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All the news for Wednesday 6 August 2014

U.S. Men's National Team completes first half of series with third consecutive win

CHULA VISTA, Calif. – The U.S. Men’s National Team continues to blaze an undefeated summer series trail by winning 2-1 over Mexico. Today’s match marks the third consecutive win during the second summer series at the Olympic Training Center for Team USA.

The red, white and blue came out fast with good combinations that sent the ball quickly up the pitch. Midfielder Moritz Runzi (Boston, Mass.) perfectly placed a field goal past Mexico’s keeper to turn the score 1-0. The ball glided from end line to end line with USA’s defense keeping high pressure which was felt throughout the entire match. In the 14th minute striker Tyler Sundeen (Simi Valley, Calif.) slammed a reverse shot to the far post to keep a 2-0 lead going into halftime.  Although Mexico quickly maneuvered into their attacking circle to change the score to 2-1 in the 66th minute, the goal wasn’t enough to defeat Team USA.

“I’m glad we won today,” said Head Coach Chris Clements. “We managed the game enough to get the victory however we will address a few minor things to finish the series strong. Overall it is great we are 3-0 in this series and we will be ready for game four tomorrow.”

The USA started the series with a 6-1 win over Mexico. The following day, the National Team created a victory of 8-0.  The next match in this series takes place on Wednesday, August 6 at 10:45 a.m. PST. Follow USA Field Hockey on Twitter @USAFieldHockey for live updates and be sure to visit the official website for more event information.  

USFHA media release

Rousing welcome for silver-winning Indian hockey team

NEW DELHI: With a Commonwealth Games silver proudly hanging by their necks, the Indian men's hockey team returned home to a rousing welcome by Hockey India (HI), Indian Olympic Association (IOA), fans and friends at the Indira Gandhi International airport on Tuesday.

The team showed tremendous grit by beating New Zealand 3-2 in the semifinals after trailing by two goals. The Sardar Singh-led side then ran into Australia again in Glasgow, a repeat of the 2010 edition in Delhi, and lost 0-4 to the world champions but the Terry Walsh-coached side were lauded for their efforts.

Congratulating and welcoming the team, Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra said, "I am proud of the team and congratulate them on their well deserved Silver medals. All the hard work and efforts they have put in prior the tournament helped them perform their best, bringing laurels to the country."

"The entire nation is proud of the team and I wish them all the very best for the impending Asian Games and all other future endeavours," he added.

Delighted by the impressive welcome at the airport, midfielder Sardar said, "I am more than happy to be back home and extremely overjoyed at such a grand reception by friends and fans. Our next step is winning the Gold at the upcoming Asian Games for which the boys are going into the tournament confident."

"The just concluded Commonwealth Games brought to the forefront many positives along with some areas that needs urgent attention to better ourselves. We will work towards the loopholes and put forward a better team for the forthcoming Asian Games," he said.

India next tour Bangladesh for a tree-match series starting August 6, which is a tune-up for the Asian Games in Incheon between September 19 and October 4.

The Times of India

Sardar Singh Proud of India's Silver Medal in Hockey

While he says missing out on the gold medal was a bit disappointing, Indian men's hockey captain Sardar Singh said that a silver is  a superb achievement too.


Indian hockey team returns home to heroes welcome after bagging the silver medal at CWG 2014 in Glasgow

New Delhi: India might have failed to break their Commonwealth Games title jinx for the second consecutive time but captain Sardar Singh has a lot of positives to take from the event and said the silver medal was a "well- deserved" achievement for the past masters of the game.

Sardar said the young side can be "proud of their achievement" in the just-concluded Glasgow Games despite losing 0-4 to world champions Australia in the final.

"It was disappointment to miss out on the gold time but we are satisfied with what we have achieved. The boys can be proud of their achievement," Sardar told PTI in an interview after arriving from Glasgow.

"The silver medal was well-deserved because we lost against a side which is the best in the world and are currently well ahead of us.

"Even though we couldn't match them in the final as we expected but we gave them a tough fight in the group stage. We lost 2-4 in the group stage and that speaks volumes about our improvement," the ace midfielder said.

Even though the two teams were class apart, it was an ideal opportunity for the eight-time Olympic champions India to avenge their 0-8 thrashing at the hands of mighty Australia in the 2010 edition of the Games in New Delhi.

