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All the news for Tuesday 1 May 2018

Korea's Kim Ji Eun looks to the future ahead of London World Cup


Korea have been consistently strong in world hockey for decades Photo: FIH/WSP

As Korea Coach Huh Sang-Young prepares his players for the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018, we caught up with Kim Ji Eun, who has enjoyed an international career spanning 22 years.

The long-serving player recently announced her retirement as an international athlete and was able to share some insights into life as a hockey player in a nation that has consistently held its own with the top 10 teams in the world.

Korea are currently ranked ninth in the FIH Hero World Rankings and, since they first fielded a national team in 1988, they have never failed to qualify for either an Olympic Games or a World Cup, winning bronze in the latter event in 1990.

At the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018, Korea will be contesting Pool A where they face a baptism of fire in their opening game against the world number one side Netherlands. They will also play Asian rivals China and Italy in the pool stages.

Like all the Korean athletes, Kim Ji Eun started playing hockey through school and then university before she became a professional athlete on the national squad. Once players make the national team, they become professional athletes, supported by the Korea Hockey Association, which in turn is run by the Korea Sports Council.

Their lives become a round of training, matches and rehabilitation. Kim Ji Eun suffered an injury that kept her out of the game from 2011 until 2015, but throughout her recovery, she was on a programme of nutrition guidance, strength and conditioning and anything else that would aid her return to action.

On retirement, athletes are put on a retirement player support programme. This helps them study in a completely new areas or develop a career within sport – either in management, leadership or officiating. Kim Ji Eun explains that support from the government comes in the form of education and training rather than ongoing financial support.

Moving to umpiring was an obvious choice for Kim Ji Eun. “I thought being an umpire, I could use the knowledge I have as a hockey player. My experiences as a player and a leader will allow me to see the game from a number of different perspectives. I will also be able to think like a player when I am umpiring, which will help my insight into the game. It is also important that I learn English so I can communicate with players and fellow officials from around the world.”

One of Kim Ji Eun’s strengths as a player was her attention to detail. This is something else that she feels will translate well into the world of umpiring.

When Kim Ji Eun started playing hockey, it was a very different sport. The school pitches were just soil-covered playgrounds and, as a result, the ball would bounce all over the surface. “It is thanks to the state of the ground that my ball trapping skills are so advanced,” the Korea player jokes.

Kim Ji Eun says the biggest change in the game itself has been the introduction of quarters, which has made the game much faster. “The final quarter in particular can often turn into a real power play," she says.

In Korea, children normally start to play hockey at about 13 as they enter middle school. Kim Ji Eun says this is a little later than the children in nations such as Netherlands or Argentina, but she says until that age, children are given more general training in basic physical strength and simple generic skills that provide a great platform from which they can develop the specialist skills of hockey. These basic skills stick with the athletes throughout their careers, says Kim Ji Eun.

Once a young player has reached a certain level they will be signed up to a club. This is where the competitive spirit is really honed, explains Kim Ji Eun. “There are not so many players in Korea as some of the ‘hockey powerhouses', but the domestic leagues are strong. And I think it is a system that works because the national teams are always high in the world rankings.”

There is no doubt that Ji Eun will miss being part of the national squad. “The national team is a great place for athletes and to have played for my country is such an honour. When I play for the national team, I feel that I am able to play almost above my natural level of performance. This is made possible by the strong and experienced players around me. A strong group of players makes the team perform even better than expected. I will miss these things intensely but I have very happy memories.

“I've been involved in hockey for half my life. I can't say for sure what's going on in the future, but I will certainly be very involved and participate in the hockey world. I want to keep contributing to the sport in some way.”

Kim Ji Eun’s desire to remain involved with the sport that means so much to her is being answered. In May she will be part of the team of officials who will travel to the Women’s Asia Champions Trophy, where she will be a member of the organising team. She can already see a future of sports-related travel and networking.

“You can go anywhere in the world with the internet and aeroplanes, and you can meet people from all over the world. Now, I cannot play on the international stage, but I want to have a lot of opportunities to communicate with hockey-loving people from all over the world. I am looking forward to experiencing hockey in many new locations.

Korea women start their campaign at the Vitality Women's Hockey World Cup in London on 22 July versus the Netherlands.

