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News for 02 June 2017

All the news for Friday 2 June 2017


Ireland Draw 2-2 with Pakistan in first of 3 match series

Stephen Findlater



Conor Harte celebrated his 200th international appearance in style as he fired home a 17th minute penalty corner in Ireland’s 2-2 draw with Pakistan at Comber Road.

Speaking afterwards, he said “there may be some sibling banter” about the fact he reached the 200 cap mark ahead of his twin brother David. “I am sure David will be as happy for me as I will be for him to make it to this 200th.”

Indeed, the two brothers made their debut at the Celtic Cup back in August 2006 in France, also the same day as their sister Emer made her debut for the Irish women.

Harte’s goal made it 1-1 before Pakistan edged back in front just before the break. But a fine second half performance, capped by Jeremy Duncan’s excellent goal, earned a share of the spoils in game one of their three-match series.

Pakistan went in front from a deflected penalty corner with Muhammad Aleem Bilal’s effort finding its way in. Harte replied in kind with a flick that made its way in off the inner thigh of goalkeeper Amjad Ali.

But the visitors returned to the lead two minutes before half-time when Ali Shan snapped up a rebound off David Harte’s pads after the keeper had denied Muhammad Dilber.

Ireland enjoyed their best spell in the third quarter, running up their corner count while Duncan was only denied by an excellent close-range stop from Amjad.

Duncan and Ireland did get his reward though in the closing five minutes from a scintillating move as Matthew Nelson hit Alan Sothern on the left baseline.

His quick pass found Duncan arriving at the back post to guide in the equaliser for 2-2.

Reflecting on the tie, Conor Harte added that it was a strong showing in the second half for a side that has only recently fully grouped together for their summer programme.

“We can’t expect miracles just coming together like we have,” he said. “We have a squad of 28 or 29 against a Pakistan team that has been travelling around, playing Australia and New Zealand four times.

“They have to peak in 10 days [for their World League semi-final] so to get competitive matches like this is fantastic for us. To play the way we did in the second half is testament to where we are going and how we are improving all the time.”

One of the facets of play that impressed was Ireland’s ability to work from the defensive platform into attacking positions with first time passes down the channels off powerful slaps from the centre.

After an even first half, it meant Ireland bypassed the traps laid by the Pakistani forwards.

“It’s the Asian way, trying to play for interceptions so if you go too long too early, it plays right into their hands. On the pitch, the movement of the ball felt pretty slick, as if we had been training for the last month together.”

Ireland play Pakistan again on Saturday at 2pm at the Hillsborough venue with a large number of changes already confirmed to the Irish line-up.

Ireland 2 (C Harte, J Duncan) Pakistan 2 (M A Bilal, A Shan)

Ireland: D Harte, Jackson, J Bell, C Cargo,M Nelson, E Magee, S O’Donoghue, J McKee, S Loughrey, C Harte, K Shimmins

Subs: J Carr, M Bell, A Sothern, N Glassey, S Murray, J Duncan, L Cole

Pakistan: A Ali, B M Aleen, M Mushtaq, Rizwan Jr, M Abu, A Tasawar, Q M Arslan, Irfan Jr, A Khan, A Shan, Ajaz Ahmad, M Abbas, A Niwaz, U Bhutta, M Dilber, S A Butt, U Sarfraz, M Yaqoob

Umpires: R Donaldson, P Wright

Irish Hockey Association media release



Pakistan and Ireland draw 2-2 in first test

Belfast: An interesting edge of seat contest saw the hosts twice coming from behind to hold Pakistan 2-2 at the Lisnagarvey Hockey Club.

In front of a packed house, the green shirts went ahead early in the 9th minute when Aleem Bilal converted a penalty corner with a powerful drag flick.

The lead didnt last long. Connor Harte, who was playing his 200th international, availed a pass from Shane O' Donoghue in the 17th minute.

Just two minutes before the half time, Ali Shan restored the lead for Pakistan when he put in the ball after a Dilber try had rebounded off the goal keeper's pads.

Half time: Pakistan: 2,  Ireland: 1

The tantalising battle continued on resumption.

In the last quarter, Jeremy Duncan finished off an excellent combined move involving  Alan Sothern and Matthew Nelson to make it 2-2.

Second match of the 3 test series is scheduled on Saturday.

Scorers:
Pakistan: Aleem Bilal  (PC) &  Ali Shan
Ireland: Connor Harte & Jeremy Duncan

PHF Media release



World class players on show as clubs fight for European glory

Euro Hockey League & EuroHockey Club Cup titles up for grabs this weekend



A busy period of top class European club hockey is approaching, with the men’s Euro Hockey League FINAL 4 and the women’s EuroHockey Club Cup both in action. You can find brief summaries of the two events below as well as details of how you can keep up to speed with both of these amazing events.

Euro Hockey League FINAL4

The Euro Hockey League's tenth season reaches it grand finale next weekend with KHC Dragons hosting the FINAL4 in Brasschaat, Belgium for the first time on June 3 and 4. They will take on Rot-Weiss Köln on Saturday while Wimbledon are bidding to become the first English club to reach the GRAND FINAL when they take on Dutch giants HC Orange-Rood. It promises to be another sparkling edition of the world's best club hockey competition as they battle it out for the Alain Danet Trophy.

The hosts were recently crowned the Belgian champions for a third successive season and feature an array of international stars including Olympic silver medalists Felix Denayer, Florent van Aubel and FIH Rising Star for 2016 Arthur van Doren. They beat Racing Club de Bruxelles and Racing Club de France to reach this stage of the competition where they will hope to win the title for the first time following a silver medal and two bronze finishes in the past.

