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All the news for Monday 29 August 2022

EuroHockey Championship Qualifiers - 29 August
EuroHockey Championship Qualifier A 2022 Women
Durham, England

Final Pool Standings

FIH Match Centre

England secure EuroHockey spot with Slovakia victory



England emphatically secured qualification for next year’s EuroHockey Championship with a 11-0 win over Slovakia at Durham University.

England women ended golden summer with EuroHockey 2023 berth


Fiona Crackes scored her first international goal PIC: EHF/Worldsportpics

England women ended a golden summer by punching their ticket to next summer’s EuroHockey Championships after an 11-0 win over Slovakia.

England cement place in 2023 finals with 11-0 win over Slovakia


Tessa Howard

England are through to the finals of the 2023 EuroHockey Championship as they cemented their place as Group A winners with a 11-0 win over Slovakia.

Wales Women Finish Second In EuroHockey Qualifiers With Decisive Win In Final Match


IMAGE: World Sport Pics & EuroHockey Federation

Wales women beat Croatia 8-0 in their last match at the EuroHockey Qualifiers in Durham.

Wales beat Croatia 8-0 to finish second in EuroHockey women's qualifiers


Sarah Jones won her 150th international cap against England on Saturday, split between Wales and Great Britain appearances

Wales completed their EuroHockey qualifiers with an 8-0 win over Croatia to finish second behind England in Durham.

Field Hockey Falls against #1 Northwestern, 5-1



AMHERST, MA. – The University of Maine field hockey team fell against defending national champions #1 Northwestern on Sunday afternoon, 5-1.

No. 2 UNC field hockey rallies to beat No. 5 Iowa 3-2 in overtime

By Riley Kennedy


Senior forward Meredith Sholder (2) fights for the ball on Sept. 26 2021. The Tar Heels beat the UConn Huskies 3-1 at Karen Shelton Stadium. Photo by Cynthia Liu | The Daily Tar Heel

The No. 2 North Carolina field hockey team (2-0, 0-0 ACC) beat No. 5 Iowa (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten) 3-2 in overtime in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Sunday in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Santi and van Tilburg Lead #16 Field Hockey to 5-0 Rout of #8 Rutgers



PISCATAWAY, N.J. – A second-half deluge led by the Hawks' attacking penalty corner unit led the 16th-ranked Saint Joseph's field hockey team to a 5-0 win over #8 Rutgers at the Bauer Track and Field Complex on Sunday afternoon.  Freke van Tilburg scored on three corner attempts, while Lily Santi scored a pair of goals and assisted on the other three.

BJSS down Datuk Bentara Luar in shootout for JHL overall title

By Jugjet Singh


Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) Thunderbolts emerge champions in the men’s category after defeating SMK Datuk Bentara Luar at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil. -NSTP/ASWADI ALIAS.

KUALA LUMPUR: State sports school, SMK Datuk Bentara Luar gave Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) Thunderbolts a lesson in hockey before bowing out in a shootout in the Junior Hockey League (JHL) overall final today.

Indian Team Are Rapidly Improving Side But Must Learn to Consistently Beat Top Teams in Major Tourneys: Roelant Oltmans



The Indian men’s hockey team have made significant strides over the last five-six years and all that is not lost on anyone concerning hockey. The bronze medal win at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics is a testimony to that. But any hockey conversation cannot miss mention of how the Indian men’s hockey team have devised a way to beat top sides such as Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Argentina, and England and also how they have struggled to find answers to the questions asked by the Australian men’s hockey team in recent times. Former Hockey India High Performance Director and ex-Indian men’s team coach Roelant Oltman puts things in perspective in a chat with Hockey Passion. “India are a rapidly improving side and results show that. The process started with our robust programmes in 2012-13 when beating top sides was a long way off for India. There is now a marked shift in Indian hockey as it knows how to beat top teams,” says Oltmans, who was appointed Hockey India High Performance Director in January 2013, and subsequently appointed Indian men’s team coach in August 2015, following the controversial exit of Paul van Ass.

National Sports Day: An encounter with the Fuhrer and other tales from Dhyan Chand’s magical career

Dhyan Chand’s birthday, India’s National Sports Day, gives us an opportunity to look into some stories about him that go beyond his magical statistics.

Swaroop Dev


File image of Major Dhyan Chand. Credits: Twitter/@JayShah

It was on his birthday in 1922, that a quiet, sinewy 17-year-old lad from Allahabad joined the Indian Army to serve the British Empire as a sepoy. Dhyan Singh didn’t have any great plans as such, it was a natural course of things. His father, already enlisted, was transferred from place to place at the Imperial army’s discretion, giving young Dhyan no scope of a formal childhood or education as he was towed along from town to town. He simply followed suit, happy to have a safe job in times of tumultuous change.

