News for 11 March 2017
All the news for Saturday 11 March 2017
Don't become your own enemy
By Jugjet Singh
Malaysia v Fiji
NO team can beat Malaysia in Dhaka, other than themselves.
This was what Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Technical Director Terry Walsh said while watching Bangladesh play Egypt in the World League Round Two quarter-finals on Thursday.
Malaysia, 13th in the World, will play No 20 Egypt in the semi-finals today, and at stake is a ticket to the World League Semifinals either in London or South Africa.
The second stage offers tickets to the 2018 World Cup in India.
With the stakes so high, Egypt has also set their sights on beating Malaysia to claim one slot, as only the finalists in Dhaka move into the World League Semifinals.
"There is no team in Dhaka that can beat Malaysia but themselves. By saying this, I mean Malaysia must play much better than what they have been playing in the last four matches," said Walsh.
He was busy looking for Egypt's faults, and found plenty in both the goalkeepers.
"Their No 1 goalkeeper (Wael Noureldin) is weak on his left foot, and that's were the penalty corners should head. Low, and left. And as for their second goalkeeper (Ahmed Adel), if they field him against Malaysia, he is slow to move to the sides on both legs.
"We have not been scoring off high penalty corners so far, while the low ones have worked. This should be our weapon to win comfortably," said Walsh.
Walsh has also noted down many other 'defects' in Egypt -- but kept it to himself.
Malaysian coach Stephen van Huizen said: "We are going to throw everything we have towards Egypt and treat this as the final itself. No use in holding back, as we came here to qualify for the World League Semifinals and are just a step away," said van Huizen.
One of the better player in Dhaka Nabil Fiqri, believes his team-mates will beat Egypt.
"No doubts in my mind, we will beat Egypt at all cost and move into the final. I will give my best, and push the rest as well," said the recently graduated trainee Inspector who is now attached to Bukit Aman.
However, Egypt have their own dream.
"We could not arrange for training matches before coming here, but trained hard three times a day for three months. We were unlucky not to have topped the group (Group B) and avoid Malaysia in the semi-finals, but now that we are paired with them, we aim to beat them," said Egypt skipper Amr Elhady.
Hopefully, Malaysia don't become their own enemy today.
SATURDAY: Semi-finals: Malaysia v Egypt (3.45pm), China v Oman (6pm).
Placing matches: Fifth-Eighth -- Sri Lanka v Bangladesh (11.15am), Ghana v Fiji (1.30pm).
Note: Malaysian time.
Jugjet's World of Field Hockey
We need to turn on the style, says skipper
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia have yet to turn on their ‘A’ game in the World Hockey League Round Two in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
But that hasn’t stopped the world No. 13 from qualifying for the semi-finals, where they will meet world No. 20 Egypt at the Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium today.
That, however, is a bit worrying for skipper Muhd Sukri Abdul Mutalib as he expects a tougher examination from Egypt compared to their previous opponents.
“As the top-seeded team, we should have played much better against our weaker opponents.
“We are struggling to score from penalty corners and that’s quite worrying.
“In the quarter-final against Sri Lanka on Thursday, we won 5-2 ... but we failed to convert the four penalty corners we earned in the match,” said Sukri.
“We will use the rest day today to work on our penalty corner set-pieces to make sure to make sure we get it right against Egypt,” said Sukri.
Malaysia have four penalty corners drag flickers – Mohd Razie Abdul Rahim, Muhd Shahril Saabah, Muhd Najmi Farizal Jazlan and Mohd Fitri Saari.
The 31-year-old Sukri, who has 270 international caps, clearly knows what’s at stake today.
A place in the final will confirm Malaysia’s ticket to the World League Semi-Finals, which will be played at two venues – London, England (June 15-25) and Johannesburg, South Africa (July 9-23).
“The stakes are certainly high ... this is the most important game for both teams as the winner will qualify for the World League Semi-Finals. So, it is up to us as the favourites to rise to the occasion and beat Egypt.”
Malaysia last played against Egypt in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh in 2010. Sukri played in that game, which Malaysia won 5-0.
Sukri admitted that Egypt have improved a lot since then “as they have yet to lose a match in Dhaka”.
“They play a tactical game and are fast in counter attacks. We must be cautious and make full use of our chances,” said Sukri.
The Star of Malaysia
Fiji men's hockey team loses 3rd match
Pravin Narain
FIJI hockey men's team lost their third match in the Hockey World League round two in Bangladesh on Wednesday.
