News for 02 January 2020
Alll the news for Thursday 2 January 2020
Manpreet Singh: Target is to reach the finals of Tokyo Olympics
The Manpreet Singh-led side has managed to maintain its consistency and qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics under a new coach in Australian Graham Reid.
The India captain feels his team has the ability to make the finals of 2020 Olympics. - Biswaranjan Rout
National men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh believes India has the capability of reaching the final of Tokyo Olympics, provided a sense of discipline and consistency is maintained in the run-up to the quadrennial extravaganza.
Leaving behind a disappointing 2018 where India crashed out in the quarterfinals of the World Cup at home, the Manpreet-led side has managed to maintain its consistency and qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics under a new coach in Australian Graham Reid.
Reviewing the year gone by, Manpreet said 2019 has been productive for the team in terms of its performances despite not getting enough opportunities to compete in high-level international tournaments.
“Looking back, 2019 has been very good for us. We started the year in the fifth spot and managed to maintain that. The biggest aim for us in 2019 was to qualify for the Olympics and we have managed to achieve that under a new coach,” Manpreet told PTI.
“Our main target in 2019 is to reach the finals of the Olympics and believe me it’s achievable. Throughout the year we have managed to maintain the No. 5 position in world rankings and there is no reason why we can’t climb from that.
“But for that, we have to maintain the consistency which we have showed in the entire 2019,” he added.
The ace mid-fielder, who has been nominated for the 2019 FIH Player of the Year award, said encounters against top teams like the Netherlands, world champions Belgium and Australia in the upcoming FIH Pro league will give India a fair idea about where the eight-time Olympic champions stand.
India, who pulled out of the inaugural edition of the Pro-League, will play the Dutch side on January 18 and 19 before hosting Belgium on February 8 and 9 followed by two more home fixtures against Australia on February 22 and 23.
“The FIH Pro League is our first step towards Olympic preparation. In the Pro League, we will get to face all the top teams of the world before the Olympics and this experience will give us an idea where we stand before the Olympics,” Manpreet said.
The skipper said the biggest take away for Indian men’s hockey team in 2019 was the transition of quite a few young players into the senior fold.
“In 2019, we witnessed quite a few young players making it into the senior side. They performed to their potential at the international level and outsmarted some of the senior guys. It’s the biggest positive for us, especially in a busy year, where we will be competing at the FIH Pro-League be sides the Olympics,” Manpreet said.
Sportstar
After satisfying 2019, tougher challenges ahead for Indian men
By Rajan Nath
Come 2020 and tougher challenges crop up for Indian men on international horizon. It is a year of Olympics and also the year for the Asian Champions Trophy. Besides, India will be making debut in FIH Pro League with home games against the Netherlands on January 18 and 19. India is also scheduled to play in Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament at Ipoh in April.
True, the Indian men’s hockey was quick to put behind the disappointment of the 2018 Men’s World Cup and focused on its prestigious target of making it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Had India done a little better in the 2018 Asian Games, it could have gained direct entry to the Olympics. But failure at semi-finals had put the team under pressure to qualify. The qualification for 2020 Tokyo Olympics was accomplished with handsome wins against Russia at Bhubaneshwar. Since then the core group which reported to National Coaching Camp in Bhubaneswar has set its sight on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“I think the year 2019 was full of positives. Our single most important target was to make the Olympic qualification and in that pursuit we improved collectively as a team and performed consistently. I think retaining our World Ranking (No.5) was also a morale boost,” says skipper of Indian team, Manpreet Singh, while looking back at 2019.
Manpreet also believes that the increase in pool of players who are of international standards was also another big positive for the team in 2019. “We saw quite a few youngsters play their first international match. It is good to have a strong pool of players who have the capabilities of handling the pressure at international level. This is an advantage especially now when we play back-to-back FIH Hockey Pro League matches,” he added.
Highlighting the team’s goal for this year, Manpreet said: “Our immediate target is to do well in the FIH Hockey Pro League. We had a meeting yesterday where we gave our feedback to the Chief Coach and we discussed what we need to do if we intend to win against teams like the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia whom we play against in January and February.”
He further added, “We have nine months to prepare for the Olympics and the plan is to get better and better each day, in each session we train. Under Chief Coach Graham Reid there is already a solid process in place and we just need to keep at it and I am sure the result will follow. The team strongly believes we have a good shot at finishing Top 4 at the Tokyo Olympics and once we make the Semi Final, it can be anybody’s game there on wards.”
