News for 06 February 2020
All the news for Thursday 6 February 2020
2020 FIH Pro League (Men) - This Weekend
7 Feb 2020 20:30 (GMT -3) ARG v ESP (RR) Cenard, Buenos Aires
8 Feb 2020 17:00 (GMT +13) NZL v GBR (RR) North Harbour Hockey Stadium, Auckland
8 Feb 2020 17:00 (GMT +5:30) IND v BEL (RR) Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar
8 Feb 2020 20:30 (GMT -3) ARG v ESP (RR) Cenard, Buenos Aires
9 Feb 2020 15:00 (GMT +13) NZL v GBR (RR) North Harbour Hockey
9 Feb 2020 17:00 (GMT +5:30) IND v BEL (RR) Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar
Live streaming and full game replay on https://fih.live (May be Geo blocked if there is TV coverage)
FIH Match Centre
2020 FIH Pro League (Women) - This weekend
7 Feb 2020 18:00 (GMT -3) ARG v USA (RR) Cenard, Buenos Aires
8 Feb 2020 CHN v BEL (RR) - On hold due to Coronavirus
8 Feb 2020 18:00 (GMT -3) ARG v USA (RR) Cenard, Buenos Aires
8 Feb 2020 19:30 (GMT +13) NZL v GBR (RR) North Harbour Hockey Stadium, Auckland
9 Feb 2020 CHN v BEL (RR) On hold due to Coronavirus
9 Feb 2020 17:30 (GMT +13) NZL v GBR (RR) North Harbour Hockey Stadium, Auckland
Live streaming and full game replay on https://fih.live (May be Geo blocked if there is TV coverage)
FIH Match Centre
Who's next for our men and women in the FIH Hockey Pro League?
Great Britain's men in the FIH Hockey Pro League
Great Britain's international hockey teams play their next games in the 2020 FIH Pro League this coming weekend.
Who's up next?
Sat 8 Feb New Zealand v Great Britain (M); 4am UK time
Sat 8 Feb New Zealand v Great Britain (W); 6:30am
Sun 9 Feb New Zealand v Great Britain (M); 2am
Sun 9 Feb New Zealand v Great Britain (W); 4:30am UK time
Where are the games?
All matches take place at North Harbour Hockey Stadium in Auckland.
What happened in our first games in the League?
GB's men earned a 4-4 draw in their first match with Australia, before a 5-1 defeat in the second match in Sydney. The women lost 2-1 and then saw their second game cancelled when 1-0 up; the first result then counting double. Highlights from the three completed games are here.
How are New Zealand doing?
Their men lost both their opening games to world champions Belgium, 6-2 and then 3-1 last weekend. The women fared a little better against the same opponents, losing 2-1 but then winning 4-1 in Auckland.
Who are their top goalscorers?
George Muir has two in two games for the men, while Olivia Merry has four to her name after scoring all the goals in their 4 - 0 win over the Belgians.
Where can I watch GB's games?
All of Great Britain's games in the FIH Pro League are live in the UK on BT Sport. They have now launched a £25 monthly subscription offer with no annual contract - click here to take a look.
Who's in the squads?
GB named 44 players across both genders for the games in Aus and NZ - read in full here.
What happened last time we played NZ?
We faced these opponents in an historic day's play at the Twickenham Stoop; GB's women winning 3-1 and the men earning a 2-0 win.
How did GB do in last season's league?
The men's team made it through to the Grand Final by finishing fourth in the table, then again finishing fourth overall after the final tournament in Holland. The women's team finished eighth in the league table.
What's changed in the Pro League this year?
India are now in the men's competition, and have hit the ground running in their first couple of games. There are no Grand Finals now, and the format has changed so that teams only play each other home OR away; with the schedule swapping over in 2021. So for example we play New Zealand away in 2020, and at home in 2021.
When and where are GB's home games?
