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All the news for Saturday 10 July 2021

2021 Test matches POL v UKR (M) - 10 July
Walcz (POL)

8 Jul 2021     POL v UKR     0 - 2
9 Jul 2021     POL v UKR     1 - 1

2021 Test matches POL v UKR (W)

8 Jul 2021     POL v UKR     3 - 2
9 Jul 2021    POL v UKR     2 - 0

FIH Match Centre

2021 Test match POL v LTU (M) - 10 July 2021
Walcz (POL)

Times GMT +2

10 Jul 2021 19:00 (GMT +2)     POL v LTU

2021 Test match POL v LTU (W)

10 Jul 2021 17:00     POL v LTU

FIH Match Centre

LAZRUS BARLA: “Expectation from the Tokyo teams are very high”

By OLYMPIAN LAZRUS BARLA



Indian Olympic teams of the past raised hopes only to fail the country. I wish this time the team reverses the trend when they participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Expectations from our national team are far higher now than has ever been. One of the reasons for higher expectations is that we are now ranked fourth on the FIH ladder. Previously, we struggled between eighth and 10th.


Olympian Lazrus Barla, Asiad gold medallist

Fourth is a creditable feat achieved after almost two decades. The public now wants results in Tokyo matching the new status. If the consistent performance our team put up in the recent past is any indication, our expectations seem genuine.

Coach Graham Reid has expressed satisfaction with the team he selected for Tokyo. This team has as many as 10 Olympic debutantes.

It’s here that I have a bit of doubt. Ten Olympic debutantes in the 16 member team doesn’t give me much confidence. The team may be fitter and faster but I feel it lacks experience which counts in bigger tournaments.

I wish all the debutantes luck, and I expect them not to crack under pressure. The Olympics is the most important sporting event, not a forum to do experiments. Having said that, I now split my views over various departments of the game.

The defence is strong but the same can’t be said of other areas. The absence of experience may be felt acutely in the frontline. Except Lalit Upadhyay and Mandeep Singh, the others are greenhorns. They will have to justify selection.

On the contrary, our women’s team look more balanced. I am personally pained at the exclusion of Namita Toppo and Lilima Minz. Both gave their best, blood and sweat and helped the team qualify for the Olympics. And now they are not in the team! Some kind of justice is done to Namita, as she will be going to Tokyo among the three travelling quota.

It’s not just me. I think the entire state of Odisha is in pain. At the same time, it appears to me that to please our feelings two Odisha players were given deputy joint captaincy — Birendra Lakra and Deep Grace Ekka.

 I disagree with the concept of two vice-captains in a team. There are other ways of recognizing and rewarding seniors in the team such as nomination for Arjuna awards. This time the parent body, Hockey India, for reasons best known to them, did not seem to consider seniority for the award. It resulted in ignoring the claims of Birendra Lakra and Deep Grace Ekka and giving the nod to juniors.

Last year Akashdeep Singh was given the Arjuna Award but was now found not good enough to find a place in the Tokyo-bound team. It raises question marks on the selection process.

As told to SATISH SHARMA

Stick2Hockey.com

India men's hockey team: 3 Olympic debutants to watch out for at Tokyo 2020

India men's hockey team have named 10 Olympic debutants in their 16-man squad for Tokyo 2020.

By Samrat Chakraborty


Picture by wsp/Hans Kramhöller

In a bid to break their 41-year medal drought at the Olympics, India men's hockey team have named 10 Olympic debutants in their 16-man squad for Tokyo 2020, slated to get underway from July 23. India's last medal at the Olympics was a gold at the Moscow Games back in 1980.

India will begin their campaign at Tokyo 2020 against New Zealand on July 25 at the Oi Hockey Stadium. The World No.4 side, drawn into Group A, will then take on Australia (July 26), Spain (July 28), reigning Olympic champions Argentina (July 30) and hosts Japan (July 31).