Having won back-to-back Asian Champions Trophy in 2016 and 2018, the team will aim to claim the title third time in a row when the bi-annual tournament returns in 2020. “It is definitely on our mind to defend the Asian Champions Trophy title. It will be sweet to make it a hat-trick but we would like to take it step-by-step, tournament-by-tournament,” an optimistic Manpreet said.
PTC News
Tiger keeper Zaimi faces battery of goal-hunters
By AFTAR SINGH
KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank goalkeeper Mohd Zaimi Mat Deris knows he faces a daunting task in this year’s Malaysia Hockey League, which begins on Jan 10.
He will be up against an array of top goalscorers and penalty corner specialists. Keeping them all at bay will be no enviable job as the Tigers try to achieve their target of winning one of the two titles – the league and the overall Cup.
What makes it even more daunting is the fact that Maybank will parade an all-local line-up.
The 23-year-old national keeper admitted he would face a big task in helping the Tigers win a title. The last time they won silverware was in 1995 – and Zaimi was not even born then.
“To make matters worse, teams like UniKL (Universiti Kuala Lumpur) and Terengganu are powered by foreign players and they have some calibre scorers.
“I will face a mighty challenge stopping a penalty corner drag flicker like Jang Jong-hyun, who was top scorer in the MHL for Terengganu with 22 goals last season.
“But I am ready for it as my goal in the MHL is to play well between the posts to be called up for national training, ” said Zaimi, who has been with the Maybank team for four years.
Last season, Maybank finished fourth among seven teams in the league and netted 30 goals and conceded 39 in 12 matches.
Zaimi, who featured in the Junior World Cup in Lucknow, India in 2016, said they would face the threat from the same three teams – UniKL, Terengganu and Tenaga Nasional.
“UniKL are a threat to any team as they have the services of four national and four foreign players. Terengganu, too, are strong contenders.
“Our task will be to score more goals this season and also to concede fewer goals, ” said Zaimi, who is among four national players to play for the Tigers. The others are midfielders Meor Mohd Azuan Hasan, Joel van Huizen and forward Mohd Haziq Samsul.
“I only made my international debut for Malaysia in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh last year. My last outing for Malaysia was in the two-match playoff against Britain for the Olympics in London, which we lost two months ago, ” said Zaimi.
The Star of Malaysia
Sabah girls use MHL to prepare for Sukma gold quest
By AFTAR SINGH
KUALA LUMPUR: After narrowly missing out on the Under-21 Malaysia Games (Sukma) title two years ago, the Sabah women’s team are looking for redemption in July this year.
And they have already started their preparations by entering a junior team in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) which begins on Jan 10. In Ipoh two years ago, the Sabah team came very close to winning but lost by a narrow 1-0 margin to Selangor in the final.
They have retained 16 players from that team for a second shot at the title in Johor Baru in July.
Sabah coach Hasrul Jideh said their goal this year was to lift their first women’s hockey title in Sukma.
“We have a young team powered by two players who featured for Malaysia in indoor hockey in the SEA Games in the Philippines last month.”
The two Sabah players who featured in the SEA Games are goalkeeper Siti Rozailah Syuhada Jilon and midfielder Iren Hussin.
“Most of the players are from the Sabah Malaysia Sports School and although we want the Sukma gold, we are not setting a target for the team in the league.
“We will be using the MHL to gain exposure against stronger teams powered by foreign and national players, ” said Hasrul, who is the chief coach for both the men’s and women’s teams for Sukma in Johor.
Six teams will feature in the women’s league. The other teams in the fray are Terengganu Ladies team, KPS-Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Blue Warriors, Mutiara Impian-MSSPP-PSHA and Hockey Academy of KL (Hockademy).
Hasrul said they had been training for the last one month and the team were selected based on the players’ performance in the Sabah Games last month.
“We will play 10 matches in the home-and-away format of the MHL and the five home matches will be played at the Likas Hockey Stadium. We hope to spring some surprises in the home matches, ” said Hasrul.
The Star of Malaysia
UPM and Sejati promote Hockey 5s
By K.M BOOPATHY
HOCKEY 5s is one of the fastest-growing events in the world.
Last year, Malaysia announced their arrival on the world stage by winning the boys’ Hockey 5s at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
The Hockey 5s is growing in popularity and its first World Cup will be staged in 2023.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and SK Jalan 3 (Sejati) in Serdang are doing their part to promote Hockey 5s in the country.
Last year, the two parties collaborated and organised the first national-level Under-11 Hockey 5s tournament in Bukit Jalil.
The idea was mooted by UPM sports academy director Datuk Dr S. Shamala and supported by then vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Aini Ideris.
This year’s tournament, which will include an open event, will be open to foreign teams.
