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News for 22 March 2023

All the news for Wednesday 22 March 2023


2023 Test matches AUS v CHN (W) - 22 March
Bunbury and Perth (AUS)

All times GMT +8

Bunbury

23 Mar 2023 18:00     AUS v CHN    

Perth

25 Mar 2023 16:00     AUS v CHN    
26 Mar 2023 16:00     AUS v CHN    

FIH Match Centre



Excitement aplenty on eve of Hockeyroos’ series against China



Tatum Stewart (pictured above) and Morgan Gallagher will make their Hockeyroos debuts in tomorrow night’s opening match of the series against China in Bunbury, Western Australia.





Maddie Hinch retires from international hockey as GB goalkeeper great

By Rod Gilmour


Hannah Martin and Maddie Hinch celebrate after winning the Tokyo Olympic shoot-out PIC: REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

Maddie Hinch, who played a significant hand in Team GB women’s Rio Olympic gold, retired from international hockey on Tuesday after a rollercoaster 15-year career.





Maddie Hinch: GB's Olympic champion goalkeeper retires after 'fairytale' career

By Katie Stafford


GB's Olympic champion Hinch retires 'at top of my game'

When Maddie Hinch saved four shootouts to seal Olympic hockey gold and make British sporting history, she was not prepared for what happened next.





Paul Confirms Women’s 2023 Junior Pan American Championship Roster



COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Following a training camp this past weekend, U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team Head Coach Tracey Paul has named the 18-athlete roster and two non-traveling reserves for the women’s 2023 Junior Pan American Championship (JPAC). Taking place April 10 to 18 at the Wildey Hockey Centre located in the Sir Garfield Sobers Sports Complex in St. Michael, Barbados, the men’s and women’s event is a qualifier for the 2023 FIH Hockey Junior World Cup.





Day 3 Results: 1st Hockey India Junior Men Zonal Championships 2023



New Delhi: The 1st Hockey India Junior Men Zonal Championships 2023 continued today in the North, East, and West Zones with Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Bengal, and Hockey Madhya Pradesh registering victories in their respective Zones while the action in South Zone will resume tomorrow after a rest day.





Day 3 Results: 1st Hockey India Junior Women Zonal Championships 2023



New Delhi: The Day 3 of the 1st Hockey India Junior Women Zonal Championships 2023 witnessed one match played between West Zone teams Chhattisgarh Hockey and Hockey Madhya Pradesh in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh.





How Spalding hockey bucked trend with primary school sport success

Fred Morris, of Spalding Hockey Club, on how it built its primary school tournaments, with the help of teenage umpires and club willpower


Spalding have found success with primary school event PIC: Spalding

We could not help but smile when we read that Guildford HC had been provided with three pitches free of charge by Charterhouse School for the initial tournament. Based in rural South Lincolnshire, Spalding (population 35,000) has just the one all-weather pitch which the club rents and pays commercial hire charges for all its activities. If there was a spectrum in hockey, I believe that we represent the opposite ends.





Grandslam winner Fazalur Rahman redefined the role of left half

Ijaz Chaudhry


Fazalur Rahman (left) with Shahnaz Sheikh-Stars of 1971 World Cup. Both named in World XI

Hockey legend Fazalur Rahman who passed away on March 08 was one of the greatest players in the left half position.

Pakistan was the first nation to achieve the grand slam of hockey: Golds at the Olympics (1968), World Cup (1971) and Asian Games (1970). Fazal was a member of all the squads.

During his international career (1965-1972), he also won silver medals at the 1966 Asian Games and 1972 Olympics.

He was born in 1938 in Banda Phawarian, a small town in district Abbottabad of KP. Those days hockey was easily the most popular sport in this country. Fazal`s local Islamia high school had a good team where his game flourished.  In the summers, Abbottabad regularly hosted Khan Memorial tournament participated by sides from all over Pakistan.  Very hot in the plains of the country, the mountainous city of Abbottabad offered pleasant weather.

Fazal initially played for the local Usmania club. Soon, he was representing Abbotabad in tournaments at the provincial capital Peshawar. It was for the Peshawar zone that Fazal first appeared in the national championships.

Mardan Sugar Mills had a very strong hockey team at the time and they were always on the lookout for good players. Fazal was recruited and he represented the Mardan Sugar Mills in tournaments in different parts of the country.

In 1960, he was called up for the national camp. A frustrating period ensued. For the next five years,   Fazal`s name was always among the probables, attended the camp but missed the final selection.

Finally, Fazal wore the coveted green shirt in 1965 on Pakistan`s tour of Indonesia and East Africa. The same year he joined Pakistan International Airlines which was studded with most of the country`s international stars.