But before the Manpreet Singh-led side begins their campaign, let us have a look at some of the debutants who can create an impact on their maiden Olympic appearance:


Mandeep Singh is the sixth player from the Indian hockey team to test positive for COVID-19. Photo: Hockey India

Lalit Kumar Upadhyay

Lalit Kumar Upadhyay has emerged as one the premier forwards in the India men's hockey team since making his debut for his national side in 2014. He has been a major contributor in the team's performance by scoring 22 goals in his 93 appearances.

Upadhyay was clinical with his performance in India's FIH Pro League debut against Netherlands as he netted twice in their dominating 5-2 victory at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar. He was also adjudged the player of the match for his performance.

The Varanasi-player took to hockey at the age of 11 and quickly rose through the ranks as he trained with the U-21 team just after four years. He had also impressed India hockey legend Dhanraj Pillay, who offered him to play for Air India, where he would be eventually voted as the ‘Rookie of the Year’ at the World Series Hockey tournament in 2012.

Moreover, he has also helped India to clinch gold medals at the 2016 and 2018 Champions Trophy. He was also a crucial part of the Indian team which bagged the gold medal at 2017 Asian Games. It will be upon him now to put his best foot forward and help India seal a podium spot at Tokyo 2020.

Gurjant Singh

India men's hockey team striker Gurjant Singh has always been keen on making his opportunities count. He has the knack and ability to score crucial goals from which his team can benefit from.

Gurjant had first hogged the limelight for his brilliance in the final of the 2016 FIH Junior World Cup. He had also scored a quick goal within 13 seconds during India's FIH Pro League debut against Netherlands.

It is his ability to convert one-touch shots into goals which makes him a key player in the frontline for India. He was a part of India's gold medal winning runs at 2017 Asia Cup and 2018 Asian Champions Trophy.

Mandeep Singh

India men's hockey team forward Mandeep Singh will be one of the most experienced names to make his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. He has earned over 150 caps for the national team since making his debut in 2013.

The 26-year-old first came to light after his brilliant run for Ranchi Rhinos at the 2013 Hockey India League season, where he scored a goal, to help his side clinch 2-1 win over Punjab Warriors at the Surjit Hockey Stadium. In fact, he was instrumental in leading the Ranchi franchise to the title, in the inaugural season of Hockey India League. He was the second highest scorer in the league, with ten goals in thirteen matches and was awarded the Ponty Chadha Trophy for the Upcoming Player of the Tournament award.

He has since then been a part of the India men's hockey team's gold medal-winning run at the 2018 Asian Champions Trophy, silver medals at the 2016 and 2018 Champions Trophy and bronze medal at the Asian Games.

Olympic Channel

Moulded by challenges, India hockey captain aims to make sacrifices count in Tokyo

NEW DELHI: Having seen his mother toil hard to raise him, India’s men’s hockey captain Manpreet Singh understood the meaning of challenges quite early in life and as he gears up for his third successive Olympic appearance, he is driven by the desire to make her sacrifices count more than ever.

An Olympic veteran at 29, Manpreet, along with champion boxer M C Mary Kom, will be India’s flag-bearer in the opening ceremony and faces the herculean task of leading the country to its first hockey medal in the Olympics in over four decades, starting July 23 in Tokyo.

“My mother is the biggest inspiration of my life. If she was not there I would be nothing. She is the motivation behind what I am today. I owe everything that I have earned in my career to her,” Manpreet told PTI in an interview talking about his inspiration.

Manpreet’s mother, Manjeet Kaur, had to take up odd jobs to support the family after his father was bogged down by mental health issues and had to give up his career. His father died in 2016 while Manpreet was competing in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

“My mother has seen a lot of hardships. She raised me single handedly from childhood after my father developed mental problems,” he said.

He is already living a dream after his nomination as a flagbearer, becoming the first hockey player since his idol Pargat Singh (1996) to be given the honour.

“It’s a big privilege for me to have been given that honour. I am the sixth hockey player who has got this opportunity.

