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News for 27 July 2017

All the news for Thursday 27 July 2017


FIH Hero World Ranking Update: July 2017



The latest round of Hockey World League Semi-Final results from London (men), Brussels (women) and Johannesburg (men and women) has led to some movement up and down the FIH Hero World Rankings, with USA women the major movers.

Currently, Netherlands women remain in the number one spot, England’s women (representing Great Britain as well) stay in second place and Argentina women in third. Argentina hold onto top spot in the men’s rankings – still 20 points clear of their nearest rivals Australia, while Germany sit at number three.

In the women’s world rankings, the Netherlands has extended its lead as the world's number one side by virtue of a dominating performance in Brussels. USA meanwhile has moved to fourth after a storming victory in the Johannesburg Hockey World League Semi-Final.

USA leap-frogged Australia (WR:5) and New Zealand (WR:6) and with just 23 ranking points separating the three teams both the Oceania continental qualifier and the Pan-American Cup become significant events in terms of ranking points.

Italy women's sixth place finish in Brussels means the European nation has moved ahead of Ireland, who finished seventh in Johannesburg. Both teams are still waiting to see if their final positions in their respective Hockey World League Semi-Finals are enough to see them qualify for the Women’s World Cup in London in 2018. The updated rankings puts Italy at 15th, with Ireland 10 points and one ranking place below them at 16th.

In the men’s world rankings, there has been much jostling for position around the 9th to 16th place.

Spain has moved to ninth, ahead of Ireland. Both teams qualified for the Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 thanks to good performances in Johannesburg. Spain however finished the Hockey World League Semi-Final one place ahead of Ireland in the final positions, fourth and fifth respectively.

Malaysia men have also made a positive move up the rankings. The Asian team – which finished a credible fourth in London, ahead of four higher-ranked nations – has leapfrogged two of its continental rivals, Pakistan and Korea, to move into 12th place. Korea drop from 12th to 13th, while Pakistan has been edged to 14th.

There has also been movement further down the men's ranking table as France and Japan swapped places, with France moving to 16th and Japan dropping to 17th.

The next series of FIH Hero World Rnaking updates will take place after the Continental Championships have all been completed later this year.

Forthcoming dates for continental qualifiers:

    Men's Pan American Cup 4-12 August 2017
    Women's Pan American Cup 5-13 August 2017
    Women’s Rabobank EuroHockey Championship 18-26 August 2017
    Men’s Rabobank EuroHockey Championship 19-27 August 2017
    Men's and Women's Africa Cup of Nations 19-29 October 2017
    Men's and Women's Oceania Cup 9-15 October 2017
    Hero Men’s Asia Cup 17-22 October 2017
    Women’s Asia Cup 28 October - 5 November 2017

View the latest rankings here

FIH site



USWNT Climbs to Fourth FIH Hero World Ranking Following Performance in South Africa



LANCASTER, Pa. – Following an impressive performance at the FIH Hockey World League Semifinals in Johannesburg, South Africa, where they went on to win gold, the U.S. Women's National Team reached a new program milestone climbing from FIH Hero World Ranked No. 6 to No. 4. This new ranking has followed a five-year procession as the team rose from tenth to eighth, and ultimately clinching fifth in March 2015. The new ranking is a testament to USWNT Head Coach Janneke Schopman and her coaching staff's consistent hard work that has lead to strong performances, including the most recent in South Africa.

“The world ranking reflects how well you perform in the tournaments and the margins in the top 6 are very small," said Schopman. "But, it’s great for the team and USA Field Hockey that we now rank fourth after our win at the Hockey World League Semifinals, it reflects our desire to grow!”