But it was not to be as Australia produced a clinical performance and scored two goals in each half to secure their fifth consecutive Commonwealth Games title since the introduction of hockey in the quadrennial event in 1998.

But irrespective of the final result, Sardar feels they grew as a team during the Glasgow Games and exuded confidence of sealing a direct berth in the 2016 Rio Olympics by winning the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

"We grew as a team during the tournament which was important. We more or less achieved our goal that we set before leaving for Glasgow. We wanted to beat Australia once during the course of the tournament but we failed," he said.

"We have definitely improved as a team which was visible in our performance but we need some more time to come at par with top teams like Australia.

"Our's is a young team and all the boys have performed exceptionally well in the Commonwealth Games. I think in the next one-and-half, 2 years we will be in a position to compete with teams like Australia, Germany and Netherlands," he said.

"The Commonwealth Games gave us good preparation ahead of the Asian Games. We are now confident of winning the gold medal in the Asian Games and qualify directly for the Rio Olympics."

Sardar said India will be a "force to reckon with" in 2016 Olympics.

"The way our training is going and the way we are improving, I think we can be a serious contender at Rio Olympics," he said.

Even though the skipper was not satisfied with his showing in the Glasgow Games, he had words of appreciation for some of his team-mates.

"I had a mixed bag from the tournament. Being the captain, I am not pleased with my overall performance. But it was a very good tournament for some players like young Nikkin Thimmaiah, Akashdeep Singh, seniors like Gurbaj Singh, Gurvinder Singh Chandi," he said.

"Unlike the World Cup, our penalty corner conversion rate was also very good here and the credit goes to Rupinder Pal Singh and V R Raghunath," Sardar said.

The skipper said they have a lot of work to do before the Asian Games to be held from September 19 to October 4.

"There are definitely grey areas where we need to work upon. We need to more consistent. We need to do away with our habit of giving away soft balls," Sardar signed off.

NDTV Sport

Next target is Asian Games gold, says Sardar Singh

New Delhi - Having won the silver medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Indian hockey team has now set its sight on winning the gold medal in this year’s Asian Games which would give the erstwhile champions of the game a direct ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Captain Sardar Singh said the CWG brought to the forefront many positives along with some areas that need urgent attention. “Our next step is winning the gold at the Asian Games and the boys are confident. We have improved as a team which reflected in our performance at the CWG,” Sardar said.

The hockey team arrived in the capital to a rousing reception with the CWG silver medals proudly hanging around the players’ necks. Hockey India and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) officials welcomed the players with garlands.

India was beaten by Australia 4-0 in the final. But, irrespective of the result, the silver finish was not a disappointing show since Sardar’s side defeated the higher-ranked New Zealand in the semifinal clash.

Sardar, however, conceded that there are still some areas which the team needs to work on. “We will work on our weaknesses and put forward a better team for the Asian Games. We need to be more consistent with our game and show better communication skills on the field,” he said.

Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra congratulated the team and said the good showing at the CWG will boost the confidence of the players.

“All their hard work and efforts before the tournament helped them perform well, bringing laurels to the country. The entire nation is proud of the team. I wish them the very best for Asian Games,” he said.

The Asian Games will be held in Incheon, South Korea, from September 19 to October 4. In the last edition of the Games in Guangzhou, China, the Indian team had finished third after beating South Korea 1-0.

The Tribune

Dharmaraj leaves his future open


National hockey coach K Dharmaraj arriving with his team at the Kuala Lumpr International Airport in Sepang yesterday. Pic by Osman Adnan

K. DHARMARAJ will leave it to the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) to decide on his future as the national coach following his team’s poor performance at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

“I do not want to argue with the concerned party. I got to focus on my job preparing a team for the Incheon Asian Games. I will leave to MHC to decide,” said Dharmaraj after arriving with his team at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang yesterday.

The coach took a risk by selecting a mixed squad of seniors and juniors for the Commonwealth Games as he wanted a bigger pool of quality players ahead of the Asian Games. The team, who were not given a target, finished seventh in the 10-team competition.

MHC senior vice-president and coaching chairman Manjit Manjid Abdullah had stated recently that Dharmaraj and the other present coaches should be removed and that he would be proposing it in the next coaching committee meeting.

“The MHC and the National Sports Council (NSC) are aware that the Asian Games is my team’s target. If I hadn’t thought about the future, I would have named my best players for the Commonwealth Games.

