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News for 04 June 2018

All the news for Monday 4 June 2018


XI South American Games Cochabamba 2018 (W) - Day 3
Cochabamba (BOL)

PER v BRA (Pool A) 0 - 1
CHI v BOL (Pool B) 6 - 0
PAR v URU (Pool B) 0 - 6

Pool Standings

Pool A

Rank Team Played Wins Draws Losses Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Points
1 Argentina 2 2 0 0 34 0 34 6
2 Brazil 2 1 0 1 1 13 -12 3
3 Peru 2 0 0 2 0 22 -22 0

Pool B

Rank Team Played Wins Draws Losses Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Points
1 Uruguay 3 2 1 0 13 1 12 7
2 Chile 3 2 1 0 12 1 11 7
3 Bolivia 3 1 0 2 4 13 -9 3
4 Paraguay 3 0 0 3 1 15 -14 0

FIH Match Centre



Argentina vs. Chile and Uruguay vs. Brazil – Odesur Semifinals

Macarena Ilabaca / PAHF


South American Games (2018mODESUR) Cochabamba 2018: Chile vs. Bolivia. Photo: Oscar Munoz Badilla
   
Cochabamba. A day under the rain hockey in the South American Games, Cochabamba 2018 but with the semifinals results of Tuesday June 5th: Argentina will face Chile and Brazil will play against Uruguay.

An intense day of definitions was experienced during this Sunday at the Félix Capriles Stadium, this was because the points of the table had a narrow margin of difference between Chile and Uruguay, which had to define their places of classification in the Group B according to the results obtained, to know which of the two would face 'Las Leonas' and which one to Brazil.

Uruguay leader of group B

'Las Cimarronas' played a  very tactical game  in order to get six goals and consolidate the first place in group B. They needed six to avoid Argentina and that sixth goal came thanks to the excellent position of Soledad Villar, just before the final horn was listen. They celebrated euphorically in the middle of the pitch. This victory, means thewy will play against Brazil in semifinals.

The goals were converted by Jimena García, Lucía Castro, Milagros Algorta, Kaisuami Dall'Orso, Anastasia Olave and Soledad Villar.

The semifinal will be this Tuesday at 15:30 at the Félix Capriles Stadium.

Chile vs Argentina in semifinals

The game vs Bolivia became a crucial match for Chile, since with the result of Chile and the result obtained by Uruguay, they defined their final position in the group.

Chile managed to score a  6-0, however, it would not be enough to play against Bazil in the semifinals.

Chile dominated the game despite they were constantly pressured by the Bolivian squad.

The goals of Chile were converted by Kim Jacob (2), Paula Valdivia, Josefa Salas, Francisca Tala and Denisse Krimerman.

Chile will face Argentina in the semifinal that will take place on Tuesday at 13 o'clock.

Brazil over takes Peru

Brazil did the right thing and won a very closed game. Karolina Sluis took advantage of the only neglect of the Inca defense, and sealed their pass into semifinals as second of Group A, escorting Argentina, who secured that first place on Friday.

On Monday:  Men’sSemifinal starting at 08:00 in the morning  with Argentina vs Brazil,  10:30 with Chile versus Venezuela. At 13:00 it will be the turn of Uruguay and Paraguay, and at 3:30 p.m Bolivia will face  Peru.

Pan American Hockey Federation media release



Green Army Make It 3 Wins From 3 Over Scotland


Lizzie Colvin (right) earned her 150th cap

Similar to yesterday’s performance the Green Army came out of the blocks hunting for goals. Naomi Carroll nearly got the scoreboard ticking inside the opening 5 minutes but her diving reverse drew a good save from Lucy Camlin. Katie Mullan scored the opening goal with some superb solo skill as she dribbled past 2 defenders on the baseline to fire into the net on her reverse. Laura Swanson nearly restored parity moments later when she charged down a clearance but her shot flew over the bar. Carroll got her goal in the 22nd minute as she slipped her marker to deflect home a ball across the circle from Nicci Daly. On the cusp of half time the Green Army made it 3-0 as Shirley McCay executed a well worked penalty corner routine that saw Hannah Matthews tap in at the post.