Six of the eight home matchdays take place at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre (LVHTC)
2 & 3 May, GBR v India (M) / China (W) - LVHTC
16 & 17 May, GBR v Argentina (M&W) - Twickenham Stoop
24 & 25 May, GBR v Spain (M) / USA (W) - LVHTC
13 & 14 Jun, GBR v Germany (M & W) - LVHTC
Great Britain Hockey media release
Hager: Why you need to be on your game in the FIHPL
Mark Hager
Great Britain women's team head coach Mark Hager believes the level of opposition in the FIH Hockey Pro League means teams cannot afford any off-days.
Hager and his team are now in New Zealand for two matches against the Black Sticks; while our men's team also face the same opposition in Auckland.
Mark said, "We know they’re a quick side, they’ve also got a couple of senior players who haven’t played for three or four years that have come back so it will be interesting to see how they fit into the group and where they fit within the programme in terms of what positions they play.
"They’re a counter-attacking team, so if you give them an opportunity, they can hurt you with their speed. They’ve been growing over the last 12 months and getting better.
"I think that’s a good thing about the competition, if you’re a bit off your game then opposition teams will punish or beat you."
Speaking just before his team left for Australia, he said, "For us, the tour is about learning to win away from home and I think that’s something that we really have to work on to get that belief that we can win away from home as well."
Fixtures this weekend:
Sat 8 Feb New Zealand v Great Britain (M); 4am UK time
Sat 8 Feb New Zealand v Great Britain (W); 6:30am
Sun 9 Feb New Zealand v Great Britain (M); 2am
Sun 9 Feb New Zealand v Great Britain (W); 4:30am
All games are live on BT Sport. They have now launched a £25 monthly subscription offer with no annual contract - click here to take a look.
Great Britain Hockey media release
Ansley returns home from FIH Hockey Pro League tour
Giselle Ansley
Giselle Ansley has returned home from the FIH Hockey Pro League tour to Australia and New Zealand having not quite recovered from injury in time to be fit for this weekend’s games.
Ansley had travelled with the squad having hoped to have featured in at least the upcoming games against New Zealand this Saturday and Sunday. However an ongoing achilles problem has not healed enough for her to be fit for the games so she will return home to continue treatment in order to ensure she is fit for the next round of matches in late April.
That comes after Amy Costello and David Condon were ruled out of the tour having been selected in the initial squads. However both have made good progress in their recovery already and are back training at Bisham Abbey alongside fellow absentees Sarah Evans, Emily Defroand, Amy Tennant and Rhys Smith. Alex Danson was not considered for this trip.
Great Britain’s men return to FIH Hockey Pro League action this weekend. The men take on New Zealand at 4am and 2am GMT on Saturday and Sunday respectively, with the women in action at 6:30am and 4:30am GMT on those days.
Great Britain Hockey media release
Draper on Australia, Olympics and inspiring future Welsh stars
Jacob Draper
Just over a year ago, Jacob Draper was halfway through his final year of studying at Swansea University.
Since then he has inspired Wales to a sixth-placed finish at the 2019 EuroHockey Championships, helped Great Britain qualify for Tokyo 2020 and played against Australia in his first ever FIH Hockey Pro League matches.
It has certainly been a whirlwind few months for the former Gwent Hockey Club defender, making the transition from student to full-time hockey player, but it’s a journey that he has loved every second of so far.
“It’s been tough and a bit of a shock in terms of the workload because you’ve got pitch sessions every day where you’re always trying to get better and better,” the 21-year-old said.
“It’s been amazing to play every day and to play hockey as your full time job. The boys have been amazing, getting me involved with everything and making the transition so seamless.
“Now it’s just getting used to the expectation of going to these FIH Hockey Pro League games, putting in good performances and expecting to win so it acts as a building block for the end; making sure that as a squad we’re all in the best position possible so that we can turn up into that Olympic Games, put in the best performance possible and hopefully win a medal.”
Last weekend’s matches were the first time that Draper had ever faced Australia in a senior international match.
It was certainly a baptism of fire too both literally and metaphorically, playing in temperatures reaching 45C on the Saturday against a team who had reached the world number one ranking for a period not long before.