The Hector Smith-coached side lost to Malaysia 11-1 in their last pool match.
The lone goal for Fiji was scored by Jerome Edwards.
Fiji had players such as Leevan Dutta, Ben Lutua, Rik Bentley, Kyle Kava, Martin Fong, Hector Smith Junior, Adrian Smith and Richard Eyre.
The Fijian side started the competition with a 7-0 thrashing by Oman. In their second game, hosts Bagaladesh thrashed them again 5-1 on Monday.
The Fiji Times
Men’s Hockey World League Round 2 roadshow rolls into Belfast
Eight more teams set to fight for place in the HWL Semi-Finals
With the Hockey World League Round 2 in Dhaka, Bangladesh currently in full flow, the second men’s Round 2 event of the year gets underway on Saturday in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The eight-team competition, which takes place between Saturday 11 and Sunday 19 March, will see Austria, Italy, hosts Ireland, France, Poland, Scotland, Ukraine and Wales battling for a top two finish to guarantee a place in the Hockey World League Semi-Finals, where those coveted berths at the Hockey Men's World Cup 2018 in India are up for grabs.
Like all of the Round 2 events, the competition in Belfast will witness a clash between teams that came through the first phase of the competition against sides that were automatically given a bye through to Round 2 due to their higher placement in the FIH Hero World Rankings. The highest ranked teams will enter the World League at the Semi-Final stage of the Hockey World League which will take place in this summer.
The competition will feature two pools of four, with the finishing positions at the end of the pool phase determining the line-up for the quarter-finals, which begin on Thursday 16 March.
In Pool A, Ireland (FIH Hero World Ranking: 10), Austria (WR: 21), Ukraine (WR: 24) and Italy (35) will all go head to head, with the top-ranked Irish widely regarded as the team to beat.
Ireland's Green Machine secured qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games thanks to their superb performances in the 2014-15 edition of the Hockey World League and they will be aiming to repeat the trick in their search for a World Cup ticket. Goalkeeper David Harte – winner of the last two FIH Hockey Stars Goalkeeper of the Year Awards – is the superstar of the team, while defender Ronan Gormley has 250 international appearances to his name. Drag-flick specialist Shane O’Donoghue is fast gaining a reputation as a world class talent and is certainly worth keeping an eye on.
Austria are likely to be Ireland’s strongest challengers, and in Michael Körper they have one of the finest strikers in the game. Körper is a threat from open play and penalty corners, which could create a fascinating match-up with Ireland’s David Harte when the two sides meet on Sunday (12 March).
Ukraine and Italy, the top two finishers from the Hockey World League Round 1 event in Prague, Czech Republic, complete the line-up and will certainly be keen on making a big impression in Belfast.
Italy’s Agustin Nunez netted ten times in Round 1 to finish top of the scoring charts at that event, followed closely by Ukraine’s Vitalii Kalinchuk who scored nine. Both players will be looking to have a similar impression on the outcome of this Round 2 competition.
France (WR: 17) are top ranked side in Pool B, although they are closely followed by Poland who sit just two places behind them at 19th. Brothers Tom and Hugo Genestet are the two most experienced – and influential – players in the team captained by Victor Charlet. 30-year-old Bartosz Zywiczka will lead a Poland team that is building for the future, featuring four teenagers including 17-year-old Mikolaj Gumny. Pawel Bratkowski, often a front-runner in the race for competition top scorer thanks to his expertise from penalty corner situations, has also been named amongst the Poland ranks for this event.
British rivals Scotland (WR: 27) and Wales (WR: 34) will also be fighting hard for the points in Pool B having both come through the Round 1 event that took place on Scottish soil in Glasgow.
Despite their lower ranking, it was the Welsh who emerged triumphant at that event, defeating the competition hosting Scots 3-2 thanks in part to an early double strike from Gareth Furlong.
Scotland’s Alan Forsyth finished as top scorer in Glasgow with eight goals including seven from open play, marking him as a striker to be feared in Belfast.
The top two finishers from the men’s Round 2 events in Dhaka, Belfast (11-19 Mar 2017) and Tacarigua, (25 Mar-2 Apr 2017) are certain to qualify for the Hockey World League Semi-Finals, being joined in the World Cup qualifier phase by the two highest ranked of the third placed finishers from those three events.
You can keep track of the tournament in Belfast on the official competition pages by clicking here and on FIH’s social media channels using the #HWL2017 hashtag.