Their semi-final opponents are Germany’s Rot-Weiss, a side Dragons have beaten in both of their previous meetings, including a famous 4-4 FINAL4 encounter in 2013. The Rot-Weiss line-up includes two of the EHL’s all-time top goalscorers in their ranks in Marco Miltkau and Christopher Zeller, adding to a side that also features the brilliance of Christopher Rühr, Mats Grambusch and Timur Oruz who returns from injury. They topped the regular season in Germany and only lost their national final 3-2 last Sunday in a dramatic tie against Mannheimer HC.

The second semi-final sees HC Oranje-Rood meet England’s Wimbledon. For the Dutch side, it is their first season since an amalgamation between Oranje-Zwart and EMHC, coming together to make a super club in Eindhoven that played host to the KO16 in April. They are a team of superstars with former FIH Player of the Year Robert van der Horst joined by Bob de Voogd, Jelle Galema and ace drag-flicker Mink van der Weerden who all won the EHL under the former name in 2015. They did have a setback in the Dutch Hoofdklasse this season, their reign as national champs coming to an end as eventual champions SV Kampong beat them to a playoff place.

Oranje-Rood face a new challenge in Wimbledon, the English side who are competing only in their second season of the EHL but became the first club from the country to reach the FINAL4 since Reading in 2011. The Londoners defeated UHC Hamburg – the EHL’s most decorated side in the KO16 – before beating another German side in Mannheimer HC in the KO8 to show their quality.

Following the event

Event website: http://ehlhockey.tv/
Match schedule: http://ehlhockey.tv/season/20162017/

Social media
Twitter: @ehlhockeytv
Facebook: Euro Hockey League
Instagram: ehlhockeytv
Hashtags: #EHL #FINAL4

Live stream:
 all games will be streamed live on http://ehlhockey.tv/. In Belgium, the Eleven Sports Network will live stream games which may lead to a geo-block if in this area.

Near-live highlights:
 goal clips will be posted to the EHL website; there will also be video clips pushed through to the EHL’s social media channels

Tickets:
 for ticket sales, this is main link http://ehlhockey.tv/tickets/

EuroHockey Club Cup

The EuroHockey Club Cup comes to ‘s Hertogenbosch this year on 2nd – 5th June, the home of the current holders. 

England’s Surbiton take on Spanish Champions CH SPV Complutense in the opening match, which takes place at 13.15 (CET) on 2nd June. Next up is Germany’s UHC Hamburg who face England’s Canterbury at 15.30. The third game of the day sees the Russian’s CSP Krylatskoye face a strong AH&BC Amsterdam at 17.45 and finally at 20.00 in front of what promises to be a large and partisan crowd, the hosts ‘s Hertogenbosch face the Irish champions Hermes-Monkstown.

The hosts were crowned Dutch champions last weekend, with the legendary Maartje Paumen indicating that it will be her final playing season. With 11 Dutch titles, 338 games for ‘Den Bosch’, 404 goals (328 of them from pcs) it seems a fitting end to her illustrious career to play in the EHCC on home soil.

“Den Bosch’s” Margot van Geffen, spoke about the excitement of being in front of their home crowd, adding “It would be great to make it to the finals again and even better if we could win in our own stadium and in front of our own crowd.”

In addition to the EHCC, the European Hockey Federation (EHF) revealed that they are launching the first ever Junior EHCC. Mirrored on the very successful Junior EHL, the JEHCC will take place on Sunday 4th June.

The teams who have entered are ‘s-Hertogenbosch (NED), AHBC Amsterdam (NED), Surbiton HC (ENG), Canterbury HC (ENG), CSP Krylatskoye (RUS).

“This great new event will give our Under 14 girls from the clubs participating in the EHCC a wonderful opportunity to compete against other European teams in a competitive environment as well as enjoy the festival of the EHCC”, said EHF President Marijke Fleuren.

Following the event

When: 2nd – 5th June 2017
Where: Hockey Complex Oosterplas', 's-Hertogenbosch
Match schedule:  https://eurohockey.altiusrt.com/competitions/79 

Social Media
Twitter: @eurohockeyorg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EuroHockeyorg/
Instagram: eurohockeyorg
Hashtags: #EHCC #JuniorEHCC #EHClub2017
Official Website: http://www.hcdenbosch.nl/site/default.asp?Option=8&menu=8

Live stream: via www.eurohockey.org  

Near-live highlights: Video clips pushed through to the EHF’s social media channels

Tickets: for ticket sales, click here.

FIH site



Surbiton, Canterbury women and Wimbledon men lead English hockey assault against Europe’s finest

BY ROD GILMOUR


Surbiton Ladies

Midfielder Georgie Twigg says that the club ethos subscribed by coach Brett Garrard will bode well when Surbiton play their EuroHockey Club Cup quarter-final on Friday afternoon.

The English women’s champions travelled to ‘s Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands on Thursday ahead of their opener against Spanish Champions CH SPV Complutense, while Canterbury also face stiff opposition in German outfit UHC Hamburg.

Surbiton’s European assault comes on the back of yet another title-winning season – as they look to overturn early defeats on the continent in recent years.

Surbiton’s record-breaking unbeaten run may have been halted in February – bringing to an end 53-games and three years unbeaten – but that proved to be just a minor blip as they finished their season by completing the League championship and Cup double in early May.

“Historically, our first game hasn’t been our best and it’s our most important,” said Olympian Twigg. “We are targeting that first game and I would love to play ‘s Hertogenbosch as I’ve never kind of played a Dutch side before. It would be great to see how we go against them.”


