News for 09 June 2022
All the news for Thursday 9 June 2022
2021-22 FIH Hockey Pro League - 9 June
Sportcentrum Wilrijkse Plein-Antwerp
All times GMT +2
Men
7 Jun 2022 18:00 BEL v RSA (RR) 5 - 0
8 Jun 2022 18:00 BEL v RSA (RR) 4 - 2
Men's Pool standings
Women
7 Jun 2022 20:30 BEL v CHN (RR) 3 - 1
8 Jun 2022 20:30 BEL v CHN (RR) 1 - 1 (0 - 2 SO)
Women's Pool standings
Keep up to date with all the latest news on the FIH Hockey Pro League via the Watch.Hockey app, event website and through FIH social media channels - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Live streaming and full game replay on the Watch Hockey App (May be Geo blocked if there is TV coverage)
FIH Match Centre
Boon strikes again as Belgium men continue to climb league table: China women win bonus point in shoot-out
It was another two goals for Tom Boon as Belgium beat South Africa 4-2 and inched ever closer to the top of the FIH Pro League. Their rivals for the second place in the league, India, who play Belgium on Saturday were watching in the stands. Boon's brace means he is four goals behind Harmanpreet Singh at the top of the goalscoring table.
Belgium men cruise as women suffer shock defeat in FIH Pro League
By Vimal Sankar 
Tom Boon scored a brace for Belgium today ©Getty Images
Belgium’s men’s team registered another routine win over South Africa while the women’s team suffered a shock defeat to China in the shootout in the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Pro League.
Olympic Champions given a scare by South Africa
South Africa concluded their FIH Pro League tournament against Olympic Champions Belgium. The SA Men knew they would have a massive challenge ahead of them as the Belgians had won the previous four encounters with a combined 28-6 score line including the 5-0 victory yesterday.
Belgium: Vanasch Possibly the Best Ever
Laurent Toussaint
The Brussels goalkeeper, Vincent Vanasch, won a seventh national trophy which crowns a delicate season and trials at the extra-sporting level. Something to savour a little more this second consecutive title won in the jersey of Rot-Weiss Cologne.
Indian hockey coaches to use Pro League matches to get better insights ahead of CWG
The Indian men's team will next play hosts Belgium and the Netherlands, while the women's side will play Belgium, Argentina and the United States.
File Photo: Indian men's team chief coach Graham Reid feels with the fringe players doing well, there is a healthy competition to secure places in the Birmingham-bound squad. - THE HINDU
Eyes set on podium finishes at this year's Birmingham Commonwealth Games, the Indian men's and women's hockey team coaches are looking at the upcoming FIH Pro League matches to gain better insights about the sides ahead of the multi-sport event.
Women's Asian Games Qualifier 2022 - 9 June
All times GMT +7
8 Jun 2022 16:00 KAZ v UZB (Pool) 2 - 0
8 Jun 2022 18:00 SGP v SRI (Pool) 6 - 0
9 Jun 2022 14:00 KAZ v CAM (Pool)
9 Jun 2022 16:00 HKG v SRI (Pool)
9 Jun 2022 18:00 UZB v INA (Pool)
10 Jun 2022 16:00 SGP v CAM (Pool)
10 Jun 2022 18:00 HKG v KAZ (Pool)
Pool standings
Women’s Asian Games Qualifier 2022 is streaming Live on the official AHF Facebook Page as well as the AHF YouTube Channel
FIH Match Centre
“The 2018 World Cup was the moment we sort of transformed hockey in Ireland”
Ahead of the 15th edition of the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup taking place in Spain and the Netherlands (1-17 July), we’re conducting a series of exclusive interviews with the participating teams. Today: Katie Mullan (IRL).
Stalwart Aniwaka Haumaha named in New Zealand squad
New Zealalnd play England, India, and China PIC: Worldsportpics
Seven years away from the international scene, veteran defender Aniwaka Haumaha has been called up for New Zealand’s Women’s World Cup squad next month.
Asia Cup Debacle: Last Nail in Pakistan Hockey`s Coffin
Ijaz Chaudhry
11th Asia Cup hockey tournament in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta had dual importance.
The quadrennial event is a ‘title tournament’ as it decides the Asian Champion for the next four years. Plus it also served as the qualifiers for the next World Cup. With the number of competing teams increased to 16 at the last World Cup in 2018, the quota for Asia has also been enhanced: three teams plus the 2023 World Cup hosts India. Pakistan, the three-time winners of the Asia Cup, had only once failed to reach the podium at the Asia Cup in the previous 10 editions, in 2007.
Pakistan was expected to qualify for the World Cup – at least. They had to reach the super four by finishing among the top two in the pool. The other three teams in the pool were India, Japan and the weakest side in the competition, hosts Indonesia.
PHF has been giving the impression that the Pakistan team was very young and inexperienced. That is a barefaced lie. Of the eight competing sides, Pakistan had fielded the most experienced team. There were some youngsters in the squad but most of the first choice XI players have been active in international hockey for a long time: Captain Umar Bhutta since 2010, Ali Shan since 2011, Ammad Shakeel Butt since 2013, Ajaz Ahmad since 2016, Abubakr and Mobashar Ali since 2017, Junaid Manzoor since 2018.
On the other hand, India fielded their second-string. The first string is engaged in the FIH`s flagship event, the Pro League. With their World Cup berth secure as the hosts, India entered an entirely different squad at the Asia Cup. University students comprised 90% squad of Japan.