FIH site
Hockey India announces 33 core probables for senior men's national camp
NEW DELHI: Hockey India (HI) on Friday announced a 33-member core probables list for the national camp, which will commence at the Sports Authority of India in Bengaluru from March 14.
The national camp under chief coach Roelant Oltmans includes as many as 11 players from the last year's gold medal junior World Cup winning squad.
The junior team players were also incredible at the recently-concluded Hockey India League (HIL), where they held their nerves against some of the world's best hockey stars.
While Mandeep Singh, Harjeet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Vikas Dahiya have been part of the senior men's camp earlier, defenders Dipsan Tirkey and Gurinder Singh, midfielders Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet and Simranjeet Singh, forward Gurjant Singh are the latest inclusions in the core group, which will be put through the grind ahead of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in April, followed by the Men's Hockey World League Semi-Final London 2017 in June.
20-year-old goalkeeper Suraj Karkera from Mumbai has also received a call-up for the senior men's camp. He was a part of the junior India men's team in the four-nation International Junior hockey tournament in Valencia last year.
Amit Rohidas, who formed an integral part of the 2017 HIL winners Kalinga Lancers defence structure, too finds a place in the core probables list.
The squad contains established stars likes PR Sreejesh, Sardar Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, SV Sunil, Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, SK Uthappa, Chinglensana Singh, Talwinder Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Surender Kumar, Manpreet Singh among others.
"It was a busy start to the new year with the HIL, where I feel some of the players did extremely well under pressure situations. Like I had mentioned earlier, the selection process for the core probables was based on the players' performances in the year 2016 as well as the 2017 HIL. This is an important year for Indian hockey with the Men's Hockey World League Semi-Final London 2017 and the World League Final in December," said Oltmans.
"This year's performances will be vital in bringing us fresh perspective towards building our game further as we move into the year of the Men's World Cup in 2018. I believe the players will be mentally and physically ready for a new challenge this calender year after a two-week break post the HIL," he added.
The 62-year-old Dutchman will be joined by new recruits Hans Streeder, who has replaced Roger van Gent as the Analytical Coach for the senior men's team, and Scott Conway, who has been brought in as the new Scientific Advisor.
While Streeder was earlier with the junior men's Dutch squad and has been in the coaching profession since 1983, Conway from Australia has been practicing Sports Science since 2011 and was previously with the Institute of Sukan Negara & Malaysian Hockey Confederation.
Core Probables:
Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte, PR Sreejesh, Vikas Dahiya, Suraj Karkera.
Defenders: Dipsan Tirkey, Pardeep Mor, Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar, Rupinderpal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Jasjit Singh Kular, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas.
Midfielders: Chinglensana Singh, SK Uthappa, Sumit, Satbir Singh, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh, Harjeet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet, Simranjeet Singh.
Forwards: Ramandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Talwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Affan Yousuf, Nikkin Thimmaiah, Gurjant Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay.
The Times of India
Gurbaj continues to be ignored
Raghunath and Walmiki missing from the core group
Uthra Ganesan
Gurbaj Singh .
His brilliance on field notwithstanding, experienced midfielder Gurbaj Singh continues to be ignored by those responsible for selection matters in Indian hockey.
The 33-member group of men’s probables announced by Hockey India on Friday has once again given Gurbaj the cold-shoulder even as it included 11 members from the recent World Cup-winning junior side.
With chief coach Roelant Oltmans preparing for a new four-year cycle targeting the 2018 World Cup in India and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the list is expected to form the core of the Indian team.
Gurbaj, the highest paid Indian in the Hockey India League (HIL), had been one of the few positives for Ranchi Rays. Even though Oltmans had stressed on HIL performances being important for selections, the omission of the 28-year-old clearly indicates that he continues to be out of favour despite being among the fittest and most skilful players in the country at the moment.
Besides Gurbaj, some prominent names are also conspicuous by their absence.
The biggest of them is that of experienced defender V.R. Raghunath, who not only led Uttar Pradesh Wizards to a third-place finish in the HIL but was also part of the leadership group in the National side for the past few years.
Raghunath, however, had apparently indicated his wish to take a break after playing non-stop for the past few years, informing Oltmans about the same and keeping his options of returning open.
Incidentally, Oltmans was also the UPW coach.
Also missing is midfielder Devinder Walmiki, who played an important role in Kalinga Lancers lifting the HIL title this year, and Danish Mujtaba, both part of the Indian side at the Rio Olympics.