However he more than held his own across both games, particularly in the thrilling 4-4 draw that saw Great Britain’s men secure their first point of this year’s tournament.
“It was pretty surreal to be honest” the Hampstead & Westminster player recalled.
“I was massively nervous – they had a big crowd and a pretty good set up there. The result puts a bit of a gloomer on the first game, how we let a two-goal lead slip, but the whole experience was amazing.
“The Aussies were physical as I was told – they didn’t disappoint in that regard. But it was really nice to be in that position to compete with the very best in the world.”
Even though he is still finding his feet in the world of international hockey, Draper is already harbouring big ambitions for the immediate and distant future.
From a personal perspective this includes making it into the final 16 who will be selected to go to Tokyo this summer.
But further on from that he is also hoping that the recent growth in the number of Welsh players representing Great Britain will prove to future generations that the opportunities for them are there if they work hard enough.
“I’d be lying if I said the long term would be anything other than winning an Olympic medal,” he said.
“Standing on that podium will be one of the best feelings you can ever have and that’s for any athlete – it’s the pinnacle to be an Olympian and to win a medal.
“Being very proudly Welsh, historically there’s not been very many of us in this team and now that there’s two of us in the men’s team [Draper and Rupert Shipperley], the age group athletes coming up can see that it can happen and know if they keep going, keep digging in then we can definitely get more numbers in this team.
“Hopefully I can inspire more Welsh people to be in the GB team and create an expectation that there will be more and not as a token but as players who are good enough and impact the team.”
Great Britain Hockey media release
Kookas coaching clinics prove a hit despite the heat
A host of aspiring young hockey players have had an experience to remember after taking part in coaching clinics organised by the Kookaburras.
Held last Saturday and Sunday prior to the FIH Pro League double headers against Great Britain at the Olympic Park Hockey Centre on the adjacent pitch to where the matches were played, the clinics were a special offering from the Kookaburras.
The clinics were made possible with the support of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority and the objectives were two-fold. Firstly, to provide kids with a rare opportunity to rub shoulders and learn from members of Australia’s world number two ranked men’s hockey team, and secondly to raise funds for the country’s bushfire crisis.
The clinic was open to any child who purchased a ticket to either of the Pro League double headers against Great Britain and then paid an extra $20 to take part in the clinic. All proceeds from the cost of the clinic will be donated to assisting people affected by the bushfires.
Despite temperatures being in the high thirties during the hour long sessions, over 60 participants, ranging from 7-16 years of age, enjoyed learning from a host of Kookaburras stars across the two days.
“Huge credit to the kids who braved the heat and took part in the clinics, they did really well,” said Kookaburra Josh Beltz.
“It was hot out there but it looked like all of the kids had fun. I know for all of the Kookaburras guys these clinics were something we were passionate about doing not only as something exciting for the kids but just as importantly being able to raise some money for the bushfire relief.”
The Kookaburras players to take part in the clinics on either or both of the days included Jacob Anderson, Daniel Beale, Josh Beltz, Johan Durst, Nathan Ephraums, Blake Govers, Kurt Lovett, Josh Simmonds, Jack Welch, Tom Wickham and Dylan Wotherspoon.
Hockey Australia media release
India women beat New Zealand 3-0 to finish tour on a high
In the last game of its five-match tour, the Indian women's hockey team beat New Zealand 3-0 with Navneet Kaur scoring a brace and Sharmila scoring a field goal in the 54th minute.
File photo: Navneet Kaur's brace led India women to a 3-0 win over New Zealand in its final match of the tour. - AFP
Striker Navneet Kaur scored a brace to guide the Indian women’s hockey team to a convincing 3-0 win over New Zealand in the last game of its five-match tour here on Wednesday.
Navneet found the net in the 45th and 58th minutes, while Sharmila scored a field goal in the 54th minute as India drew curtains on the New Zealand tour on a bright note.
After a goalless opening two quarters, Navneet finally broke the deadlock for India in the 45th minute.
