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News for 08 September 2021

All the news for Wednesday 8 September 2021


Home based event and India cauldron await South Africa's young stars



In this series of interviews we meet stars past and present as the international hockey community gets ready for the excitement and drama of the men’s and women’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cups.





GB EDP: Helping Shape Senior International Stars



Set up in 2016, the Great Britain EDP (Elite Development Programme) has seen numerous young players hone their hockey skills and progress to GB’s senior international squads.





Vellinga named Lead Coach of NZ Indoor Hockey programme



Hockey New Zealand is pleased to announce the appointment of Reiner Vellinga to our coaching team as our Lead Coach for the National Indoor Hockey programme.





‘It’s a new beginning for Indian hockey’: Dilpreet Singh on Olympic bronze medal

Ever since his grand outing in the Sultan of Johor Cup in 2017 where the India Colts won the Bronze Medal, Dilpreet's career has soared to new heights


Hockey, India , OlympicsThe Indian men's team had ended a 41-year-old long wait for an Olympic medal when it clinched the bronze at the Tokyo Games last month (File)   

The Indian hockey team kept its morale high despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the historic bronze medal winning feat at the Tokyo Olympics is only just the beginning of a new era, said young striker Dilpreet Singh on Wednesday.





Standard Bank boosts hockey development


From left: Erwin Handura and Ronaldo Kapuire of the Hockey School of Excellence, Mercia Geises of Standard Bank, deputy minister Emma Kantema-Gaomas, Freddy Mwiya of the NSC, Irvine Ndjavera of the Ministry of Sport, and Reagan Graig of the NHU. Photo: Helge Schütz

STANDARD Bank Namibia yesterday announced a sponsorship of N$1,5 million over three years for the development of hockey throughout the country.





PR Sreejesh's success mantra: Leave emotions and expectations outside the pitch

India's talismanic goalkeeper feels that this Olympic medal will help the hockey aficionados to move on from history and embrace the present

By Soham Mukherjee


Picture by Alexander Hassenstein/ Getty Images

It is a complicated process to emancipate oneself from the burden of history. In a sporting context, the India men's hockey team have had generations endeavouring to lift the weight of expectation and replicate a gold-laden past.





Tokyo 2020 celebrations must end before Hangzhou 2022, says Indian hockey captain

By Andrew Dowdeswell


India captain Manpreet Singh, left, has said India's Tokyo 2020 celebrations must end as they prepare for next year's Asian Games ©Getty Images

Indian celebrations after a historic hockey bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics must end as preparations for next year's Asian Games ramp up, says the team's captain.





Pakistan hockey yearns for return to former glories

Kashif Abbasi | Mohammad YaqoobP


Pakistan hockey team celebrate with their bronze medals in the Champions Trophy. — AFP/File

Three days every week, as many as 70 youngsters fill up the pitch at the Dar Hockey Academy in Lahore. Run by Olympian Tauqir Dar, the academy offers training for free from Thursday to Saturday with the hope of finding Pakistan’s next generation of world beaters.





T&T hockey team removed from Copa Airlines flight in Chile

Vidia Ramphal


The Trinidad and Tobago hockey teams competed at the Junior Pan American Championships in Santiago, Chile from August 21-28. (photo credit - Trinidad and Tobago Hockey Board)

Members of Trinidad and Tobago's junior hockey team were removed from a Copa Airlines flight bound for Panama after officials had concerns over their PCR test report.





Iowa field hockey finds offensive chemistry

After the Hawkeyes struggled to score in the spring, Iowa field hockey found its groove up front, netting 15 goals in four games this fall.

Ben Palya


Iowa defender Anthe Nijziel passes the ball during the second quarter of a field hockey game against Maryland on Sunday, April 4, 2021 at Grant Field. The Hawkeyes defeated the Terrapins, 3-0. Hannah Kinson

Throughout the Lisa Cellucci era for Iowa field hockey, the Hawkeyes’ defense has consistently been its main strength.





Rejected insurance claims? Surbiton lead calls for sports clubs to sign up for action

By Rod Gilmour


Surbiton looking to win another battle - this time with insurance pay outs PIC: England Hockey / Simon Parker

Surbiton Hockey Club is spearheading efforts on behalf of all community and amateur sport clubs in the UK who have been denied liability cover by insurers during the pandemic.





‘Embracing change’: Leicester leads way on hockey inclusion and accessibility



It is the ambition of many a hockey club to become more integrated into their local community and a shining example of this is Leicester City Hockey Club, writes DAISY FORD.





Supreme Court rejects plea to recognise hockey as the National Sport of India

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday dismissed the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Vishal Tiwari seeking directions to the Union of India (UOI) and other concerned organisations to recognise hockey as the National Sport of India.


Indian men hockey team celebrates after winning bronze at Tokyo Olympics (Source: Reuters)

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday dismissed the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Vishal Tiwari seeking directions to the Union of India (UOI) and other concerned organisations to recognise hockey as the National Sport of India. The decision was taken by the apex court's bench headed by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, and also chaired Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi.