McCay was again on hand in the opening exchanges of the second half to set up another PC goal, this time it was Emily Beatty who got the goal-bound deflection. Lizzie Colvin, earning her 150th cap today, very nearly created her sides 5th goal as she set Deirdre Duke up in the circle but the final pass missed the sliding Carroll by inches. In the 53rd minute Scotland got on the scoresheet via Hannah McKie after some sloppy defending but moments later Beatty had her second from Ireland’s 4th PC. The final score finished 5-1 and the Green Army took a clean sweep of the series with 3 victories.



Glasgow National Hockey Centre

Ireland 5 (Mullan, Carroll, Matthews, Beatty x2)
Scotland 1 (McKie)

Starting: K Mullan (Captain), S McCay, N Carroll, R Upton, A McFerran, C Watkins, L Colvin, N Daly, A O’Flanagan, Z Wilson, D Duke

Subs: E Buckley, A Naughton, Y O’Byrne, E Beatty, H Matthews, E Curran, A Meeke

Ireland 1vs0 Scotland 31/5/18 7pm
Ireland 6vs2 Scotland 2/6/18 3pm
Ireland 5vs1 Scotland 3/6/18 11am

Irish Hockey Association media release



Debut goal for McKie but Scotland lose Celtic Series to Ireland


Photo by Mark Pugh

Ireland won the final match of the Celtic Series 5-1 to make it a clean sweep of victories over Scotland in the three-match contest at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre.

It was a quick end-to-end start to the game with both sides looking to end the series on a high.

Scotland’s first opportunity of the match came when Heather Howie turned quickly in the D and fired a shot at goal on the reverse, but it zipped over the bar.

Ireland took the lead as the first quarter reached a close. The goal came from a good solo run and strike into the top corner of the net by Kathryn Mullan.

After the restart there was nearly an equaliser for Scotland. Laura Swanson charged down a clearance at a penalty corner and the ball shot just over the bar.

It was Ireland who would score next however. Players piled into the Scotland D and Naomi Carroll forced the ball over the line to go 2-0 up.

Just before half time Ireland went 3-0 up from a penalty corner, this time Hannah Matthews provided the finish at the left of the goal.

Ireland scored early in the second half when a slick penalty corner was converted by Emily Beatty to go 4-0 up.


Photo by Mark Pugh

Scotland continued to fight hard and nearly got on the score sheet through a penalty corner that saw Millie Brown slide in to deflect goal ward, but it was well saved.

Some great play by Alison Meeke of Ireland saw her speed past trailing Scotland defenders but her eventual shot smashed off the post and bounced clear.

Scotland pulled one back in the fourth quarter and it was a great debut goal for Hanna McKie. The youngster cut in from the right and smashed the ball into the far corner to make it 4-1.

Ireland then went 5-1 up from a penalty corner, a carbon copy of their previous penalty corner, and it was Beatty who was the scorer for her second of the contest.

It finished 5-1 and gave the visitors a great Celtic Series victory as they prepare to compete at the World Cup in London.

Scotland will face Italy in the Italian Series on Tuesday 12 June; Thursday 14 June; and Friday 15 June.


Ireland with the Celtic Series trophy – photo by Mark Pugh

Scottish Hockey Union media release



Emily Defroand: ‘England can get on the podium at the Hockey World Cup’

Forward says England are determined to convert bronze into gold at the hockey Women’s World Cup on home soil

Paul MacInnes


England’s Emily Defroand is eager for the global challenge when the World Cup comes to Lee Valley close to her family home. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Emily Defroand is late, just, for her interview. Training overran. The England forward is in intensive preparations for the hockey Women’s World Cup, which begins at London’s Lee Valley park in seven weeks’ time. Not that she’s complaining.

