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News for 02 July 2018

All the news for Monday 2 July 2018


Australia defeat India to win Men's Rabobank Hockey Champions Trophy 2018


Australia claimed a 15th Champions Trophy title in Breda. Copyright: FIH / World Sport Pics

Australia are the winners of the Men's Rabobank Hockey Champions Trophy 2018 thanks to a shoot-out victory against an India team that pushed them all the way in Sunday's showpiece final in Breda.

India (FIH Hero World Ranking: 6) were very much on top in the opening quarter but could not find a route to goal thanks to some excellent defensive work by Australia (WR:1), who showed all of the composure that you would expect from the top ranked team in the world. The Kookaburras grew into the game and took the lead through a second quarter penalty corner drag-flick from Blake Govers, with India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh managing to get a glove on the shot but not enough to stop the ball from travelling into the goal.

India scored their equaliser in the third quarter when Vivek Prasad crashed a superb volley past Australia shot-stopper Tyler Lovell, a man who played a significant role in the shoot-out when the scores fnished locked together at 1-1.

Lovell kept Sardar Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Lalit Upadhyay off the score-sheet in the shoot-out, with Aran Zalewski, Daniel Beale and Jeremy Edwards scoring the crucial goals as the Kookaburras triumphed 3-1.

The gold medal game brought an end to a wonderful Champions Trophy event in Breda, with Australia claiming their 15th title in a rematch of the 2016 final, which took place in London, England. That match also finished with an Australia winning in a shoot-out, although great credit must be given to silver medallists India who played superbly throughout this competition.

In terms of the individual awards, Australia's Aran Zelewski was named Best Player while India's PR Sreejesh took the Best Goalkeeper prize. The Best Rising Player went to Jake Harvie of Australia, with Argentina's Gonzalo Peillat's six goals earning him the Hero Top Scorer title. 

European champions the Netherlands (WR:4) claimed the bronze medal thanks to a 2-0 victory over Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalists Argentina (WR:2). The match was evenly contested throughout, with both teams outstanding in defence to keep each other off the score-board until the fourth quarter. The deadlock was finally broken when a perfectly executed penalty corner drag-flick from Jeroen Hertzberger ratted the backboard in the 47th minute. The scoring was completed by Mirco Pruijser, who produced an outstanding finish to flick into the roof of the Argentina net following a blocked penalty corner effort. It proved to be an excellent ending to the campaign of the host nation, and was certainly enjoyed by the thousands of fans watching in the stadium.

“It was an amazing game and the crowd were also amazing”, said Netherlands star Glenn Schuurman, who became a Champions Trophy bronze medal winner on the occasion of his 100th senior international match. “Argentina are a really good team. They are the Olympic champions, they won against Australia yesterday and it was really close today."

The 5-6 classification match between Belgium (WR:3) and Pakistan (WR:13) was won by the Red Lions, who overcame their stubborn opponents in a shoot-out. Pakistan opened the scoring through Ali Shan before goals either side of half time from Tom Boon and Florent van Aubel gave the Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallists a 2-1 advantage. It was a lead that they held until the dying seconds, with Pakistan’s Toosiq Arshad firing between the legs of goalkeeper Loic van Doren to level the scores at 2-2 and take the match into a shoot-out. However, Van Doren - younger brother of reigning FIH Hockey Stars Player of the Year Arthur van Doren - made a string of crucial blocks to give Belgium a 2-1 shoot-out success.

Results - Sunday 1st July 2018

5/6: Belgium 2, Pakistan 2 (2-1 after shoot-out)
3/4: Netherlands 2, Argentina 0
1/2: Australia 1, India 1 (3-1 after shoot-out)

Final Standings:
1: Australia - Gold
2: India - Silver
3: Netherlands - Bronze
4: Argentina
5: Belgium
6: Pakistan

Individual Awards
Best goal, presented by Auping: Mirco Pruijser (NED) - Fifth goal of the match vs Belgium
Best Coach, presented by Deloitte: Colin Batch (AUS)
Best Rising Player, presented by Volvo: Jake Harvie (AUS)
Best Goalkeeper, Presented by ONVZ: PR Sreejesh (IND)
Hero Top scorer: Gonzalo Peillat (ARG) - 6 goals.
Best Player, presented by Rabobank: Aran Zelewski (AUS)

#HCT2018

FIH site



Kookaburras Win 15th Champions Trophy

Alexie Beovich



In a match that was too close to be decided in regular time, Australia has successfully secured their 15th Champions Trophy, defeating India 3-2 in shootouts on Monday morning in Breda, Netherlands.

The Kookaburras found themselves tied with India 1-1 at full time and, in a repeat of the 2016 Champions Trophy, a heroic effort by goalkeeper Tyler Lovell saw the Australian’s secure their 15th and the final, Champions Trophy.

Goals were hard to come by throughout the match but Blake Govers was able to find the back of the net with a powerful flick off of a penalty corner in the 24th minute of the match. The only other goal prior to shootouts went to India’s Vivek Prasad by way off deflection in the 42nd minute.

When the match went to shootouts it was clear that Tyler Lovell would be key to the Kookaburras victory. He performed magnificently, allowing just a single goal to Manpreet Singh.

Australia’s offensive weapons were damaging from the first shot. Co-captain Aran Zalewski opened the account with a strong blow that Indian keeper Sreejesh Parattu never had a chance of stopping, Daniel Beale then lifted a shot over the keepers stick and it was Jeremy Edwards who secured the Champions Trophy with some fantastic stick work in font of goals.

Head Coach Colin Batch praised the Kookaburras gritty defence after the match.

“It’s a nice win for us. It was a tough game and India played really well. We started well and then lost the momentum when India scrambled back into the game. It was a pretty tight affair in the second half so for us to defend as well as we did was impressive.”

Not only winning the Champions Trophy itself, a number of Kookaburras also earned themselves individual awards on Monday morning. Head Coach Colin Batch was named Coach of the Tournament by the International Federation of Hockey (FIH), Jake Harvie took away the FIH Rising Star award and Aran Zalewski was honoured with the FIH Player of the Tournament award.