#HWC2018

FIH site

Hockeyroos & Kookaburras Thank Public For Commonwealth Games Support

Ben Somerford



Several Hockeyroos and Kookaburras were today part of the Australian Team who got the opportunity to thank the community for the overwhelming support shown during the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Commonwealth Games Australia last week confirmed a series of TeamAUS Celebrations in capital cities, with several hockey stars involved in Monday’s event at Murray Street Mall in Perth.

Hockeyroos Emily Smith, Karri McMahon, Grace Stewart, Brooke Peris, Savannah Fitzpatrick, Stephanie Kershaw and Rachael Lynch along with Kookaburras including Jake Harvie and Jake Whetton were in attendance.

Kookaburras veteran Eddie Ockenden was part of the celebrations in his home city Hobart at Princes Wharf on Saturday.

Australian Team Chef de Mission Steve Moneghetti said the events provided Team Members with the opportunity to acknowledge the amazing support from the Australian community.

“Our team was overwhelmed by all of the support during Gold Coast 2018, from right across Australia,” he said.

“The Australian Team was able to achieve incredible success on the Gold Coast and a big part of that success is owed to the amazing home crowd support.” 

TeamAUS Celebrations will be attended by locally based Team Members and a selection of gold medallists from Gold Coast 2018.  

TeamAUS Celebration Details:

•                  Brisbane – 12noon, Friday, 27 April, Street Parade – Queens St Mall to King George Square
•                  Hobart – 12noon, Saturday, 28 April, Public Celebration at Princes Wharf No1
•                  Darwin – 12noon, Sunday, 29 April, Public Celebration at Darwin Waterfront Peninsula
•                  Perth – 12noon, Monday, 30 April, Public Celebration at Murray St Mall
•                  Adelaide – 12noon, Tuesday, 1 May, Public Celebration at Rundle Mall (Gawler Place Canopy)
•                  Melbourne – 12noon, Wednesday, 2 May, Public Celebration; Location TBC
•                  Sydney – 12noon, Thursday, 3 May, Public Celebration at First Fleet Park
•                  Canberra – 12 noon, Friday, 4 May, Public Celebration; Location TBC

Hockey Australia media release

Kentwell Announces 2018-19 Junior and Senior U.S. Women's National Indoor Teams



COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Following the tryout camp at the beginning of April, U.S. Women's National Indoor Team Head Coach Jun Kentwell has announced the junior and senior squads for the 2018-19 seasons.

“I was very pleased to see a lot of talented young players tryout for this year’s women’s and junior national indoor squads as we start our new four year Pan American and World Cup cycle," added Kentwell. "We have selected a strong core group of experienced players and talented juniors who will continue to build on the success we had this past year. I have invited a few players back for a second look during our training weekend in May and we also have a few players who were unable to come in April who we will be evaluating.”

This past year, the Indoor USWNT had unprecedented success after winning the Indoor Pan American Cup for the first time, and qualifying for their first-ever appearance at the 2018 Indoor Hockey World Cup. FIH Hero Indoor World Ranked No. 20 in 2017, the young USA  squad surprised a lot of teams with their skills and tactical awareness to finish a credible tenth at the Indoor World Cup. This placement booster the Indoor USWNT's ranking as they current sit at No. 12.

The Junior and Senior Indoor USWNT will have six training weekends through the summer and fall and both will travel to Europe over the New Year to compete in an international tournament which will give the players important international experience.

“As always, I am looking to build the players’ skills and ability to play under pressure, and give them international experience," continued Kentwell. "My wish is to see a couple more players take the next step to the outdoor U.S. Women's National Team in the near future."

2018-19 Junior U.S. Women's National Indoor Team
Olivia Bent-Cole (Ventnor, N.J.), Shelby Bumgarner (Pasadena, Md.), Pyper Friedman (Phoenix, Md.), Ryleigh Heck (Berlin, N.J.), Annika Herbine (Macungie, Pa.), Skye Joegriner (Gaithersburg, Md.), Ashley Kim (Fredericksburg, Va.), Mia Leonhardt (Media, Pa.), Morgan McMenamin (Lafayette Hill, Pa.), Evelyn Murray (Virginia Beach, Va.), Josephine Palde (Schwenksville, Pa.), Ashley Sessa (Schwenksville, Pa.), Kelly Smith (Dowingtown, Pa.), Macy Szukics (Allentown, Pa.), Ally Tarantino (Miller Place, N.Y.), Maya Walker (Greenwich, Conn.)