“Pargat Singh was the first hockey player from my village (Mithapur in Punjab) to get this opportunity in 1996. I consider myself lucky to have got this opportunity,” he said.

The ace midfielder knows that it won’t be easy to clinch the country’s ninth Olympic gold and first since the 1980 Moscow Games. But he believes a concerted team effort can achieve even the impossible.

“Our target is to finish on the podium and my target can’t be different from the team because hockey is a team game. I can’t achieve anything alone,” Manpreet said.

“But to achieve that we have to keep our focus intact. We need to give importance to every team, can’t underestimate any team.”

Barring the World Cup and an Olympics medal, Manpreet has almost every medal that is there to be won in his cupboard.

“Besides Olympics, World Cup trophy is missing as well as a gold in the Commonwealth Games. But our present focus right now is only on the Olympics. We need to take hard steps for that, no team is going to be easy in the Olympics,” he said.

World no.4 India are clubbed in Group A along side current champions Argentina, mighty Australia, hosts Japan, New Zealand and Spain in the Olympics and Manpreet said a sound league campaign would be key to India’s success in Tokyo.

“…Our focus is on every single match. If we perform well in every single match results will definitely come our way. So we need to focus on our basics. League stage will be very important,” he said.

“We have worked a lot on our attack, penalty corners because the coach was of the feeling that we create a lot of chances inside the box but don’t get the desired outcome.

“We have the best drag-flickers in the world and the need of the hour is to use them as much as possible,” he added referring to the trio of Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh and Amit Rohidas.

Manpreet had battled COVID-19 along with four other players after returning to the national camp in Bengaluru from a short break last year. It was a tough phase for him.

“Yes, it was little difficult when I got COVID along with four other players but I would like to give special thanks to Sports Authority of India (SAI), Sports Ministry and Hockey India for taking good care of us when we were in hospital,” he recalled.

In view of the surging COVID case, the Tokyo Olympics will be held under a state of emergency with strict health safety protocols without any fans.

“We don’t know what sort of protocols and rules will be there in Tokyo. But if we speak about our group, we have been following the same COVID protocols for the last one-and-half years,” Manpreet said.

“We are not meeting any people other than the group. We are straight going to our rooms from the ground. So I don’t think we will have too many issues in following the rules in Tokyo.”

The Indian hockey teams will leave for Tokyo on July 17 along with the first batch of Indian contingent.  

Daily Excelsior

We don't panic against strong opponents anymore: Olympic-bound hockey forward Navneet Kaur

Kaur, who has played 79 matches for the national team, is all set to take part in her first Olympic campaign in Tokyo


Navneet Kaur. File photo

Olympic-bound forward Navneet Kaur feels the Indian women's hockey team's mindset has changed in the past few years, adding that the side now doesn't panic playing against top teams.

"A lot has changed in the mindset of our team in the past few years; we don't fear the stronger opponents anymore," Kaur was quoted as saying in a Hockey India release.

"Earlier, when we used to play against the Netherlands or Great Britain, we used to panic. That's not the case now. We fight until the final whistle. It's not over until it's over."

Kaur, who has played 79 matches for the national team, is all set to take part in her first Olympic campaign in Tokyo.

"Playing at the Olympics is my childhood dream and I will leave no stone unturned to make it wonderful. With experience comes responsibility.

Kaur feels heading into the games with a clear mindset will be key in the Tokyo Games.

"This team is like a family. Rani and Savita keep exchanging their ideas with us on how we can improve together as a team.

"The coaches and the entire team are working towards that goal."

The Tribune

The ticket checker who led Indian hockey team to Olympics, Sushila Chanu eyes a top-four spot in Tokyo

At 29, Sushila Chanu, who had led the team as the skipper in Rio Games, believes that the Indian Eves are much better positioned going into her second Olympics in Tokyo. The ticket checker who led Indian hockey team to Olympics, Sushila Chanu eyes a top-four spot in Tokyo

By Md Imtiaz



Ask any senior player from the Indian women's hockey team today, and they probably would have moved on from their forgettable outing at the Rio 2016 Olympics. At 29, Sushila Chanu, who had led the team as the skipper in Rio Games, believes that the Indian Eves are much better positioned going into her second Olympics in Tokyo.