Batch was pleased to see youngster Jake Harvie acknowledged for his hard work.

“I think Jake [Harvie] has come a long way. He keeps improving and we see this as a transition period for him. I think moving forward he’ll be a really important player for us.”

In the Kookaburras first tournament without Mark Knowles, since his retirement in April, co-captains Eddie Ockenden and Aran Zalewski stood up and were among Australia’s best for the entire Champions Trophy campaign. This was Ockenden’s seventh Champions Trophy and Australia’s 15th.

Batch lauded his co-captains leadership after the match.

“We gave Aran the co-leadership with Eddie Ockenden and both of them led the team very well. We’re really pleased with their leadership. Most importantly with the leadership is that they still both performed well.”

After an impressive second half and some amazing defence in shootouts, Tyler Lovell certainly had the coach’s eye.

 “He [Tyler Lovell] had a good performance in the shootouts, they only got one out of the four shots and he was very dominant there. Towards the end of the game he made some critical saves at one-all. He’s a hard working goalkeeper and I’m pleased to see him get some reward and play so well for us in a final.”

After the match Lovell himself spoke to Australia’s efforts.

“We wanted to win this, it’s a massive tournament for us and we’re very proud of our history in it. So to win it is just awesome.

“We were consistent throughout the tournament, we only lost one game and we got better and better as the tournament went on so I think it all adds up. At the end of the day we’ve got a good young group, after Rio we had a bit of a shakeup and we’re going in the right direction.”

Monday morning’s win adds a record shattering 15th Champions Trophy to the Kookaburras cabinet. In recent months the Kookaburras have won the Champions Trophy, the Commonwealth Games and the World League Final.

This was the final iteration of the Champions Trophy which will now be replaced by the FIH Pro league from 2019.

All eyes now turn to the Men’s World Cup in November.

Australia 1(3) (Govers 24’) - Shootouts (Zalewski, Beale, Edwards)
India 1 (1) (Prasad 42’) - Shootouts (Manpreet)

Hockey Australia media release



Australia edge India in final men’s hockey Champions Trophy

By The Hockey Paper


Manpreet Singh in action during the shoot-out final  PIC: WORLD SPORT PICS

Australia’s Kookaburras, in their first tournament without Mark Knowles, won the final men’s Champions Trophy in Breda courtesy of a shoot-out win over India in Sunday’s final.

The Netherlands, the hosts for the week, beat Argentina to claim bronze, but it was Australia who took the plaudits as co-captain Eddie Ockenden stepped into Knowles’ shoes with a superb tournament display in his seventh Champions Trophy.

The match was taken to a shoot-out after the score was tied 1-1 at the hooter. Australia had opened the scoring through a corner flick by Blake Govers before Vivek Prasad crashed in a third quarter volley.

However Kookaburras stopper Tyler Lovell proved the hero in the shoot-out, keeping out Sardar Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Lalit Upadhyay as Australia triumphed 3-1.

Head coach Colin Batch said: “He had a good performance in the shootouts, they only got one out of the four shots and he was very dominant there. Towards the end of the game he made some critical saves at one-all. He’s a hard working goalkeeper and I’m pleased to see him get some reward and play so well for us in a final.

“It’s a nice win for us. It was a tough game and India played really well. We started well and then lost the momentum when India scrambled back into the game. It was a pretty tight affair in the second half so for us to defend as well as we did was impressive.”

Australia’s Aran Zelewski was named Best Player while India’s PR Sreejesh took the Best Goalkeeper prize of the tournament. The Best Rising Player went to Jake Harvie of Australia, with Argentina’s Gonzalo Peillat’s six goals earning him the Hero Top Scorer title.

European champions the Netherlands claimed bronze thanks to a 2-0 victory over Argentina, the Olympic champions. The match was evenly contested throughout, with both teams outstanding in defence to keep each other off the score-board until the fourth quarter.

The deadlock was finally broken when a perfectly executed penalty corner drag-flick from Jeroen Hertzberger ratted the backboard in the 47th minute. The scoring was completed by Mirco Pruijser, who produced an outstanding finish to flick into the roof of the Argentina net following a blocked penalty corner effort.

Results
5/6: Belgium 2, Pakistan 2 (2-1 after shoot-out)
3/4: Netherlands 2, Argentina 0
1/2: Australia 1, India 1 (3-1 after shoot-out)

Final Standings:
1: Australia – Gold
2: India – Silver
3: Netherlands – Bronze
4: Argentina
5: Belgium
6: Pakistan

The Hockey Paper



Australia wins  Last Edition of  Champions  Trophy on Shoot Out

By Ijaz Chaudhry

The final of the 37th, also the last edition of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament was between Australia, the record 14 time champions and India who were looking for their first gold.

The two sides had also played the previous final which saw India's first ever qualification for the final.

It turned out to be a thriller with both sides having phases of ascendancy.

There was very little midfield game as there were numerous circle entries as well as shots on the either goals in the first half. Govers converted Australia,s only penalty corner of the evening.

His flick went into the net off goal keeper Sreejesh's glove

In the second half India had the better of the exchanges. Through swift moves they repeatedly made inroads into the Australian defence. They equalised in the 42nd minute when after a couple of Indian touches in the circle, little Vivek Prasad flicked a raised ball into the net.

But Indians couldnt make out of four penalty corners and some very good chances and it ended 1-1

In the shoot out, India couldnt score off their first three and the defending champions Australia lifted the trophy for the 15th time.

Earlier hosts Netherlands put aside the disappointment of missing out on the final by defeating Argentina 2-0 in the third position game. But it didnt come easy. It was goal less at the half time. Jeroen Hertzberger and Mirco Pruiser scored in the 47th and 54th minute respectively, both off penalty corners.