Sharmila then doubled the lead when she struck a powerful shot past the New Zealand goalkeeper in the 54th minute. Navneet found the net again just two minutes from the final hooter with a beautiful field strike.
India began the tour by thrashing New Zealand Development squad 4-0 before suffering close 1-2 and 0-1 defeats to the home senior team.
In penultimate game of the tour, skipper Rani’s lone strike handed India a 1-0 win over Great Britain.
”...I am happy we produced three goals against New Zealand in the last match. This tour gave us a good insight about where we need to improve and one of the things is to create faster play than we do now,” said India’s chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne.
Commenting on his side’s performance during the tour, Marijne said, “Sometimes we tend to keep the ball too long on the stick and then we create pressure. We need to avoid that by passing faster.
“On the defence side, we need to be a bit more calmer and need to improve our tackling. We will have a four week camp after a short break when we return home and we will be working on these points.”
The Indian team will return home on February 7.
Sportstar
Motherhood changes Carla’s perspective
Argentina’s Carla Rebecchi is one of the longest-serving and most prolific strikers currently playing on the international hockey stage. She first played for Las Leonas in 2004 and has competed in three Olympic Games and three World Cups. Rebecchi retired briefly from the game in 2017 but returned, after the birth of her daughter Vera, in 2019. Her first FIH Pro League game resulted in her winning Player of the Match and her subsequent form over the entire season proves that sometimes taking a little time out helps you come back stronger than ever.
Each of the Hockey Stars interviews published on the FIH website are with the nominees for Best Player. The winning athletes will be announced in February.
What does the nomination for FIH Best Player mean to you?
Carla Rebecchi: “I am really happy and honoured to be nominated for Player of the Year. I am honoured that I am among such amazing players. I am grateful to my team as without them it wouldn’t be possible. And to my family, my support, they are always with me and helping me do the thing I love most, which is play hockey.
Looking back to 2019 what was your best and most memorable moment?
Carla Rebecchi: “The most memorable moment for me was winning the Pan American Games and qualifying for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. That was our most important goal last year and we did it!”
Why do you think 2019 was such a good year for you?
Carla Rebecchi: “I think last year was a good one for me because it is different how I enjoy being back in the team after becoming a mother and having my baby. Everything is a little bit tougher, like I have to put in a little bit more effort than I did before. It is tough to leave her [Vera] when I travel away but playing hockey is the thing I love most in my life. Now it is a different moment for me. I am seeing hockey from another side and enjoying it even more. That is what makes it a special year for me.”
What are your dreams and aspirations for this year?
Carla Rebecchi: “My dreams and aspirations for this year are to enjoy every minute of the preparation for the Olympics. It is a very special year and tournament for an athlete. And I hope we can go there and do our best. It will be a tough year and it is very important how we prepare for it.”
#HockeyStarsAwards
FIH site
Pakistan Hockey Federation names probables for Azlan Shah Cup camp
LAHORE: As many as 48 probables have been called to attend a training camp from February 10 for the selection of the Pakistan team for the upcoming Azlan Shah Hockey Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from April 11 to 18. The Pakistan Hockey Federation has directed 48 players to report to Khawaja Muhammad Junaid, the camp commandant, at the National Hockey Stadium, Lahore on Feb 10. Besides Junaid, three other coaches namely Sameer Hussain, Ajmal Khan and Waseem Ahmad will conduct the training camp.
Probables:
Amjad Ali, Muneeb-ur-Rehman, Waqar, Abdullah, Agha Awn Ali (goalkeepers), amjad Ali Khan, Mubashir Ali, Rizwan Ali, M Atif Mushtaq, Samiullah Khan, Usama Bashir, Usman Bashir, arbaz, Abdullah Bhutto, (fullback), Ammad Shakeel Butt, Azfar Yaqoob, Junaid Manzoor, Rizwan Senior, M Adnan, Rashid Mehmood, Aqeel, Asif Hanif, Moin Shakeel, Ihtisham (half-back), Umar Bhutta, Abu Bakar Mahmood, Ajaz Ahmad, Nohaiz Zahid Malik, Faizan, Ahmad Nadeem, Tazeem-ul Hassan, Rana Suhail Riaz, M Sulman Razzaq, Ali Shan, Samiullah, Qazi Asafand Yar, Mohsin Khan, Rana Waheed, Ghazanfar Ali, Hammaddin Anjum, Afraz, Umair Sattar, Rooman, Ali Aziz, Bilawal, Asher Tariq, Zain Ejaz, Hamza (forwards).