“It’s all go, go, go,” she says from Bisham Abbey. “We just finished training and we ran over slightly. Next we’ve got a team meeting, and that’s before our next training session. It’s a lot of work. Our gym work is based around being really buff, being strong and preventing injury. To be honest, I don’t think I appreciated it was such a key factor for performance athletes, and it really is brutal. But we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Listening to Defroand run through the schedule of her working week could get you out of breath by itself. It’s double sessions every day, with an emphasis on gym work. Even the rest day, on Wednesdays, is used by many players for swimming and yoga to help their muscles recover from the rest of the week. The Thursday sessions are the most notorious, though not for their physical demands.

“Thinking Thursdays” recreates a match scenario but for a game nobody has played before. By changing the rules (two points for a goal, for example, or points for entering the shooting circle), players have to literally think on their feet; breaking the habits they have formed and creating new ones. Defroand loves it.

Playing club hockey for Surbiton, Defroand is a full-time athlete, benefiting from UK sport funding as part of the Great Britain squad. The 23 year-old’s career has run in tandem with professionalisation and, after graduating from Birmingham University in 2016 with a masters in sports science, she became part of a new generation able to dedicate themselves entirely to the sport. “I submitted my dissertation a couple of weeks after the girls won gold in Rio,” she says. “It’s really been lucky, the timing of it all, it’s been a natural progression for me. I finished university, was able to trial for the squad and now I’m living my dream.”
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Defroand made her Great Britain debut in February and her current training is as part of that group. Like most of the GB squad, however, she will be representing England at the World Cup. The relationship between the two teams is a fluid one (and, indeed, England earned their second-placed seeding at the World Cup in part thanks to GB’s performance in Rio) and it was while playing under the flag of St George that Defroand got her first experience of tournament competition at the Commonwealth Games this year.

“I will always remember that first game,” says Defroand. “The moment when I stepped out on to the pitch. We’re a sport-mad family and I’d always watched the Commonwealth Games as a kid, every one. I wanted to take a step back and think, you know? To think, wow this is it, this is why I’ve trained so hard. I looked into the crowd and my mum and dad were there and that’s just such a proud, proud moment for myself.”

In the countdown to the World Cup, England hockey has encouraged its players to share details of their sporting role models as part of a campaign called Behind Every Great Player. There is no doubt about Defroand’s inspiration; her mother, Gill.

“My mum has been the biggest influence for me growing up and becoming the hockey player that I am,” she says without a moment’s hesitation. “I got into hockey through her. I started playing at age seven because I used to watch her play every Saturday at our local club in Havering.

“Mum would say that I’d steal her stick at half-time and be running up and down the pitch. By the age of 10 or 11 I was lucky enough to be playing in the same team. Since becoming a team-mate my mum’s been my club, my county and my regional manager. She’s my biggest fan and my biggest critic and this campaign is about trying to get that relationship between parent and child, get that support network, because it does make such a difference in sport. My mum has been such a fundamental part of my journey and I can’t thank her enough.”

The Lee Valley is not far from the Defroand family home, which adds an extra local flavour to a competition already being billed as the biggest ever women’s sporting event on UK soil. Every England match is sold out and, after winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games in a strong field, the onus is on the hosts to match or better their performance.

As Defroand counts down the days until the first centre pass, she is typically bullish about England’s potential. “You’ve got a mixture of experience and youth. You’ve got a real blend of pace but complete composure in our team,” she says.

“I think we would be kidding ourselves if we didn’t think we could get on that podium. That’s what we focus on day in day out; to make sure we get these major medals. Over the last year we’ve come away with a European bronze, Commonwealth game bronze so why not go a few better this summer with our home support behind us?”

The Guardian



Better chance in MHC's Plan B

By Jugjet Singh


MHC at WORK

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) are confident of playing in the Tokyo Olympics after a lapse of 20 years, and to make sure, they have put Plan B into motion.

Failing which, MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal reiterated that he will not seek re-election next year.