Georgie Twigg

In the last two years, Surbiton have lost their first game of the Euro knock-out showpiece, leaving Garrard’s side fighting it out for the lower placings.

Twigg and Co want to change all that over the weekend. She said: “Annoyingly, the last two years we have been better than those teams; we just weren’t sharp and a bit slow.

“We do have that disadvantage in finishing our season earlier in comparison to the German and Dutch leagues. But we’ve had good training, playing against the boys and GB’s development squad.”

Such has been Surbiton’s dominance, it is not uncommon for Garrard to set up training matches against club men’s sides. It is just one of the many components which has propelled Garrard’s side.

“I really value Brett as a coach,” admitted Twigg. “It can’t be easy managing the internationals, when they’re away, and the youngsters coming through. He seems to get it spot on.

“The success of the team has always been that we have had such good club players, and that has been down to Brett focusing on the development of players and the environment that he has created.

“We have a great balance of taking it seriously but enjoying it and having a laugh – that has been key too.”

Meanwhile, Saturday sees the men’s Euro Hockey League Final 4 take place in Brasschaat, near Antwerp.

Hosts KHC Dragons play Rot-Weiss Köln before HC Oranje-Rood meet Wimbledon.

The Dons were in superb touch in April’s previous round. The English champions saw themselves as underdogs for both their matches – but progressed in superb style in beating two tough German sides, UHC Hamburg and Mannheimer respectively.

In only their second season playing in Europe, Wimbledon became the first English club side to reach the last four since Reading in 2011 – and at the same time handing the men’s game a much-needed shot in the arm.

They have the armoury to reach the final, while their hopes will rest on whether they have the match practice after, like Surbiton, their season finished last month.

Match schedule (all times local for Belgium):

Saturday, June 3: KHC Dragons v Rot-Weiss Köln, 13.00; HC Oranje-Rood v Wimbledon, 15.30
Sunday, June 4: BRONZE match, 13.00; GRAND FINAL, 15.30

The Hockey Paper



Galema anticipating large Eindhoven crowd in Brasschaat



HC Oranje-Rood’s Jelle Galema is anticipating a big crowd will make the short trip from Eindhoven to Antwerp to support his club’s bid to land EHL glory this weekend.

The Dutch club were cheered on by two sold out crowds at their home in April as they beat AH&BC Amsterdam and Atlètic Terrassa to reach the FINAL4, keeping alive their hopes of matching their forerunners, Oranje Zwart.

“You know that you have a huge home advantage when you play on your own field including 80% of your own supporters,” Galema told the EHL website. “It's going to be different in Belgium but I'm confident that there will be many fans from Oranje Rood in Belgium to shout us all the way to the title!”

He hopes that his side can continue their incredible run of success in recent years. Prior to Oranje-Zwart’s amalgamation with EMHC to form this new club, they won the Dutch Hoofdklasse three times and landed the 2015 EHL.

They missed out on a playoff place in dramatic fashion in their national competition this time around to Kampong and so will not be back next season.

Nonetheless, Galema says it makes the determination extra focused as they head into this weekend to not let the chance slip.

Reflecting on the last month, he added: “It was a big disappointment that we missed the play offs after three championships in a row. It took a week to get over that disappointment before the FINAL4 euphoria took over.”

Oranje-Zwart twice reached the EHL GRAND FINAL when the tournament took on a week-long knock-out format with the KO16 leading all the way to the trophy in 2015 and the final in 2014.

Despite that success, Galema says he prefers having the KO16 and FINAL4 events separate.

“I am pleased that there were two different events this year. The EHL is something special and, in my view, it's a shame to tear through the event in a shortened format.

“With these separate events, there is maximum attention. Additionally, it is difficult to play so many top matches in a few days because of the level of competition.

“Finally, you want to offer a spectacle to the fans. Unfortunately, we will not be there next year but I hope for the other teams that it will remain in the same format!”

As for the challenge of Wimbledon, he adds: “It's going to be a huge fight. English teams are often very structured and defensively strong. They have not knocked out the German champ Mannheim for nothing. They also have two of the three new leaders of the English national team so we have been well warned!”

Euro Hockey League media release



Henning hoping for great Rot-Weiss moment from great EHL FINAL4 opportunity



“Great moments are born from great opportunities,” Rot-Weiss Köln coach André Henning says of the challenge ahead of their huge EHL FINAL4 game with Belgian hosts KHC Dragons.

Rot-Weiss are aiming to reach a European outdoor final for the first time in their club history. They came close before in 2013, reaching the FINAL4 only to come undone in a shoot-out by next Saturday’s opponents in a classic 4-4 tie.

It’s that challenge which is driving him and his club on as they travel to Brasschaat for the big finale to the season.

“We’re pretty excited and really looking forward to this match to this match in front of a wonderful big crowd,” he told the EHL website.

“The pressure is not on us. No one in this stadium expects us to win. But we can! For our club, it’s a very special moment and a great chance.

“If we play our very best hockey, we have a chance to win; the spectators will have a lot fun when both teams play to their best level. That’s what we’re playing hockey for, the best stage in the best competition against the best opponent. We like challenges like that.”

His side have had a number of injury concerns during the season but star men like Christopher Rühr, Timur Oruz and Matthias Müller all are set to be fit.

Balancing the commitments of players like them has been a tricky issue for Henning to cope with this season but he feels they are all ready to roll for Brasschaat.

“The season was very long for most of the players. During the winter, most of the guys didn't get a rest because of the German indoor season. Also, we have around a dozen international players who had training camps with the German team between the season.