The Daily Times
Dutch striker shoots for the Olympics via MHL
BANGI: Dutch international forward Roel Bovendeert wants to play for his home country in the Tokyo Olympics – and has to impress the selectors while playing in Malaysia.
So far, the 27-year-old has been impressive. He is having a great run for Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL), scoring six goals.
He added two more in an an easy 6-0 win over debutants Hockey Academy of Kuala Lumpur at the Tengku Abdullah Hockey Stadium in Bangi yesterday to make it eight.
Bovendeert wants to score as many goals as possible to catch the attention of Holland’s selectors for the Olympics. He last played for his country in the FIH Pro League in April last year.
His MHL team UniKL, meanwhile, are well on their way to the title with their ninth consecutive win in as many matches. They have five matches left to play and lead the standings with maximum points, five clear of second-placed Tenaga Nasional.
UniKL went on the offensive right from the start and Bovendeert gave them the lead in the 10th minute and was on target again in the 18th.
Krishanraj Singh (15th), Mohd Hafiz Zainol (15th), Izwan Fidaus Ahmad Tajuddin (31st) and Mohd Najmi Farizal (38th) contributed the other goals for UniKL.
Bovendeert said he was happy playing for UniKL. “I am enjoying every minute here. I am happy to have scored eight goals in nine matches and want to help UniKL retain the league title.
“My main goal is to play for the first time in the Olympics. I have represented my country 35 times since my debut in the Test matches against South Africa in 2014 but I have to yet to play in the World Cup or an Olympics,” said Bovendeert, who was dropped from the team to Rio in 2016.
“I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will get a chance to play in the Olympics with my good outing in the MHL,” he said.
The Star of Malaysia
Indian National women’s hockey quarterfinals get underway from Thursday
The league matches were mostly one-sided, and form played true as the fancied teams made it to the last-eight stage without much fuss.
M. R. Praveen Chandran
The 10th National senior women’s hockey championship reaches its business end when the quarterfinals begin on Thursday.
The league matches were mostly one-sided, and form played true as the fancied teams made it to the last-eight stage without much fuss.
The competitiveness which was missing in league matches will be there in plenty in the quarterfinal matches.
Last year’s runner-up Madhya Pradesh, which started its campaign with a draw against Odisha, has steadily improved with every match. Madhya Pradesh faces a tricky quarterfinal opponent in SAI. Karishma Singh, the tournament’s leading striker with eight goals, will be MP’s trump card.
SAI, last year’s B-division champion, will be high on confidence after holding last year’s third placed Haryana to a thrilling draw in the last match. SAI has a few talented players like Dung Dung Betan in its ranks. SAI is a dangerous side when it is counter-attacking and MP will be wary of its opponent’s ability to switch modes.
Haryana will be up against Odisha, which finished second in Pool A. The Odisha side so far has been efficient without being spectacular. The team has punched above its weight and Haryana cannot afford to take Odisha lightly. Haryana needs to be more consistent in the midfield and has improve its defensive game. SAI exposed Haryana’s weakness and Odisha which plays a similar counter attacking game will fancy its chances.
Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy and Punjab meet in a high-octane quarterfinal. Both sides won their last league matches in style. However, Punjab which qualified from a tougher group which included Maharashtra and Chandigarh is a slight favourite.
Maharashtra, last year’s semifinalist, will be banking on its prolific scorer Rutuja when it meets Jharkhand which is essentially a junior squad. But Jharkhand beat stronger teams in its group to qualify and is capable of causing an upset. Chandigarh exposed a few chinks in Maharashtra’s game. Jharkhand will be looking to exploit that when the two sides meet.
