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News for 10 June 2017

All the news for Saturday 10 June 2017


Danson takes captaincy role, England squad announced


Alex Danson, England

Alex Danson has been named women’s captain for this summer’s major international hockey events.

Alex is one of England and Great Britain’s greatest ever hockey players, and has 99 goals and 272 caps to her name since making her international debut aged just 16.

The 32-year-old forward will first lead England for this weekend’s Investec Internationals in London, as well as July’s Hockey World League in South Africa, then August’s EuroHockey Championships when England go to Holland as defending champions. Later in 2017, a permanent captain and wider leadership group will be selected.

Also today, Head Coach Danny Kerry has named an 20-strong squad to take on Argentina and Holland at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in the Investec Internationals this weekend. Goalkeeper Maddie Hinch is back in the international fold for the first time since Rio, having been playing in Holland for a season. Alongside captain Danson, the squad also includes Rio medallists Laura Unsworth, Susannah Townsend, Sophie Bray, Hollie Webb, Shona McCallin, Lily Owsley and Nicola White. Giselle Ansley is unavailable and will have surgery on a facial injury on Saturday. The squad also includes a number of new faces who will play on home soil for the very first time in an exciting stage of their development.

Head coach Danny Kerry said, “We are excited about the upcoming matches and as ever we play to win. Having said that the bigger picture is about looking at some combinations to help us make the best possible selection for the World League. To that end we will be trying some options and exploring the performance of those against some very good opposition.

“I look forward to seeing Alex lead the team through these games and the summer. Her breadth of experience, her natural empathy for both individuals and the wider performance needs will stand her in good stead over the coming summer tournaments. I believe we have an excellent group of leaders throughout the team and Alex is the visible sign of that and embodies the values of our group."

Danson added, “It is a huge honour to be handed this captaincy for the summer and to lead a fantastic squad in some very important tournaments. We have a team full of very good leaders so in many ways I will be undertaking the exact same role as normal, and each and every one of us will give our all for the cause.

“I remember as a youngster, dreaming just to be part of the central programme with England and Great Britain, and now the entire squad strives every day to be successful for the country. It is great to be playing at home this weekend in the Investec Internationals, we have lots of special memories on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and given the growth of the sport since Rio, I think the games against Argentina and Holland are going to be pretty spectacular.”

Tickets remain on sale for Saturday’s game with Argentina, which begins at 2pm at our legacy venue on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Seats are priced from £7.50 for U18s and £19.50 adults in advance, rising by £2.50 from midnight on Friday. The Holland match at 2pm on Sunday is completely sold out. Both games are live on BT Sport. After each match, our athletes will sign autographs pitchside and under 18 ticket holders from our Family Stand will be allowed to play hockey on the pitch.

Full squad:
Maddie Hinch (GK), Amy Tennant (GK), Zoe Shipperley, Laura Unsworth, Sarah Haycroft, Anna Toman, Hannah Martin, Susannah Townsend, Susie Gilbert, Joie Leigh, Alex Danson (C), Emily Defroand, Sophie Bray, Hollie Webb, Ellie Watton, Shona McCallin, Lily Owsley, Jo Hunter, Nicola White, Grace Balsdon

Alex Danson factfile:
International caps 272, goals 99
4 gold medals including Olympics 2016 and Unibet EuroHockey Championship 2015
17 career medals: 2x Olympics (gold & bronze), World Cup (bronze), 2x Commonwealth Games (silver & bronze), 6x EuroHockey Championships (gold, silver, 4xbronze), 2x Champions Trophy (silver & bronze)
Joint top goalscorer at the Rio 2016 Olympics (5 goals)
Hometown: Odiham
DOB: 21 May 1985

England Hockey Board Media release



Danson named as Captain

By Mike Haymonds

ALEX DANSON has been named as England captain for this summer’s internationals, taking over from Kate Richardson-Walsh who retired after Great Britain’s Rio gold medal.

Danson, 32, will lead England at this weekend’s Investec international matches in the Olympic Park which feature the top three world ranked teams. Today (Saturday) England face third-ranked Argentina and on Sunday meet the number one The Netherlands in a repeat of the Rio final.

Danson has accumulated 272 caps and 99 goals since her senior international debut 16 years ago.

Danson said: “It is a huge honour to be handed this captaincy and to lead a fantastic squad in some very important tournaments.

“I remember as a youngster, dreaming just to be a part of the central programme with England and GB. We have lots of special memories on the Olympic Park and, given the growth of the sport since Rio, I think the games against Argentina and Holland are going to be pretty spectacular.”

Head coach Danny Kerry has selected a 20-strong squad for this weekend, including goalkeeper Maddie Hinch, back for the first time since Rio after playing last season in Holland, and seven other Rio gold medallists.

Fieldhockey.com



Britain's hockey heroes reunite to build on Olympic success

Jim White, at Bisham Abbey


Nicola White, Susannah Townsend and Giselle Ansley were back together at Bisham Abbey Credit: Geoff Pugh for the Telegraph

Susannah Townsend remembers precisely when the scale of what she and her hockey team-mates achieved at the Rio Olympics became clear. It was in January, when the Great Britain midfielder had taken her gold medal to show a friend at the Saracens training ground.