2018-19 Senior U.S. Women's National Indoor Team
Ali Campbell (Boyertown, Pa.), Samantha Carlino (Lewisburg, Pa.), Sierra Espeland (Fredericksburg, Va.), Nathalie Friedman (Phoenix, Md.), Allyson Fuller (Philadelphia, Pa.), Jessica McCarthy (Havertown, Pa.), Anna Rose McDonough (Kennett Square, Pa.), Madison Orobono (Macungie, Pa.), Abigail Pitcairn (Aspinwall, Pa.), Sammy Popper (Blue Bell, Pa.), Hannah Prince (Gorham, Maine), Hope Rose (Dauphin, Pa.), Elizabeth Yeager (Rye, N.Y.), Corinne Zanolli (Newtown Square, Pa.)

USFHA media release

Gordon Shepherd to leave Scotland women’s national team


Scotland v Wales – photo by Duncan Gray

Scottish Hockey has reached an agreement with Gordon Shepherd that he will leave his role as Head Coach of the Scotland Senior Women’s Hockey Team. Gordon’s tenure will end with immediate effect.

We are grateful to Gordon for the passion, professionalism and commitment demonstrated since his appointment in 2010.

Gordon Shepherd led Scotland women to the Commonwealth Games at Delhi in 2010, finishing in seventh place; Glasgow in 2014, finishing sixth; and most recently in Gold Coast in 2018 where Scotland finished seventh.

During his tenure Scotland women won Gold in EuroHockey Championship II in Poland in 2011, resulting in promotion to the top division of European international hockey. Scotland women retained their status amongst Europe’s elite until 2017, where they were relegated to EuroHockey Championship II.

Shepherd also led Scotland to the bronze medal at the 2011 FiH Champions Challenge in Dublin.

Scottish Hockey’s Head of Performance Andy Tennant said “On behalf of Scottish Hockey, and all those involved in the women’s programme, I would like to thank Shep for the passion and dedication he has brought to the role in his eight years in charge.

“His record speaks for itself, having led the team through three Commonwealth Games, four European Championships and two World League campaigns – and we would like to take this opportunity to wish him every success in the future.”

Gordon Shepherd added “It has been an honour to coach the senior women’s team over the last eight years, and I would like to thank all the management team that have worked so hard alongside me in that time, and of course the players past and present. I wish all concerned with the Senior Women’s team success in the future.”

Scottish Hockey will make an announcement in the near future on arrangements for an interim coaching team and the recruitment process for a new Head Coach for the Scotland women’s national team.

Scottish Hockey Union media release

Are players ready for ‘freedom’?

Coach Marijne wants to transfer responsibility to team, but are players tactically mature enough?

Indervir Grewal


Hockey head coach Sjoerd Marijne has come under the scanner following India''s disappointing fourth-place finish in the CWG. File photo

From the time he took over as the men’s team coach, Sjoerd Marijne proclaimed that he would transfer responsibility to the players. Since then, the Dutchman and high performance director David John have maintained that theirs was a player-driven, coach-assisted system. But what is the player-driven system? “He has made groups and assigned leaders (senior players) to each group,” said a current India player. Are positions on the field also considered in forming the groups? “There is one leader from the forward-line, two from the midfield… There are five to six leaders and they have discussions with the other players and the coaching staff,” he added.

In his first national camp, in the run-up to the Asia Cup, Marijne had said he was focusing on understanding how the team wanted to play. Marijne has, since, said that he discussed even training schedule with the senior players. How much say do the players have? The India player confirmed that the leaders discussed with the coach, and even had a say, about what positions and roles to assign to players, match strategies and even the style of play.

However, do the Indian players have the mental acumen to take such big tactical decisions? “No,” admitted the India player. “Players here (in India) can’t make these plans, take such decisions. We need the coach to make strategies,” he added.

Major shift

Indian hockey has come a long way in the last decade. From playing unplanned, largely haphazard hockey, the Indian men’s team has shifted to playing a systematic and structured game. The groundwork to this shift was done in 2011 during Australian Michael Nobbs’ tenure. The core group was expanded by bringing in many young players. Senior players, who were handicapped by their old habits, were ignored and developing youngsters in the modern system became key, instilling in them the physical, technical and tactical characteristics needed for the fast-evolving game. John was brought in as scientific adviser.

However, it was Nobbs’ successor, Australian Terry Walsh, who was the first to bring discipline into India’s game. He improved the defensive and offensive structure. During his time, individuals rarely deviated from the pattern. The emphasis was on a passing game and building attacks with patience, while running with the ball was shunned.