For the Pakistan team, he had big shoes to fill in. His predecessor at the left half position was legendary Habib Ali Kiddie, part of the Pakistan team at no less than four Olympics.

Fazal not only turned out to be a worthy successor but also redefined the role of the left half.

In the traditional sub-continental style of the day, the left half was regarded as a purely defensive midfielder sometimes even covering the goal keeper; carrying out first-time clearance and not supposed to move up with the ball

The Abbotabad boy was a nonconformist. Fazal often went up in the role of a forward.  His superb ball control and stick work enabled him to make forays deep into the opposition’s territory. At the same time, the defensive duties were not compromised; had the uncanny ability to intercept the raids from the opposition`s right flank.

The first title tournament Fazal figured in was the 1966 Asian Games where Pakistan finished second.

Most of the national team`s managers were happy to give him the freewheeling role. Brigadier (retd) Manzoor Hussain Atif was an exception. Atif`s doctrine: attack from the right (with the trio of the right half, right in and right out) as opponents are on the weaker left/wrong side, and blunt the opponents` attack from right by adopting a defensive strategy at own left side.

Fazal`s aggressive instincts didn’t fit in with Atif`s plans.

At the 1968 Olympics, Atif preferred Gulraiz Akhtar, a defensive left half from the traditional school, and Fazal`s reserve till then. Fazal was on the bench for most of the matches in Mexico.  Even left winger Jahangir Butt was assigned a defensive role.

Next year, Pakistan hosted a high-profile international tournament in Lahore where almost all the top-ranking national teams participated. Pakistan entered two sides. Again, Atif selected Gulraiz for the senior team while Fazal was the junior squad`s captain. Pakistan juniors were the surprise package. They won all four matches to face the Pakistan seniors in the final. On the way, the juniors also defeated Australia, runner-up to Pakistan at the 1968 Olympics.

The final turned out to be an evenly contested affair and the Fazal led junior string might even have upset their seniors, the world no 1. However, Pakistan`s senior string won the final with a goal in the dying minutes.

The next big event was the 1970 Asian Games. Here, the team manager Brigadier Hameedi played Fazal with Gulraiz on the bench. Pakistan regained the title defeating India 1-0 in the final.

The 1971 World Cup saw Fazal at the peak of his powers. With youngster Shahnaz Sheikh, one of the most outstanding forwards the game has seen, at the left-out position, Pakistan repeatedly made inroads into the opponents` defence from the left flank. Green shirts won the title to complete the grand slam and Fazal was named in the World XI announced.   Conferment of the prestigious Pride of Performance award by the Pakistan government was the icing on the cake.

At the 1972 Olympics, Pakistan had lost to the hosts West Germany 1-2 in the pool match with Saeed Anwar misfiring two penalty strokes. Pakistan managed to make it into the semifinal where they faced traditional rivals India. It had not been one year since the end of the bitter 1971 war between the two countries, and the atmosphere could not have been more charged.

In the 11th minute, Pakistan was awarded a penalty stroke. Regular penalty stroke taker Saeed Anwar`s confidence had been badly shaken after the twin failure against the Germans. The captain asked Fazal to step in. Fazal in his long international career had never taken a penalty stroke. He agreed, moved to the spot and beat the Indian custodian Charles. An entire nation heaved a sigh of relief. Pakistan won 2-0, and in the final again faced West Germany.

The much talked about match was won by the hosts 1-0. Pakistani players were unhappy with the umpiring and misbehaved at the medal ceremony. FIH took disciplinary action. 13 players and the team officials were banned from international competitions for one year. Many senior players including Fazal didn’t return to the international arena.

Popularly called Lala Fazal, he continued to represent PIA on the domestic circuit for a few years. Meanwhile, he also got engaged in coaching youngsters in his native Abbottabad. Within a few years, another star emerged from the town. Fazal’s nephew Naeem Akhtar was a mirror image of his uncle. Also an outstanding left half with the same aggressive streak, Naeem played for Pakistan from 1982 – 1988. He emulated Fazal`s feat – winning Olympic gold in 1984.

After retiring from PIA in 1987, Lala Fazal completely devoted himself to the game in Abbottabad. He ran Fazal hockey club as well as the Fazal Hockey Academy.    Nine players graduated to play for Pakistan`s national and age group teams. His son Inamur Rahman was a member of the gold medal winning Pakistan team at the 2006 South Asian Games.

Fazal`s contemporaries recall him as an exceptional player. Total commitment and a high degree of confidence were the hallmarks of the most stylish left half. He redefined the role of the position in the traditional Indo-Pak format.

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

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