While defender Birendra Lakra finds a place despite not being match fit and still recovering from his surgery last year, Amit Rohidas has been rewarded for his rock-solid defending for Lancers. Former captain Sardar Singh and Rupinderpal Singh have managed to retain their places despite a below-average outing during the HIL.
Apart from the Azlan Shah, the team would also prepare for the Hockey World League semifinals in London in June.
The National camp would begin in Bengaluru from March 15 to prepare for the Azlan Shah Cup in April, the first outing for the Indian team in 2017.
The players would be joined by new strategy coach Hans Streeder and scientific advisor Scott Conway.
The core group:
Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte, P.R. Sreejesh, Vikas Dahiya, Suraj Karkera.
Defenders: Dipsan Tirkey, Pardeep Mor, Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar, Rupinderpal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Jasjit Singh Kular, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas.
Midfielders: Chinglensana Singh, S.K. Uthappa, Sumit, Satbir Singh, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh, Harjeet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet, Simranjeet Singh.
Forwards: Ramandeep Singh, S.V. Sunil, Talwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Affan Yousuf, Nikkin Thimmaiah, Gurjant Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay.
The Hindu
Hockey India rewards HIL performers in National Camp at Bengaluru
NEW DELHI: Hockey India on Friday rewarded players who impressed in the Hockey India league (HIL) when it named the 33-member core probables list for the national camp, starting March 14 at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) complex in Bengaluru.
The camp, held under the guidance of chief coach Roelant Oltmans, also includes 11 players from the Gold Medal Junior World Cup winning squad.
While Mandeep Singh, Harjeet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Vikas Dahiya have been part of the senior men's camp earlier, defenders Dipsan Tirkey, Gurinder Singh, midfielders Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet, Simranjeet Singh, forward Gurjant Singh are the latest inclusions in the core group, which will be put through the grind ahead of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in April.
The 20-year-old goalkeeper Suraj Karkera from Mumbai has also received a call-up for the national team camp.
Karkera was part of the junior Indian men's team in the four-nation International Junior hockey tournament in Valencia last year.
The squad contains the likes of PR Sreejesh, Sardar Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, SV Sunil, Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, SK Uthappa, Chinglensana Singh, Talwinder Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Surender Kumar, Manpreet Singh among others featuring in the national campers' list.
Commenting on the development, Oltmans said: "It was a busy start to the new year with the Coal India HIL where I feel some of the players did extremely well under pressure situations. Like I had mentioned earlier, the selection process for the core probables was based on the players' performances in the year 2016 as well as the 2017 Coal India HIL.
"This is an important year for Indian hockey with the Men's Hockey World League Semi-Final London 2017 and the World League Final in December.
"This year's performances will be vital in bringing us fresh perspective towards building our game further as we move into the year of the Men's World Cup in 2018. I believe the players will be mentally and physically ready for a new challenge this calendar year after a two-week break post the Coal India HIL," Oltmans said.
The 62-year-old Dutchman will be joined by new recruits Hans Streeder, who has replaced Roger van Gent as the analytical coach for the senior men team and Scott Conway who has been brought in as the new scientific advisor for the team.
Core probables:
Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte, PR Sreejesh, Vikas Dahiya, Suraj Karkera.
Defenders: Dipsan Tirkey, Pardeep Mor, Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar, Rupinderpal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Jasjit Singh Kular, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas.
Midfielders: Chinglensana Singh, SK Uthappa, Sumit, Satbir Singh, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh, Harjeet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet, Simranjeet Singh.
Forwards: Ramandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Talwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Affan Yousuf, Nikkin Thimmaiah, Gurjant Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay.
The Times of India
Raghunath not part of Hockey India's probables list
NEW DELHI: Experienced campaigner VR Raghunath's name was surprisingly missing from a 33-member probables list announced by Hockey India on Friday.
Besides Raghunath, the selectors also ignored the experienced Danish Mujtaba and Devinder Walmiki both of whom were part of the Rio Olympics squad.
The probables selected by chief coach Roelant Oltmans along with HI selectors did not feature right back Gurbaj Singh.
Gurbaj, who was the most expensive player in the last Hockey India League bid, continued to get the boot.
Although HI did not give a reason for Raghunath's omission, sources hinted that the strongly built drag-flicker had requested for a break after playing continuously for the past few years.
Sardar Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh have managed to retain their place in the list, picked for a national camp, despite a below-par outing in this year's Hockey India League.
The national camp will commence at the Sports Authority of India in Bengaluru from March 14.
