News for 20 July 2020
All the news for Monday 20 July 2020
Sardar feels India has realistic chance of winning a medal at Tokyo Olympics
Former India captain Sardar Singh won the Asian Games gold in 2014 by beating Pakistan in the final. - TWITTER @HOCKEYINDIA
Proud to be part of a generation that witnessed Indian hockey’s resurgence, former captain Sardar Singh says his sole regret in an otherwise illustrious career is not winning an Olympic medal for his country.
However, he feels the current team under Manpreet Singh has the potential to break the four-decade-old jinx in Tokyo next year.
“My journey in hockey has been rather satisfying because I was part of that era which saw a resurgence. We came a long way from finishing last at the London Olympics in 2012 to being ranked No.6 in the world when I hung up my boots in 2018.
“Now, the current team is poised at no.4 which should definitely bring a lot of confidence to this team in the lead up to their Tokyo Olympic campaign,” said Sardar.
The Indian team has a rich Olympic history, winning an unprecedented eight gold besides a silver and two bronze medals.
India’s last success at the quadrennial sporting extravaganza, though, came 40 years ago in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, where it won the last of its eight gold medals.
“Having played 314 international matches, I will always regret not being able to add an Olympic medal on the wall back home.
But watching this team grow from strength to strength in the past year and the way they played the FIH Hockey Pro League earlier this year, I have great hope that they can bag that elusive Olympic medal. “They definitely have a realistic chance in Tokyo,” said Sardar in a Hockey India release.
With the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games being postponed by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sardar feels the Indian team will get some time to work on its grey areas and unearth new talent.
“They have the time to build on the new talent that is available. Some of the youngsters like Rajkumar, Dilpreet, Vivek Sagar, Gursahibjit have shown great promise and trying them in big-match scenarios like the Pro League was a good decision by chief coach Graham Reid.
“With the Olympics being postponed, we have the time to work on our short-comings. Converting chances continues to be one of the grey areas but I feel we have been finishing much better than we were two or three years ago.”
Sardar advised the Indian players not to lose their focus amid the current global health crisis, which has halted sporting activities across the world.
“For now, I understand these are trying times for all sports persons in India with the COVID-19 pandemic posing several challenges to the Olympic preparations but my advice to the Indian hockey core probables, men and women, is to remain focused on their goal,” said the 34-year-old from Sirsa in Haryana.
“Playing in the Olympics for India should be the single most motivating factor for each and every athlete and they must channelise their efforts to be the best they can be ahead of the Tokyo Games.”
On a personal note, Sardar handpicked the 2014 Asian Games gold, where it beat arch-rival Pakistan to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, as the stand-out moment of his 12-year career.
“Looking back at my career that spanned over a decade, there have been some very memorable matches. Leading the Indian team to the 2014 Asian Games Gold, the first in 16 years, will always be on top of that list not just because it was historic and beating Pakistan in a final is always an icing on the cake.
“This win set off a new beginning for the Indian men’s hockey team. In 2014, we were on the cusp of greater things to come and there was no looking back,” he added.
Sportstar
For the love of hockey, Baljit turns to coaching
By Jugjet Sing
Baljit Singh Charun
KUALA LUMPUR: A new chapter begins for Baljit Singh Charun on Aug 15.
The former international will be assigned as a Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) development coach under the 2016 Asian Games project.
Baljit has been given the green light by his employer, Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) to pursue his dream.
Another ex-international has also been offered the same post, but he has yet to be released by his employer.
"UniKL have agreed to release me to join MHC's coaching set-up. I am happy to get back into the mainstream of hockey," said Baljit.
Baljit, who has a Level 2 coaching certificate, wants to pursue a career in developing players and hopes to have an International Hockey Federation (FIH) certificate in the near future.
"I now play, as well as work, for UniKL (human resource department). My ambition is to become an FIH certified coach, and would like to thank the MHC for kick-starting my coaching career."
Any regrets from his playing days?
"Only one. I was just one step away from becoming a World Cup player, but destiny saw otherwise.
"But now, maybe in the future, I will develop some players who will play in the World Cup and Olympics.
"And I can still realise my dream of being there with them," said Baljit, who was among the players who steered UniKL to a Malaysia Hockey League treble in February.
Baljit was a shoo-in for the 2014 World Cup, but when Paul Revington and Arul Selvaraj left five months before the tournament, a new coaching outfit dropped the defender.
German-Malaysian Kevin Lim, who impressed coach K. Dharmaraj in just a one-match outing in Australia, replaced Baljit.
