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News for 23 January 2020

All the news for Thursday 23 January 2020


2020 Test matches CHI v CAN (M)
Senior Mens Outdoor

22 Jan 2020 20:00     CHI v CAN     2 - 3

FIH Match Centre



2020 Test match FRA vs WAL (W)
Antibes (FRA), Senior Womens Outdoor

22 Jan 2020     FRA v WAL     2 - 2 (1 - 2 SO)

FIH Match Centre



2020 FIH Pro League (Men) - This weekend

24 Jan 2020 11:00 (GMT +1)    ESP v GER (RR)  Estadio Betero, Valencia
25 Jan 2020 13:00 (GMT +1)    ESP v GER (RR)  Estadio Betero, Valencia
25 Jan 2020 18:30 (GMT +11)    AUS v BEL (RR) Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney
26 Jan 2020 17:30 (GMT +11)    AUS v BEL (RR)  Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney

Live streaming and full game replay on https://fih.live (May be Geo blocked if there is TV coverage)

FIH Match Centre



2020 FIH Pro League (Women) - This weekend

24 Jan 2020 14:00 (GMT -5)     USA v NED (RR) Karen Shelton Stadium Chapel Hill, North Carolina
25 Jan 2020 16:00 (GMT +11)     AUS v BEL (RR) Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney
26 Jan 2020 14:00 (GMT -5)     USA v NED (RR) Karen Shelton Stadium Chapel Hill, North Carolina    
26 Jan 2020 15:00 (GMT +11)     AUS v BEL (RR) Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney

Live streaming and full game replay on https://fih.live (May be Geo blocked if there is TV coverage)

FIH Match Centre



Rani Rampal: Playing higher-ranked teams important for Olympics preparation

Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal stressed on the importance of facing higher-ranked team ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.


Rani Rampal will lead Indian women's hockey team in the tour of New Zealand where it will face the host and Great Britian in a tri-nation tournament.   -  Biswaranjan Rout

Impressive performance against higher-ranked New Zealand and Great Britain in upcoming matches will be good preparation in an Olympic year, Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani said on Wednesday.

Rani spoke before the team’s departure for Auckland for its first tour of the season.

The team will take on New Zealand in four matches and will play against Great Britain during a 10-day tour that ends on February 5.

“We look forward to playing against higher ranked teams like New Zealand (world number six) and Great Britain (world number five). We want to do well as it will give us a good boost in our Olympic preparation. A good start against tough teams will matter a lot,” stated Rani.

India will play New Zealand's Development squad on January 25, followed by two matches against New Zealand’s national team on January 27 and 29. The team will then play Great Britain on February 4 followed by another match against host New Zealand.

“While we have done well in the past against Great Britain, New Zealand is one team we look forward to do well against. They play tough, attacking hockey and they will be quite challenging,” she added.

Rani said analytical coach Janneke Schopman’s experience will help the team immensely.

“I think it’s fantastic that she has joined our camp. We are excited to work with her and she knows our team well,” Rani signed off.

Sportstar



TNB turn on the power to zap THT

By K.M. Boopathy


Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) maintained their fiery start to the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) with an assured 4-2 win over Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday. -NSTP/ZULFADHLI ZULKIFLI

TENAGA Nasional Berhad (TNB) maintained their fiery start to the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) with an assured 4-2 win over Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

It was TNB’s fifth straight win and they are level on points (15) with defending champions Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), who secured a 3-0 win over Kedah Nurinsafi in an away match.

TNB, who lead the table on goal difference, fell behind to an 18th-minute field goal from Faizal Saari.

Syed Syafiq Syed Cholan’s penalty corner conversion 10 minutes later brought TNB back into the game before field goals by Shahril Saabah (38th), Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal (49th) and Akhimullah Anuar Esook (52nd) ended the contest.

Faizal scored a late consolation (55th) for the shell-shocked THT.

TNB coach Nor Saiful Zaini, however, refused to accept that they are capable of ending UniKL’s reign.

“We played well and were aware of THT’s tactics. We must win all our first-round matches to keep the momentum going,” said Nor Saiful.

“Despite our strong start, there is no guarantee we will win the league title. Half of our team are Under-21 players. UniKL are the most balanced side and our match against them (on March 31) will be crucial.”

THT coach K. Dharmaraj, meanwhile, lamented his team’s weak bench, which led to their meltdown in the third and fourth quarters.