Sportstar
Sports Authority of India, Hockey India launch seven High-Performance Centres for honing young talent
File photo Indian men's hockey team. Twitter @HockeyIndia
New Delhi: Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Hockey India on Thursday announced the establishment of the High-Performance Centres in seven places across the country to provide state-of-the-art facilities to junior and sub-Junior players.
The move was aimed at grooming young talent in view of 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games.
While the National Hockey Academy at Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi, SAI Sundergarh, Odisha, SAI UDMCC, Bhopal, and SAI Bengaluru will be active within the next three months, the remaining three centres will be developed over the next one year.
These centres will be closely monitored by Hockey India and its High-Performance Director and the programme will also ensure that the athletes are provided with international exposure.
These seven High-Performance Hockey Centres will be set up under the Khelo India scheme and will have expert professional training, utilisation of sports science, and education of the youngsters.
"Owing to the large hockey-playing population in and around these seven cities and availability of infrastructure, SAI and Hockey India have strategically shortlisted these centres as the first seven High-Performance Hockey Centres in the country, and will further be identifying other suitable centres around the country which can be converted into High-Performance Centres in the future," a release said.
"The existing SAI Centres and Hockey Academies around India will serve as 'feeder' centres to these new High-Performance Hockey Centres, which shall hold 72 men and 72 women hockey players at each location. These young hockey players will be selected from a specific age range of 14 to 24 years in order to ensure that they are developed and prepared in time for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics."
The initial seven High-Performance Hockey Centres will be established at the following locations:
1. SAI Centre, Bengaluru, Karnataka (South Zone); 2. Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi (North Zone); 3. SAI Sundergarh, Odisha (East Zone); 4. SAI UDMCC, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (Central Zone).
Followed By: 5. SAI NS NEC, Takyel, Imphal, Manipur (North-East Zone); 6. Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune, Maharashtra (West Zone); 7. SAI Centre, Ranchi and Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium (East Zone II).
The SAI Centre Bengaluru will remain as the main site for the senior and junior national teams.
Firstpost
A huge thank you to our volunteers.
Without the volunteers who work so hard each day to offer athletes and fans a unique experience, it would simply not be possible to hold any hockey events globally. For this reason, Hockey Wales in conjunction with the FIH, would like to thank and celebrate them.
Hockey Wales nominated John Taylor and Judith Evans for an FIH Certificate of Gratitude to recognise all their hard work and commitment to the game.
John Taylor has worked tirelessly as a volunteer within Welsh hockey since his time as a player with Bridgend. Now, the Chair of the WHUA, John represents the organisation in several capacities including umpire assessing, tutoring and mentoring.
Judith Evans played for Caerphilly Ladies Hockey Club and soon become involved in the administration side of the game looking after the South Wales Women’s League for over 25 years. Judith has spent many hours voluntarily representing Women’s hockey with several Associations and Boards.
Both John and Judith are Hockey Wales Administrators of the Year, Anne Ellis Award Winners and well-deserved recipients of recognition from the FIH.
Hannah Bevan, Head of Development for Hockey Wales thanked them for their time and commitment,
“It is evident that our sport is driven by the most passionate and committed volunteers, who ensure that Hockey is happening and all opportunities to engage are made possible.
“John and Judith have dedicated endless hours of their time to Hockey and despite just getting on with their voluntary roles we are, and have always been, so appreciative of their work and it certainly will never go unnoticed.
We wanted to take this opportunity to thank both John and Judith with a small gift of gratitude amongst the rest of the volunteers who are being thanked Internationally within Hockey today.”
We have a variety of volunteer opportunities at Hockey Wales, if you’re interested please contact our National Volunteering Lead, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Hockey Wales media release
Oh Dear Sir
by Ashley Morrison
Have you ever heard of the saying, “They went to the well once too often?"
It is said to be a saying that originates from the 14th century and basically means that you should not keep calling on the same resource after it has been exhausted, or repeat a risky action too often, or push your luck too far.
