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All the news for Saturday 1 November 2014

Fiji to host Oceania hockey

Rashneel Kumar

FIJI will host the Oceania Pacific Cup Championship to be played alongside the World Hockey League Round One next month.

The championship, which was last played in 2012 after its inception in 2008, will be played at the National Hockey Centre from December 6 to 13.

Oceania Hockey Federation development officer Gill Gemming said they were looking forward to a competitive tournament this year.

Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Australian Country and New Zealand Presidents will be competing in the championship.

Gemming said the Australian Country and New Zealand Presidents were sending strong teams to compete with the improving Pacific teams.

"The island teams have lifted their performance so they have gone up as well," Gemming said.

"New Zealand for example always sends a youth side but this year they are bringing slightly older group.

"They're bringing a team which is a tier below the Black Sticks and made up of players who can't make the Black Sticks."

Gemming says one of the assistant coaches of the New Zealand Presidents team is a former New Zealand hockey rep who will be running a workshop for the Pacific Island teams' players.

Tournament co-ordinator Hanisi Visanti said preparation was on track to host yet another successful international event at home.

She said they had collaborated with the Fiji Sports Council in ensuring the turf was in top shape for the championship.

Visanti also said the other logistics were being worked out well.

Fiji Hockey Federation president Doctor Robin Mitchell said they were excited to host the championship after a lapse of two years.

He said the national side was preparing well and looking forward to displaying a dominant performance in the week-long tournament.

The Fiji Times

Terengganu thump UniKL

By Jugjet Singh

FORMER international Faizal Saari led Terengganu Hockey Team to a convincing 7-0 win over UniKL in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) at the National Stadium yesterday.

Faizal scored five goals in the 12th, 16th, 20th, 32nd, 43rd minutes, while the other goals were scored by Baljit Singh Sarjab (25th) and Firhan Ashaari (45th).

In another match, Sapura and Maybank shared the spoils when they drew 2-2.

Pakistan import Abdul Haseem (21st) and Syafiq Zain (24th) made it 2-0 for Maybank, but Sapura drew level through Amerullah Aziz (28th) and Khasif Ali (54th).

“While I’?m disappointed that we gave up a two-goal lead, it is our first match of the season and a good performance from my players,” said Maybank coach Wallace Tan.

RESULTS: Sapura 2 Maybank 2; UniKL 0 Terengganu HT 7.

FIXTURES — TOMORROW: Tenaga v Terengganu HT (6pm, National Stadium, Pitch I); Sapura v UniKL (6pm, National Stadium, Pitch II); KLHC v Maybank (8pm, National Stadium, Pitch II).

New Straits Times

Terengganu show no mercy to UniKL

By S. Ramaguru


Sapura player Harmeet Singh vie for the ball with Maybank goalkeeper Moritz Knobloch in their Malaysia Hockey League match on Friday. - GLENN GUAN/ The STAR

KUALA LUMPUR: Terengganu did not have their five South Korean players – but still had enough firepower to hammer Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 7-0 in their opening Premier Division match of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

National player Faizal Saari was the star of the show – scoring five goals – as the tournament contender signalled their title ambitions with a ruthless display on Friday.

Faizal’s five goals came in the 12th, 16th, 22nd, 32nd and 43rd minutes. Defender Baljit Singh added the fourth goal off a penalty corner in the 25th minute while Mohd Firhan Azhaari capped the goal avalanche with the seventh goal in the 45th minute.

UniKL paraded Germans Phillip Stahr, Jonas Weinhardt and Patrick Schultz, South African Tim Drummond as well as Penang-born German Kevin Lim in their line-up.

But it didn’t matter as the in-form Faizal took matters into his own hands.

Terengganu have certainly made a statement – running riot even without their five South Koreans, who are only expected to be here on Nov 5 due to their league commitments in their home country.

Terengganu manager Mohd Saberi Salleh confirmed that the five would miss their first two matches.

“It’s unavoidable. They had already committed to their team in South Korea and can only leave on Nov 5. Looks like it will be an all-local team for our opening two matches,” he said.

Earlier, Sapura needed the help of last year’s top scorer, Pakistan’s Kashif Ali, to salvage a 2-2 draw against Maybank.