“The challenge was to try not getting too much strain on the guys but create the best performances and enough points. Now, at the end of the season, all players are back in the team.”

They topped the German regular season table to earn a return ticket to the EHL but their hopes of another German national title came up just short as Mannheim frustrated them last Sunday, 3-2, in the final.

Henning has used this week to turn that negative into a positive and adds: “My impression is that the guys have so far emerged from such setbacks even stronger. So it's a good thing that the next event is coming [so soon]."

The German side blessed with one of the most gifted forward lines in European hockey with Marco Miltkau and Christopher Zeller accounting for 60 goals in EHL history. With Christopher Rühr and Mats Grambusch pulling the strings, they have so many options up front but Henning says it was a different side of the game that benefited them in Eindhoven at the KO16 and KO8.

“The defense performance was awesome. We are not famous for defending in the last few years. After our big defeat against Kampong in the KO8 in 2016, we had to change a lot of things.

“The focus on defending is much higher and the team has huge mental strength. I think that is what makes German teams extremely successful.”

If they can repeat that against Dragons, it would mean a very different game from the 2013 edition. Henning says that his side has spoken a little about that tie but its all guns blazing for Saturday.

“Some of the old players already told the guys what happened 2013. It was a thrilling match. We already watched some highlights but it’s certainly no longer possible to draw conclusions from that game.

“But we do like revenge!”

Euro Hockey League media release



Where to watch the EHL FINAL4



The Euro Hockey League FINAL4 is available to watch worldwide numerous different outlets.

As always, the EHL website will have a live stream of every game; here are the other ways you can watch the world's best club hockey competition.

Belgium: The Eleven Sports Network will broadcast all four games live from Brasschaat. Please note the EHL website will be geo-blocked in Belgium. To access and subscribe to the Eleven Sports Network, go to http://elevensportsnetwork.be/

Netherlands: NOS will broadcast the games involving HC Oranje-Rood live. Go to NOS.nl for details

Germany: Sport1 will stream all four matches on their SPORT1.de site. They will broadcast the first semi-final between KHC Dragons and Rot-Weiss Köln on Saturday and both matches on Sunday live. The second semi-final will be shown on delay on Sunday prior to the medal matches.

South Africa: SuperSport will show delayed coverage of each match on channel 198. KHC Dragons vs Rot-Weiss Köln will be shown at 17.00 (local time) on Saturday followed up by HC Oranje-Rood vs Wimbledon at 18.30. The GRAND FINAL will be shown on Sunday at 20.00 with the BRONZE match at 21.45.

Australia: BeIn will broadcast all games live. Go to http://www.beinsports.com/au/ for full information.

United Kingdom: BT Sport will broadcast all the games; details to appear on http://sport.bt.com/

Spain: Highlights will be shown on http://www.ccma.cat/esport3/

Euro Hockey League media release



Eight squad members with over 100 caps in English Men's team

By Mike Haymonds

BRENDAN CREED, David Goodfield and Liam Stanford have been selected for their first senior major tournament in head coach Bobby Crutchley’s 18-man England squad for the World League semi-final in the Olympic Park later this month.

The event from 15-25 June is a qualifier for the World League final in December and the 2018 World Cup, both in India.

Eight squad members have over 100 caps while 12 players were GB gold medallists at the Azlan Shah Cup last month. The new captaincy trio of George Pinner, Phil Roper and Ian Sloan continue in their second tournament while Adam Dixon and Harry Martin return to the squad after Dutch club commitments precluded them in recent months.  Former captain Barry Middleton will be adding to his record of 379 international appearances.

England’s opponents in Pool A of the World League event are Olympic champions and world number one Argentina, China (18), Malaysia (14) and Korea  (12). In Pool B are Canada, India, Netherlands, Pakistan and Scotland.

Fieldhockey.com



Schopman Announces FIH Hockey World League Semifinals Roster Following Evaluation at Ireland Series



COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Janneke Schopman has confirmed the 18-athlete traveling roster that will venture to Johannesburg, South Africa for the FIH Hockey World League Semifinals, July 8-23, 2017. The squad, containing a mix of veterans as well as young talent, were up for evaluation during the recent Citi USWNT vs. Ireland Series in hopes of being named to the team. FIH Hockey World League Semifinals holds great potential for Team USA on their quest to advance to the FIH Hockey World League Finals as well as solidify a qualification to the 2018 World Cup.

"Playing the games against Ireland provided us as staff with a lot of valuable information for selecting the players as well as our final weeks of preparation for Hockey World League Semifinals," said Schopman. "Picking the final 18 athletes was tough, the level of some of the players is really close so it made us look at certain details. With this selection, I feel we have a good balance in the team and I’m excited about the journey ahead of us."

The FIH Hockey World League Semifinals will take place at Wits Hockey Club. The event is divided into two pools made up of five teams. FIH Hero World Ranked No. 6 Team USA sits in Pool B with reigning Hockey Champions Trophy and Hockey World League champions, No. 3 Argentina, along with No. 12 India, No. 13 South Africa and No. 20 Chile. The USWNT is set to play Chile in their first pool game on Saturday, July 8 at 10 a.m. EST (4 p.m. local time).

The Hockey World League structure is a newer concept which allows more nations a chance to qualify for the Olympic Games. Teams that have made it through Hockey World League Round 1 and Round 2, move on to compete in the Semifinals. Ten teams take part in the Semifinals, which are comprised of the host plus five teams who qualify based on their FIH Hero World Ranking. The remaining four teams qualified through Round 2. Team USA received an automatic bid to this year’s event because of their world ranking.

Click here for a list of the athletes selected.