And when Kevin was injured days before the World Cup in a training session at the Hague, Baljit was still shunned. Instead, Izad Hakimi Jamaluddin was named as Kevin's replacement.
Amazingly, Izad who had just recovered from dengue fever back then was flown in the same morning Malaysia played Australia.
Malaysia subsequently finished last in the 12-team tournament without winning a single point from six matches.
Experience, sweet or bitter, makes a man wiser and hopefully, Baljit gets to watch a future World Cup while sitting on the Malaysian bench — as a coach.
New Straits Times
The brave hockey team of Afghanistan continue to push for the right to play
The story of the Afghan national women’s hockey team has been told before as part of the FIH’s celebration of International Women’s Day but, as we compile our series of articles about inspiring athletes, they surely have to feature again as the team, led by captain Khadija Achakzai, continue to battle for women and girls to be allowed to play sport and represent their country.
It is a confused and dangerous situation for women who wish to play sport in the country. While sport for health and fitness may be acceptable, excelling at sport is not. Many talented sports women from a range of sports have had to leave the country in order to continue with their sports careers. For any women choosing to play sport in Afghanistan there is a lack of facilities, support or acceptance in wider society. It is no exaggeration to say that women who play sport are risking their personal safety and sometimes their lives.
And yet, brave women continue to speak out and press for the right to pursue their sports. Just this month, the Afghan national women’s hockey team called for more support for their sport from the government. The national team is asking the government to help fund a pitch where the women can train and play. Since it was formed in 2012, the women’s national team has not had a pitch to call home, meaning they cannot host other teams or have regular training.
“We couldn’t pursue our regular training because there is no area to train and to demonstrate our ability on the world stage,” says Khadija. “Fortunately, we were assured recently about a hockey rink [pitch] that is currently under construction. We hope that the completion of this rink will help us to pursue our sport.”
Despite the many barriers to women and girls playing sport in Afghanistan, hockey has continued to attract participants. There are 28 members of the Afghan Women’s Hockey Federation, with branches of the federation running teams in three provinces. 
Rukhsar Habibzai, deputy head of the Afghan Hockey Federation, speaking to the national news channel Tolo News, says: “There has been significant progress in the National Hockey Federation of Afghanistan over the past few years. For the first time, we managed to organise a course with the support of the International Olympic Committee and the National Hockey Federation, and four of our female players managed to get their certificates. We also managed to establish our provincial hockey teams.”
In an interview specially recorded for FIH, Khadija says: “I started hockey very young, and at first the training was very hard, but I soon got used to it and started enjoying it. I am still playing but the current situation in our country is very tough for women.
“Women cannot do sports or even go to school or university, but even within these limitations we struggle to achieve our aims. I urge all women not to give up. You can do sports and you have the right to learn.
“You must do everything in your power to achieve your dreams and don’t let anyone stop you from doing so. We get a lot of support from our Federation, which is really commendable.”
The Afghan Hockey Federation is also supported by the Asian Hockey Federation. Over the past few years, the Asian Hockey Federation has worked closely with the national federation to support hockey development for women and girls.
Among the programmes being run by the continental federation are Youth Development Programmes, which aims to introduce hockey to school children across Afghanistan. There is a long way to go, but Khadira and her team mates are leading the way as they continue to push for the simple right to play their sport.
FIH site
Tangled-web of Euro allocations sees Hockey Ireland go to dispute solutions body
Lisnagarvey successfully appealed for a Euro upgrade. Pic: Adrian Boehm
Lots of twists and turns with three clubs appealing in the aftermath of Lisnagarvey's successful ruling; EYHL2 make-up still in the mix while 2019/20 Irish cup finals could be played in September
The allocation of Ireland’s European places will take some serious untangling over the coming weeks as three clubs and Hockey Ireland themselves have made appeals for further mediation and arbitration.
It is the fall-out from Lisnagarvey’s successful challenge to an independent appeals panel. Following HI’s decision to declare the EYHL season “null and void”, Garvey had originally been awarded the second men’s Euro spot for 2020/21 with Three Rock Rovers taking the first spot as 2019 Champions Trophy winners – the last completed competition.
The Hillsborough club, however, argued that such a decision was “flawed and unjust” and “without reasonable rationale”. In their presentation to the appeals panel, as runaway league leaders, their belief the “best placed team at that time” should represent Ireland to improve chances of success in European competition.
The independent panel found in their favour, stating the Hockey Ireland management board “did not clearly appear to consider alternatives to the selecting and order of the clubs”.
For instance, a mathematical model was used to determine positions at regional level but was not deemed acceptable for the EYHL.