Legendary Umpire Rob Lathouwers was a Great Friend of Pakistan Hockey

By Ijaz Chaudhry


2018 in Pakistan- Rob Lathouwers wearing Hall of Fame blazer, with Shahbaz Ahmed (Secretary PHF)

On the 19th of last month, I had greeted my great friend Rob Lathouwers on his 69th birthday. Just 11 days later, I received the shocking news of his sudden demise due to cardiac arrest in his home town Vught, in Holland.

Rob Lathouwers of Holland came from the most distinguished family of hockey umpires. I often mentioned, `Our Rob, was born with a whistle in his mouth`. His father GuustLathouwers umpired in 67 international games including as many as three Olympics. Guust’s younger brother Piet Lathouwers umpired in 65 including two Olympics. Little wonder, Rob started umpiring at the age of 18 in junior club matches, and it lasted 26 years.He whistled in international hockey from 1978-1994. What an eventful umpiring career he had: 158 international matches including three Olympics, two World Cups, and 11 editions of the Champions Trophy.

GuustLathouwers Memorial Trophy, instituted in 1986 by the FIH, in the name of Rob`s father is awarded every two years to an individual for outstanding services to the development and promotion of umpiring. As Rob quipped "I was never given this award perhaps as it was named after dad."

Lahore`s National Hockey Stadium was his favourite hockey venue. "It is huge. When filled it is a sight to behold. The 1990 World Cup there holds bitter-sweet memories for me. I had been aspiring to umpire the final at the world’s biggest hockey stadium. My wish couldn’t come true as Holland featured in the final. Seeing my country crowned the World Champions was the only consolation".
He had a long-standing bond with Pakistan.



"Pakistan is a second home to me."

Rob visited the country 12 times. In the 1980s & 90s, umpiring assignments brought him to Pakistan. Over the last decade or so, Rob`s link with Pakistan was mainly because of his affiliation with the Dar Hockey Academy. The Lahore-based academy established in 2006 quickly emerged as Pakistan`s biggest production line of talented players and has been regularly contributing to the national teams for the last many years now. And Rob`s contribution had been tremendous. From 2010-2019, Dar Hockey Academy visited Holland six times, Belgium thrice and Germany also thrice for training tours. Rob always played the most important role in arranging all these trips to hockey`s powerhouses: Visas, schedule of matches, boarding & lodging, travel, etc. During all the tours to Holland, Hockey Club MOP in Vught, have been the wonderful hosts of the Dar Academy. Rob`s family`s association with the MOP Club, in various roles, spans three generations. His uncle and brother had had tenures as the club`s president. At the time of his death, Rob was a member of the club`s executive committee.

During the last decade or so, the foreign teams have been reluctant to visit Pakistan because of terrorism and the country`s poor international ranking. In this period, the only two visits by strong international teams which brought some excitement among Pakistani hockey lovers were largely due to the efforts of the great umpire. In 2012, on a request from Rob`s closest Pakistani friend Olympic gold medallistTauqeer Dar, who is the President of Dar Academy, Rob brought a team from Holland in Pakistan. Flying Dutch Veterans included several stars including Olympic gold medallists and World Cup winners. The team played three matches in Lahore including two in the jam-packed Johar Town stadium. Remember, terrorism in Pakistan was at its worst at the time.                       

Then in late 2017, the then secretary PHF, legendary Shahbaz Ahmad approached Rob who contacted leading international stars. In January 2018, a star-studded World XI played two highly publicized matches at the Abdul Sattar Edhi hockey stadium, Karachi, and National hockey stadium, Lahore. The composition of the touring World XI was amazing. It included big names from all the top hockey countries. The biggest stars were Australia`s Grant Schubert (gold medals from Olympics, World Cup, and Commonwealth Games), Holland’s Rob Reckers (Olympic silver, European gold, and three Champions Trophy golds), New Zealand’s Phil Burrows (his country’s most capped player and top field goal scorer). There were also Argentine and Spanish players who were members of the national team at the time.

On the sidelines of the tour, six foreign hockey legends (four players and two umpires including Rob) and five Pakistani hockey greats from the past were inducted into the Hall of Fame by the PHF in an impressive ceremony in Karachi.

A treasure trove of interesting hockey incidents and anecdotes, Rob was a gift for hockey journalists and historians. The scribe enjoyed many informative sittings with him. I interviewed him for a British hockey magazine in 2012 and also for THE NEWS in 2018.   When asked if there was a difficult team to umpire, Rob came out with a very interesting answer, "India/Pakistan games. Reason: there were 22 magicians on the field at least during those days; of course, barring the two umpires. I had to concentrate more so as not to be distracted by the players’ artistry and neglect my job. "        
Pakistan hockey and especially Dar Hockey Academy remained close to his heart. Tauqeer Dar talked to him just two days before his demise, "Rob was very keen for another tour of Holland by our academy despite my reluctance because of the Covid 19. He was still insisting", Tauqeer said. Whenever a Dar Academy boy gained selection for Pakistan, he expressed great happiness. Pakistan hockey has lost a great friend and Dar Hockey Academy has lost a father figure.

Ijaz Chaudhry writes on hockey & other sports. For more about him and his work, visit: www.sportscorrespondent.info

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