The Tigers went 2-0 up after just 24 minutes through Pakistani import Abdul Haseem Khan (21st) and Mohd Syafiq Zain.

Former international Mohd Amerullah Aziz pulled one back for Sapura in the 28th minute with a field goal before Kashif came to the rescue in the 54th minute.

Sapura can thank their lucky stars as Maybank were unfortunate to lose their skipper Hafifihafiz Hanafi very early in the game. He sustained a hamstring injury and is expected to be out for a week or two, at least.

Maybank coach Wallace Tan said they made some “silly errors” which resulted in Sapura’s two-goal turnaround.

“We should have done better after taking the lead. Losing our skipper early on in the match also affected us. Overall, I am happy with their performance,” said Wallace.

Sapura coach Tai Beng Hai was delighted to get a point from the match.

“It was good to come back from two goals down. We just have to improve and rectify the mistakes before the next game.”

The Star of Malaysia

Perak, KL set to dominate again in U-14 hockey meet

By S. Ramaguru

KUALA LUMPUR: Defending champions Perak and Kuala Lumpur have dominated the MHC-Milo Under-14 hockey championships since its inception in 2005.

And it’ll probably stay that way when this year’s action gets under way here on Saturday.

Perak, champions in 2005 and 2006, regained the title from KL last year.

KL had been champions from 2007 to 2012.

But Perak coach Hairul Nizam Rani played down his team’s chances, saying “we have a relatively new side”.

“Except for two players, all the others are first-timers. Last year, we had a lot of Form Two boys who had been with the team for two years,” he said.

“So, it will be a new beginning for us as we try to blood new players for the next two years.”

The two players still in the Perak team are Mohamed Ikram and Mohamed Faizal, who are both from SMK Anderson.

Perak head Group A with Malacca, Johor, Pahang, Penang and Selangor.

Kuala Lumpur are the seeded team in Group B, which also has Terengganu, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Perlis and Sabah.

The girls’ event will have only 12 teams following Perlis’ withdrawal. Selangor are the girls’ defending champions.

The Star of Malaysia

Punjab Police sink Indian Navy 3-2

Jalandhar - Punjab Police beat Indian Navy 3-2 to enter the league stage of Surjit Hockey Tournament at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium here today.

In the last pre-qualifying match, Policemen bounced back after trailing 1-0 in the 11th minute when Jagmeet Singh sounded the board. Indian Navy were the first to score as Ved Parkash (6th min) scored from right flank (1-1).

In the 15th minute, the Jalandhar-based team mounted pressure through Jaskaran Singh to make it 2-1. In the second-half, Punjab Police consolidated the lead with a penalty corner conversion by Simranjeet Singh (46th min). The Indian Navy reduced the margin with a field goal in 51st min, courtesy Ved Parkash (2-3) but could not save the match. Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala (RCF) will take on Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) on Sunday.

Pak women team to arrive

Azra Nasir of Lahore will lead the Rest of Pakistan women’s team in the ongoing tournament. The Rest of Pakistan team will arrive on November 2 and play their first match on November 4 against RCF, Kapurthala.

The Tribune

Paragon, QPCC indoor champs

Paragon women and Queen’s Park men were crowned new Open Division champions of the T&T Hockey Board Indoor Championship in convincing fashion when the tournament came to a close at theWoodbrook Youth Facility on Sunday night.

In the women’s final, national defender Avion Ashton banged in a double while her national team-mate Alanna Lewis and Keima Gardiner chipped in with one each to cancel out Elise Olton’s lone reply for Shandy Carib Magnolias in a 4-1 beating.

And in the men’s decider, current national men’s coach, veteran Raphael Govia also scored twice as Queen’s Park dashed Paragon’s hopes in a 5-2 licking.

The trio of Jerry Bell, Stefan Mouttet and Cade Lue all chipped in with a goal for the Parkites while national duo, Kiel Murray and Akim Toussaintw were on target for Paragon.

Earlier on, Govia also starred for Queen’s Park in the Mixed Veterans Division, scoring a hat-trick in a 6-2 defeat of Defence Force in their decider.