The ruling continued: “No reasons were given for deciding that the selections and positions of the teams of the previous season rather than giving consideration to alternative methods to try and reach the most equitable outcome”.
In the Independent Panel’s determination, one member suggested the Hockey Ireland Management Board “revisit their procedures as to their selections and order for European club competitions”.
In the HI press statement announcing Garvey’s appeal, Three Rock – who were fourth at the time of lockdown – were given the second seed with the women’s placings unaltered, leaving Pegasus in first place and league leaders Loreto as second seed.
For that reason, both Banbridge – second in the men’s league at the time of lockdown – and Loreto lodged appeals to Hockey Ireland, citing the precedent set by the Garvey outcome.
Bann’s John Bell said their appeal is based “on the need to ensure a fair and equal process to be applied to the selection criteria. We club feel that this has not been applied”.
Three Rock also confirmed this week they have taken a case to Sport Dispute Solutions Ireland (SDSI) – the Federation of Irish Sport’s appeal body – to put forward an appeal to have the original decision be upheld.
Usually, the first seed for Europe is based on the Champions Trophy positions with the EYHL only providing the second seed. There are also questions over how the independent appeal board took until June 29 to sit when HI’s rule 20 in the bye laws would have set June 11 as the latest the case could have been processed.
With that trio of appeals already lodged, Hockey Ireland subsequently requested for clubs to “pause” their own appeals as they have launched their own case with SDSI Ireland in a new twist to the saga.
The governing body released a statement on Friday evening to say they have contacted the clubs to put those claims on hold “due to the complexity of the issue and potential implications” of the case. 
Loreto could see their Euro status improve, too. Pic: Adrian Boehm
“While accepting the decision of the Appeal Panel, it is Hockey Ireland’s position that the committee focused on Lisnagarvey Hockey Club’s appeal without any, or insufficient, regard to the consequences of such a change to the broader Hockey Ireland decision.
“The outcome of the appeal impacts on the decisions, regarding club selections and their ranking, for all of the respective European Hockey Competitions in 2020/2021.”
While appeals to Hockey Ireland normally need to be heard within two weeks of receipt, it is likely those will be delayed until after the SDSI hearings which could either affirm Loreto and Bann’s stances or else render them null and void.
The European Hockey Federation usually requires entries to their competitions by July but this has been pushed out to September due to the ongoning pandemic, giving some extra time for all to be processed.
Elsewhere, the nature of EYHL Division 2 has still yet to be confirmed in the latest draft calendar for the 2020/21 season.
Earlier this summer, clubs from both the men’s and women’s EYHL2 competitions sent letters to the HI competitions committee to request a full season competition while others have made representations against such a proposal.
Should it come to pass, it would likely mean taking a number of extra clubs out of the regional leagues which could have a seismic knock-on effect to the local competitions.
One date that is confirmed is the All-Ireland Schoolboys Championships is switched from its usual late October slot to March 2021. This is for one season only to allow more time for COVID-19 restrictions to ease for the three-day, 16-team event.
The idea is to return to the preferred October slot for 2021/22, a date in the calendar far away from clashes for teachers and players with mock exams and other schools trips.
Pencilled into the draft calendar are also the semi-finals of the 2019/20 men’s Irish Senior Cup and the men’s and women’s Irish Hockey Trophy semi-finals on September 5.
The finals of the Irish Senior Cups, Irish Hockey Trophy, the Irish Hockey Challenge and the Irish Junior Cup are provisionally down for the weekend of September 19 and 20 save for the women’s IHT and men’s IJC which are pegged for September 27.
The Hook
Life Member - Bob Claxton
Across Bob Claxton’s lifespan in hockey, everyone he comes across would testify of his true passion for the sport.
In any role or position Bob has undertaken and provided his services and talents to, the question that has always underpinned it is has been, “how can I make hockey better?” And so formed Bob’s motto of, “is this good for hockey?”
Throughout Bob’s involvement with hockey, which spans over some 63 years and continues to this day, he strives to bring people from all backgrounds and walks of life to the sport. This is currently highlighted through his position as Secretary General and Treasurer of the Oceania Hockey Federation.
From first taking to the field as a 12 year old for Bandiana in the Albury/Wodonga Association, hockey has been in Bob’s blood whether it be as a player, coach, administrator or official.
His respect and standing in the Australian hockey community saw him serve for two years on the Hockey Australia Board.
These days he focuses a lot of his time and energy into growing and supporting hockey in the Oceania region. Bob’s efforts in the Pacific Island region is testament to how far and wide he is willing to go to spread the sport of hockey.