Women's FIH Hero World Rankings
Rank     Team     Points
1     Netherlands     1935
2     England     1793
3     Argentina     1683
4     USA     1626
5     Australia     1625
6     New Zealand     1603
7     Germany     1540
8     China     1256
9     Korea     1194
10     Spain     1070

*Rankings updated July 2017

In the past three ranking reveals, the USWNT securely held the No. 6 spot. Their 'never say die' performance at the FIH Hockey World League Semifinals saw Team USA defeat a strong Japan team in the quarterfinals to guarantee their placement at the Final in Auckland, New Zealand and the 2018 women's Hockey World Cup in London, England. In the semifinals round, USA found the equalizer late in the game to take England into a sudden death shootout. Solid defense by USA goalkeeper Jackie Briggs (Robesonia, Pa.) and a poised converted attempt by Melissa Gonzalez (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) pushed USA into the final match. In similar fashion in the title match against Germany, USA scored late in the game off a Taylor West (Princess Anne, Md.) penalty stroke to tie the match. The shootouts came down to the final round where Germany's attempt didn't cross the goal line in time and Erin Matson (Chadds Ford, Pa.) was last to go for USA. As she stepped up to the 25-yard line, Matson sprinted forward after the whistle, pulled right and hit the backboard to secure the win.

USA's first place finish moved them ahead of No. 5 Australia and No. 6 New Zealand with just 23 ranking points separating the three teams. Both the Oceania Continental Qualifier and the women's Pan American Cup, USA's continental qualifier, now become significant events in terms of ranking points.

The next series of FIH Hero World Ranking updates will take place after the Continental Championships have all been completed later this year.

USFHA media release



Pakistan hockey down to 14th place in FIH rankings



LAHAORE: Pakistan hockey team are placed at the 14th position in the Federation International Hockey (FIH) rankings, their worst ever ranking. According to the latest rankings released by FIH on Wednesday, Pakistan slipped one place from their previous worst 13th to a new low of 14th in the chart with 895 points. The green shirts finished at seventh place out of 10 teams in the recently concluded FIH World Hockey League and failed to secure direct qualification to the World Cup 2018. Pakistan earlier missed the 2016 Olympics, the FIH Champions Trophy and the 2014 World Cup due to poor show. The latest ranking are led by Argentina, followed by Australia and Germany at second and third position, respectively.

Former captain Samiullah Khan has expressed his disappointment at the current state of the sport. “The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) failed to create a pool of players and now we have very limited players in our hockey circuit,” said Samiullah. “Unfortunately, some Olympians sticking with the PHF are not sincere with the game and they’re there working for their own survival,” he maintained.

With Pakistan’s obsession with cricket these days, the national sport hockey has been relegated to the background in recent years due to the team’s poor showing in major events and favoutism and nepotism reigning unhindered in the PHF. Pakistan hockey remained up in the clouds for more than three decades. Pakistan won Olympic gold thrice, World Cup four times, Asia Cup thrice, Asian Games gold record eight times, Asian Champions Trophy gold twice, FIH Champions Trophy gold thrice and remained unbeatable at regional level for many years. “We introduced tournaments such as the World Cup, Champions Trophy and Asia Cup and it is very sad to see that we are now struggling even to qualify for these tournaments,” said Samiullah.

The Daily Times



Kwan Browne: T&T veteran is back for PanAms

Robert Dumas

T&T veteran hockey player Kwandwane Browne is back home and ready to boost T&T's chances of success at the upcoming Pan-Am Cup to be held in Lancaster, USA between August 4-13.

He's also eager for the local boys to kick on from their positive showing at the Hockey World League round two hosted by T&T earlier this year. However, Browne comes home to an almost totally different team than the one he played in four months ago. They've lost seven members from that squad meaning it's a much younger team that will be competing, but he is still optimistic with a few senior players.

"Where we are from the World League, we are better off tactically heading to Pan-Am. The youngsters who have been training have been really pushing and doing well. Hopefully they will be able to step up. The team is a good team and I think we're in a very good position coming to the Pan-AM."

The senior men's hockey side wrapped up a two week camp last Thursday at the National Hockey Centre in Tacarigua.

Browne was quick to point out, he is guarding the team from getting ahead of itself.

"We try to avoid the results as much as possible. We try to think about performance."

The England Under 21 Assistant Coach, now back home playing for his country, has already dissected T&T's group and who it can take the points off and who the team may have a tough battle against. T&T is in pool B with Mexico, Canada and Brazil. The Canadians look the most dangerous thus far, and Browne agrees.

He says: "For us, Canada is playing really well at the moment so us playing Canada will be quite tough but we see ourselves doing really well against Mexico and Brazil and that will take us to the semi-finals. Getting to the finals means we'll be playing against the Olympic champions Argentina, which will also be very difficult, so making the top four will be a brilliant achievement for us."