Following the Semifinals, the USWNT will have 12 days to prepare for the women’s Pan American Cup held at the Home of Hockey located at Spooky Nook Sports, in Lancaster, Pa. from August 4-13, 2017. Tickets for this event are available for purchase by clicking here.

USFHA media release



Scotland women’s hockey squad announced for World League semi-final



Scotland women’s hockey team Head Coach, Gordon Shepherd, has announced his squad for the World League Semi-Final in Brussels, which runs from 21 June until 2 July 2017.

The tournament is set to be a colossal contest between some of the best hockey teams in the world as they play for places in the Hockey World Cup 2018.

Scotland will step out to play their opening encounter against World number 1 ranked the Netherlands, before facing China, Italy, and Korea in Pool A for quarter final places.

Pool B has Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, Spain, and Malaysia competing for places in the latter stages of the tournament.

Scotland qualified for the tournament after finishing in third place at February’s World League 2 in Valencia - beating Ghana, Poland, Russia and Ukraine on the way. The tournament in Valencia was the first senior international tournament for some of the players in a young team full of promise, and competing in Brussels is the next step of their journey.

Gordon Shepherd said, “The entire squad has worked extremely hard over the last few weeks and it has made the final selection for the World League semi-finals very difficult, and some tough decisions had to be taken.

“There are four changes to the squad that was successful in qualifying from World League 2 in Valencia in February, and this shows the depth of talent we have within the training squad. We are confident that the squad can do what is required to have a successful tournament in Brussels.”


Scotland v Wales Burnet goal

Scotland’s Squad:

Nicola Cochrane (Beeston)
Amy Gibson (Reading HC)
Kareena Cuthbert (Western Wildcats)
Rebecca Ward (Dundee Wanderers)
Amy Costello (Birmingham University HC)
Robyn Collins (Surbiton HC)
Sarah Robertson (Edinburgh University)
Nikki Lloyd (Wimbledon)
Kate Holmes (Clifton HC)
Nicola Skrastin (Grove Menzieshill)
Katie Robertson (Grove Menzieshill)
Ali Howie (Clydesdale Western)
Amy Brodie (Edinburgh University)
Millie Brown (Clydesdale Western)
Fiona Burnet (Clydesdale Western)
Sarah Jamieson (Grove Menzieshill)
Charlotte Watson (Dundee Wanderers)
Becky Merchant (Edinburgh University)

Photos by Duncan Gray and John Preece

Scottish Hockey Union media release



Reality check for coach Dharmaraj as team try to qualify for World Cup

by Aftar Singh

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian National women’s hockey team coach K. Dharmaraj is a pragmatic man.

He knows very well that the odds are stacked against him as he seeks to guide the team to qualify for their first-ever World Cup in London next year.

Malaysia are the lowest ranked side among the 10 teams featuring in the World League Semi-Finals in Brussels, Belgium, from June 21-July 2.

World No. 22 Malaysia are in Group B with former world champions Australia (world No. 4), New Zealand (No. 5), former Olympic champions Spain (No. 10) and Belgium (No. 14).

Malaysia will meet Australia on June 21; Spain (June 22); Belgium (June 24) and New Zealand (June 27).

Group A comprises world No. 1 Holland, China (No. 8), South Korea (No. 9), Italy (No. 16) and Scotland (No. 17).

“We will be playing against the world’s top teams ... so to even win a match would be really tough.

“The next lowest ranked team in our group are Belgium, but it’s never easy taking on the hosts in their own backyard,” said Dharmaraj, who has been coaching the women’s team since January last year.

Dharmaraj did well to guide the women’s team to finish second behind Ireland in the World League Round Two in Kuala Lumpur in January to qualify for their first-ever World League Semi-Finals.

Dharmaraj said that he has been focusing a lot on the players’ fitness as well as working on their defending and counter attacks.

There are 22 players in the training squad and four will be dropped next week.

In preparation for Brussels, the national team went on a three-week playing tour of Europe in March. They returned home with four wins, one draw and two defeats – including a 4-0 loss to Holland.

The national team will leave for Amsterdam on June 12 and play three friendlies against club sides before travelling to Brussels, where they will have another friendly – against Italy on June 18 – before starting their World League Semi-Finals campaign on June 21.

The Star of Malaysia



Revealed: How young fans can play on the pitch


Investec Internationals: Players meeting fans

England Hockey are delighted to announce that young hockey fans will get the chance to play on the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre pitch - as well as get autographs and selfies with the players - after both of our Investec Internationals on 10 and 11 June.

Opening the pitch up to youngsters from our Family Stand is something England Hockey have been very keen to explore for quite some time now, and we are delighted to allow those under 18s the chance to play at our Olympic Legacy venue.

England’s women face Argentina at 2pm on Saturday 10 June – tickets available here. England then face the Netherlands on Sunday 11 June at 2pm in a sold-out match.

After the team have cooled down following full time, players will then sign autographs and pose for photos pitchside. The pitch will then be open to Under 18s who have tickets in our Family Stand (East Stand blocks E7 and E8, South Stand block E9). Full details below.

One of the Great Britain women’s team’s stated ambitions in Rio was to Inspire The Future, and we hope both of these activities will go a long way to keeping young hockey players in love with our sport!

How to get on the pitch:

  • Make sure you’re a Family Stand ticket holder. If you’ve not yet get your seat, family blocks E7 and E8 remain on sale for Argentina, U18s tickets £12.50.
  • Pick up a wristband at the Info Hub on the day of the game - first come, first served, limited numbers available. The Info Hub is located immediately after you’ve had your ticket inspected at the main entrance.
  • Please don’t bring a stick with you, all equipment will be supplied.
  • An accompanying adult will be permitted on the pitch.