The list includes as many as 11 players from last year's gold medal junior World Cup winning squad.
The junior team players were also incredible at the recently-concluded Hockey India League, where they held their nerve against some of the world's best players.
While Mandeep Singh, Harjeet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Vikas Dahiya have been part of the senior men's camp earlier, defenders Dipsan Tirkey and Gurinder Singh, midfielders Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet and Simranjeet Singh, forward Gurjant Singh are the latest inclusions in the core group, which will be put through the grind ahead of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in April, followed by the Men's Hockey World League Semi-Final London 2017 in June.
20-year-old goalkeeper Suraj Karkera from Mumbai has also received a call-up for the senior men's camp. He was a part of the junior India men's team in the four-nation International Junior hockey tournament in Valencia last year.
Amit Rohidas, who formed an integral part of the 2017 HIL winners Kalinga Lancers defence structure, too finds a place in the core probables list.
The squad includes established stars likes PR Sreejesh, Sardar Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, SV Sunil, Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, SK Uthappa, Chinglensana Singh, Talwinder Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Surender Kumar, Manpreet Singh among others.
"It was a busy start to the new year with the HIL, where I feel some of the players did extremely well under pressure situations. Like I had mentioned earlier, the selection process for the core probables was based on the players' performances in the year 2016 as well as the 2017 HIL. This is an important year for Indian hockey with the Men's Hockey World League Semi-Final London 2017 and the World League Final in December," said Oltmans.
"This year's performances will be vital in bringing us fresh perspective towards building our game further as we move into the year of the Men's World Cup in 2018. I believe the players will be mentally and physically ready for a new challenge this calender year after a two-week break post the HIL," he added.
The 62-year-old Dutchman will be joined by new recruits Hans Streeder, who has replaced Roger van Gent as the analytical coach for the senior men's team, and Scott Conway, who has been brought in as the new scientific advisor.
While Streeder was earlier with the junior men's Dutch squad and has been in the coaching profession since 1983, Conway from Australia has been practicing sports science since 2011 and was previously with the Institute of Sukan Negara & Malaysian Hockey Confederation.
Probables:
Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte, PR Sreejesh, Vikas Dahiya, Suraj Karkera.
Defenders: Dipsan Tirkey, Pardeep Mor, Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar, Rupinderpal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Jasjit Singh Kular, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas.
Midfielders: Chinglensana Singh, SK Uthappa, Sumit, Satbir Singh, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh, Harjeet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet, Simranjeet Singh.
Forwards: Ramandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Talwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Affan Yousuf, Nikkin Thimmaiah, Gurjant Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay.
The Times of India
UPM go out despite four-goal salvo by Amir
Sticky situation: Police’s Mohd Razali Zulkipli challenging UPM-KPT’s Muhammad Hanif Azemi during the President’s Cup semi-final return leg at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium yesterday. — M. AZHAR ARIF/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Forward Amir Zulkarnain Ahmad Robangi cut a disconsolate figure despite scoring four goals in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)-KPT’s 4-2 semi-final, return-leg win over Police in the President’s Cup
His heroics came to nought as his team failed to qualify for the final after losing 8-7 on aggregate.
Police, who won the first leg 6-3 on Wednesday, will face Division One champions Nur Insafi in tomorrow’s final.
Nur Insafi had an easier time in their return-leg clash against Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). They won 7-0 for a 13-2 aggregate triumph.
In the UPM-KPT versus Police match at the Tun Razak Stadium yesterday, Amir was on target in the second, 47th, 54th and 60th minutes.
Muhd Rahimi Iskandar Baharom (24th) and Baljit Singh Sarjab (55th) replied for Police.
UPM-KPT coach Azlansaufi Ahmad Supian praised his team for playing well.
“It’s a disheartening end for us in Division One,” said Azlansaufi.
Police team manager Asst Comm S. Batumalai was delighted that their last-minute decision to compete in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) has paid off.
“This is the first time that Police are playing in the MHL ... it’s a big boost for us to reach the final,” he said.
In the other semi-final, three players – Muhammad Ateeq (third, 22nd minutes), Nur Hrsikesa Thaichana Muruthi (ninth, 33rd) and Muhamad Bilal Qadir (29th, 38th) – scored a brace each for Nur Insafi.
Aamir Shahzad added the other goal in the 55th minute.