AWARDS:

Best Player: Aran Zalewski (Australia)
Top Scorer: Gonzalo Pelliat (Argentina) Six goals
Best Goal Keeper: Sreejesh (India)
Best Emerging Player: Jake Harvie (Australia)
Best Coach: Colin Batch (Australia)
Best Goal of Tournament: Mirco Pruiser (Netherlands vs Belgium)

PHF Media release



Australia win FIH Champions Trophy with shoot-out win over India



ISLAMABAD: Current world and Commonwealth champions Australia defeated India 3-1 in a shoot-out in the final of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Men’s Champions Trophy in Breda, Netherlands on Sunday.

Their win was thanks to a superb performance from their goalkeeper Tyler Lovell at BH & BC Breda. Australia had topped the pool with 10 points to qualify for the final, while India made it through thanks to a 1-1 draw with hosts Netherlands on Saturday which saw them come second.

The final ended with the same scoreline after normal time. Australia took the lead in the second quarter after 24 minutes, thanks to a brilliant penalty corner converted by Blake Govers.

The third quarter started with early pressure from the Indians, though, and after a handful of missed chances they were eventually able to convert one.

Vivek Sagar got his stick onto a shot from Chinglen Kangujam and managed to deflect it past Lovell in the 43rd minute.

Only three minutes later India had a great chance to take the lead but the score stayed 1-1 thanks to some brilliant keeping.

The last final in 2016 between the teams also went to a shoot-out, and this game was to emulate that meeting exactly, as the final whistle blew with the score still 1-1.

In 2016 it was Australia who came away victorious and that experience no doubt helped them and especially Lovell, who saved three times to win the trophy for the Australians, as the shoot-out ended 3-1.

The Daily Times



India loses the final but wins the hearts

s2h Team

India matched World No.1 team Australia in every aspect of the game, stretched them to level score in the full time of play but in the end lost out in the shoot out 1-3 to finish silver medallists in the 37th edition of the Champions Trophy. Young Vivek Prasad equalled Blake Govers' lone lead, but in the ensued shoot out Sardar Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Lalit Upadhyay missed out while three Australian shooters got the target.

Aran Zewaleski, Daniel Beale and Jeremy Edwards struck, leaving no use for fifth Indian shooter to take the field.

Like two years ago in London, India again had to contend with Silver in a similar fashion in shoot out. India was today better side than the Aussies. They had everything going for them, though that did not reflect on the scoreboard. For once had better match stat than their gifted rivals (55 to 45 % in ball possession, 10 to 6 in shots, 21 to 16 in circle entries, 4 to 1 in penatly corners). Where they failed was of course in shoot out. Besides, its the Australian goalie Lovell Tyler who stole the show today. It was Tyler who stood between Indian strikers and the goal. Couple of Mandeep Singh shots, one by Dilpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh in the second half had all the bearings of a goal, but each time Tyler came up with matching reflexes to deny them their space in the net.

Blake Govers caught inform goalie PR Sreejesh in a rare moment of lapse in the 25th minute to put Australia ahead. His drag off the first penalty corner of the country blasted past the goalie and a host of defenders to the right corner of the net (1-0).

The match started on a brisk note, Australian doing the attacking in the first five minutes. Indian defence of Harmanpreet Singh and Surender Kumar excelled with immaculate accuracy and alert. Some of the saves that Sreejesh made some acrobatic saves.

First five minutes its all Australia on indian territory with Sharp and Co troubling. As usual Surender Kumar and Pr Sreejesh did everything in their arsenal to keepclean slate.

Dilpreet Singh with left hand touch gets india second PC in 8th min. India attempted Indirect, but too many moves with last push going wide off left post

SV Sunil gets rebound from goalkeeper off Dilreet's shot from top edge of the circle, but his push from close range was weak, goalie cleared. It was a close chance missed. Meanwhile, Ockenden exhibited good defence, managed to steal ball from two attckers Sunil and Simranjeet Singh in the last moments of first qtr. Early in the second quarter, Simranjeet Singh fed Sunil who was on top of D. Sunil's shot at goal diverted by timely application of stick by a defender. in the very next minute, Birendra Lakra showed his attacking skills to earn India its second penalty corner. Harmanpreet dragged but an alert first charger deflected the flight to no danger zone. Australia got a penalty corner in the 25th minute of which Blake Govers converted. It was Australia's first in the match, over all 20th.

Stick2Hockey.com



India go down fighting Australia in hockey tourney


Indian hockey team Indian team poses with its silver medal in Breda on Sunday —Twitter/FIH

The Indian hockey team bounced back from a disastrous Commonwealth Games show to defend its FIH Champions Trophy silver, going down to world champions Australia in the penalty shootouts in the final at Breda, The Netherlands, on Sunday.

It was a repeat of the 2016 Champions Trophy title clash, where Australia pipped India to clinch the trophy in penalty shootouts. On Sunday, the PR Sreejesh-led India put up a valiant effort against the mighty Aussies, holding them 1-1 in regulation time.

However, it was a no-contest in the penalty shootouts, with captain Sardar Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Lalit Upadhayay missing their shots.

Daily News & Analysis



Australia wins Champions Trophy, India falters in shoot-off again

India loses second straight Champions Trophy final to Australia


Australia wins Champions Trophy, India falters in shoot-off again

World Champions Australia defeated India 3-1 via shoot-off after both teams were locked at 1-1 in regulation time to clinch its second consecutive Champions Trophy hockey title here on Sunday.

It was a keenly-contested battle between the two finalists of last edition but once again Australia came out on top in the shoot-out to clinch its 15th Champions Trophy title.

India, however, had to contend with a consecutive runner-up finish after failing to get past the Kookaburras in what was the 37th and final edition of the tournament.

Australia took the lead in the 24th minute through a penalty corner conversion by Blake Govers, but India drew parity in the 42nd minute through a field strike by young Vivek Sagar Prasad.

A 1-1 scoreline was what the teams could manage in the regulation time and like last year, the final went into the shoot-off.