Timeline at the end of the game:

  • For roughly ten minutes after full time, players will use the pitch to cool down.
  • For another fifteen minutes, England’s players will be armed with a Sharpie to sign autographs pitchside and pose for selfies at the East and West stands. If you are in the North or South stands, you will be directed to the East or West stand. Please note we cannot guarantee access to a particular player, but rest assured our athletes will do their level best to sign as many items as possible, and pose for as many photos as possible.
  • At the conclusion of the autograph signings, wristband holders will be allowed onto the pitch via the South East corner, listen out for announcements on the day.


For more details on the Investec Internationals, as well as access to tickets for the Argentina game, click here.

England Hockey Board Media release



BT Sport to show over 700 hours of live hockey over the next two years


England Hockey fans at Lee Valley

BT Sport will broadcast more than 700 hours of live hockey over the next two years after agreeing a deal to become the home of the UK international game.

The deal with the International Hockey Federation (FIH) will see BT Sport show both of England women’s Investec Internationals in London in June as well as the Men’s Hero Hockey World League Semi-Final, with England’s men also competing in London.

In addition to this the women’s 2018 World Cup in London and the men’s World Cup in India will be shown on BT Sport channels, with all the best teams across the globe competing.

Investec Internationals - England women v Argentina, 10 June 2017, London
Investec Internationals - England women v Netherlands, 11 June 2017, London
Men’s Hero Hockey World League Semi-final, 15-25 June 2017, London
Women’s Hockey World League Semi-final, 8-23 July 2017, Johannesburg
Women’s Hockey World League Final, 17-26 Nov 2017, Auckland
Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final, 1-10 Dec 2017, Bhubaneswar, India
Women’s Hockey World Cup, 21 July – 5 August 2018, London
Odisha Men's Hockey World Cup, 24 Nov - 16 Dec 2018, Bhubaneswar

This year’s line-up will see a blockbuster start for England’s women when they take on Argentina on Saturday, 10 June. The following day will see the hosts battle it out against the Netherlands. Both matches are one-off internationals, and will serve as warm-up matches ahead of the competitive summer schedule.

In 2017, competitions run thick and fast for the men, starting with 33 matches at the men’s hockey World League Semi-final in London between Thursday, 15 June, and Sunday, 25 June, at England Hockey’s Olympic legacy venue, Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre where England and Scotland will also be battling for World Cup qualification.

In July the focus will then turn back to women’s international hockey, where there will be a further 33 matches taking place for the World League semi-final taking place from Saturday, 8 July and Sunday, 23 July in Johannesburg.

Both the women’s and the men’s World League finals will also be broadcast later in November and December this year from Auckland, New Zealand and Bhubaneswar, India respectively.

BT Sport’s coverage for 2018 will see many of the gold medal winning women’s Team GB from the Rio 2016 Olympics look to become World Champions in London in front of a home crowd at the World Cup, starting in July.

The final planned broadcast of the deal will see the men’s Hockey World Cup in November and December 2018, from Bhubaneswar in India.

Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “I’m really excited that BT Sport is now the home of international hockey for men and women, including the prestigious World Cups. Hockey continues to grow and has done so ever since the women’s Team GB team won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics.

"This will help build on the popularity of the sport and give the UK viewers a chance to cheer on the home nations represented at the World Cup and hopefully see more medals won, exclusively live on BT Sport.”

Andy Oram, FIH TV and Broadcast Director said: “BT Sport were first to believe and commit to the Hockey Revolution, long before the success in Rio and we are delighted to continue our relationship and vision with them. Their world-class production of the Hockey Champions Trophies in London last year introduced ground-breaking innovations for our sport and has set some very high standards as we move towards our World Cups in 2018.

"As host broadcaster for the upcoming international events in London we look forward to working with them to make BT Sport the exclusive ‘Home of Hockey’ in the UK and Ireland.”

England Hockey Commercial Director Jonathan Cockcroft said, “This is hugely significant news for hockey in this country. BT Sport offers a fantastic platform to showcase our sport, our athletes and our major events on home soil.

"Their coverage of last year’s Hockey Champions Trophy took the presentation of the sport to a new level, and we look forward to working very closely together to showcase our exciting game and its world class athletes.”

England Hockey Board Media release



Orange won't concede this season, vows Jackline Mwangi

By BRIAN YONGA


Ghana Revenue Authority's Janet Adambpa (left) vies for the ball with Jackline Mwangi of Telkom Orange during the final match of the women's Africa Cup of Club Championships at City Park Stadium on January 15, 2017. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

Telkom Orange’s veteran striker Jackline Mwangi is confident the team can win this season’s title without conceding any goal.

Mwangi hit another hat-trick as champions Orange destroyed Sliders 8-0 in a Kenya Hockey Union women’s Premier League match on Wednesday evening at City Park Stadium. It was her second hat-trick this term.

The three goals move her to the top of the scoring charts with 11 goals, one ahead of teammate Audrey Omaido. Chase Amira's Pauline Naise has nine goals.

“I think we have the right balance of attack and defence this season enabling us to improve on our games. The target is not concede this season and so far it is going according to plan,” Mwangi said on Thursday.

“Everyone is playing their part, our midfielders are creating chances and we are taking them. If we keep this form going, we are certain to retain the title,” Mwangi, who was last season’s top scorer, added.

Fellow attacking partner and Omaido grabbed a brace to take her tally to 10 goals this season. Defender Terry Juma also scored twice with Flavia Situma adding the other in the lop-sided encounter.

