News for 04 January 2021
All the news for Monday 4 January 2021
New dates for North-East Africa region hockey qualifiers
By Agnes Makhandia
Kenyan National men's hockey team players during a past training session at City Park Stadium. File | Nation Media Group
The eagerly awaited North-East Africa region qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations set for later this year have been rescheduled to March 1-7 at the Sikh Union Hockey Stadium in Nairobi.
African Hockey Federation(AfHF) was forced to make a raft of changes to the 2020 calendar of events due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The North East region qualifiers was initially programmed for January 18-24, but Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) last year asked the African body to consider postponing the event due to time constraints.
The development was occasioned after the Sports Ministry gave the Union the green-light to resume activities including national teams assignments and Premier League matches.
A statement sent to National Federations read,"Throughout 2020, the AfHF has been engaged in many online meetings with the international Hockey Federation (FIH) and other continental Federations to brainstorm ideas and coordinate efforts to formulate the way forward amidst such unprecedented of uncertainty.
"In addition, several online Executive Board meetings took place resulting in the following resolutions. Due to Covid-19 related restrictions in Kenya not making it possible for the competition to take place during January 2021 as scheduled this tournament has been postponed to the period of March 1-7."
KHU Deputy match and fixture secretary, Moses Majiwa, observed that with the new dates will give national teams enough time to gel, considering they are currently training in small groups.
The men's team will face Burundi, Libya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Seychelles with top two nations proceeding to the Africa Cup of Nations.
While the ladies will battle favourites Egypt, Burundi, Libya, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda for the two slots.
At the same time, AfHF has cancelled the North-West Africa qualifiers that was rescheduled for February 15-24 in Ghana.
Nigeria was the only country that confirmed participation with, Algeria, Burkina Faso,Cameroon, Sierra Leone and Togo all pulling out of the event.
With that, AfHF has considered Ghana and Nigeria as qualified teams for the upcoming Cup of Nations.
The Central-South Africa qualifiers set for February 19-27 in Harare, Zimbabwe will proceed with Namibia, Zambia and the hosts having confirmed participation.
Malawi, Botswana, Mauritius and Swaziland are yet to confirm participation.
Daily Nation
Back from a break, Indian hockey team to up the ante at national camp
The Manpreet Singh-led side won’t be playing a competitive match until March. All focus will be on training at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru.
By Naveen Peter
Back from a break, Indian hockey team to up the ante at national camp
Having spent the festive season at home, the 33-member core probable group of the Indian hockey team will return to Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) South Centre in Bengaluru for the national camp which resumes on Tuesday.
The team, led by Manpreet Singh, took part in a four-month-long camp before returning home for the break. Back at the training base, chief coach Graham Reid will now push the boys in their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.
“I expect the players to return feeling fresh both mentally and physically after this three-week break,” chief coach Graham Reid said in a Hockey India release.
“In our previous national camp, we hit desirable numbers in various parameters including the Yo-Yo Test. Our aim will be to up the ante in the current camp and be prepared for the forthcoming competition.”
The core group will undergo a mandatory quarantine period before resuming training.
While the women’s team is set to begin its Olympic year with the tour of Argentina, the Indian hockey men’s team will have to wait till March for some competitive action.
India are scheduled to play the Asian Champions Trophy in Bangladesh before resuming their FIH Pro League commitments in April. India’s first set of away matches will be against the reigning Olympic champions, Argentina.
Indian hockey team core probable group
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan B Pathak, Suraj Karkera.
Defenders: Birendra Lakra, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Dipsan Tirkey, Nilam Sanjeep Xess.
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Jaskaran Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad.
Forwards: SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Ramandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Shamsher Singh, Gurjant Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Shilanand Lakra.
Olympic Channel
Captain Manpreet Singh says Indian men’s hockey team needs to be ‘mentally prepared’ for hurdles on way to Olympics
Pushed back by a year due to the pandemic, the quadrennial sporting extravaganza is slated to be held in July-August.
File image of India'smen's hockey captain Manpreet Singh.
New Delhi: Keeping the fast-evolving COVID-19 situation in mind, Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh says his side will need to be "mentally prepared" for the several obstacles it might face on its way to the Tokyo Olympics.
Pushed back by a year due to the pandemic, the quadrennial sporting extravaganza is slated to be held in July-August.
"The biggest learning from last year was to not let external factors affect our goal. There could be many uncertainties but we need to only worry about what's within our control and that is to work towards being our best.
"There could be several challenges leading up to the Olympic Games this year and we need to be mentally prepared for it," Manpreet said, putting things into perspective.
With only 200 days to go for the Olympics, Manpreet and Rani, the women's team skipper, believe the players in respective core groups will have to give their 100 per cent to be able to achieve their goals in Tokyo.
"The next 200 days is going to be the most important period of our lives. Each one of us have to give our 100 per cent in training and in competition if we want to see ourselves make the Indian Team for Tokyo," stated the midfielder.
Rani agreed that in the next few months the players will need to up their game in all aspects.
"In the previous national camp which lasted over four months, we have really worked hard to reach the level we were previously at. In the next few months, our focus will be on improving further in all aspects of the game.
"Our competitions this year will show us where we stand and what needs to be improved. From here on, each one of us have to work on being the best," said Rani, a Khel Ratna awardee.
She stated that players should not take their place in the team for granted and they will have to showcase that they are indeed the best to make the cut.
"I look forward to good competition within the team as it brings out the best in us. Another thing we need to focus on is our mental fitness and also take care of our bodies in the lead up to the Games to avoid injuries," Rani stated.
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