“It was not that he didn’t have discussions with the players,” said the India player, who was also part of the team during Walsh’s tenure. “He was a good planner and made the tactics. He was also disciplined and a taskmaster during training,” he added.

Within a couple of months of joining, Walsh had said that the “Indian players are very careless and lack in basics”. He had said that the solution was a lot of discussion, video analysis and practice on the pitch. “In the end, repetition is the remedy. The only way you can improve a skill is by continuous repetition,” Walsh had said.

Dictatorial

Then began the reigns of the Dutchmen. In his brief stay, Paul van Ass had come to be known as a hard taskmaster. Roelant Oltmans became interim coach after the untimely departures of Walsh and van Ass. He finally took over as head coach in 2015. Oltmans, who was there with Walsh as high performance director, demanded the same discipline.

But by then, India players had been in the modern system for some years, and he could afford to give them a little more liberty. The players were improving mentally and physically, and India rose from 12th to sixth in the world rankings. However, a frustrated Oltmans found it difficult to help India rise further. Oltmans was also fired before his contract expired. One of the reasons given was that the players had accused Oltmans of becoming a little dictatorial in his working.

Change in ideology

The 44-year-old Marijne’s tenure began with a shift in ideology. The Dutchman, the youngest foreign coach of the Indian men’s hockey team, wants the “players to take the calls”, he wrote in an article for The Bridge before the Commonwealth Games

Marijne wrote that by stopping the players from making “their own decisions”, you could not expect them to grow. He said that he did not want to be someone who instructed his players from the sidelines about whether to play left or right. He wanted to give them “freedom”. Marijne’s initiative is justified. He comes from a system where decision-making is nurtured in children even before skill training starts.

But can he afford to “leave” Indian players “at their liberty”. Walsh had said that Indian players were careless because they didn’t understand “when, why and how”.

Even though India team players have become much smarter since Walsh’s reign, they are still much behind their Dutch or German or Australian counterparts. “Our players haven’t reached that level,” said the India player. “You see players such as German Moritz Fuerste. Those guys are so smart, you felt that playing with them in the Hockey India League.”

After the disappointing fourth-place finish in the CWG, the Indian team was criticised more for its disorganised and rudderless game rather than the losses. The inclusion of many new faces was one reason. However, it seemed that the team lacked planning and the players were confused. The lack of consistency in individual performances reflected in the team’s show.

Need for uniform system

“We perform well in training but when it comes to performing under pressure we falter,” Walsh had said. Marijne is also facing the same problem. In the run-up to the CWG, he said that the team needed strict enforcement of discipline. That task, Marijne wrote, was being carried out by former Australia player Chris Ciriello, who kept the “players on their toes”. Marijne also said that he always tried to recreate match situations during training.

However, the solution is not that easy, as Marijne might find out. In all the top hockey-playing nations, there is a uniform system — of training and style of play — from the grassroots to the national team level. That uniformity leads to discipline and consistency.

As India lacks a proper system, coaches at the grassroots don’t develop players’ creativity and decision-making ability, and training is not done keeping in mind the pressure of match situations. Forget about the junior level, the fact is that in India, even coaches of many departmental teams shout out instructions from the sidelines. Indian players take a longer time to mature because they learn about different modern strategies only after getting into the national camps. “We need to put in place a correct structure as soon as possible. We need a strong development program… we need to build our base from the grassroots level, we need to work with kids of 8-10 years,” Walsh had said in 2013.

Since then, the starting age in top hockey nations has gone down to 6-8 years. However, in the last five years in Indian hockey, while the national team has risen to sixth, not much has changed at the grassroots level.

“If we don’t have a strong development programme it will be difficult for us to compete with top teams of the world on a consistent basis,” Walsh had said.

The Tribune

Surbiton call on English clubs to forget rivalry and support EuroHockey Club Cup

By Rod Gilmour



Forget club tribalism and rally together against Europe’s finest.

That’s the message from Surbiton defender Giselle Ansley, who has called on clubs to support England’s national champions when they host the women’s EuroHockey Club Cup later this month. It is a sentiment backed by her England team-mate Anna Toman, who plays for local rivals Wimbledon.

Hockey’s equivalent of the Champions League will be hosted at Sugden Road between May 17-20 and brings together the best in Europe. It will be the first time that an English club will hold the EHCC in its new format since the tournament’s launch in 2010.