Sheldon Cockburn, Gary Chin and Bell also found the target for Queen’s Park, while Gerald Ferguson and Anthony Morales scored for Defence Force.

In the Under-19 Division, pre-tournament favourites Magnolias and Courts Malvern lived up to the hype.

Magnolias led by braces from national women’s team duo, Samantha Olton and Brianna Govia blanked Notre Dame 4-0, while Kristien Emmanuel and Teague Marcano had a hat-trick each in Malvern’s 7-1 demolition of Fatima.

Meanwhile, the two-day Super Indoor will flick off at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo, on Saturday from 10 am.

Sunday Indoor Hockey Finals:

Third place matches:

Under-19 Girls:

Ventures 1 (Karissa Wyke) vs Paragon 0

Under-19 Boys:

QPCC 7 (Jarryon Paul 3, Jordan Reynos 3, Keegan Dos Santos) vs Shape 3 (Devon Haywood, Lyndell Byer, Ghardel Elcock)

Mixed Veterans:

Notre Dame 3 (Keith De Peza 2, Nigel Providence) vs Fatima 1 (Colin Young)

Women’s Open:

Ventures 3 (Jade Piper 2, Anya Sealy) vs Courts Malvern 1 (Liselle Parris)

Men’s Open:

Defence Force 5 (Javon Woodward 2, Nicholas Wren 2, Marcus James) vs Petrotrin 3 (Wayne Legerton, Otis O’Connor, Roger Duncan)

Finals:

Under-19 Girls:

SC Magnolias 4 (Samantha Olton 2, Brianna Govia 2) vs Notre Dame 0

Under-19 Boys:

Courts Malvern 7 (Kristien Emmanuel 3, Teague Marcano 3, Tariq Marcano) vs Fatima 1 (Che Modeste)

Mixed Veterans:

QPCC 6 Raphael Govia 3, Sheldon Cockburn, Gary Chin, Jerry Bell) vs Defence Force 2 (Gerald Ferguson, Anthony Morales)

Women’s Open:

Paragon 4 (Avion Ashton 2, Alanna Lewis, Keima Gardiner) vs SC Magnolias 1 (Elise Olton)

Men’s Open:

QPCC 5 (Raphael Govia 2, Jerry Bell, Stefan Mouttet, Cade Lue Sue) vs Paragon 2 (Kiel Murray, Akim Toussaint)

Super Indoor fixtures:

Tomorrow

Open Women: Paragon vs Malvern, 10 am
Open Men: QPCC vs Petrotrin, 11 am
Open Women: Magnolias vs Ventures, noon
Open Men: Paragon vs Defence Force, 1 pm
Mixed Veterans: QPCC vs Fatima, 2 pm
Mixed Veterans: Defence Force vs Notre Dame, 3 pm
Open Women: Ventures vs Paragon, 4 pm
Open Men: Defence Force vs QPCC, 5 pm
Open Women: Malvern vs Magnolias, 6 pm
Mixed Veterans: Notre Dame vs QPCC, 7 pm
Mixed Veterans: Fatima vs Defence Force, 8 pm
Open Men: Petrotrin vs Paragon, 9 pm

Sunday:

Mixed Veterans: Notre Dame vs Fatima, 10 am
Open Men: Defence Force vs Petrotrin, 11 am
Open Women: Ventures vs Malvern, noon
Mixed Veterans: QPCC vs Defence Force, 1 pm
Open Women: Paragon vs Magnolias, 2 pm
Open Men: QPCC vs Paragon, 3 pm

The Trinidad Guardian

Rizwan joins hockey camp as trials rescheduled

By Anwar Zuberi

KARACHI: One more player Rizwan Ali has joined the national hockey camp which is in progress at the Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium in preparation for the Champions Trophy slated in Bhubaneswar, India, from Dec 6 to 14.

Following his joining, the strength of the camp trainees has raised to 29 out of 38 probables invited by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF).

The remaining probables are expected to report in the camp by Nov 6 or 7 before the two-day trials which have been brought forward to Nov 11 and 12 instead of Nov 14 and 15, chief coach Shahnaz Shaikh told Dawn on Friday.