"We are confident our men will qualify for the Tokyo Olympics by winning the Asian Games gold medal in Jakarta. But just to make sure, we will also bid for the World Series Final in June next year, which offers two tickets to the Olympics.

"And if we fail at both attempts, I will not seek re-election, as I have said many times before," said Subahan after MHC's 12th Executive Board meeting.

The Asian Games in Jakarta offers only the champion to play in the Olympics, a feat last achieved by Malaysia at the 2000 Olympics.

The World Series is a better option, as many double qualifiers will also make the round and the early indications are that Malaysia only need to make the semi-finals to qualify for Olympics after 20 years.

"The MHC knows it will not be easy to win the Asian Games gold and that's why we extended every help we could to Stephen van Huizen (coach) and his men.

"They played six matches in Argentina, and even though they lost the first four, they managed to draw the Fifth and win the Sixth Test to show progress," said Subahan.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) have invited Malaysia to bid for the men's World Series: "We did not ask, but were offered by the FIH to put in a bid for the men's tournament. Which means we are almost assured of hosting the event in June 2019. Simultaneously, we will also bid for the Women's World Series as well as the next World Cup (2022)," said Subahan.

In Argentina, Malaysis lost the first four matches 1-0, 6-1, 7-2, 2-1 and then drew the Fifth Test 1-1, before winning the Sixth Test 2-1.

And for the record, Malaysia only managed to enter the final of the Asian Games once in 2010 in Guangzhou, China, but lost 2-0 to Pakistan.

The Asian Games was incepted in 1958, and Malaysia only have one silver and six bronze medals to show.

Malaysia need to beat India, Pakistan, South Korea and China as well as early Olympic qualifier Japan, as hosts, in Jakarta.

And while Malaysia played Six Test matches against Argentina, India and Pakistan will be playing in the last Champions Trophy in Breda, Netherlands, on June 23-July 1.

Netherlands, Australia, Argentina and Belgium are the other teams.

Malaysia only qualified to play in the Champions Trophy twice, and both times as hosts -- 1993 (ended sixth) and 2007 (ended eighth).

And our Jakarta Asian Games opponents India have played 16 times in the Champions Trophy, while Pakistan 32 times since its inception in 1978.

History does not favour Malaysia to win the Asian Games gold, but nothing is impossible if one puts mind and heart into it.

Jugjet's World of Field Hockey



Malaysia set to bid for hockey World Cups

By The Hockey Paper


Malaysia women have shown ‘tremendous improvement’ in recent years (PIC: Ady Kerry)

Malaysia will put in bids this week to host major tournaments over the next four years, including the 2022 World Cups.

The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) will submit bids to to host the 2022 Men and Women’s World Cups, as well as the 2019 Men’s World Hockey Series Final and 2021 Women’s Series Final.

It hasn’t been confirmed whether the World Cup bids will be a joint tournament.

In 2014, the Hague hosted the first dual hockey showpiece since 1998. The World Cup returns this year as two tournaments in different cities, with London hosting the women’s and Bhubaneswar, India staging the men’s 16-team event.

Malaysia has hosted the World Cup twice, in 1975 and 2002, where they finished eighth.

The FIH men’s Hockey Series Finals will take place in June next year for the first time.

The tournament also serves as a qualifier for 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“We were offered by FIH to host the brand new Hockey Series Finals as they believe we have the infrastructure and capabilities to host. FIH sees Malaysia as a great venue to host world class events,” MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal told reporters recently.

“We are also serious about hosting both the men and women’s editions of the 2022 World Cup because our boys and girls show tremendous improvement and are able to compete with any world-class team.”

Malaysia’s bids will be submitted to the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

The Hockey Paper



Amarina’s dream to play in the World Cup closer to reality

PETALING JAYA: National hockey team skipper Siti Noor Amarina Ruhani’s dream of playing in the women’s World Cup is close to becoming a reality.

The Malaysian Hockey Confe­deration (MHC) have decided to put forward a bid to host the 2022 men and women’s World Cups.