The result saw the 19-time champions Telkom Orange move to 21 points, six ahead of second placed USIU Spartans. It also stretched their unbeaten start to the season to eight matches.

FACE JKUAT

Orange have a chance to increase their lead when they play Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) on Sunday.

For Sliders, the result left them in sixth place, 14 points behind Orange after their sixth loss of the season. Sliders coach Felix Okoth admitted it was painful to watch his side concede eight times.

“It was a disappointing performance from the team, we simply did not offer any fight and made so many mistakes. We have got to be better than this and the players know it,” Okoth said.

Sliders will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they take on Kenyatta University (KU) Titans on Sunday.

Daily Nation



MP Ganesh is CEO of National Hockey Academy

s2h team


Witnessing the NHA selection trials (L-R)Satyaraj, then COO, MP Ganesh, Chairman, NHA Panel, Roelant Oltmans, Chief coach of National team and selector for NHA, and Olympian Jagbir Singh, who is believed to have authored the NHA Project Report two years ago.

Olympian MP Ganesh, who headed a three-member panel to set up National Hockey Academy in India, will now head it as its first Chief Executive Officer.

1973 World Cup captain MP Ganesh is also former Indian men's hockey team's Chief national coach (1989-1990), that is renewed India-Pakistan Test series to disastrous Lahore World Cup.

National Hockey Academy was put on board about a year ago in New Delhi.

After many failed attempts, selection trails were held in May-June last year in which about 60 boys and 15 girls took place.

Those selected from Hockey India's Junior and Sub-Junior National by its own selectors, have attended the trials.

Earlier, NHA tried at least twice on its own to convene Selection Trials which failed due to poor response from players.

MP Ganesh is presently Chief Executive Officer of Katnataka State Cricket Association. Will he resign or continue even as he is made CEO of NHA, is not known.

However, it is seen that a chamber in the stands of Play Field No.2 in the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium has been earmarked, and cleared for him to run his office.

Eleven of NHA Academy boys represented India at the last year Dhakka Sub-Junior Asia Cup which India won beating Bangladesh 5-4.

It means the CEO post was vacant for almost a year, since the Sports Authority of India, wanted only MP Ganesh to head it, which he was reluctant.

Currently, a dozen of its members are attending the National U-21 camp in Bengaluru, home town of MP Ganesh.

It includes goalie Gulia, forwards Anand Khuswaha, Rabhichandra Singh, Abhishek and defender Kishore Arya.

Air India officers, Olympian Jagbir Singh and World Cup player Rajesh Chouhan are others in the NHA Governing Council.

Dornacharya awardee Ajay Kumar Bansal, currently the Administrator of the MDCNS, where the NHA boys come for practice and fitness training, is the COO of the NHA.

Stick2Hockey.com



Venezuela men’s hockey looking forward to Pan American Cup 2017

Federacion Venezolana de Hockey


Venezuela's Mens Hockey Team   

Before the  Pan American Hockey Cup 2017, Venezuela's Mens Hockey Team will be training in the city of Barquisimeto, exactly in Cabudare's court, being this the first phase of preparation.

Zuleika Seijas, president of the Venezuelan Hockey Federation Said: ”Thanks to the support of the Ministry of Popular Power for Youth and Sport, we can finish our first phase of preparation, now we look forward to the second phase in Puerto Rico ... thanks to our coaches and coaching staff, who have been a great support (... ) We hope to be able to leave on July 14th "

Thanks to the support of Pala's Institute (IMSOPAL), there are 22 athletes from all the states of the country who had different opportunities for previous training.

FVH and support through Pledgesports: via  https://www.pledgesports.org/ the Venezuelan Hockey Federation, seeks national and international economic contributions for the Pan American Cup 2017.

A website dedicated to athletes and federations of all countries, which require monetary support with a specific goal .

Pan American Hockey Federation media release



Focus on Central America

Sarah Juggins


Panama   

Any sports development is tough. You are battling against all the other national sports for participants, funding and facilities. PAHF, as part of its mandate, seeks to grow hockey across the entire continent. This means strengthening existing national associations, in some cases reintroducing the sport where it has died out and in other scenarios, starting from scratch. Plans, policies and strategies are drawn up, courses and workshops are held, accreditations are put in place but at the heart of any such process lies one thing – a few enthusiastic people who will get things moving.

Across the PAHF region the development of hockey is varied, to say the least. With Argentina men currently atop the world rankings and Argentina women (World Ranking: 3) and USA women (WR:6) both in the top six nations in the world, PAHF is well represented among the elite teams. In the next tier, Canada men (WR:11) and women (WR:19), USA men (WR:26), Chile (WR:20)  and Uruguay (WR: 23) are all making good progress and more than hold their own at HWL Round One and Two. However, there are also many PAHF nations that currently languish in the bottom quartile of the world rankings, with Ecuador men (WR: 85) third from bottom and Porto Rico women (WR: 71) second from bottom. The aim of the PAHF development team, headed by Laura Macchiotti, is to change that.

Macchiotti is PAHF Events and Development Coordinator, and contemplating the current situation she says: “These countries [of Central America] work in block, they have similar cultures, are very close geographically, speak the same language and struggle with similar problems, such as low budget and little or no hockey  infrastructure”.

“All of them started their development journey through the indoor game, as there are high number of gyms available for practice. Of course they still face the problems of sharing the place with other sports, paying a rent for the use of the gym. But still they keep going, each at their own pace.”