Certainly when it comes to money and sponsorship from India, the well is not yet dry, however those who keep returning to tap the same sponsors need to beware. Are they too reliant on the monies coming from one country, let alone one sponsor? Can they still deliver if that one sponsor had a sudden change of heart?
There are rumblings coming out of India that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) are due to announce that a four year sponsorship agreement has been brokered with Odisha Tourism.
In February 2018 Hockey India signed a five year deal with Odisha Tourism, a deal that sees their logo on the front of the Indian Men's and Women's teams shirts.
The Odisha Government has been totally committed to the sport.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who was seen as a regular attendee of the brilliantly run 2018 FIH Men's World Cup said at the time of the announcement “Hockey in Odisha is more than a sport, it’s a way of life, especially in our tribal regions where children learn to walk with hockey sticks.” The deal brokered by Hockey India was said to be the first of its kind, where Indians saw one State Government stepping in to support a national team outside the confines of its state boundaries.
Hosting the Men's World Cup appeared to reap immediate rewards. On January 16th 2019 the Business Standard reported "tentative figures collated by Odisha's tourism department,"that the Tournament which finished a month earlier on the 16th of December had resulted in "1.61 million and 2.22 million domestic tourists in November and December respectively, up to 60 per cent higher than normal. Foreign tourists also arrived in higher numbers in the two months with an average monthly arrival of 15,000, higher by around 50 per cent."
These are phenomenal figures. The Kalinga Stadium which hosted the 2018 World Cup was renovated to increase capacity to 16,000. With 36 matches being played at the World Cup, if the stadium was full to capacity that would have seen 576,000 through the turnstiles. So two to three times that figure travelled to the state while the World Cup was on, and did not attend games. Which is just what you want to happen when hosting and sponsoring an event. (What Is It They Say About Statistics...)
There is no doubt that the Odisha Government were ecstatic with these figures as they once again put their financial clout behind India's bid to host the 2023 version of the Men's Hockey World Cup. This was announced on 08 November 2019. The decision meant that India would become the first nation to host back-to-back World Cups, and would be the host of three of the last four World Cups.
Belgium and Malaysia were the two countries that missed out after Spain and Germany withdrew their bids. It was said that financially the India bid offered more to the FIH.
It was reported that Hockey India promised the FIH CHF3.5 million as ‘guaranteed profit’ from the event, while Belgium could only assure CHF1 million. Malaysia did not guarantee any figure. It was stated in the Hockey Paper that "an FIH spokesperson said the amount cited as ‘guaranteed profit’ is instead ‘hosting fees’ and added ‘those are not public.’"(sic)
This of course raised the issue as to whether the bid criteria was identical for all nations, which is the norm in most cases; FIFA excluded.
In fact in the Indian Express on 11th December FIH CEO Thierry Weil stated "I am extremely happy that we as a sport have decided to reuse a venue like Bhubaneswar because there was a lot of effort and investment done to build the stadium there.”
In the same article he went on to be quoted as saying “We want to do more development (take the WC to other parts of the world) but as with all things in life, when you want to do more development, you need to generate more revenues. And how can you do that? It is by making countries like India part of your sport.”
Those comments did little to comfort those in many other parts of the world. The reason that those words stuck in their craw was that on 27th of November in a ceremony at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that two cities in the State would be playing host! Rourkela would be the second host city. Some have said that this announcement blindsided many Executives at the FIH.
Rourkela is 328km from Bhubaneswar. There are no regular flights into the city and the airport is essentially an airstrip. On the 14th of January 2020 The Indian Express reported that "the Brahmani Riverfront Development Project, a key component of the Smart City Mission, continues to lag owing to apathy of Rourkela Smart City Ltd (RSCL). Even as preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the project is underway, it is apprehended that the project may not be completed before Hockey World Cup, 2023." Don't they say that about every host city of an International sporting event?
It has been confirmed that the stadium in Rourkela will need to be upgraded, and the Odisha Government's Vishal Dev, secretary-cum-commissioner of the sports and youth services department told the Times of India, "we have requested the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) since the stadium belongs to them, to upgrade it to the FIH standard." Suddenly the venue argument had lost some of its credibility.