Australia came out on top in the battle of nerves, courtesy goalkeeper Tyler Lovell, who pulled off three saves to turn out to be the hero.

Host Netherlands clinched the bronze medal defeating Olympic champions Argentina 2-0 in the third-fourth place play-off match earlier in the day.

The Hindu



India finish runners up after losing 1-3 to Australia in shootout

BREDA (Netherlands): India's quest for their maiden Champions Trophy hockey title remained unaccomplished as they lost 1-3 to defending champions Australia via penalty shoot-off in the summit clash of the 37th and final edition of the prestigious tournament on Sunday.

India came agonisingly close to securing their maiden Champions Trophy triumph, only to be denied by a valiant show by Australia goalkeeper Tyler Lovell.

The match went into the shoot-off after both the teams were locked at 1-1 in regulation time.

But the Kookaburra custodian produced a stellar show in the shoot-off, denying Sardar Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Lalit Upadhayay while Manpreet Singh was the only scorer for India.

Australia, on the other hand, converted their first two efforts in the shoot-off through Aran Zalewski and Daniel Beale before Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh denied Matthew Swann and Tom Craig.

But Jeremy Edwards converted the last try to hand Australia their record 15th Champions Trophy title.

But the Indians can take heart from the fact that they matched Australia stick to stick in the entire 60 minutes, even dominated the proceedings for a better part of the game but the strikers failed to utilise the numerous chances in front of an agile Lovell.

It was Australia who took the lead in the 24th minute through Blake Govers who converted their only penalty corner.

But it was India who had better chances initially in the form of two back-to-back penalty corners inside the first 10 minutes but they wasted both.

The Indians continued their attacking instinct and in the 13th minute, young Dilpreet Singh's hit was blocked by an Australian defender before it fell on the path of SV Sunil who failed to control the ball.

India secured their third penalty corner in the 18th minute but Harmanpreet's flick was blocked by the Australian defence as another opportunity went abegging.

In the 24th minute, Sreejesh pulled off a brilliant save to deny Aaron Kleinschmidt but from the resultant move Australia secured their only short corner and Govers made no mistake to give his side the lead.

Just a minute before half time, Sreejesh evicted a fine save from Zaleski's effort as Australia went into the breather leading by a solitary goal.

Three minutes into the third quarter, India earned another penalty corner but it also failed to yield the desired result.

Four minutes later, Mandeep Singh struck the post from close range.

Manpreet was then denied by Lovell from close range after being fed by Harmanpreet's pass. But from the resultant move Vivek scored after getting a deflection from Manpreet as India levelled the score.

After that it was all India in the fourth and final quarter when Harendra Singh's men went for the kill.

But luck was not in their side once again as Mandeep's shot in the 45th minute was brilliant kept away by Lovell.

Lovell once again came to Australia's rescue in the 53rd minute, saving Dilpreet's shot from close range with his extended right foot.

Three minutes from the final hooter, Manpreet failed to get his stick to Sunil's pass from close range as match went into shoot-off, where Australia came out stronger.

While India had to be contend with their second consecutive silver medal, hosts Netherlands took away the bronze beating Olympic champions Argentina 2-0 in the third-fourth place match.

Belgium finished fifth after beating Pakistan 2-1 in the penalty shoot-off after both the teams were levelled at 2-2 at the end of 60 minutes.

The Times of India



Pakistan loses in Shootout to Belgium to Finish Sixth

By Ijaz Chaudhry

In what was their last match of the last edition of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament, Pakistan and Belgium made it a memorable spectacle in the 5th/6th play off.

After taking the lead, Pakistan fell behind 1-2 early in the second half.

The match seemed to be going in Belgium's way but in the last four minutes, Pakistan laid siege to the opponent's goal. They had replaced the goal keeper with an outfield player.

First Abu Bakr shot out and then Ali Shan, the star of the day, tested the goal keeper.

In the last minute, a penalty corner came Pakistan's way. It wasnt trapped at the top of the circle but the ball was brought back into the circle and Tauseeq's push went between goal keeper'spads to give Pakistan a well deserved equaliser in the very last minute.

The match entered the dreaded shoot out. Both the goal keepers, Imran Butt and Loic van Doren, exhibited great skills. Off the first four, the two teams could avail only one each. In the last round, Belgium's Arthur de Sloover was successful but Shafqat Rasool couldnt get past van Doren.

Pakistan had come out storming and had as many as three open play chances and one penalty corner in the first five minutes. Belgium survived the initial storm. Next 10 minutes saw no threatening attempt on either goal.

In the 16th minute, Ali Shan with a mazy run on the left flank entered the circle along the goal line, ran into the space in front of the goal before hitting the tin with a rasping shot.

Belgium earnestly searched for the equaliser which arrived just three minutes before the first hooter.     A poor Pakistani give away within their 23 metres resulted in a quick attack. Belgian attempt on the goal hit M.Irfan Sr's body. A penalty stroke was rightly awarded.  Belgium's star player Tom Boon, confidently Imran Butt the wrong way to make it 1-1.

Just four minutes into the second half, Aleem Bilal's' attempt on Pakistan's second PC was well saved by the custodian. On the counter attack, an unimpressive Belgian attempt was easily stopped by Imran Butt. But his weak clearance reached an opponent in the circle and Belgium managed their second goal through Forent van Aubel.

Both the sides had their moments over the next 25 minutes but the scoreline remained 2-1 in favour of Red Lions.

Then arrived the last five minutes which saw Pakistan play havoc with the Belgian defence aneventually leveling the match.

It was a very evenly contested match. Draw in the regular time was a just result though Pakistan were slightly ahead of the 3rd ranked Belgium in the statistics: circle entries, shots on target and penalty corners.

But luck deserted them in the shoot out.