Citing reason for rescheduling the trials, he said Pakistan hockey team will visit South Korea from Nov 20 to 28 to play four to five friendly matches against their counterparts in order to rectify weaknesses before entering the Champions Trophy.

After the South Korean assignment, the team will return to Karachi and resume practice. It will fly to Bhubaneswar on Dec 2 to feature in the Champions Trophy instituted by Pakistan way back in 1978.

Dawn

Fine Day for Pumas U16s at Futures Cup


Futures Cup 2014 Day 2

Pennine Pumas U16s had a fine performance on Day 2 of the Futures Cup, winning both of their matches against the Saxon Tigers. It was the Boy’s who really caught the eye in their match, putting in a fine second half show coming from 2-1 down to win 5-2, thanks to a Tom House double. The Pumas U16 girls maintained their 100% record and sit top of the table. Lily Wolstenholme scored both goals as they won 2-1, adding to her goal yesterday. This sets up a showdown tomorrow with the Mercia Lynx U16 Girls, who have also won both of their games so far, including a 2-0 win over the Wessex Leopards in the last game of the day.

It’s all to play for in the Boy’s U16 competition going into the final day, with all teams on three points having won and lost a game each.

In the U18 Tournament, the Saxon Tigers dominated proceedings with the Boys putting 6 goals past the Pennine Pumas thanks to braces from Euan Gilmour and Toby Price.  The Tigers Girls came back from 1-0 down to beat the Pumas 2-1. The Mercia Lynx girls made it 2 from 2 as they scored 5 against the Wessex Leopards, Erica Sanders helping herself to 4 goals in the process.  The Wessex Leopards must win their game tomorrow against the Saxon Tigers to make the final of the U18 Girls Tournament. The Wessex Leopards Boys set up their final with the Saxon Tigers on Sunday by beating the Wessex Leopards 3-1.

The tables after day 2 can be found below. Click HERE to find out all of the up to date information from this year’s Futures Cup.

England Hockey Board Media release

Life after Glasgow 2014



Nikki Kidd

Three months have passed since the closing ceremony of The Commonwealth Games and it still only seems like yesterday that we were celebrating Glasgow winning the host city bid in 2007. Since then competing and succeeding for Team Scotland at a home Games was a massive goal of mine and indeed most other Scottish athletes.

Running out in front of 5,000 passionate fans at Glasgow National Hockey Centre in the summer was an amazing experience and being able to share that with family and friends made it even more special. The Games were a fantastic advert for international hockey and although we may not have finished where we wished, we were astounded by the amazing level of interest and support from the Scottish public. A tweet from a friend in the afternoon after our match against England really typified this “Just heard two Glasgae lads talking about this morning’s hockey like it was an old firm match! #showcase” It’s not often hockey gets that kind of profile and it can only be positive for our sport! Representing Team Scotland was a huge honour and I have so many memories that will stay with me forever.



After the games I headed home to the Aberdeenshire countryside for a few days to chill out with the family. Although, as those of you who know me understand, I’m not good at relaxing! I was out running along the beach the next day and was soon off to Torridon and the Isle of Skye with for a week of epic, off the beaten track mountain biking with Pete. A 6 hour route over the Torridon mountains took us 9 due to driving rain, gale force winds, exposed rocky tracks and carrying bikes through waist high rivers. Brilliant fun and our idea of a great holiday! After a week of biking, hiking and battling hurricane Bertha we headed back to Glasgow for the athletes parade. Scotland is famed for its friendly, welcoming population and the crowd that lined the streets really epitomised Glasgow 2014s ‘People Make Glasgow’ slogan. The parade was a great opportunity for us to thank the public, friends and family for their incredible support.

It was all go again and after a quick catch up with the family we headed off to Hull to catch the ferry to Rotterdam and then on to Mannheim in South West Germany. I spent the 2011/12 season with Mannheimer HC and jumped at the chance to sign with them again and play in the German Bundesliga . We have a young, talented team with a mix of senior and junior internationals from Germany, Chile, Czech Republic and of course Scotland. The Bundesliga involves a fair bit of travelling and an away weekend normally includes a Friday evening train trip (which can last up to 5 hours), 2 matches and a couple of nights in a hotel. It’s a really professional set up at MHC and a great club to be part of. My main position at the club is as a hockey player but I also do a few hours a week as a physio. So it’s been a busy few months trying to get back up to speed with the language, getting used to playing man to man defence for 70 minutes and exploring the German mountains and forests on the bikes.