The Star of Malaysia
Champions Telkom Orange prey on Chase Amira in season opener
By BRIAN YONGA
READY TO RUMBLE? Telkom Orange's striker Jackline Mwangi roars in celebration after scoring during their Africa Cup of Club Championship semi-final match against Heartland of Nigeria at City Park Stadium on January 13, 2017. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Women’s Premier League champions Telkom Orange begin their title defence against Chase Amira on Saturday afternoon as the 2017 Kenya Hockey Union season gets underway at the City Park Stadium, Nairobi.
Four matches will be played on Saturday and another four on Sunday as teams seek to kick-off the new campaign in style.
Newly promoted Technical University of Kenya (TUK) will make their bow in the men’s top-flight league against Chase Sailors, while the 2013 men’s champions Kenya Police face Kenya College of Accountancy of University (KCA-U) on Sunday.
This season reverts to the home and away format and will feature 44 clubs, nine more than last year.
The women’s top tier league has 11 teams (up from nine) including one new, while the men’s top league retains the 15 teams.
The second tier men’s league has three new entrants, Mombasa West, Gorilla and Wazalendo Masters as well as five returnees.
Two months after lifting a record ninth African club championship title, Orange will start as favourites as they chase an unprecedented 20th national crown.
GOOD SIGNINGS
The Jos Openda-led side edged out arch-rivals Strathmore University Scorpions by two points last season to clinch their 19th title and the tactician is targeting another successful campaign.
“We want to try and defend all the titles we won last season without conceding but that will require us to be at 100 percent. The morale is still high and we hope to ride on that this year,” Openda said.
Openda is however wary of Amira, who finished third on their debut season last year.
“They are a decent side and have recruited a number of players and it therefore promises to be a tough match but we want to get off to a winning start,” he added. Openda has not recruited new players choosing to put faith on the players that did duty last season.
Evergreen striker Jackline Mwangi, who topped the scoring charts last season with 19 goals, will lead the attack supported by the pacy Maureen Okumu and Audrey Omaido.
Former skipper Betsy Omalla, who missed much of last season’s title charge but returned for the club championship in January, is also available.
Amira on the other hand will be banking on the return of footballer-cum-hockey player Pauline Naise, who is back playing the sport after a two-year absence.
She last featured for USIU Spartans in 2015 before taking a break from the sport.
“She is a great forward and we hope her goal poaching skills will help us challenge for the title,” Amira coach Linet Onyango said.
TUK have signed four new players in their bid to maintain their league status. The students won last season’s second tier league title.
FIXTURES (all matches at City Park)
Saturday
National men: Gorilla v Daystar University – 12pm
Premier women: Orange v Amira – 2pm
Premier men: TUK v Chase – 4pm, Greensharks v Wazalendo – 6pm
Sunday
National men: Wazalendo Youth v UON – 9am
Premier Women: JKUAT v Multimedia – 11am
Premier men: USIU v KU Vultures – 1pm, Kenya Police v KCA-U – 3pm
Daily Nation
Sambalpur Univ.is Nehru-University Champions
s2h team
Sambalpur University overcame gritty resistance from VBPS University, Jaunpur, to post sudden death victory in the shoot out to become the All India University Champions today at Shivaji Stadium. Both teams shared two goals in the 24th Nehru-Inter-University final forcing shoot out that took place amidst incessant rains.
After a barren first half in which the ultimate victors had territorial supremacy but conceded huge number of counter attacks, VBPS took the lead after successfully defending a penalty corner. Goalkeeper of Sambalpur blocked the first shot that came from the rival captain on the left flank, but the rebound on the other far end was sent in by Bijendra Singh, right winger, for the first goal (40th min).
Hardworking Sampalpur boys created many chances but stopping and shooting inside circle came in the way. The struggled to level. However, they kept the umpires busy with earning penalthy corners aplenty. First set of three continous penalty corners, all taken by Dhaka Sub-Junior Asia Cup captain Sanjib Neelam Xess could not go beyond the first charger.
Sampalpur again got a set of another three penalty corners, but Jaunpur defenders gave jaan to block every time.
Ultimately, it was eighth penalty corner in the second half, where the regular first charger was not playing due to sustaining injury while charging out in the seventh PC defence, Nilam Xess flicked to the centre of net to level.
In the shoot out, Prasan Tirkey and Xess converted while Bijender and Kamlesh of Jaunpur levelled. Three from each side missed out.
In the sudden death, Mithles missed out only to see Xess converting and leading the merry celebrations that followed.
Earlier, Guru Nanak University, Amritsar, beat Bangalore University 3-1 to clinch the bronze.