T&T will open their campaign against Canada at noon on August 4 before playing Mexico two days later at the same time.

They wrap up the group stage against Brazil on August 8th from 10am.

The team departs on Sunday for Lancaster, USA.

The Trinidad Guardian



Scotland women's squad announced for test series against France


Photo by Nicolas Evrard

Scotland women will play a three-match international test series against France this weekend as part of their final preparations for Rabo EuroHockey Championships 2017 in Amsterdam.

The France matches will be played at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre on Friday 28 July at 19:00; Sunday 30 July at 13:00; and Monday 31 July at 11:00.

On Sunday there will be the fantastic chance for youngsters to go onto the pitch at half time and full time to play some hockey. Hamish the Hockey Hippo will also be along to support the team and meet fans of the squad for a selfie. All matches are free to attend.

It is an exciting time for the Scotland women's national squad as these fixtures come as part of preparations for the Rabo EuroHockey Championships 2017 in Amsterdam on 18-27 August.

In Amsterdam Scotland have been drawn in Pool B against England, Germany, and Ireland as the Scots look to retain their status amongst the top European nations in European hockey.

Scotland women’s Head Coach Gordon Shepherd said:

“All the players in the squad have continued to progress since our return from the World League Semi-Final in Brussels. The coaches have found making selection down to 18 extremely difficult at this point, which was what was originally planned and we will now use the games against France this weekend to finalise the 18 for the European Nations in Amsterdam in August.

Scotland squad for France matches

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

Scottish Hockey Union media release



Canadian 2017 National Championships: Day 8

Kori Sidaway


Bison and Marmots battling it out on the turf in the fight for bronze in the U23 Men’s division on the last day of Nationals.

The final day of competition in the 2017 National Championships, Day 8, was filled with final medal matches for the U18 and U23 age groups at Tamanawis Fields in Surrey, BC.

The sun was shining as the U18 men hit the turf to play to play for the bronze medal. Quebec faced the B.C. Lions to earn their right on the podium. Quebec came out early with a rocket from Daniel Nahir, but the B.C. Lions found their groove late in the first half, banking three goals within 10 minutes. The spirited game continued as Quebec tried to climb back into the game on the scoreboard, but to no avail, as the Lions won the game 4-1 to win bronze in the U18 Men’s division.

Playing on pitch two, Ontario East and Ontario West battled it out for 7th and 8th place in the U18 Women’s division. The game was well-matched, with both teams vying for a win. Harleen Mahal of Ontario Select hit the back of the net from a shot off a short corner to make it 1-0, where the game sat until the whistle blew.

Alberta and the B.C. Lions were up next on pitch two playing for 5th and 6th place in the U18 Women’s Division. The Lions came out first with a goal from Tara Hamilton in the 7th minute, and doubled their lead with a goal from Lonica McKinney before halftime. Heading into the second, the Lions lost their handle on the game and gave up their lead as Alberta captain Emily Smith tied it up 2-2 nearing the end of the match. The score stayed tied as time wrapped up.

Mid morning the first gold medal match of the day was underway. The B.C. Rams faced Ontario in the U18 Men’s division fighting for the title of National Champions. The first half was an intense back and forth battle knowing that gold was on the line. Rams captain Jamie Wallace scored off a short corner to have the lead going into the second half. But, Ontario came out in the second to win it.

Ontario captain, and tournament leading goal scorer, Jagpreet Singh, earned a natural hat trick with three goals in 9 minutes to take his team to lead 3-1. The Lions tried to come back late in the second with a goal from Connor Rutledge, but it wasn’t enough to take back the game. Ontario earned gold with a 3-2 score, Lions earning silver.

U18 Men’s Tournament 11 Winners:
Name, eam
Kevin Watson, Alberta
Jagshir, Alberta
Jagpreet Singh, Ontario
Marek Chopra, Ontario
Brendan Guraliuk, BC Rams
Ganga Singh, Ontario
Arjan Hothi, BC Rams
Christpoher De Haas, BC Lions
Jason Dhaliwal, BC Lions
Noah Loomis, Quebec
Nick Syrros, Quebec

The U18 women hit the turf next with simultaneous gold medal and bronze medal matches. Ontario Central and the B.C. Stags battled for bronze in a tight, low scoring game, that saw both teams find it difficult to hit the back of the net.