Despite finishing last, Pakistan should leave Breda with their heads held high. The 13th ranked side faced five sides ranked among world's top six. Green Shirts defeated Argentina, (no 2 and Olympic Champions) 4-1. Lost to Australia (no1 and World Champions) by a solitary goal conceded in last minutes. Lost to Belgium (World No 3) in a shoot out. Though, they lost to India 0-4 but they led them in circle entries and shots on target. In fact, Pakistan were outplayed in only one of the six matches here, against Holland.

SCORERS:
Pakistan: Ali Shan (16') and Tauseeq Arshad (60')
Belgium: Tom Boom (27' off PS) & Florent van Aubel (34')

PHF Media release



Pakistan finish poor last in FIH Champions Trophy



ISLAMABAD: Pakistan ended at a poor sixth position in the last edition of the FIH Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament which concluded in Breda, Netherlands on Sunday. In what was their last match of the last edition of the elite tournament, Pakistan lost to Belgium 4-2 in a classification match for 5th-6th position.

After taking the lead, Pakistan fell behind 1-2 early in the second half. The match seemed to be going in Belgium’s way but in the last four minutes, Pakistan laid siege to the opponent’s goal. They had replaced the goalkeeper with an outfield player. First Abu Bakar shot out and then Ali Shan, the star of the day, tested the goalkeeper. In the last minute, a penalty corner came Pakistan’s way. It wasn’t trapped at the top of the circle but the ball was brought back into the circle and Tauseeq Ahmed’s push went between goalkeeper’s pads to give Pakistan a well deserved equaliser in the very last minute. The match entered the dreaded shoot out. Both the goalkeepers, Imran Butt and Loic van Doren, exhibited great skills. Off the first four, the two teams could avail only one each. In the last round, Belgium’s Arthur de Sloover was successful but Shafqat Rasool couldn’t get past van Doren.

Earlier, Pakistan had come out storming and had as many as three open play chances and one penalty corner in the first five minutes. Belgium survived the initial storm. Next 10 minutes saw no threatening attempt on either goal. In the 16th minute, Shan with a mazy run on the left flank entered the circle along the goal line, ran into the space in front of the goal before hitting the tin with a rasping shot. Belgium earnestly searched for the equaliser which arrived just three minutes before the first hooter.

Belgian attempt on the goal hit Mohammad Irfan Senior’s body. A penalty stroke was rightly awarded. Belgium’s star player Tom Boon confidently sent Imran Butt the wrong way to make it 1-1. Just four minutes into the second half, Aleem Bilal’s attempt on Pakistan’s second PC was well saved by the custodian. On the counter attack, an unimpressive Belgian attempt was easily stopped by Imran. But his weak clearance reached an opponent in the circle and Belgium managed their second goal through Forent van Aubel. Both the sides had their moments over the next 25 minutes but the scoreline remained 2-1 in favour of Red Lions. Then arrived the last five minutes which saw Pakistan play havoc with the Belgian defence and eventually leveling the match.

Pakistan, the 13th ranked side, faced five sides ranked among world’s top six. Green Shirts defeated Argentina, (No. 2 and Olympic champions) 4-1. Lost to Australia (No.1 and world champions) 2-1. Lost to Belgium (world No. 3) 4-2. Lost to India 4-0. Lost to Holland 4-0.

The Daily Times



Austria men storm to victory in Hockey Series Open Croatia


Austria and Wales progress to Hockey Series Finals

Austria and Wales were the outstanding teams at the third International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey Series Open which took place from 25-30 June in Zagreb, Croatia. Both teams now progress to the prestigious Hockey Series Finals, which take place in 2019.

Michael Korper of Austria and Gareth Furlong of Wales mirrored their team’s performances as they finished first and second respectively at the top of the goal scoring statistics. Korper fired ten goals in total and Furlong scored nine.

Wales, who are ranked 24 on the FIH Hero World Rankings, opened the tournament with a 6-1 win over Slovakia (WR:50), but the good start to their campaign ended abruptly the following day at the hands of Austria (WR:19). The higher ranked team took the lead through Dominic Uher, while Michael Korper scored two penalty corners to open his impressive goal scoring account.

Austria then faced a tricky encounter with the host nation Croatia (WR:41). They took an early 3-0 lead, with Korper again scoring a brace, but Croatia fought back with goals from Maximilian Bachmann and Josip Krleza. It was 3-2 with a quarter of the match left and Croatia piled on the pressure, but a yellow card for Krleza in the 52nd minute meant their challenge fizzled out as Austria’s defence held firm.

Both Wales and Austria then started to pull clear of the other three teams. Austria beat Switzerland (WR:28) 8-0 and Slovakia 15-1; while Wales beat the Swiss team 7-1 and Croatia 9-0.

In the final standings Croatia finished in third place as they beat both Switzerland 2-0 and Slovakia 6-1. Both Bachmann and Krleza continued to impress with their goal scoring skills as they picked up two goals apiece against the Slovakian team.

Switzerland beat Slovakia in a tense 2-1 encounter, meaning Slovakia lost all four of their matches and so finished the tournament in fifth place.

Final standings

1. Austria
2. Wales
3. Croatia
4. Switzerland
5. Slovakia

The event in Zagreb was the second men’s event in the Hockey Series Open, with others taking place across the world over the coming weeks.

This stage of the FIH's new Hockey Series is the first step towards Olympic qualification for participating teams. Austria and Wales join USA and Mexico, who qualified from the first men's Hockey Series Open event in Salamanca, Mexico.

The Hockey Series Open is continuing in Singapore where six men’s teams and six women’s teams are competing. The Singapore event finishes on 1 July and the action then continues in Wattignies, France between 6-8 July when four more women’s teams start their exciting journey towards the Hockey Series Finals and the opportunity to qualify for Tokyo 2020.