Inter-Univesity Championships till a year before last was organized by the Association of Indian University. It ofent used to be staged in college campuses, which do not have synthetic play field.
However, in order to improve things and bring more visibility, the Delhi based Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Tournament Society has come forward to host it in professional manner.
The Society is organizing six chain of tournaments for various age group since six decades.
Stick2Hockey.com
Ten incredible nominees for the EHF Hall of Fame
The EHF has named an incredible shortlist – following open public nominations – from which the latest Hall of Fame players will be inducted in 2017.
The EHF received 62 nominations with the following 10 players named on the reduced list:
Naomi Van As (NED)
Tina Bachmann (GER)
Yvonne Frank (GER)
Moritz Fürste (GER)
Ellen Hoog (NED)
Maartje Paumen (NED)
Kate Richardson-Walsh (ENG)
Jérôme Truyens (BEL)
Charlotte de Vos (BEL)
Christopher Zeller (GER)
They are now inviting the fans of hockey worldwide to have their say over who will make it into the Hall of Fame to join Teun De Nooijer, Santi Frexia and Natashca Keller (2013), and Pol Amat and Nikki Symmons (2015) with only three new inductees entering in 2017.
Fans can vote online (click here) from now until 1st April 2017. Following that an expert panel will analyse the voting and they will have the final say on who will join the class of 2017.
The winner will not announce be inducted until a ceremony which will take place during the EuroHockey Championships, Amsterdam.
Fans in Amsterdam will have the opportunity to meet and greet the new Hall of Famers during the Championships. More exiting news on that to follow. Make your vote count! Vote for the players that you think should join the class of 2017.
You can also see a couple of the nominees in action at the EHL KO16 in Eindhoven in April. Three-time champion Moritz Fuerste has been named in the UHC Hamburg side, Jerome Truyens in the Racing Club de Bruxelles squad and Christopher Zeller in the Rot-Weiss Koln selection.
Euro Hockey League media release
Ferrum High claims back regional title in SPAR KZN Hockey Tournament
Vryheid High wing, Alberdene Jacobs, moves in to try get the ball away from Sarel Cilliers Captain, Georgia Viljoen, in their pool game of the SPAR KZN School Girls’ Hockey Challenge northern regional on Saturday in Pongola. (Photo by Sophie Thompson)
IT was a day that young hockey players had to really dig deep to sustain their games in sweltering heat in the first of the regionals in the 2017 South African SPAR KZN School Girls’ Hockey Challenge, which saw Ferrum High School reclaim the Northern Regional title.
Defending champions, Sarel Cilliers, were unable to hold onto the cup, which they scooped from Ferrum last year, who have now been crowned champions six times in this region.
Participating teams included Newcastle High School, Ferrum High School and St Dominics, also from Newcastle, Utrecht High School, Dundee High School, Vryheid High School, Pionier High School (Vryheid) and Pongola Akademie.
The twenty-four minute games were played in two pools, with Ferrum topping the log of Pool A, meeting Pool B runners-up, host school, Pongola Akademie, in the first semi-final. The second semi had Pool A’s Pionier taking on Dundee, who topped Pool B.
Dundee were outright winners of their pool, finishing their three games with 10 points, having drawn against Pongola in the pool game. Pongola were two points behind them having drawn two of their games.
Ferrum were clear dominators, having won all of their games. The battle for second place was down to the wire with Sarel Cilliers and Pionier equal on nine points. The deciding factor was goal difference, and Pionier had to score more than two in their final game against Newcastle.
Pionier’s centre forward, Lara Dedekind, stormed down the middle of the field, smashing a shot from the top of the circle landing their second needed goal in their last match to secure their place in the semis. Inspired by success the team continued to net another four more goals taking the final score to 6 – 0.
The first semi saw Pongola taking on Ferrum, with Ferrum scoring their goal in the first half, and Pongola defended valiantly throughout the remainder of the game, only having a few opportunities at the other end, which they were not able to convert.
In the second semi-final, Dundee met Pionier for the first time in over a decade, and Dedekind netted another two for her team in between goals landed by team mates Johanette Wilken and Anlie Knoetze.
In the blazing sun, Pionier and Ferrum met for the finals with evenly matched play, as both sides had opportunities on either end. Earlier on in the day the two teams had battled it out with Ferrum conquering Pionier 2-1.
As the clock wound down in the final, left wing Lucrecia Struwig managed to beat the last line of the opposition’s sterling defense – goalie, Lorma Janse van Rensburg, to nudge the ball in. In the last minute of play, Pionier fought courageously, being awarded with back-to-back short corners, but were unable to equalize.