A total of 12 local and three foreign teams are expected to sign up for the boys and girls’ Under-11 events while the open event is expected to attract former players.
The tournament will be held at the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex on Oct 10.
The challenge trophy for the open category will be named after Dr Aini, who retired as the vice-chancellor of UPM recently.
It will be known as the ‘Professor Datuk Dr Aini Ideris Cup.’
New Straits Times
Teams of the decade: Picking Cork's best female and male hockey players
Rory Noonan
Conor Harte celebrates scoring for Ireland at the Olympics. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
OVER the last decade we have seen the rise of Irish hockey from a slumber, with the senior men’s side qualifying for the Olympics and the women’s team winning silver medals at the World Championships in London.
Following on from that they have qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo, after a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Canada. In the reverse of that, the men lost out on qualifying in controversial circumstances against the same opposition.
Munster players have played their part in the success of Irish sides over the decade but plenty have also played their parts in national cup wins for their clubs.
In the past 10 years, Munster clubs have won the Irish Senior Cup, Junior Cup, Irish Hockey Trophy and Hockey Challenge Cup.
So picking a men’s and women’s team of the decade will have its fair share of international players, but also ones that have been stalwarts for their clubs.
Starting with the men’s side there has been a glut of quality keepers in Munster, from the likes of Wes Bateman to Billy Lynch to Ian Hosford. All have been outstanding for their clubs, with Bateman also capped for his country.
But when the World Keeper of the Year for two years in-a-row is from Cork then the Number 1 jersey has to go to David Harte.
In front of him, in one of the full-back spots is his twin brother, Conor, who both now play professionally on the continent.
The other full-back spot goes to Jason Black, a former international player and recognised as one of the top players to have ever played the game.
In the centre of the defence are Derek Hales and John Hobbs, two teak-tough defenders that not too much ever got past.
Hales probably never got the recognition outside of Munster he deserved, but ask anyone who played alongside him or against him and they will tell you just how good he was.
There are plenty others, like Karl Burns, Phil Smith and David Buttimer that could be considered as well and you wouldn’t weaken the defence in any way.
The midfield trio could be made up of 10-15 players, but David Hobbs and Mark Black are a definite two.
Black was made of steel and as a defensive midfielder they didn’t come any better.
Hobbs could change a game with one pass and rowed in with his fair share of goals as well.
Picture: Larry Cummins
To that midfield duo you could add John Jermyn, or just as easily you could put him in as centre-forward. But for this side he will be the third midfielder.
On the wings up front are Dave Eakins and Jonny Bruton and in the centre is David Lombard.
When picking the women’s team the name of Rachael Kohler is a certainty. Without doubt she is the top player in Munster over the last decade, captained her country and at one stage held the record as the most capped Irish player, male or female.
The midfield maestro always preferred to let her hockey do the talking and that she did with class.
Behind her the goalkeeping position goes to Emma Buckley, another playing abroad professionally at the moment.
In defence the likes of Cliodhna Sargent, Roisin Upton and Yvonne O’Byrne are all automatics.
Upton and O’Byrne in the full-back spots and joining Sargent in the centre is Jenifer Hales.
The other three are all senior internationals but Hales was a rock at the heart of Church of Ireland’s defence for years and helped guide them to Irish Hockey Trophy success on two occasions.
Others that could be named here are Elaine Bromwell, Joyce Kehilly, Liz Buttimer and Mel Ryan to name a few. Alongside Kohler in midfield are Hollie Moffett and Olivia Roycroft, again with plenty others unlucky to lose out.
Players like Grace Young, Rachel Hobbs, Vicky Burns, Johanna Hyland and Deirdre Casey.
Up front Karen Bateman (formerly O’Brien) leads the attack, the cry of OB, as she was known, was a regular occurrence for her club Harlequins and Ireland for many years.
As a young player you won’t get a better one to look up to and learn from than Karen.
Alongside her are Amy Roberts and Eimer Cregan, again two players who have simply been outstanding for their respective clubs, Church of Ireland and Catholic Institute for years and years.
Cregan also wore the green jersey for some time as well before knee problems ended her playing days.
MEN'S HOCKEY: David Harte, Jason Black, Conor Harte, John Hobbs, Derek Hales, David Hobbs, John Jermyn, Mark Black, Dave Eakins, David Lombard, Jonny Bruton.
WOMEN'S HOCKEY: Emma Buckley, Roisin Upton, Cliodhna Sargent, Jenifer Hales, Yvonne O’Byrne, Hollie Moffett, Rachael Kohler, Olivia Roycroft, Amy Roberts, Karen Bateman,Eimear Cregan.
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