspect of Hockey the community feel, having a good club, with senior teams and men’s and women’s teams which are very close. I was drawn to that. Also the lure of going to the Olympics, which I always saw as a good event and Hockey was a great pathway. My mum played Hockey which was an incentive to start when you’re young.

Tip for AFL premiership and why?

I’m a Geelong fan and if we make the finals and play in Melbourne I think we can be very hard to beat. But I actually haven’t watched too much footy the last few years. I’ve just had a son and we don’t watch the TV when he’s awake so I’ve missed out on so much footy, so I don’t know, but I’d say Richmond at the MCG. They’ve got such a good record there, they’re in the box seat.

Favourite AFL player of all time and why?

There’s a couple. Gary Ablett obviously, Senior and Junior. Joel Selwood, Jimmy Bartel and Corey Enright. All Geelong players.

Interests outside of Hockey?

I really like fishing especially in Tasmania. I like fly fishing for trout. Tasmania is great for that because there’s so many waterways and lakes you can get out and do it. I don’t catch too many but it’s nice to be outside.

And you and your partner recently had your first child, tell us about him?

My son’s name is Oscar, he’s 14 months. He’s pretty busy, he chats to himself and we can’t understand him. He’s walking around and it’s a tough time in the winter, so he’s stuck inside a bit more but he loves being busy and he’s very active.

Favourite holiday destination and why?

I’ve been playing Hockey my whole adult life which means I’ve been in Perth my whole adult life, so I’d say Hobart! Also Spain, I’ve been there recently for three weeks. My girlfriend’s family have a house there and it’s an awesome place to be able to go and relax.

Best country to play Hockey in and why?

Definitely India because of the history, support and interest. It’s very big there when it’s up and going. Always the Netherlands. I’ve played there a lot in the club competition which is awesome. I played four seasons there and I really enjoyed that. I had a great time. The international tournaments in the Netherlands, the champions trophy and the world cup, they just put on such a good event. They get great interest as well, media and crowds, it’s unbelievable.

Worst teammate to room with on tour and why?

Probably Jeremy Hayward. It’s a bit boring because everybody would say that but he’s a bit annoying. Bad jokes, laughs at his own jokes and hassling you all the time. It’s tough!

Hockey Australia media release



Applications open for England & GB Women's Head Coach



Applications are now open for role of England & GB Hockey Women's Head Coach.

Reporting to the Performance Director, the Head Coach will be responsible for providing world class leadership and coaching to the national team. The Head Coach will be responsible for building on the recent success of the women’s programme and leading the programme to a place of systemic and consistent international success on the world stage. Most specifically, medal winning performances at world-level events and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The senior team operates within a centralised programme at Bisham Abbey. The Head Coach is required to work closely with key performance staff, providing detailed planning for the programme to Tokyo and the following cycle.

To find out more information and submit your application for the role click here.

Please note - the deadline is midday Monday, 3rd September.

England Hockey Board Media release

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