Captain of the winning team, Sanelisiwe Mnguni, elated with the win said “We had to really work hard and persevere, especially when our energy levels were really low, but we held on to our motto, Believe, Motivate and Communicate, to get us through.”
The Most Promising Umpire was Que Mdletshe, representing Dundee High School.
Our 2017 tournament is well and truly under way with the fantastic community spirit both on and off the field, it always is a festive way to start our year.” said Les Galloway, Tournament Director.
Max Oliva, Managing Director of SPAR KZN said “Well done to the teams who gave their all, despite the relentless heat. We appreciate your dedication to your teams and schools, and to the camaraderie shown throughout the day.”
Ferrum High school is the first team, through to the grand finals, which will be played at St Mary’s DSG in Durban at the end of July.
Vryheid Herald
Barbados boost bonus for Caribbean hockey
Barbados have been working hard to fund hockey development Photo: Dave Cox
Barbados men are one of the lowest ranked teams to be participating in the Hockey World League Round 2 events this March but, as we learn, they are a group for who there is no such word as impossible.
Playing equipment, travel, accommodation, coaching resources - the list of costs associated with competing on the world stage are huge. True, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) tries to keep Hockey World League Round 1 and 2 as local as possible but when you are an island, then no away fixture is ever going to be easy.
Dave Cox is Assistant Coach to Barbados men and he explains the sheer graft that goes into getting the team to a stage where they can compete with the higher ranked nations.
The past few months have been quite something for the Barbados men’s hockey team. Ranked 48 in the FIH Hero World Rankings, up from 56, hockey in the Caribbean nation has always been something of a poor relative to a number of other sports, notably football and cricket.
However, with qualification to the second round of the Hockey World League, courtesy of a second place finish in the Round 1 event in Salamanca, Mexico, Barbados hockey is experiencing a resurgence.
However with success and growth comes rising costs. The problem facing Barbados, as with many other nations, is how to fund their training, preparation, travel as well as all the costs associated with the actual competition. It is a problem the team has faced before, explains Dave Cox, assistant manager to the national team.
He said: “For Round One we didn't have significant help from the Barbados Hockey Federation due to a lack of funding so we had to find ways to self-fund. Firstly, we had to raise $45,000 USD to facilitate a pre-tour to Trinidad for four games. Then we had to find the finances to pay for our trip to Salamanca; our uniforms; practice equipment; video and communications equipment – everything we needed to ensure we were as prepared for competition as possible.”
Not attending the tournament was never an option for the management team of Cox. Head Coach Dominic Hill, Team Manager Antonio Forte, Alain Hinds, Assistant Manager and Video Analyst Jonathan Ruck.
They saw the Hockey World League Round 1 as a great opportunity to drive hockey forwards on the Caribbean island and get some much needed exposure, both nationally but also on a global stage. “It was a pivotal moment in our hockey development and not attending the tournament and getting the exposure would have proven a setback to our development as a hockey nation”, reflects Cox.
So the group came up with a fund raising strategy, with the starting point a list of potential sponsors. First to throw its weight (and money) at the problem was giant mobile phone network provider, Digicel. The company, which operates across the Caribbean, Central America and Oceania, provided a significant donation which helped kickstart the campaign.
Digicel’s donation provided a catalyst for other companies to get on board. The Barbados Olympic Association helped out with the cost of flights; hockey specialists Osaka provided sticks, balls, bags and shoes to the team – all items that are difficult to source in the Caribbean – and the University of the West Indies gave the team access to training facilities.
Unbelievably, this still wasn’t enough to fund the team’s expenses and so family and friends dug into their pockets to support the players, as well as donors who gave generously via a GoFundMe account.
Dave Cox says that despite this support, there is still a small debt to be paid off. But for the players and coaching staff the fund raising efforts were worth it.
A second place finish in Salamanca, qualification for Hockey World League Round 2 and a move up the FIH Hero World Rankings from 54 to 48 are all signs that hockey is moving in the right direction. It also provides evidence that the sport is becoming more professional in terms of its preperation and development, which is a one of the four Big Goals of FIH's 10-year Hockey Revolution which aims to make hockey a global game that inspires the next generation. For more information on the Hockey Revolution click here.
For more information about hockey in Barbados, visit the Barbados Hockey Association website by clicking here.
More information about hockey in the Pan American region can be found here by clicking here.
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