Macchiotti is particularly impressed with the approach of Guatemala. Growth here has been rapid and the national association was brave enough to enter the men’s and women’s national teams into this season’s HWL Round One, knowing they would suffer heavy losses but gain much experience. The men’s team went into the HWLR1 event in Mexico as the lowest ranked team at 62, while the women were ranked 64. Yes, they lost their matches but such an experience provides a huge learning curve and an insight into how international success is gained. The Guatemala contingent will also have seen at first-hand how such tournaments are run – knowledge they can take back to their own country.

Costa Rica is another nation that has earned praise for its development work. Macchiotti says: “With small steps, steady work and serious planning of their development they gave a hard time to their neighbours.”

It is not just the coaches and players who are being taught and developed. As the teams get better and play with higher levels of skill, so the umpires must be able to match that standard. Throughout the developing countries of Central America, recently retired international umpire Soledad Iparraguirre is pushing the standards of umpiring through her work with officials in Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica. Iparraguirre, who umpired the final of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, has been running a series of workshops for new and promising umpires throughout Central America.

For nations where facilities are either difficult to find or non-existent, Hockey5s has become a great pathway for hockey players and officials to develop their skills. Panama is a nation that has taken the small-sided game as a foundation to build from. Cuban coach Alex Hernandez and Cuban umpire Reinier Diaz have been central to planning and implementing a national competition, both men working hard to coach both the players and the officials in readiness for the tournament.

The newest member of the PAHF hockey family is Nicaragua. The national association’s aim is to be at a point where they can enter two teams into the Central American Games later this year.

This multi-sport event – also known as Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos – will be hosted in Nicaragua in December. This will be the first time Hockey5s has been included in the event and to prepare its team, as host nation, the Nicaragua Hockey Association has hired a Venezuelan coach. His job? To start both a men’s and women’s national team from scratch.

A test event prior to the actual Games will take place in July. This will be supported by PAHF, who will host an umpiring and technical course running alongside the competition. Participants will be officials at both the July and December event, and they will work alongside two experienced umpires and an umpire manager – supplied by PAHF. The Tournament Director and Technical Official will also be PAHF qualified and will be responsible for the local technical officials’ education.

This will be the first Hockey5s Championship in Central America, and the ambition is for the event to become annual. The biggest problem facing the organizers is a common one to hockey – a lack of finance for such a project – but this is offset by a huge level of enthusiasm among the organizers.

Looking further afield, Bolivia is a country working hard at its hockey development. A few years further along the development pathway than Nicaragua, Bolivia is hoping to get a men’s and women’s team into the South American Games (ODESUR). This multi-sport competition will be held in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 2018, and is a qualifier for the Pan American Games in Lima 2019. New facilities for an 11-a-side competition are being built and the hard work of a small team of people, led by Valeria Pardo in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Florencia Sanchez in La Paz, is encouraging more people to join the hockey project.

One way that coaches and umpires can access information that they can take back to their national associations is through attending PAHF courses. These are held at major international events, one such event being the Junior World Cup in Chile. Here, coaches and officials took part in Academy courses supported by both FIH and PAHF. A similar course will be held during the Pan American Cups in Lancaster, USA in August this year. These are perfect opportunities for people involved in hockey at all levels to meet and discuss issues with representatives from other nations. It is at meetings such as this that best practice ideas are shared. Finding a solution to a problem common to nations across the globe is a step forward for the whole sport.

Time and again, national associations come up against the problem of little or no funding available for development, but the good news in Pan America is that all of these exciting hockey projects are being carried out on tight budgets but with maximum innovation and enthusiasm.

Pan American Hockey Federation media release



Matt Favier appointed chief executive

AIS Director to join Hockey Australia on 24 July

Lawrence West


Photo courtesy of Australian Sports Commission

Hockey Australia today confirms that Matt Favier has been appointed as its new chief executive following an extensive and hotly contested recruitment process.

Favier will join Hockey Australia from the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), where he has served as Director of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) since March 2012, and between October 2016 and January 2017 was acting chief executive of the ASC. He succeeds Cam Vale, who left Hockey Australia in March.

In more than 20 years as a sports administrator, Favier has held senior positions with a wide spectrum of sporting bodies in both Australia and the United Kingdom, covering federal and state government, the state institute network, national sporting organisations and the Australian Paralympic Committee.

Over the past four years he has led a program of major reforms to the operating model of the AIS and the implementation of Australia’s Winning Edge. Prior to joining the AIS, Favier played a key role at UK Sport working with the team that changed the way high performance sport was being delivered in the build-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Hockey Australia President, Mel Woosnam, said, “Matt is one of Australia’s most respected sports administrators. He has demonstrated his ability to drive impactful strategic change and his in-depth knowledge of the sporting landscape will be a tremendous asset to hockey.

“Hockey Australia has undergone a period of transition since the Olympic Games in Rio. Under Matt’s stewardship we look forward to growing the game through the implementation of our recently published participation plan, striving for medal winning performances on the field and enhancing our relationships with key stakeholders off it.

“On behalf of the board of Hockey Australia, I also want to thank Ben Hartung, who has served as interim chief executive for the past two months. Ben has ensured that the sport has continued to make progress on significant projects and programs over this time, as well as ensuring the business of running hockey in Australia has continued uninterrupted.”

Matt Favier said, “Hockey is one of Australia’s most iconic team sports and as a sports fan I’ve followed it for a long time.

“I’m proud of the work I’ve done at the AIS since 2012, now it’s exciting to have the opportunity to lead hockey into the future. Opportunities like this don’t come up too often.

“From my discussions so far, I know there is a strong appetite for collaboration across the sport and I’m looking forward to working with the board, the staff, and state and territory associations for the benefit of hockey.” 

Favier will take up his new role on 24 July.

Hockey Australia media release

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