GB Caps - The Story Of The Project



Playing for your country is the highest honour for any athlete and now Great Britain Hockey internationals will have a physical reward for this thanks to The Hockey Museum.

With little statistical data previously existing in the sport, a number of years ago they decided to begin the project of creating a definitive record of Great Britain international matches that would allow caps to be awarded and individual player numbers to be calculated.

Over the last five years a number of dedicated individuals have worked tirelessly to log the nearly 1,000 matches played by Great Britain's men and women and identify all 581 players to have so far worn the shirt in an official international fixture.

Steve Ellis, Sue Lane, Katie Dodd and Mike Smith have worked tirelessly at The Hockey Museum, with support from GB Hockey’s current and former Presidents Sheila Morrow and Richard Leman, as well as ex-GB internationals Simon Hazlitt and Rob Clift from the Hockey Internationals Club. Player representation on the project meetings came from Olympians Helen Richardson-Walsh and Simon Mantell.

Having created this definitive record, The Hockey Museum has subsequently begun the process of contacting all of Great Britain's international athletes (or the families of those no longer with us) in order to arrange presentation of the caps. Whilst the global pandemic has made this a tricky task, that didn't stop many of the current international players from receiving their caps back in May at a special ceremony hosted by Richard and Sheila.

Alongside the presentation of the caps, the project will continue as the focus now turns on to the Home Nations, a much bigger undertaking seeing as they have played a lot more international hockey.

“Everyone involved should be hugely proud of their efforts to bring this work together for the good of the sport," said Great Britain Hockey's Chief Operating Officer Nick Pink.

“We are immensely grateful to The Hockey Museum and all the volunteers who have spent thousands of hours producing a high quality historical record of all men and women who have represented Great Britain alongside their individual player records.

“With the Tokyo games almost upon us, this is a perfect time to be sharing this piece of work and congratulations to everyone who played a part.”

Mike Smith, Curator of The Hockey Museum, added: “We are very proud of what we’ve done; it’s been an amazing project all carried out by volunteers. We’ve created a legacy for our sport which previously did not exist.”

If you are a former Great Britain player, or know of one, and you would like more information on caps or the Hockey Internationals Club, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For more information on the project and our wonderful sport’s history, visit  The Hockey Museum website.

Great Britain Hockey media release

Olympic Reflections: Alex Danson – How Great Britain found their ‘way to win’



When Great Britain women won the gold medal at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, the result was a culmination of years of hard graft and preparation for a moment just like this.

‘So much of the work was done in the build-up to the Olympic campaign,’ says former Great Britain and England striker Alex Danson. ‘We had covered every base, we dotted every ‘i’ and crossed every ’t’.

Danson was speaking as one of the guests on Episode 9 of HockeyPod, the FIH monthly hockey podcast. During the conversation the hugely respected striker explained how the gold medal was borne initially of deep disappointment suffered two years previously.

’If I think specifically around what we did that put us in such a good place, well, if I go back to the World Cup in 2014, as England, we came 11th, it was terribly disappointing. We had let ourselves and everyone else down and when we came back together as Great Britain, it was as if we had hit the lowest of the low and we had a huge mountain to climb.’

Danson, who retired in 2019 with more than 300 combined caps, pays tribute to the work of Andrea Fürst, who joined the squad as a sports psychologist, saying she was pivotal to the team’s success.

‘We reset out values and visions and they became the bedrock of our team. We learnt to win on the training field,’ says Danson as she recalls the hours of preparation that the team went through as they climbed back from the ravages of a disappointing World Cup campaign.

In the months leading to the Olympic Games, the team undertook many tasks off-field as well as on-field to ensure their preparation – physical and mental – was complete. One example Danson gives involved the squad players being asked to say what they saw as their roles within the team and on the pitch. Dansonsays the often striking differences between what players thought their role was and how others saw them really made each of the squad reconsider their place in the team.