#HockeySeries2018

FIH site



Hockey Series Open - Singapore 2018 (Men) - Finals
Singapore (SGP)

HKG v INA (5th/6th Place)     13 - 0
SGP v THA (1st/2nd Place)     4 - 1

Final standings

1. Singapore
2. Thailand
3. Chinese Taipei
4. Myanmar
5. Hong Kong CHina
6. Indonesia

Hockey Series Open - Singapore 2018 (Women) - Finals
Singapore (SGP)

HKG v INA (5th/6th Place)     4 - 0
MAS v THA (1st/2nd Place)     6 - 0

Final standings

1. Malaysia
2. Thailand
3. Singapore
4. Kazakhstan
5. Hong Kong China
6. Indonesia

FIH Match Centre



Kirandeep's first international goal .. only 14



KUALA LUMPUR: As expected, the Malaysian women beat Thailand 6-0 to win gold in the Hockey Series Open at the Seng Kang Stadium yesterday.

But the unexpected was -- 14-year-old Kirandeep Kaur scored her first goal of the tournament with a well placed shot in the 30th minute.

Kirandeep, who played in every match here in her maiden tournament with the senior side, was given this golden opportunity by coach K. Dharmaraj and she did not disappoint.

However, the irony is that Kirandeep was not good enough for Kuala Lumpur coach A. Kannagi, who dropped her from the National Under-16 earlier this year.

But Dharmaraj saw differently, and the budding youngster who did not even play with the juniors before, was drafted to play for the seniors.

The other goals were scored by Fatin Shafika Shukri (second, fifth), Surizan Awang Noh (eighth), Nuraini Rashid (51st) and Nur Amirah Shakirah (56th).

Team manager Lailin Abu Hassan, a former international himself said: "We beat Thailand 4-0 in the pool and scored two extra goals against them in the final to indicate progress among the players.

"And we also gave more time to the youngsters to play in the final, and this paid off when Kirandeep scored her first international goal.

"With time and more matches she became confident and scored in the final. In the long run, blooding youth will benefit the country."

Dharmaraj fielded two 17-year-olds and one 14-year-old in the Open.

Nuramirah Zulkifli (Amira) has 16 caps, Nurmaizatulhanim Syafi 17 caps, and Kirandeep Kaur played in all five pool matches as well as the final to earn her maiden caps.

Jugjet's World of Field Hockey



Women’s team lift World Hockey Series title a third time

By Aftar Singh



KUALA LUMPUR: Fatin Shafika Mohd Shukri steered Malaysia to a third consecutive women’s World Hockey Series Round One title.

Fatin and company pulled off the win in style yesterday by outplaying Thailand 6-0 in the final at the Sengkang Hockey Stadium in Singapore.

Malaysia also won the series in 2012 in Kuantan and 2014 in Singapore.

Fatin was the toast of the team with a brace in the second and fifth minutes. Three minutes later, Surizan Awang Noh increased the lead off a field goal.

Fifteen-year-old Kirandeep Kaur made a memorable international debut by scoring her first goal for the national team in the 30th minute to make it 4-0.

Malaysia kept the pressure on and added two more goals through midfielder Nuraini Abdul Rashid and Nur Amirah Shakirah Zulkifli in the 51st and 56th minutes respectively.

Overall, they have scored a whopping 51 goals and conceded only one in six matches in the tournament.

Nuraini emerged as the top scorer in the tournament with nine goals.

Malaysia and Thailand have qualified for the Round Two of the World Series. But the dates and venue have yet to be decided by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

K. Dharmaraj (pic) praised his players for a great start by taking an impressive 3-0 lead in the first eight minutes of the match.

“We basically knocked out Thailand from the start and I am happy with the commitment shown by my players,” said Dharmaraj.

“We lived up to expectations to win for the third time. I’m also proud of Kirandeep for scoring her first goal since joining the national team.”

The Star of Malaysia



Green Machine Secure Series Victory In Fultons Last Match



Sean Murray showcased some great 3D skills to give his side an early chance but he was intercepted by a well-organized French defense before he could release his shot. France won 3 penalty corners in quick succession but a combination of good running and an important save by David Harte kept the score at 0-0. Jeremy Duncan created a super chance with a powerful run down the right side and along the baseline and slotted the ball back to Alan Sothern but Arthur Thieffry made a good close range save. Lee Cole mirrored Duncan’s move, only this time on the left side, and set up Michael Robson for the snap shot but again Thieffry made an important save to the sideline. Harte was called upon to make some tricky saves as Jean-Laurent Kieffer took down an aerial in the circle and tried to flick it past Harte but a high glove came to the rescue. Harte again made a great double save right on the cusp of half time to keep the score 0-0.

The goals started flowing in the second half, with the first coming courtesy of Stuart Loughrey. He slipped his marker and found himself free on the back post to sweep home the ball across the circle. Shane O’Donoghue made it 2-0 with another one of his trademark drag flicks, today’s effort going low into the left corner past the diving Thieffry. Harte made another good save as Francois Goyet broke at pace and smashed the ball goalward on the volley. Alan Sothern put the game to bed in the final minutes with a composed flick past Thieffry following a goal mouth scramble. The win means Ireland secure the series victory in Craig Fulton’s final match at the helm of the Green Machine.

Garryduff, Cork

Ireland 3(Loughrey, O’Donoghue, Sothern)
France 0

Men’s International Fixtures in Cork:

Ireland 1vs1 France in Garryduff 28/6/18 7pm
Ireland 6vs1 France in UCC 30/6/18 2pm
Ireland 3vs0 France in UCC 1/7/18 2pm

Starting: D Harte (Captain), J Jackson, M Nelson, E Magee, S O’Donoghue, J McKee, M Darling, M Robson, P Gleghorne, C Harte, L Cole,

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

Irish Hockey Association media release



Fulton exits to guard of honour after ground-breaking tenure with the Green Machine



Craig Fulton was given a suitable send-off as three goals in the closing 17 minutes saw Ireland beat France for a second day in succession at the Mardyke.

Stu Loughrey’s tap in started the run before Shane O’Donoghue whipped in a corner shot. Alan Sothern slotted home the third with a few minutes to go to crown a productive weekend.