At the same time that the Hockey World Cup hosting rights were announced the FIH, against the wishes of many nations and players, announced that they would be pushing ahead with the FIH Hockey 5s World Cup in 2023. A move it was claimed that was made "in order to further boost the development of hockey globally." Others across the globe fear that there are other motives. (Coming Full Circle)
The host for this tournament has yet to be announced, but it is understood that under the new agreement with the Odisha Government, they will play host to the inaugural tournament, and also to the Men's Junior World Cup in 2021. If so, this will be the third time in succession that India has played host to this tournament, the last two events being hosted by Delhi and Lucknow.
It is understandable that if the Odisha Government is investing in Hockey in India and globally that they would want a return on their investment, and that they would want to see the key tournaments played in Odisha.
Yet the very first item in the FIH Statutes states "The fundamental purposes of the FIH are:
(a) to promote and develop Hockey at all levels throughout the world."
In the same section it states: (d) to control the organisation and scheduling of competitions (including, without limitation, “world” or “international” championships and other events purporting to be “world” or “international” events or to determine “world” or “international” champions of Hockey), so as to ensure that the sporting calendar is organised and scheduled in accordance with the best long-term interests and priorities of the sport as a whole;
Holding all of the major men's tournaments in one state in India is not helping promote and develop the game. No matter how fantastic a job the people of Odisha do in staging the event; from that perspective they cannot be faulted.
India is playing in the FIH's flagship tournament, the FIH Pro League in 2020. Their opening game was played against The Netherlands. The game was held at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, as stated a fantastic venue. Yet tickets had to be given away to school children to try and fill up the empty seats. Trying to obtain the exact number of tickets sold for that opening game has been hard, but it is believed to be on or around 1500.
This is sad, and almost impossible to believe in a State where Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik claimed "Hockey in Odisha is more than a sport, it’s a way of life." Odisha has a strong tradition of producing outstanding defenders. It has a rich hockey culture. So why did so few pay to watch the national team play? Will more pay to attend the up coming games against Belgium and Australia?
One Indian member of the media who requested their name be withheld believed that the reason for the poor attendance was due to simply too much Hockey in Bhubaneswar.
They may have a point. Since 2017 the stadium has hosted the Hockey India League, with the Kalinga Lancers winning the final edition in 2017, the Men's FIH Hockey World League Finals 2017, the Men's Hockey World Cup 2018, the Men's Hockey Series Finals 2019, the 2019 Women's FIH Olympic Qualifiers and the 2019 Men's FIH Olympic Qualifiers. Also now all of India's home games in the FIH Pro League.
A series against Bangladesh and another against South Korea featuring India A sides in 2018 were played in Bangalore, as was a three Test series against New Zealand. So since the end of the Hockey India League the national team has played three matches away from Odisha in two years. No wonder the people of the Punjab, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other Indian states are becoming frustrated. After all it is a National team representing the whole of India made up of players from all of these states.
If they are becoming frustrated then imagine how the other Hockey nations are feeling.
It is understandable that the FIH has to go where the money is, but there has to be a balance.
When the Hockey Revolution was launched in 2014 one of the goals was to "generate millions more followers around the world." India appeared the perfect place to do that in one fell swoop, but by hosting all the matches in one state even those millions of Hockey fans in India are turning their back on the game.
One of the Revolution initiatives was to find "commercial partners who share our vision." What we are witnessing currently is not the vision that was shared at that time. There was to be "joined up Global Marketing," that too is yet to be seen. We won't mention the goal with television and where that is at.
All of these components that we were told would help Hockey fulfil its ambition, which was "in ten years hockey is a global game that inspires the next generation," are unlikely to be seen if the sport continues to have such a narrow focus.
The game cannot possibly grow when all of the major events are held in one place. The next generation waiting to be inspired by a new sport and sporting hero, is missing out. Apart from of course those in that one location.
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