‘It took time and many conversations but what we had at the end was a squad that knew exactly what their job was. That was pivotal when it came to the Olympics.’

Once in Rio, Great Britain hit their stride and by the end of the pool games and knock-out stages were unbeaten. The only thing between Danson and her team mates was the orange wall of the Dutch.

‘I will never forget the final. Holland were outstanding all match,’ says Danson. ‘We were defending for our lives for most of the game. We had three shots and scored three goals, well that’s the nature of the game. But, we went in for the team huddle with a quarter of the match left and we were all looking for something, a tactical change, to change the course of the game.

‘Craig [Keegan], our assistant coach called us all in and said, “put your arms round each other and look at each other”. I remember thinking, “Come on Craig, we need a hell of a lot more than just looking at each other.”

‘He just said that we should remember all that we had done back home. And, just as had we had spent hours doing in training, we had to find our way to win. He captured the fact that we had learnt how to win back at our training ground at Bisham Abbey, away from the tournament. It didn’t matter that this was an Olympic final, we needed to do no more and no less than what we had been doing every day at Bisham Abbey.”

For Danson, that was the biggest learning point from the Rio experience. ‘For me, that summed up the whole Great Britain campaign, and actually how we should approach life. We can’t ever expect something to happen, it really is about the work you put in before, the culture you develop and the relationships you build. so when you get to a moment, you know what your job is and you do it as you have been doing year in, year out.’

#Tokyo2020
#HockeyInvites
#StrongerTogether

FIH site

Junior Women’s National Team roster announced for Junior Pan American Cup

“This is a great group of young athletes itching for some international competition”


Featured Image/Blair Shier

Field Hockey Canada is excited to announce the Junior Women’s National Team that will represent Canada at the 2021 Junior Pan American Cup in Santiago, Chile in August. Following a week-long selection camp, the coaching staff have selected 16 rostered athletes, three goalies and 11 reserves.

The original U21 Pan Am Cup was scheduled for 2020 but will now take place in August 2021. The age restrictions shifted to recognize the postponement of the tournament. Anyone born in 1999 or later will be eligible to compete in the Junior Pan American Cup but only those born in 2000 or later are eligible to compete in the Junior World Cup.

The team will be led by Head Coach and NextGen Director, Patrick Tshutshani. For him, last month’s camp was a chance to get everyone ‘under the same roof’ and work to build out the program prior to selection.

“The camp presented the opportunity to reconnect, and the athletes thrived on being able to compete amongst their peers,” Tshutshani said. “For the staff group, opportunities like these are priceless as we get to see each individual showcasing their ability and performing within a team environment in a live setting.”







Forty athletes fighting for 18 spots at last month’s official selection camp. Photos/Blair Shier.

The Junior Pan American Cup will take place from August 21-29, 2021 with the top three teams qualifying for the Junior World Cup, set for December in South Africa. Team Canada hasn’t qualified for the Junior World Cup since 2013, when they placed fourteenth. Notably, Canada will come up against reigning junior world champion, Argentina; North American rivals, USA; and Chile, the host of the upcoming 2023 Junior World Cup. For Tshutshani, the outcome goals are clear, but from this point on, it’s about building the team that can compete for a medal and a berth to the World Cup.

“There is no greater feeling than playing for your country and giving it your all,” Tshutshani said. “The next step for us as a group is to continue training as group and develop the on-field and off-field connections.”

Team Canada will be centralized training in Vancouver, leading up to the Junior Pan Ams. They kick start their JPAC campaign against reigning champs, Argentina on August 22. Click HERE for schedule and more information.

ADOPT AN ATHLETE – Click to support the team en route to the JPAC tournament! The team and organization appreciate and thank everyone who supports the junior national team programs!