The 31-year-old Amarina, who has been playing hockey for Malaysia for 13 years since 2005, said hosting the World Cup would have an impact on Malaysia.

“It’s every player’s dream to play in a World Cup or Olympics. We’re ranked 22nd in the world and it’s tough to qualify for the World Cup but if we host it, we’ll get to play with the world’s top 16 nations,” said Amarina.

“I don’t want to miss out on the experience of playing against top teams. I know I’ll be older by then, but I badly want to play at home.”

Malaysia last hosted the women’s World Cup in 1983 but the national women’s team did not participate.

After years in the wilderness, the women’s team have shown tremendous improvement in recent years under the guidance of coach K. Dharmaraj.

Their latest success was a creditable fourth-place finish at the Asian Champions Trophy in South Korea on May 19.

Amarina said the MHC under the leadership of Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal have played a key role in pushing women’s hockey to the fore and hosting the World Cup will be another step in the right direction to improve the sport’s standard.

“The World Cup will enable women’s sports, especially hockey, to get more recognition.

“It will also change the mindset of people, especially women to take hockey seriously and may get more girls to choose hockey as a career choice,” said the Penang lass.

“We need to give Datuk Seri Subahan the credit because he has given both the men and women’s teams equal opportunities. This is one of the factors behind the team’s recent progress.”

The Star of Malaysia



Queen's Birthday Honours: Hockey coach Gill Gemming


Hockey coach and mentor Gill Gemming is made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to the sport. Photo/Andrew Warner

By Kiri Gillespie

Hockey coach Gillian (Gill) Gemming was so stunned to find out she had been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, she kept the news in a drawer for two months.

Gemming has been recognised in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours for services to hockey. It's something she has struggled to keep secret since she received letters from the Prime Minister and Governor-General eight weeks ago.

"I had them hidden away in a drawer. I just couldn't believe it. I had to read them several times."

Her only confidante was husband John, who happened to bring in the letters at the time, "and probably knows more than what he's letting on about who's behind it", she chuckled.

Gemming said she was honoured and accepted the award on behalf of "the many volunteers that run our sport in New Zealand".

As a child, Gemming played many sports "but hockey was the one that really caught me".

"So I've played from a junior level right up to a senior level but it was probably coaching which became my passion."

Coaching was rewarding and it was particularly heartening to see young local players evolve into New Zealand representatives on the world stage, she said.

In her earlier coaching years, Gemming managed a team of under-13 Tauranga boys.

"It's a wonderful age group to work with because they are so enthusiastic and want to absorb everything. In 1996 we won The Hatch Cup [National Under 13 Boys Tournament] and that was our first for Tauranga. Since then we have consistently been in the top 10 in New Zealand," she said.

"But it wasn't about me, it was about those groups of young boys that you work with. And what I love about it is some of those boys, Andy Hayward and Steven Graham , are now Black Sticks."

These days, Gemming is focusing on the New Zealand Masters teams. As she talks to the Bay of Plenty Times, she packs her bags to join the national women's team who are training over the long weekend for next month's World Cup held in Spain.

As much as she loved the international competition, it was seeing new generations of aspiring hockey players coming through in Tauranga that she was especially fond of.

"It's rewarding watching them grow and then seeing them get involved with their children," she said.

For Gemming, coaching was something "I'm really thrilled to have given back with".

Keeping the eye on the ball

Gill Gemming was nominated for her work as president of the Tauranga Hockey Association, board member, coach and manager. She is currently developing the Hockey Without Limits programme for those with disabilities and she was instrumental in setting up Tauranga's first hockey turn in 1992.

Gemming has coached the Masters Women's teams in Tauranga and through to international level since 2000, with her New Zealand Masters Women's Team consistently winning the Pacific Rim Tournament.

She is been involved in setting up and growing hockey in smaller Pacific countries and piloted a national Funsticks schools programme.

The New Zealand Herald

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