David Harte was at his imperious best on numerous occasions before Ireland cut loose. Loughrey’s goal came following John Jackson’s lovely incursion down the left flank, playing in Sothern who popped across to the full-back whose shot just cleared the line.

O’Donoghue nailed his fifth of the weekend, bringing his total to 87 all told and six off John Jermyn’s record. At the end, O’Donoghue was given a big shove but still slipped a ball off to Sothern to flick home.

For Fulton, it was the final act of his reign which brought an unprecedented period of success, yielding a maiden European bronze medal and ending long waits for Olympic and World Cup qualification, beating many higher-ranked sides in the process.

As such, he told The Hook afterward the past few weeks was a weird experience, attempting to continue the building blocks for November’s World Cup while knowing he would not be the man to lead them there.

The day started with “a great talk and some nice slides and video of the journey” the side has gone on and ended with a final team talk, saying: “back yourselves and I will see you on the other side”.

“I am an emotional guy and that’s what drives me. I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish together. It has been a difficult weekend but a very proud one.

“We did still have a job to do today; it was a tough series. John Jermyn’s day on Thursday was a special occasion then we hit the ground running this weekend with a bigger squad.

“Me and the staff here were so involved this week in trying to leave things better than when we started. We covered all those bases and as I exit, I sleep easy that everything is where it should be.”

Since he announced his surprise move, the public proclamations from the players have been universally respectful and fulsome in their praise of the South African.

And that carried through to his departure from the pitch as the players formed a guard of honour. That he is the second coach of the last three – along with Paul Revington – to receive such treatment, though, is indicative of Ireland’s place on the food chain.

The nature of the job is such that high performance will attract the interest of bigger fish while also draws a focus on the shortcomings of the job with exterior, non-hockey elements involved.

In an increasingly professional realm, Fulton’s ability to manage the unique blend of workers, students and pros and design programmes to suit was a key asset.

Having someone of his dedication to buy into it and use it as a positive to mould a fearsome team ethic is rare and something the replacement will have to take on with relish.

Fulton acknowledges as much, saying that it is probably the crucial part of the role, getting enough time with the players as their talent is on a par with many top ten sides.

“They just need to confirm the programme and make sure everyone is available due to work,” he said when asked what advice he would give to anyone taking on the job.

“Work conflicts are the biggest challenge for this group now. You don’t want anyone on unpaid leave who can’t commit!

“When the new head coach does come in, I would say to them ‘absolutely embrace it, give it everything. You are a very lucky man to work with people like this’.”

To that end, the coming days will probably see several more players take up professional contracts in the Netherlands and Belgium in addition to those already confirmed.

The advent of the Hockey Pro League makes Irish players much more attractive with, for example, Argentinians, Spanish, New Zealanders and Australians less useful due to a potential clash of schedules. Ireland are the best-ranked side not in that competition and so offer the best ratio of ability to availability.

For November’s World Cup, meanwhile, Fulton suggests that the organisation of the side can be done “in-house” with the body of knowledge in the playing staff and the assistants Jonny Caren, Kai de Jager and John Bessell.

His contract with Belgium starts on Monday now that assistant coach Philippe Goldberg has finished up in the wake of their Champions Trophy fifth position.

Men’s senior international test match
Ireland 3 (S Loughrey, S O’Donoghue, A Sothern)
France 0

Ireland: D Harte, J Jackson, M Nelson, E Magee, S O’Donoghue, J McKee, M Darling, M Robson, P Gleghorne, C Harte, L Cole
Subs: M Bell, A Sothern, N Glassey, S Murray, J Duncan, S Loughrey, J Carr

France: A Thieffry, J-L Kieffer, T Genestet, V Lockwood, C Masson, N Dumont, G Baumgarten, F Goyet, C Peters-Deutz, E Tynevez, V Charlet
Subs: M Branicki, A Ferec, P van Straaten, B Rogeau, A Bellenger, A Coisne, C Saunier

The Hook



Three-match series: Ireland 3-0 France


Ireland head coach Craig Fulton will now take up his new role as assistant coach of Belgium

Ireland produced a clinical second half display at UCC to beat France 3-0 in the final game of their three-match series.

Stuart Loughrey and Alan Sothern were on the scoresheet as was Shane O'Donoghue, scorer of four in Ireland's victory on Saturday.

The first game ended in a draw meaning the hosts clinch the series 2-0.

The match was also Ireland head coach Craig Fulton's last before stepping down.

The French defensive effort was vastly improved from Saturday's game and their disciplined display frustrated the hosts in the first half.

Sean Murray weaved his way into a scoring position early in the contest but a smart interception prevented him from unleashing a shot.

At the other end David Harte was forced into several important saves as France applied pressure through three successive penalty corners.

Both keepers were in inspired form as the game ebbed and flowed with neither side breaking the deadlock. Arthur Thieffrey made a fine close range stop to deny Sothern while Harte produced a wonderful double save on the stroke of half-time.

Soon after the break a rare French defensive lapse allowed the unmarked Loughrey to sweep home the opener at the back post.

The breakthrough injected a new vigour into Ireland's attacking play as they found some of the fluency which had served them so well on Saturday.

O'Donoghue soon doubled the lead by sending a trademark drag flick past a diving Thieffrey into the bottom corner.

Harte was decidedly less busy than in the first half but still had to be alert to deny Francois Goyet's goal-bound volley.

Sothern put the game to bed in the dying stages with a clever flick following a goalmouth scramble as Ireland wrapped up a series win.

Coach Fulton will now take up his new role as assistant coach of the Belgian nation team ahead of the World Cup in India later this year.

The former South African international succeeded Australian Andrew Meredith as Ireland coach in 2014.

During four years at the helm helped the Green Machine secure qualification for the World Cup and guided them to a bronze medal in the 2015 European championships.

BBC Sport



Canada team proud to celebrate a win against France on Canada’s national holiday

By Tristan Urry


Photo credit: Tristan Urry

Royal Victory Hockey Club, Belgium - Canada celebrates their national holiday with a 4 - 0 win against France on Sunday nights game.