The game winning goal was delivered by Stags player Ashton Aumen in the 58th minute, and ultimately led B.C. to win the game, and the bronze medal.

On the pitch above, the fight for gold in the U18 Women’s division, was on.

Ontario West and the B.C. Rams challenged each other for top spot in the country. Ontario West was strong on the ball as well as with their passing, and capitalized on their opportunities in front of the net with two goals from Madeline Osgarby who ensured her team walked away with a 4-1 victory, and the gold medal.

U18 Women’s Tournament 11 Winners:
Name, Team
Maryam Maamoun, Ontario East
Sara Goodman, BC Stags
Anna Mollenhaur, BC Stags
Lonica McKinney, BC Lions
Hannah Cook, Ontario Selects
Katie Jordyn, Ontario West
Emily Smith, Alberta
Georgia Booker, BC Rams
Hannaa Punja, BC Rams
Dakota Chan, BC Rams
Danielle Husar, Ontario Central

The U23 men were back on the field in the late afternoon, playing in their medal rounds. The Bison and Marmots battled it out first for bronze, in a tight, relaxed, but competitive game. The first game saw both teams testing each other out, but something gave as Balraj Panesar shot a rocket into the back of the net for the Marmots to pull up with the lead. Teammate Vikramjeet Sandhu added to their lead, but the Bison battled back. Dilraj Sidhu of team Bison tried help lead his team back into the game with a late goal in the 4th quarter, but as time ran out, the Marmots kept their 2-1 lead to earn bronze.

The final game of the 2017 National Championships featured the U23 Men’s gold medal match. For National bragging rights, the Moose and Grizzlies faced off in the low, hot sun. The heat didn’t phase either team, who played a high tempo, competitive game of hockey. Neither team could hit the back of the net in the first two periods, but the high intensity game saw the Grizzlies light up the scoreboard with a rocket of a shot from Amrit Sidhu, to lead the team to win gold with a 1-0 score.

U23 Men’s Tournament 8 Winners:
Name, Team
Amrit Sidhu, Grizzlies
Sunny Aujla, Grizzlies
Balraj Panesar, Marmots
Gavin Bains, Marmots
Rohan Chopra, Moose
Zaiq Rana, Moose
Brandon Periera, Bison
Angus Grauer, Marmots

Congratulations to all the teams for an amazing week of hockey at the 2017 National Championships. Many thanks are in order:

Field Hockey Canada thanks our sponsors (Gryphon, Canada 150), Field Hockey Shack for providing gear and Tournament 11 swag, Team Punjabi for making it possible to stream the medal games, the dedicated physiotherapy staff, our tireless volunteers, and last but certainly not least, everyone at Field Hockey B.C. for hosting such a well coordinated event!

Congratulations again to all the players and coaches for a great tournament and great hockey! See everyone at Nationals in 2018.

For the full photo album of the 2017 National Championships head over to our Facebook page.

Field Hockey Canada media release



New format for New Zealand's Ford National Hockey League


Photo: www.photosport.nz

The 2017 Ford National Hockey League will be played under a new format which puts greater emphasis on exciting high stakes matches.

The event runs across nine days of action from 16-24 September at the National Hockey Stadium in Wellington.

This year’s Ford NHL structure aligns with the current International Hockey Federation (FIH) tournament model which will see New Zealand’s eight regions split into two pools ahead of a cross-over finals phase.

Pools have been classified based on last year’s placings with each team playing each of the other three sides to determine their seeding going into a must-win quarter final against a team from the other pool.

Reigning Challenge Shield (Men) winners Midlands and K Cup champions the Canterbury Cats (Women) come in as the top seeded sides.

Pre-sale passes are on sale now at a discounted online price with two options available, giving fans access to all Ford NHL and National Senior Tournament games. Single entry tickets will also be available for purchase at the gate each day.