“Everyone was aware some of the seniors were tired from previous competitions and that I wanted to expose some of the youngsters. As for me, these players, apart from the 4-2 defeat to Trinidad & Tobago, did well in Glasgow,” Dharmaraj added.

New Straits Times

Hockey coach Dharmaraj’s fate will be known next week

By S. Ramaguru


Filepic shows national hockey head coach K. Dharmaraj with his charges during a training session earlier this year.

KUALA LUMPUR: Under-fire national hockey coach K. Dharmaraj faces uncertainty on two fronts.

First his fate as national coach is in the balance following the team’s dismal show at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow which ended on Sunday. And to add to his woes there is still no decision on the showcause letter issued by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) last month.

Dharmaraj is now focussing on the Asian Games which will be held in Incheon, South Korea from Sept 19-Oct 4.

He is expected to leave for Holland on Aug 11 with a squad of 24 players for a three-week training-cum-playing stint.

But a decision on his fate is set for Aug 16 during the MHC’s council meeting.

It is learnt that the MHC plan to discuss in Dharmaraj’s position and also review the report on the recent World Cup outing where the last-placed squad failed to win a single match.

On the showcause letter, MHC secretary general Datuk Mohamed Johari Abdul Aziz said the disciplinary board will decide whether to pursue the matter.

“Dharmaraj’s reply has been forwarded to the board. They will decide if there is a case to answer.

“The council meeting is also in the offing and the matter of the coach will be discussed at that time,” he added.

The team have come in for a fair amount of criticisms in Glasgow after their 2-4 defeat at the hands of minnows Trinidad and Tobago.

Malaysia, who were not set any target, paraded a mixed team of juniors and senior players.

The main core of players who will spearhead the Asian Games challenge stayed back in KL.

The Asiad squad have been set a gold medal target as it is an Olympic Games qualifier.

Malaysia will have the likes of India, Pakistan, South Korea, China and Japan in Incheon.

The Star of Malaysia

Niall Stott announces International retirement


Niall Stott competing at Glasgow 2014 at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre. Photo credit Ian Steele

Following the end of the Commonwealth Games Men’s Hockey competition, Olympian Niall Stott has announced his retirement from international hockey.

The Dundonian has accumulated an outstanding 251 caps from representing both Great Britain and Scotland, including appearances in an Olympic Games (2004) and three Commonwealth Games (2006, 2010, 2014).  The midfielder has 159 caps playing for Scotland but will be hanging up his boots now Glasgow 2014 is over.

“It has been an incredible journey and one that I will never forget. Lots of friends and memories made. Wouldn't change it for anything.”, Stott announced on twitter.

Stott retires with club priorities now his focus and he will be captaining top English club East Grinstead this coming season and is looking forward to concentrating on his club hockey.

Before joining the English side in 2009 he played for German side UHC Hamburg, Scottish champions Kelburne and his local club Dundee Wanderers.


Niall Stott at the Investec Cup earlier in July. Photo credit Ady Kerry

Scotland Senior Men Head Coach Derek Forsyth praised Stott for everything he has done playing for his country, stating, “Over the years he has given a lot to the sport. He is top class player, playing for Great Britain and Scotland with a total of 251 combined caps is an outstanding achievement.

“He has done a great service to Scotland, he will be a player that will be missed, but it will give an opportunity for young blood to come in and show talent.

“We all wish him well in his retirement from international hockey and best of luck in his future endeavours.”

David Sweetman, Scottish Hockey Chief Executive, added,“A big thank you to Niall for his contribution to international hockey and the Scotland men’s team, I wish him well on his retirement and hope that he continues his participation in hockey in the years to come.”

Scottish Hockey Union media release

Montag moves to Koln city rivals

Olympic, World and European champion Jan-Marco Montag will make the move away from Rot-Weiss Koln to start a new player-coach role at city rivals Blau-Weiss, according to hockey.de.

Speaking about his decision, he has played for a long-time in the Bundesliga but is now looking forward to a new challenge, linking up with his cousins Patrick and Daniel. He takes over from Tim Welsch as trainer for a side that struggled last year in the second tier of the Bundesliga Nord, finishing without a point from the regular season and the preliminary target is to get his side competitive in the league.

"After the last two or three difficult years, we have a positive atmosphere in the team and want to move up as quickly as possible. In the medium term, we want to re-establish ourself in the second division of the Bundesliga," said the 30-year-old.