The first goal was scored by Brieanne Stairs 14 minutes into Q1 on an impressive counter-attack with a straight strike from the top of the circle.

Three minutes into Q2, Canadas number 14 defense Karli Johansen scored on a stroke. “It was great to get this win on Canada day, our girls worked hard today,” said Johansen.

Canada scored on another stroke by number 17 defense player, Sara MacManus ten minutes into Q3. “Playing for Canada is not something that everyone gets to do, I think that every time we put on the jersey, we remember that,” said MacManus.

The last goal was scored by number 19 forward player, Holly Stewart. “Any day that we go out to play is a good day, but playing for Canada on Canada day is very special. It was a pretty good team performance, we managed to score four goals and win the match for our country,” said Stewart after the game.

Canada plays Belarus Tuesday afternoon at the Royal Victory Hockey Club to conclude their time in Belgium. The team goes back to Amsterdam where they will continue to train with Marcel Balkenstein, Toon Siepman, Dennis Van de Pol, and Thiys Bams.

Field Hockey Canada Women's Team media release



Barbados Senior Women's International Invitational Tournament - Final day
Bridgetown (BAR)

BAR v GUY (RR)     1 - 1
BAR v TTO (RR)     0 - 0

Final Pool standings

Rank Team Played Wins Draws Losses Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Points
1 Trinidad & Tobago 4 2 1 1 4 2 2 7
2 Guyana 4 1 2 1 4 5 -1 5
3 Barbados 4 0 3 1 2 3 -1 3

FIH Match Centre



Test Match results

Test Matches: GER v ITA (W)
Berlin (GER)

30 Jun     GER v ITA     0 - 1
1 Jul     GER v ITA     2 - 0

Test Matches: CAN v CHN (M)
West Vancouver (CAN)

CAN v CHN     3 - 1

FIH Match Centre



Australia A To Play Malaysia In Test Series

Alexie Beovich

Hockey Australia today confirms that the Australia A Men’s team will compete in a series of practice matches against Malaysia from 24 July – 1 August at Perth Hockey Stadium.

This five match Test series will provide valuable international experience to members of the Australian A squad as well as several members of the Australian National Squad.

Australia will be coached by current Kookaburras Assistant Coach Anthony Potter.

Malaysia are a competitive international side, currently sitting 12th in the FIH world rankings. Playing a high calibre side like Malaysia is the perfect preparation for Australia’s A side.

Notable inclusions in the team for Australia are; Johan Durst who returns from the Kookaburras Champions Trophy tour, Josh Simmonds who is yet to debut for Australia, Josh Beltz who has 28 caps for the Kookaburras, Corey Weyer who debuted for the Kookaburras in 2017 and returning Olympian Kieran Govers.

The full Australian team is as follows:

Josh Beltz - National Squad                   
Johan Durst - National Squad
Kieran Govers - National Squad
Josh Simmonds - National Squad
Corey Weyer - National Squad
Ash Thomas - NSWIS
Frazer Gerrard - WAIS
Keiron Arthur - TIS
James Day - ACTIS
Stephen Gale - VIS
Robert Bell - QAS
Hugh Pembroke - HQ/QAS
Max Hendry - VIS
Kurt Lovett - NSWIS
Jack Hayes - NSWIS
Jacob Anderson - QAS
Jack Welch - TIS
Kiran Arunasalam - VIS
Joel Rintala - HQ/QAS

Australia’s coaching staff is as follows:

Head Coach - Anthony Potter - National Men's Program
Coach - Matt Wells - HQ/QAS
Manager - Mark Clutton - VIC
Performance Analysis - Sam Marshall - NSWIS

The Test series will run from 24 July – 1 August at Perth Hockey Stadium:

24 July - 14:30pm AWST
25 July - 11:30am AWST
27 July - 12:30pm AWST
30 July - 13:30pm AWST
1 August - 10:00am AWST

Hockey Australia media release



Wagener Stadium to host 2021 European Championships



The men’s and women’s 2021 EuroHockey Championships will return to the Wagener Stadium, the home of AH&BC Amsterdam, following an epic tournament in 2017.

It follows a successful bid from the KNHB with the announcement made via Facebook Live during the Final of the Champions Trophy in Breda today.

The KNHB not only bid to host the EHC but have committed to a two-year programme of twinning between Dutch clubs and European clubs and nations.

Qualifiers for the event will come from the top six teams at the 2019 EuroHockey Championships that will be held in Antwerp from August 16-25 and the top two teams from the 2019 EuroHockey Championships II.

At the announcement, EHF President Marijke Fleuren said “The EHF is very pleased to be coming back, after Antwerp next year, to Amstelveen in 2021 for the EuroHockey Championships.

“The KNHB will, for sure, provide a player centric event; this is critical to our belief that the number one requirement of a real event should revolve around the athletes needs so that they can perform and shine at the elite levels.

“In addition, we can share the knowledge and expertise of Dutch hockey once again around the continent of Europe. One of the core values of the EHF is to be inclusive; the sharing knowledge programme provides access to hockey for our ParaHockey players and urban hockey opens the game of hockey to new players.

“We hope to set another milestone in inclusivity. We are looking forward to working with Erik Cornelissen [the KNHB president] and his team towards again a truly memorable EuroHockey Championships.”

Cornelissen added: "It’s fantastic that the EuroHockey Championships return to The Netherlands. After the successful EuroHockey Championships in 2017, we are already looking forward to 2021.

“The Wagener Stadium offers a beautiful stage for the best hockey players in Europe to get the most out of themselves. A modern environment with great facilities, a fantastic audience and in good cooperation with our partners.

“The KNHB is committed to share its knowledge and experiences and that of the 322 hockey clubs with other European countries. Together we can expand and strengthen our sport.

“We’ll do our utmost to make the EuroHockey Championships 2021 an unforgettable hockey spectacle."

Euro Hockey League media release

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