CLICK HERE to buy a pre-sale pass now

2017 FORD NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE


POOL A

 POOL B

MEN

Midlands ('16 winners, #1 seed)
North Harbour (4)
Capital Cobras (5)
Southern Dogs (8)

Canterbury Cavaliers (2)
Central Mavericks (3)
Auckland (6)
Northland (7)

WOMEN

Canterbury Cats ('16 winners, #1 seed)
Auckland (4)
Capital (5)
Southern Storm (8)

North Harbour (2)
Midlands (3)
Northland (6)
Central Mysticks (7)


CLICK HERE for the full Ford National Hockey League match schedule

Hockey New Zealand Media release



Farewell Logan Raj, welcome Soon Mustafa...


FROM LEFT: Tai Beng Hai, Logan Raj, Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal, S. Shamala and Terry Walsh at the press conference.

MALAYSIAN Hockey Confederation (MHC) CEO K. Logan Raj has decided not to renew his contract, as he wants to head Down Under to be with his family and turn into a corporate man.

The former national player held the position for two years with his renewal coming up soon, but he announced at the press conference today that he wants to call it a day.

MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal also announced that Olympian Soon Mustafa will take over the Coaching Chairman's position which fell vacant after Datuk Ow Soon Kooi resigned due to health reasons.

"First of all I would like to announce that the MHC has appointed Soon Mustafa as the Coaching Chairman and with his two-Olympics back-ground, we believe he is the right man for the job.

"Secondly with sadness, I would like to state that Logan will not renew his contract with us as he wants to move on with his career and be with his wife who is already in Australia.

"Logan's position will not be filled just yet, and I believe we have a strong administrative team in the MHC to do the daily work until we find a new CEO," said Subahan.

Mustafa played at the 1984 Los Angeles and 1992 Barcelona Olympics when he was 21 and 29 years-old respectively.

As for Logan, among his achievements was a silver medal in the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.

"After two years giving my best to Malaysian hockey as an administrator and before that playing for the country for 10 years (from 1997-2007) the experience has simply been wonderful.

"And so it's with heavy heart that I make a move to Sydney, but I will still help out Malaysian hockey in any way that I can," said Logan.

And with MHC Independent member Johnson Fernandez also calling it quits, MHC has appointed Logan as an Independent member who will help out whenever he can.

Jugjet's World of Field Hockey



Former international Soon named coaching chairman

by Aftar Singh



KUALA LUMPUR: Former international Soon Mustapha (pic) has been appointed as the new Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) coaching committee chairman.

The 54-year-old Soon, who featured in the 1984 Los Angeles and 1992 Barcelona Olympics, replaces Datuk Ow Soon Kooi, who resigned three weeks ago from all MHC posts.

Soon Kooi, who was elected vice-president, cited poor health for his resignation.

MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said that Soon, who played 185 times for Malaysia, has a MHC Level 2 coaching certificate.

“Soon is my childhood friend and was my senior at the Cochrane school (in Pudu). I’ve known him from young.

“He will work with the other members of the coaching committee to further develop and produce more coaches at school and state levels.

“Right now, we have the same set of coaches handling the national juniors and the senior men and women’s teams,” said Subahan, who also named Pahang HA deputy president Datuk Ahmad Nazmi Razak as deputy chairman of the coaching committee.

The other coaching committee members are Alan Black (National Sports Institute coaching director); Tai Beng Hai (development director, FIH High Performance coach); Yahya Atan (1MAS head coach); V. Muraleedharan (former national umpire and representing Malaysian Education Ministry); Terry Walsh (MHC technical director); and Nuriza Sulaiman (Pahang development coach) and Nadia Abdul Rahman (former national captain).

Subahan was also happy with the way Stephen van Huizen and K. Dharmaraj have handled the national men and women’s teams.

“The men’s team did well to qualify for next year’s World Cup (in Bhubaneswar, India).

“I want them to start preparing now for next year’s Asian Games (in Jakarta) and qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“We have not qualified for the Olympics for the last 17 years. We should strive to win the Asiad gold medal and qualify for the 2020 Olympics,” said Subahan, who added that MHC would send some young players to the Asia Cup in Dhaka from Oct 11-22 for exposure.

Malaysian Hockey blogspo

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