It was great to join back up with the Scotland squad recently and conveniently for me it was in Germany. We played 3 tough matches against the reigning European Champions and our young squad with some new faces competed well. I was delighted and honoured to play my 150th match for Scotland there and I am already looking forward to the 2015 international season.

Iain Scholefield

It was a hard come down after the amazing summer. It was the small things like not being stopped in the street, however the athletes parade through Glasgow was a more than fitting end to the whole experience. Everybody I’ve spoken to has had nothing but positive feedback about the games and the hockey itself. The debriefing of the tournament itself we felt that we could have finished higher. The final game against Malaysia was a disappointing end as we felt we played well throughout the tournament. However it was definitely an improvement on Commonwealth Games 4 years earlier in Delhi. There are so many things that happened which made Glasgow 2014 special, from seeing royalty, walking out at the open ceremony and the playing the first game in front of the home crowd. They all contributed to making it an unforgettable two weeks.



Work

For the last few years since finishing university I have been playing hockey in Holland and Belgium. However now I have decided to concentrate on my career more. Change from playing and coaching hockey to working with my engineering degree. It's not an easy transition but sadly hockey doesn't pay football size salaries.

Injury

This year hasn't been kind to me injury wise. I've had three pretty bad injuries one after the other, my hand and my ankle twice. Despite the frustration of being injured for a long time I feel very grateful to have been able to play in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. I spent a lot of time sitting watching training, cycling and swimming expecting the worst. However with the support of our physios and doctors I made it back just in time!



Kelburne

After 3 years away from Kelburne I'm very happy to back at my home club. There will always be a small part of me that regrets missing the last 3 league titles however my experiences abroad have more than made up for that. Since I have returned I have been heavy involved with the club trying to help the clubs development and move forward by using many of the things I've learnt whilst being abroad. I'm really enjoying giving back into the club.



This season marked the 7th year that Kelburne have been involved with the Euro Hockey League. The rules have slightly changed this year which made it much harder to progress to the next round. We played the Austrian team SV Arminen and Spaniards, Athletic Terrassa. The games were tough, we competed well in hot conditions however too many mistakes at crucial times cost us. We lost 5-2 in our first game vs the Austrians and then 4-1 when we played Terrassa in our second game. The games were closer than the scores suggest and everybody recognised the areas where we need to improve. We are now back and focused on winning our 11th league title.

Scottish Hockey Union media release

Polytan STI appointed as the surface provider for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games hockey facilities



FIH in conjunction with the Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, are pleased to announce the selection of Poligras® as the surface for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games hockey facilities.

The Poligras® synthetic hockey surfaces will be provided by Polytan STI, a Sport Group company.  Following on from the success of the hockey pitches at the London 2012 Olympic Games, the two competition pitches, warm-up area and two training pitches in Rio 2016 will also feature the distinctive blue playing surface.

The hockey competition will take place at the Olympic Hockey Centre, in Deodoro Olympic Park, in the north of Rio de Janeiro.  It will feature the 12 best men’s and the 12 best women’s teams from around the globe, with competition running from 6 – 19th August 2016.  Qualification has already started, with India and Korea getting the first men’s and women’s spots respectively, via their victories at the recent 2014 Asian Games.

FIH CEO, Kelly Fairweather said, “I am delighted at the appointment of Polytan STI who with their expertise and experience will provide a top quality playing surface for the players.  The blue turf at London 2012, made hockey one of the most talked about and broadcast sports of the 2012 Olympic Games. It adds to the spectator experience at the event and also off the field by enhancing online and TV viewing.”

Stephen Niven, CEO of Sport Group Asia Pacific, is excited about the announcement and Polytan STI’s involvement in the project and said, “As the first Olympic Games in South America, this tournament represents a significant milestone in sporting history.  We are proud that Poligras pitches will play a vital role in making these Olympic Games a success.”

FIH site