“THT’s first 11 and the players on the bench are like two different classes. The bench strength is very weak and that made it difficult for us to sustain the momentum against TNB in the second half,” said Dharmaraj.

“It was the opposite for TNB as they managed to rotate their players without trouble.”

RESULTS — Tenaga Nasional Berhad 4 Terengganu Hockey Team 2; Kedah Nurinsafi 0 UniKL 3 ; Maybank 3 TNB Thunderbolts 2; UITM 0 HockAdemy KL 1.

New Straits Times



Kumar saves Tenaga

By T. AVINESHWARAN and JOEL ROBERT


Under siege: Tenaga’s Norsyafiq Sumantri (centre) is surrounded by Terengganu players at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday. — By S.S. KANESAN/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: With the focus being placed more on the strikers and drag flickers, not many realise the efforts made by the man manning the goalposts.

The likes of Syed Syafiq Syed Mohd Cholan (28th minute), Mohd Shahril Saabah (38th), Mohd Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal (49th) and Mohd Akhimullah Annuar Esook (52nd) would be earning the plaudits for helping Tenaga beat last season’s overall champions Terengganu 4-2 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

But it was goalkeeper S. Kumar who kept his team in the game.

After Terengganu’s Faizal Saari scored the first goal in the 18th minute, Tenaga’s defence were kept on their toes with a flurry of goalscoring attempts by the east coast side.

However, Kumar was there to thwart them and even made an incredible triple save in the 20th minute which inspired his teammates to stage a comeback.

Despite letting in Faizal’s second goal in the 55th minute, Kumar can be satisfied with his performance.

“It is a good win against an experienced side. They were the overall champions last year and with players like Faizal and Fitri Saari, they can be dangerous on their day,” said the 40-year-old.

“As a goalkeeper, I need to be more focused than the outfield players. I made some saves, but more importantly I wanted to make sure we did not concede any goal after the equaliser because the result could have been different if they had scored.

“The boys defended well and the goals we got were a result of our resilience and hard work. I am proud of our performance.”

Meanwhile, coach Nor Saiful Zaini said the half-time pep talk did the trick.

“They (Terengganu) were more focused on playing a shortcut game. The majority of them are not young, so they do not like to run.

“I told my boys to move the ball more often. When the gap widened, there’ll be more space. We missed a few chances, but 4-2 is a good result.

“Also, you have to understand that you cannot give space in the 25-yard box to experienced players. That’s why you saw lots of red shirts when Fitri and Faisal had the ball.”

Meanwhile, not even an injury could stop former international Mohd Haziq Samsul from scoring.

The forward, bugged by a thigh injury, scored a brace to steer Maybank with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Thunderbolt.

The 26-year-old, who last played for Malaysia in the World League semi-finals in London in 2018, gave the Tigers the lead in the second minute off a penalty corner. His second came through a penalty stroke in the 36th minute.

Joel Van Huizen scored the third in the 48th minute.

Thunderbolts scored theirs through Mohd Faiq Nazwan (32nd) and Mohd Fahmi (52nd).

“I’ve been out for almost a year since my knee injury, so I’m happy to be back,” said Haziq who has scored eight goals in five matches.

“I’m very happy with my performance today but I know I can do better and my goal is to help Maybank finish in the top three.”

The Star of Malaysia



Four sides promoted in Jaffa Super 6s Division 2 final weekend



The league stages of the England Hockey Men’s and Women’s Division Two Jaffa Super 6s concluded at the weekend with teams fighting over two places to gain promotion to Division One for 2020-21 season.

In the Women’s Division Two, Gloucester City ran out convincing winners as they claimed victories in all five of their games. Second place was a battle between Guildford, Ipswich and Stourport. The penultimate game saw Guildford play Stourport with the Surrey side needing a draw to secure promotion. This was achieved with a 5-5 draw, three goals coming in the last minutes of the match to pull level and deny Stourport the win that would have seen them rise to second.

The Men’s Division Two was topped by Old Georgians who won their first four games before coming unstuck against Doncaster who defeated them 9-6. This result moved Doncaster into second place, but Oxted had the opportunity to overtake them on goal difference if they won their last game against West Herts. Despite trailing 4-0, West Herts fought back to win the game 7-6 to deny Oxted promotion and see Doncaster go up.   

You can see all the scores and standings from the Jaffa Super 6s by clicking HERE.

England Hockey Board Media release

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