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The opening tie was against India. Their 18-member squad included some experienced players but 11 players had a total of only 22 caps between themselves. The green shirts were expected to win but were surprised by “India B” who took the lead in the eighth minute and had more of the possession throughout. Pakistan were lucky to get an equalizer in the dying minutes. After a 13-0 win against Indonesia, the whipping boys of the tourney, Pakistan only needed a draw in the last pool game vs Japan. After an entertaining battle, Pakistan went down 2-3 thus failing to reach the super four round, and also missed the bus for the 2023 World Cup. A very bizarre incident occurred during the match against Japan. Pakistan`s captain Omar Bhutta had scored with a top of circle shot to make it 3-3. But the goal was disallowed as there were 12 Pakistani players on the field at the time. It was a sheer management failure. Team manager Khawaja Junaid, who has enjoyed several stints as coach/manager of the national team and the Pakistan junior sides since the turn of the millennium, tried to pass the blame on to head coach Siegfried Aikman.
World Cup omission is tragic. It was Pakistan that floated the idea of the World Cup in the late 1960s. Pakistan also presented the magnificent World Cup trophy. More importantly, Pakistan has won the World Cup four times, more than any other nation. It is the second time, the former giants of hockey, couldn`t make it to the World Cup. In 2014, when they first failed there were 12 slots. Pakistan also didn’t qualify for the last two Olympics, again 12 places. This is the first time that Pakistan couldn’t get a place in a 16-team global event – another dubious distinction achieved by the present PHF led by Brigadier (retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar since 2016 with Asif Bajwa coming as the secretary in early 2019.
As always, Asif Bajwa came out with the most absurd statements, “Pakistan gave an impressive performance. The improvement means the team will do better in future. We will assess the strengths and weaknesses seen here”. Title events like Asia Cup are not meant for assessments or improvements. They are litmus tests. Here, only results matter; more so with the place in the World Cup at stake. Failure to reach the victory stand plus the non-qualification for the World Cup can only be termed a disaster.
Only a few weeks back Algerian Football Federation President Sharafeddine Emara resigned after his country narrowly failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. After a 1-0 away win in the first leg, Algeria found themselves trailing Cameroon in the return leg as the game went to extra time. Ahmed Touba thought he scored the winner for Algeria in the 118th minute before Cameroon’s Ekambi scored two minutes later to shatter their dreams of World Cup qualification. Not only the AFF President Emara but the entire board members also resigned following the Algerian defeat. Even though Algeria has appeared only four times in the 21 editions of the World Cup, and only once reached the second round. Compare this with Pakistan`s legacy at the hockey World Cup. But unlike Sharafeddine Emara, we have shameless people like Khalid Sajjad Khokhar and Asif Bajwa at the helm.
During Khokhar`s regime:
- Team's World Ranking has fallen to 18th; it was 10th when Khokhar took over.Olympics: Pakistan failed to qualify for the 2021 Olympics
- World Cup 2018: PHF bragged about its great success, ‘Pakistan managed to qualify after failing to do so at the previous edition in 2014.’ Pakistan’s qualification for the 2018 World Cup was entirely down to the FIH’s decision to increase the number of participating teams from 12 to 16. How Pakistan fared at the 2018 World Cup: finished 12th thus equaling the worst ever finish, scored just two goals; their lowest World Cup tally, goal difference of 10- also the worst.
- Asian Games 2018: Pakistan ended 4th (equaling their worst ever position at the Asian Games)
- Failed to qualify for the Youth Olympics for the first time after finishing a miserable 6th at the qualifiers in 2018; also suffered 1-12 defeat against Malaysia during these qualifiers.
- Pakistan’s worst-ever defeat in international hockey: 1-9 loss to Australia in November 2017.
- Worst ever defeat against India: 1-7 in 2017 (Hockey World League, London) followed by another humiliation against the same team 1-6 in the same event, a few days later.
- Now, the failure to qualify for the 2023 World Cup
Asif Bajwa also mentioned the PHF`s plans to reinvigorate Pakistan hockey such as establishing a centre of excellence and launching a professional league; have been hearing about it since 2017. PHF has also announced a three-member probe committee to look into the reasons for the team`s failure at the Asia Cup. The committee comprises former captains Kaleemullah and Nasir Ali, both current members of the national selection committee. The third member is another favourite, Zahir Shah of KPK province. These three are known cronies of PHF. All this is an eyewash to fool the general public and the powers that be.
Tailpiece: The only remedy is the immediate sacking of Khalid Sajjad Khokhar and Asif Bajwa; enough is enough.
Their replacements should be people with proven credentials to reinvigorate domestic hockey and the ability to turn the PHF into a corporate body that will not be dependent on grants from the federal and provincial governments.
Ijaz Chaudhry writes on hockey & other sports. For more about him and his work, visit: www.sportscorrespondent.info
Fieldhockey.com
Scotland women to play GB EDP this weekend
Scotland women are back in action on home soil as they take on GB Elite Development Programme (EDP) at 4pm on Saturday 11 June, and 12:30pm on Sunday 12 June at Peffermill.
Women’s Masters Presents Opportunity To Focus On Development Of Female Umpires
In May, Timperley hosted a Women’s O55s Masters Tournament presenting an opportunity to focus on the development and provide tailored support for female umpires.
From pen to hockey sticks
By Fabian Peter
Wilfred ‘Freddy’ Vias
TO former all-Malayan cricket captain Datuk Dr Alex E. Delilkan, the late Wilfred "Freddy" Vias was quite good with a bat, but amazing with a hockey stick.
Hockey legend ‘Uncle Freddy’ passes on at the age of 93
PETALING JAYA: Former national hockey player Freddy Wilfred Vias (pic) passed away on Tuesday afternoon at his home in Petaling Jaya at the age of 93.