Five-time national champions Surbiton, who overcame Holcombe last weekend in the League Finals, will line up alongside representatives from European powerhouses Netherlands and Germany, as well as top sides from Spain, Ireland and Belarus.

And Ansley, 26, wants supporters from the likes of Teddington, Richmond, Hampstead & Westminster – and outside London too – to cast aside loyalties and back Brett Garrard’s side.

“It’s not just for Surbiton it’s for club hockey in England,” Ansley told The Hockey Paper.

“The more people we can get there to showcase our sport in our country and to the rest of Europe – that hockey means something in England – for us at Surbiton that’s what we are hoping to do.

“To get everyone there from the local support and everyone else would be absolutely fantastic.”

Toman may be play for Conference side Wimbledon, but the England half back, who continues to impress in England colours, says that the hockey community should also join together in supporting Surbiton.

She said: “They’ve been on top for many years now and I’m happy they’ve got to host.

“We will all be there to support them and to show what England hockey can do.”

Meanwhile, Alan Forsyth, Surbiton men’s top striker, also called on supporters to cast club rivalry side and revel in the best of women’s hockey coming together.

“It’s the top teams in Europe and you want to watch them. Surbiton ladies deserve to hold it being reigning champions,” said the Scot.

“It’s a great chance to support the local community and go and watch some of the top players while Surbiton have had a great three or four seasons.”

The tournament will be spearheaded by HC‘s-Hertogenbosch from the Netherlands, the current champions and Europe’s most successful team, who are joined by fellow Dutch side AHBC Amsterdam.

Germany also have two teams, UHC Hamburg and Mannheimer HC. Spain are represented by Club Campo Villa de Madrid, Ireland by UCD Ladies HC and Belarus’ HC Victorya Smolevichi complete the line-up.

The second edition of the Junior EHCC will also take place over the same weekend.

FOR EHCC TICKET DETAILS CLICK HERE

The Hockey Paper

South African Senior Womens IPT A-Section - Day 5
Durban

Results 30 April

KZNM v EP (Pool B) 2 - 5
FS v WPP (Pool B) 5 - 1
MPU v SGW (Pool A) 2 - 0
NW v SA21G (Pool A) 3 - 1
SG v WP (Pool B) 0 - 0
NG v KZNC (Pool A) 2 - 0

Final Pool Standings

Pool A

 Pool B

SAHA Match Centre

South African Senior Womens IPT B-Section - Day 4
Durban

Results 30 April

BOR v KZNI 6 - 1
SACDB v KZNR 3 - 5
NGB v SGN 4 - 0
BOR v SACDA 1 - 1

Pool Standings

SAHA Match Centre

Grange snatch Scottish title from under Kelburne’s noses



Grange snatched the Scottish regular league season title from under the nose of Bromac Kelburne on Saturday, winning the crown on goal difference.

Against struggling Uddingston, Kelburne were forced to endure drama a plenty at Bothwell Castle including five yellow cards, a six goal thriller and a last minute penalty corner strike by Uddingston`s Steven Percy.

The final outcome was a 3-3 draw and Kelburne had handed Grange the chance to snatch their league crown.

The champions had clawed their way back into the contest, finishing the first half two down. However, with the seconds ticking away they led 3-2 and the silverware looked to be heading back to Paisley for the 14th time but then Percy`s set-piece effort went into the net off the post and all eyes were set on Edinburgh.

Already knowing the Kelburne result, Grange took full advantage of the situation and beat bottom side Inverleith 5-0 to take their first title since 2002 on goal difference.

Grange were two up at the interval through penalty corner conversions by Luke Cranney and Michael McKenzie. Grange then confirmed their advantage with further strikes by James Nairn, Cammie Fraser and Callum McKenzie to take the crown on goal difference.

Euro Hockey League media release

Police play Parklands in men’s league at City Park

By BRIAN YONGA

Champions Kenya Police will be out to maintain their perfect start to the season when they tackle Parklands Tuesday in a mid-week Kenya Hockey Union men’s Premier League match at City Park Stadium, Nairobi.

Two other matches are lined up at the same venue, with the 2012 champions Nairobi Simba playing Parkroad Badgers in another men’s Premier League encounter, as Kenyatta University (KU) Vultures tackle Multimedia University in the men’s Super League.

Police have won three out of three already this season and are perched at the top of the table with nine points, three ahead of second-placed Butali Sugar Warriors, who have played a game less.

A win should see them open a six-point gap over their bitter rivals.