Some of Bob’s fantastic initiatives included organizing a Masters tour to Fiji to encourage the country’s older players to come back to the game, and setting up player trading in the upper age groups to get more teams in the Masters competition (12 Australians played in the New Zealand Masters this year which meant the competition went from three teams to five as more New Zealand players competed).
Bob is passionate about getting people into the game or getting them to return to the game in any capacity.
What he said…
“I think it’s a very nice and humbling thing to be recognized by your peers for your involvement in the sport that you love. The nature of hockey is a challenging game and I always look at it a bit like playing chess. The other thing about hockey is the people. They are very engaging people and very welcoming to anyone who is involved. For me, I really love the aspect of seeing people grow into better people, not just better hockey players, and being able to have a positive impact on their life. I think that is one of the essences of being involved.” Bob Claxton
From those in the know…
“We’re so proud of him. He is an unknown legend in Australian hockey. Whilst I get a lot of accolades playing for my country, he’s the person behind the scenes organising events, setting up, umpiring, coaching, promoting hockey not just in Australia but the Pacific Islands, so it’s really amazing to see a lifetime’s worth of work be recognized by Hockey Australia.” Jane Claxton (Daughter and current Hockeyroo)
Hockey Timeline
Player
Started playing at 12 years of age in the Albury/Wodonga Association for Bandiana.
South Australia
1958-1962 Brighton High School
1962-1971 Brighton Hockey Club (District Team, A Reserves & Division 3)
1969 South Australian Summer State Team
Northern Territory
1975-1983 Gove Hockey NT (Charlie Brown’s All Stars)
1976-1983 Gove Association Representative Team
1976-1978 NT State Team
1983-1986 Darwin A grade Nightcliff
1988-1989 NT State Veterans
South Australia
1990-2005 Grange Veterans
1991-2008 SA State Veterans (give or take the odd year)
2015-Present SA State Veterans (Playing & Coaching)
Queensland
2010-2014 Over 65s Masters Team
Australia
2006 Australian Over 60s World Cup Team Vice Captain
2009 Australian Over 60s Team New Zealand tour
2011 Australian Over 65s Team Japan tour
2012 Australian Over 65s Team Oxford
Coach
1989 Level 3 NCAS Coach
1989 FIH Graded Coach
South Australia
1960-1962 Brighton High School team
1964-1969 Brighton Women’s Hockey Club (one of the first male coaches)
1970-1971 Brighton Hockey Club U16 Boys
Northern Territory
1975-1983 C.B.A.S Club Gove
1976-1983 Gove Representative Team
1980-1982 NT State U21
1983-1989 NT State Senior Men
South Australia
1990-1996 Grange Premier League (Premiership 1996)
1997-2009 SA Veterans various age teams
2002-2005 Marryatville Primary School Minkey, Half Field & SAPSASA
2004-2010 Prince Alfred College First XI (4 Intercol wins straight)
2004-2005 SA Hotshots Assistant Coach
2008-2009 SA Hotshots Performance Analysis and Video
2010 SA Hotshots Assistant Coach
2003-2007 Burnside Premier League Men (Premiership 2007 & 2010)
2006 Burnside U15 Girls
2007-2012 Burnside Premier League Women (Runners up 2011)
2012 State U21 Women Asst Coach & Video Analysis
Australia
2009 Australian O60 Team New Zealand Tour
2011 Australian O65 Team Japan (tour cancelled)
2012 Australian O65 Team Oxford World Cup
2014 Australian O65 Team The Hague World Cup (Silver)
2016 Australian O65 Team Newcastle World Cup (Gold)
2018 Australian O70 Team Barcelona World Cup (Silver)
2019 Australian O70 Team Fiji / New Zealand Tour
2020 Australian O70 Team Tokyo World Cup
Administrator and Official
South Australia
1971 SA State U13 selector
1990-1994 SA Hotshots selector
2004-2005 SA Hotshots Manager
2007 Hockey SA Men’s Coach of Year
1999-2003 Hockey SA Board
2003-2006 Hockey SA President
Northern Territory
1975 Foundation member of Gove Hockey Association
1981-1989 NT State selector (8 years)
1984-1988 NT Executive Board (4 years)
Australia
1989 Level 3 Coaching Accreditation
1989 Level 2 Accreditation Course Assessor
1982 FIH Coaching Seminar
1983 Olympic Solidarity Coach Course
2006-2008 Hockey Australia Board
International
2007-Present Secretary General and Treasurer Oceania Hockey Federation
Hockey Australia media release