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News for 16 August 2018

All the news for Thursday 16 August 2018


Hockey Series Open - Port Vila 2018 (Men) - Day 2
Port Vila (VAN)

Results 16 August

TGA v FIJ     0 - 14       
VAN v FIJ     7 - 5

Pool Standings

Vanuatu 2 2 0 0 15 8 7 6
Fiji 2 1 0 1 19 7 12 3
Solomon Islands 2 1 0 1 9 9 0 3
Tonga 2 0 0 2 1 20 -19 0


Hockey Series Open - Port Vila 2018 (Women) - Day 2
Port Vila (VAN)

Results 16 August

TGA v FIJ     0 - 13
FIJ v SOL     8 - 1

Pool Standings

Fiji 2 2 0 0 21 1 20 6
Vanuatu 2 2 0 0 13 2 11 6
Solomon Islands 2 0 0 2 3 12 -9 0
Tonga 2 0 0 2 0 22 -22 0

FIH Match Centre



Vanuatu's women win twice on home soil as Hockey Series begins in Port Vila

By Dan Palmer


Action is underway in Vanuatu ©Vanuatu Hockey Federation

Hosts Vanuatu won twice in the women's tournament as the Hockey Series event in Port Vila began today.

The home side first eased past Tonga 9-0 in their morning fixture at the Wan Smolbag Hockey Stadium.

They then defeated Solomon Islands 4-2 in the later game to take control of the round-robin phase of the four-team tournament.

In the men's event it was the Solomon Islands who played twice, and they endured mixed fortunes.

They defeated Tonga 6-1 in the early game but then lost to Vanuatu 8-3.

Fiji, the top-ranked side in both tournaments, will play two games in each of the men's and women's events tomorrow.

Their women will play Tonga and Solomon Islands with the men meeting Tonga and Vanuatu.


Top ranked Fiji will begin their men's and women's campaigns tomorrow ©Fiji Hockey Federation

The competition is the first International Hockey Federation (FIH) event in the Pacific country since the 2014 Oceania Youth Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament.

The top two sides at the end of the round-robin will contest the final.

The FIH has launched the Hockey Series this year, with events taking place across the world.

Teams who have not qualified for the new top-tier Hockey Pro League will contest the tournaments, which will offer places at next year's Hockey Series Finals.

Countries who make the Finals will earn the chance to qualify for Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification events.

Inside the Games



Fitter than Virat Kohli: Sardar Singh scores better on Yo-Yo test than Indian cricket captain


Sardar Singh , AFP

Sardar Singh is considered the heart and soul of the modern Indian hockey team. The veteran star has been serving the national sports for years now. However, the 32-year-old has been working hard to keep up with the speed of the modern game.

Sardar, who was dropped by former coach Sjoerd Marijne due to his lack of speed, has been tirelessly working on his fitness ahead of the Asian Games 2018. The result is that the former Indian captain has attained a new level of fitness and cleared the yo-yo test comfortably.

According to The Indian Express, he recorded a 21.4 in the yo-yo test last week. Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, considered one of the fittest sportspersons in India, has a yo-yo test score is 19, which is also the benchmark set for English and Australian cricketers.

Sardar recently talked to the newspaper about his motivation behind this hard work. He said that he was scared after getting dropped from the national team.

When Marijne was sent back to coach the women's team and Harender Singh became the new coach, it seemed inevitable that Sardar will return to the team. Still Sardar has kept working hard for the last few months so nobody can say that he is not fit enough. 

Sardar is part of the Indian men's hockey team for the upcoming Asian Games 2018 where they will defend the title won four years ago in Incheon.

India will be the favourites to win the gold after their performance in Incheon. A gold in Jakarta will also ensure qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Daily News & Analysis



International Flavour For Lakers & Strikers In 2018 AHL

Ben Somerford



The Canberra Lakers and Strikers are going international ahead of the 2018 Australian Hockey League (AHL).

Hockey ACT confirmed their 22-player Lakers squad for October’s AHL earlier this week, with the notable inclusions of Japan internationals Manabu Yamashita and Kazuma Murata, combined with a young talented group which includes National Development Squad members Jake and Ben Staines and Anand and Niranjan Gupte.

The Strikers squad for this year’s AHL is still to be finalised, but there will also be an international flavour too, with ex-England and Great Britain forward Beckie Middleton set to wear blue and gold in 2018.

Hockey ACT General Manager Rob Sheekey said: “We’ve got an emerging group of athletes but we were in need of a few more high calibre players to add some quality to our squads.

“We had the opportunity to have some additional international players but with the World Cup coming up in November and December it was always going to be difficult.

“Japan were the highest-ranked nation not playing at the World Cup and through (Hockey Australia’s National Junior Coach) Ben Bishop we were able to get access to some players.

“We specifically wanted a defender and a forward, and both have pretty impressive records and will gain plenty from competing in the AHL.”

Yamashita is Japan’s current captain, with more than 150 international caps, while Murata is a forward who has scored over 80 goals for his country.

Both are due to compete at the Darwin International Hockey Open where Japan will face the Kookaburras, Argentina and Malaysia, before linking up with the Lakers squad on 29 September ahead of their 6 October opener against Tasmania in Hobart.

There’s more international experience in the squad, with Kookaburras goalkeeper Andrew Charter returning, along with Glenn Turner, Garry Backhus and Aaron Kershaw. Those four athletes offer 310 games of experience to a young group, which will have 10 AHL debutants, with 10 having competed for the territory at this year’s Under-21 National Championships.

Lakers Coach Peter Morgan said: “The Lakers have a well-balanced, talented and versatile squad that has been selected on commitment and performance not only at trials but also performance at a local level with their CL1 club teams in the local competition.”

After the Lakers’ and Strikers’ Round One matches in Tasmania, the sides will host both Queensland and New South Wales in Canberra on Sunday 14 October and Saturday 20 October.

Sheekey added: “It’s the first time we’ve had a home game in six years. We’ve got a small Hockey community here, so the locals know the players personally.

“It will be great for the community to get out and support our team. It’s also a great opportunity against Queensland and NSW who are always strong opponents.

“It’s fantastic to have the home-and-away format back.”



Sheekey said the Strikers squad would be confirmed later this month, although Hockeyroos pair Kalindi Commerford (pending injury) and Edwina Bone are locked in along with National Women’s Development Squad member Naomi Evans.

Canberra-born Sydney-based international defender Anna Flanagan has departed the Strikers to play for NSW Arrows in this year’s AHL.

Sheekey added: “Anna has left which is a hole which needs to be filled but we also have Beckie Middleton coming over from England and she’ll be great for our team.”

Middleton is the wife of England international Barry, who played his 400th cap against Australia in December. She played for her country more than 100 times before retiring internationally in 2014.

Hockey ACT has indicated tickets for their AHL matches will go on sale later this month too, with details to follow.

ACT Fixtures
Saturday 6 October 2018 – Tasmania v ACT, Hobart
Sunday 14 October 2018 – ACT v Queensland, Canberra
Saturday 20 October 2018 – ACT v NSW, Canberra
Thursday-Saturday 25-28 October 2018 – Finals, Venue TBC

2018 Canberra Lakers Squad
Davis Atkin, Garry Backhus, Andrew Charter, Owen Chivers, James Day, Tom Deane, Anand Gupte, Niranjan Gupte, Jamie Hawke, Brendan Hill, Aaron Kershaw, Aaron Knight, James Lawrence, Lewis McLennan, Kazuma Murata, Mathew Neeson, Lewis Shepherd, Ben Staines, Jake Staines, Thomson Stuckey, Glenn Turner, Manabu Yamashita

Hockey Australia media release

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