Twelve candidates nominated for FIH Executive Board positions

By Owen Lloyd


Marc Coudron is running for the vacant FIH Presidency against Tayyab Ikram ©Getty Images

Twelve nominees have been confirmed for five positions on the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Executive Board, with elections set to be held on November 5.

Hockey meet in 3 weeks, Faridkot stadium in poor state


Hockey sticks support the roof of bathroom enclosures at a Faridkot stadium, where the four-day tournament will be held.

The local stadium that will host the four-day All-India Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, starting September 19, is in dire need of repairs. There are patches on the Astroturf and bathrooms are in a dilapidated condition.

Uganda great Harjeet Kaur Sandhu Davda passes away
 
by Dil Bahra and Norman Da Costa (Canada)



Harjeet Kaur Sandhu Davda, the former Uganda Women's Hockey Captain passed away unexpectedly in her sleep in Toronto, Canada on 17 August 2022. She was 78.

Harjeet was born on Nov. 30th, 1943 in Mbarara, Uganda, and moved to Canada in 1972 after the Asians were expelled from the country by President Idi Amin.
 
Harjeet was a giant of a player who was the centre of attention whether in the colours of her club side, the Kololians, or Uganda’s national team.


Harjeet sitting 2nd from left with her Club team in 1964

The Sandhus were hockey’s royalty in Uganda. Father Gurbachan Singh played against the prince of hockey Dhyan Chand when India visited Uganda in January 1948. As expected, Gurbachan and his wife Jagir Kaur raised their children on a diet of field hockey that produced five internationals.

Her four brothers were all Uganda hockey internationals. Rajinder Singh Sandhu captained the Uganda team at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games and Amarjit was also in that Olympic team. Hardev and Jasbir also represented Uganda. Rajinder also coached Uganda Women’s national squad.

“Harjeet and the Sandhu family left an indelible mark in the history of Uganda hockey,’’ said Zulema Colaco D’Souza. Zulema, who was Harjeet’s teammate with Kololo and Uganda, was also an exceptional inside-forward who left a mark with her dribbling prowess.

“Harjeet will always be remembered for her dedication, tenacity and determination,’’ said Zulema. “She   was responsible for taking Kololo and Uganda to a higher level. I enjoyed a great understanding with Harjeet and when I laid the ball back to her, I knew I should get ready for that through ball,’’ added Zulema, who was a star with Poona University before moving to Uganda.
 
All of the other players on that brilliant Uganda squad in the 1960s were unanimous in their praise for Harjeet’s unparalleled contribution to the sport. She was the conductor of the Uganda orchestra, the conduit through which everything flowed.


Harjeet seated extreme right
 
Harjeet was a driving force off the field as well. Zulema credits her for not only captaining the squad but also organizing overseas trips. In 1968 she led Uganda to the Afro-Asian women’s hockey championship in New Delhi where Uganda won silver behind Japan. Uganda defeated Japan 2-0 in a round-robin match but went down 1-0 in the final.

Flora, who played for Entebbe Goan Institute, said friendship was put on the backburner when they met in local competitions but “we were one when we pulled on the Uganda shirt.

“Harjeet was an incredible player who possessed this phenomenal vision of being able to see the entire field and distribute the ball. She had endless energy and reminded me of a horse. “One moment she was down helping the defence and the next she was up initiating an attack.”
 
Among those sending their condolences was Kapil Dev, captain of India's first World Cup win. "Harjeet was a great sportswoman," said Dev. "She championed the cause of women's hockey in Uganda and around the world."

Norman Da Costa, who was sports editor of the Daily Nation, Kenya recalls that "one of the many matches covered for the Daily Nation included the East African championships at St. Mary’s school in Nairobi when Kenya was expected to romp to victory. But the threesome of Harjeet, Flora and Zulema ran circles around Kenya for a resounding 3-1 victory with Flora accounting for all three goals.
    
Harjeet was perpetually in motion and Nancy called her fearless. “I played with men and women and Harjeet could hit that ball as hard as some men and she could deliver the ball on the run.
 
“The beauty of being on the field with her is that she could always make an opening and set you away with those brilliant flicks,’’ added Nancy. “We developed an understanding and knew exactly where she would pass the ball. She was amazing,’’ added Nancy.

She emigrated to Canada in 1972 when the Indians were expelled from Uganda by President Idi Amin. In 2013 when the Sikhs celebrated their 100th anniversary of being in Uganda she was recognized as one of the eight most important Sikhs over that period.

She leaves behind her husband Pranjivan Davda, a former Uganda Cricket captain and a classy opening batsman.

Sikhs in Hockey