Jan-Marco Montag continues his links with Rot-Weiss with a position as a youth coach.

Euro Hockey League media release

Junior Black Sticks U18 wider squads named



Following the recent Under 18 and Under 21 national tournaments, athletes have been identified as part of Hockey New Zealand’s development programmes.

The Junior Black Sticks and Future Black Sticks programmes represent athletes identified as having performed well at national competitions, and who in the opinion of the selection group may progress to international competition.

This annual selection program is ongoing, with the 2014 Ford National Hockey League representing the final part of the annual identification process.

Hockey NZ is looking to use each of the three high performance tournaments to develop three levels of national athlete identification.

It’s important for all athletes to recognise that these squads represent athletes that have been identified at the various competitions conducted, and that Hockey NZ may make adjustments to these squads as it deems necessary.

Further to the athlete identification, Hockey NZ is developing a range of training and competition opportunities for each group.

Once these programmes have been finalised, the overall structure will be explained and distributed to all those involved.

Hockey New Zealand Media release

Two years to Rio

Two years until the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.



RIO 2016: The 5th of August 2014 is an exciting day as it marks two years until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This milestone makes the prospect of the first Olympic Games in South America all the more real for athletes and coaches who are training hard. Behind the scenes the national federations, sporting institutes and the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) staff are working to ensure the 2016 Australian Olympic Team is the best prepared to take on the world from August 5-21 2016.  

Australian sailors are currently competing in the first official test event for Rio 2016 to maximise their time in the conditions that they are likely to face in two years time. The performance of Australian sailors at London 2012 was a real highlight of the Games.

The 2016 Australian Olympic Team will be led by Kitty Chiller as Chef de Mission. The Sydney Olympian in Modern Pentathlon was a Deputy in 2012 and she is establishing the framework to ensure Australian athletes can fulfil their potential and represent Australia with great honour, on and off the field of play in 2016.
 
“Athletes in Rio will not only be members of the 2016 Olympic Team, they will be the latest additions to a by then 120 year old Team, that started with Edwin Flack in Athens in 1896. I want all our athletes to understand and respect the great Olympic tradition that Australia has and to recognise that with that tradition comes responsibility. Our Team needs to excel on and off the field of play.”
 
“As well as aiming to regain our position in the Top 5 on the Medal tally in 2016, we are also working hard to ensure Rio is a Life-Best Experience for athletes and officials – win, lose or draw. A united team approach will provide the best environment for success.”
 
Chiller knows that a positive Team environment with athletes from all sports supporting each other will lead to athletes performing at their best and give Australia the best opportunity to improve on the 35 medals (7 gold, 16 silver, 12 bronze) from London 2012 where the Team was tenth on gold medals.
 
Australia placed in the top five on the medal tally in Sydney 2000 (4th), Athens 2004 and just missed out in Beijing (6th).
 
Chiller and the Australian Olympic Committee know getting back to the top five will be tough but they are not shying away from the challenge and there are plenty of positive signs across a whole range of sports where ground has been made up since London 2012.
 
”All our athletes going to Rio will want to do their best. That is what the Olympics are about. If we all focus on doing our best in everything we do, in planning, preparation and performance, the results will look after themselves”.
 
The planning visits and collaboration with the national federations and Australian Institute of Sport is aimed to turn the conditions and the challenges that are expected from the Rio Games into an advantage for the Australian Olympic Team.
 
“Less than 10% of our Team has ever competed in Brazil. But our athletes are used to travelling long distances to foreign environments. We are more experienced at this than many of our European rivals and we need to use that to our advantage”.
 
There were plenty of positive performances to come out of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow recently and over the next few months there will be many world championships and benchmark events held that will start painting the picture of how Australian athletes are tracking at the mid-way mark of the Olympic four-year cycle. 

The qualification period has already started for 10 disciplines and there are another five commencing next month. At this early stage it is estimated that Australia will have around 470 athletes at Rio 2016, which is significantly greater than the 410 athletes from London two years ago.
 
The forecasted increase in numbers is due to the addition of two new sports in Rugby Sevens and Golf, plus the expectation that Australia will qualify in both men’s and women’s Football in 2016.
 
A team of around 470 would be close to the largest Team to leave Australian shores which was the Athens 2004 Team with 486 competitors. Beijing 2008 had 436 athletes with Sydney 2000 by far the largest Australian Olympic Team with 632 competitors.

Hockey Australia media release