ROSTER

Non-Traveling Reserves  

Field Hockey Canada media release

Hockey series begins today

LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation-planned four-team series will be played at the National Hockey Stadium, Lahore, from Saturday (today).

The series has been planned to help the national junior team prepare for the Junior World Cup and Junior Asia Cup.

The four-team series will be played on a double league basis. The first match will be played between Pakistan Juniors and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) at 5:30pm. The other two teams are WAPDA and Navy.

An official of the PHF said that top departmental players would participate in the event. Two matches will be played daily in the series. The first match will be played in daylight and the second under floodlights.

A total of 12 matches will be played in the event. Tournament Director Lt Col Asif Naz Khokhar along with Umpires Manager Rashid Mahmood Butt finalised the event in a meeting of technical officials, umpires and managers and coaches.

The News International

Hockey Ireland Announces Three Year Sponsorship with AIB and Hockey Ireland’s Junior Age Group Girls

Hockey Ireland today announced a three-year long sponsorship with AIB and Hockey Ireland’s Junior Age Group Girls.



Hockey Ireland’s Junior Age Girls Group programme is comprised of the Under 18 and Under 16 squads that together form an important part of the sport’s high-performance pathway, enabling some of Ireland’s most talented young hockey players reach their full potential.

AIB Head of Corporate, Institutional and Wholesale Banking Cathy Bryce said:

“AIB is delighted to be sponsoring Hockey Ireland’s Junior Age Group Girls programme. At AIB we want to enable young people to achieve their true potential, and this sponsorship enables us to provide support to a key element of Irish hockey’s high performance programme.

“Few teams have brought as much joy and inspiration in recent times as the women’s senior hockey team and we are delighted to be able to support those who aspire to match their incredible achievements in future years.”

Hockey Ireland Performance Director Adam Grainger added this is a huge boost for the stars of the future:

“Hockey Ireland Junior Age Grade girls’ teams welcome AIB onboard and look forward to its sponsorship of the upcoming series Four Nations Development Series starting this weekend. This AIB and Hockey Ireland partnership adds extra impetus to immediate programme plans and further afield towards Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualification.”

Hockey Ireland CEO Jerome Pels added:

“AIB has a strong connection with hockey as a sport and we very much look forward to working together in the coming years at supporting our junior players which is at the heart of the young hockey players’ development programme.”

The announcement comes ahead of this month’s Under-19 Four Nations Development Series with England, Scotland and Wales which will run over three consecutive weekends with six rounds of matches in total for both boys and girls.

Ireland will host Wales at Jordanstown for their double-header next weekend before travelling to England on the weekend of July 16 and 17 at Lilleshall. The series finishes off with a return to Jordanstown against Scotland on July 24 and 25.

The series is the highlight of their summer for the teams as Ireland’s JAG teams get back into action for the first time since February 2020. It follows the cancellation of their European Championship campaign last summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic and so the players will be raring to go for this new challenge.

Four Nations Development Series
Saturday, July 9: Ireland U-19 girls v Wales, 2pm; Ireland U-19 boys v Wales, 4pm (both at University of Ulster Jordanstown)
Sunday, July 10: Ireland U-19 girls v Wales, 10am; Ireland U-19 boys v Wales, 12.15pm (both at University of Ulster Jordanstown)

Saturday, July 16: Ireland U-19 girls v England, 2pm; Ireland U-19 boys v England, 4pm (both at Lilleshall)
Sunday, July 17: Ireland U-19 girls v England, 2pm; Ireland U-19 boys v England, 4pm (both at Lilleshall)

Saturday, July 24: Ireland U-19 girls v Scotland, 2pm; Ireland U-19 boys v Scotland, 4pm (both at University of Ulster Jordanstown)
Sunday, July 25: Ireland U-19 girls v Scotland, 10am; Ireland U-19 boys v Scotland, 12.15pm (both at University of Ulster Jordanstown)

** To read more about the JAG Under-19 squad, click here

** Further info on the JAG Boys Under-19 squad is here

Irish Hockey Association media release