But the law enforcers will need to be more clinical having needed a late winner to overcome Kenya College of Accountancy University (KCA-U) 3-2 on Sunday. Police surrendered a 2-0 goal lead before international Samuel Wokila popped up to the grab the winner.

Police coach Patrick Mugambi is confident his charges can put in an improved performance as they look to extend their lead.

“We were in control against KCA but we got a bit sloppy and they pulled back. We will not be complacent against Parklands because they can punish our mistakes,” Mugambi warned.

Forward Amos Barkibir, who was Police’s top scorer last season, is expected to start having missed the first two matches due to personal reasons.

He will be supported in attack by Calvins Kanu, veteran Moses Cheplaiti and Wokila. Parklands come into match on the back of a 4-1 win over Wazalendo on Friday- their first win of the season after back-to-back defeats against Greensharks and KCAU.

Parklands coach Kul Suri hopes his charges will not be intimidated by the league champions.

“They beat us in both matches last season and are a very side. We have got to be disciplined and ensure we don’t commit any mistakes,” Suri said.

A win for Parklands will take them from their current seventh spot to fourth on the log. In the other match, Nairobi Simba will be looking to bounce back from Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Wazalendo.

After four games this season. Simba lie in eighth place with only a solitary win and have lost three.

Simba skipper Amit Rajput has demanded a response from his teammates after their poor showing on Sunday.

Tuesday's Fixtures (All matches at City Park Stadium)

Men’s Super League: KU Vultures v MMU- 1pm

Men’s Premier League: Parklands v Kenya Police- 3pm, Nairobi Simba v Parkroad Badgers

Daily Nation

Faulty Kalinga Stadium Turf being replaced

Tazeen Qureshy



Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, which was the venue for the prestigious Hockey Champions trophy in 2014 and World Hockey League finals in 2017, indeed had a ‘faulty’ turf.

The issue had first come to the fore during the Hockey World League finals when the Indian hockey had mentioned that a particular portion of the turf had ‘bumps,’ which has obviously affected the penalty corner conversion process for every team.

“Yes, the turf had humps and bumps. It might have been there from the time it was laid out. There was problem in the base,” Shaun Goudie, General Manager of sportsgroup told stick2hockey. His company is now engaged in laying new turfs.

Skipper Manpreet Singh and coach Sjoerd Marijne had pointed out the fault in one of the press conferences held during HWL Finals. There were reports of small water puddles being formed on the pitch.

Though no official complaint had been filed, Hockey India CEO Elena Norman had then confirmed the turfs will be changed ahead of the Hockey World Cup.

“The new turfs are being shipped from Germany. We are installing the shock pad. The stadium turf should be ready by June, at least before the rain starts,” said Shaun.

The turfs on both the main pitch and the practice pitch is being changed. The old turfs which have been removed are likely to be laid down elsewhere.

“Since the previous ones are not very old, they can be put to use,” said Shaun.

Kalinga Stadium, meanwhile, is going through a revamp as two additional galleries are being put up to meet the swelling crowd.

The Hockey World Cup scheduled to be held from November 28 to December 16 in Bhubaneswar.

Stick2Hockey.com

Hockey legend Mansoor refuses to undergo heart transplant in Pakistan



KARACHI: World Cup-winning field hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed on Monday refused the offer of having his heart transplant conducted in Pakistan.

“Pakistan does not have enough facilities, I want the transplant to be conducted in India,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed was reportedly being offered a mechanical heart transplantation which, had he accepted, would have been the first time the procedure was to be conducted in Pakistan. However, the hockey legend prefers more conventional and proven procedures, for which he believes undergoing a transplant in India would be his best bet.

The ailing sports star had reached out to India last week and asked for help in securing a heart transplant – despite years of breaking the eastern neighbours’ “hearts on the field”.

The 49-year-old has been suffering for weeks from complications stemming from a pacemaker and stents implanted in his heart.

Ahmed has been a sporting icon in Pakistan since helping the country win the 1994 World Cup in Sydney with his penalty stroke save against the Netherlands in the final.

“I may have broken a lot of Indian hearts on the field of play by beating India in the Indira Gandhi Cup [1989] and in other events but that was sport,” Ahmed had said in a recent interview. “Now I need a heart transplant in India and for that I need support from the Indian government.”

Ahmed – who played 338 international matches, participated in three Olympics and various other high-profile events in a career spanning from 1986 to 2000 – said the visa could be a lifesaver.

The Daily Times