“They’d just beaten Toulon, they were flying,” she recalls of the European champions. “But all they wanted to talk about was the Olympics. They’d all watched our match. And Owen Farrell wanted a selfie with my medal. He’s the best there is at his sport, he’s played in front of 90,000 and he has that much respect for what we did. Stuff like that makes you think: wow.”

Farrell will be preoccupied with Lions business this weekend, which means he will miss out on the opportunity to watch Townsend and her colleagues in action on home AstroTurf for the first time since their Rio triumph. The three-nation Investec Series at the Olympic Park begins on Saturday with England facing Argentina; on Sunday, the hosts take on Holland in a rerun of the nerve-shredding Olympic final culminating in a penalty shoot-out that, in a move unprecedented for a hockey match, postponed the BBC News at Ten. Given the fact that all of the British side who defeated the Dutch qualify for England, the badge on the shirt is incidental: the Dutch have announced they are out for revenge. But Townsend is not remotely fazed.

“It’s a sell-out, it’s going to be noisy. I reckon Holland will be scared coming to play us on our home turf in our home city. I know I would be,” she said.

Townsend has just completed a training session at Bisham Abbey when, with team-mates Giselle Ansley and Nicola White, she sits down with The Telegraph to swap memories of last August. And their insights into how their victory was achieved are fascinating.

“We’d taken a collective decision to go off social media immediately after the opening ceremony,” says Ansley, who will miss the weekend fixtures after being hit in the face by a ball in training. “For me, that was brilliant. We had no distractions, we had absolutely no idea what was going on back home. It was total focus.” For them focus is everything. It was that, they say, that propelled them from embarrassment to glory. In 2014, as England, they had finished second last in the World Cup. And, according to Townsend, that was the moment they properly started on the road to gold.

“It enabled us to have some very frank conversations,” she says. “We thought we were going to medal in that tournament. Coming 11th out of 12. It forced us to address some things, we had some real hard conversations. It was during them we came up with a set of values that we could live by whatever the setback. It’s probably what made us successful.”


Giselle Ansley, Susannah Townsend and Nicola White talk to 'Shoeless Jim White' at Bisham Abbey Credit:  Geoff Pugh for the Telegraph

What changed for them was finding a way to deliver. Missing out, as they had so spectacularly in the World Cup, became collective Kryptonite. One of the things they introduced came to be known as Thinking Thursday, a tough training session in which they were set match-specific challenges.

“It’s designed to prepare you for moments,” explains Townsend. “It’s the best thing ever. Danny [Kerry, the GB and England head coach] will say: ‘Right you’re 2-1 down there’s two minutes to go, what you going to do?’ And we do it. It just seems like real fun at the time. But when you get to an Olympic final you realise: we’ve practised every single scenario there is.” And practice, they say, is what made perfect.


GB celebrate Olympic victory over the Netherlands Credit: Julian Simmonds for The Telegraph

“Here you can’t recreate the pressure, the crowd,” says Ansley, pointing to the Bisham pitch on which they train. “But there, you can recreate [what will happen]. So when Holly [Webb] stood up to take that final penalty all she needed to do was imagine being back at Bisham. She knew she’d done it a million times in training and just went through her normal processes. The beauty of being able to train here day in, day out, you can recreate this environment wherever you play.” Familiarity became ingrained.

“It meant when we had a huddle we hardly needed to say anything,” says White. “We knew in eye contact what we had to do.”

The training and personal behaviour systems they have in place, the players reckon, are now sufficiently robust that even the retirement of their long-standing captain, Kate Richardson-Walsh, who is to be replaced by Alex Danson, will not deflect their aim to retain the gold medal in Tokyo.


Giselle Ansley, Susannah Townsend and Nicola White paid tribute to retired captain Kate Richardson-Walsh but said it was important that every squad member took responsibility to lead Credit: Geoff Pugh for the Telegraph

“Listen we love Kate, she has been brilliant,” says Townsend. “But what we tried to create was: ‘Yeah she’s our captain, but we’ve all got leadership qualities.’ ”

“Before we went out at Rio, it wasn’t just Kate speaking,” White adds. “We went round the circle and everyone one of us said the one thing we were going to do out there. Mind you, I think what most of us said was: let’s enjoy this.”

And enjoy it they did. In the aftermath all of them – from Sam Quek starring on I’m A Celebrity to White making 90 school visits in two months – were in high demand.

“People like to follow teams, they could see how close we were, they identified with us,” says Townsend. “The chat I heard from a lot of people was they felt they were part of the team.”

“We connected on an emotional level as well as a sporting one,” adds White. “People want to see the passion, the unity, all these things we talk about. But most of all they liked us because we delivered when it mattered most.” And this weekend, their pursuit of delivery continues

The Telegraph



England women's hockey: Sam Quek's guide to the team


Great Britain's successful Olympic squad last summer was largely made up of England players Credit: Getty

As England's stars from Great Britain's women's hockey side prepare to return to action for the first time since their historic Olympic success in Rio last summer at the Investec Internationals in London, one of those who flourished at Rio - Sam Quek - delivers her guide to her former team-mates.

Giselle Ansley: She is the drag flicker of the team and one of the most experienced defenders. She’s very organised, and she’ll be out on the pitch practising drag flicks. We call her the Aerial Queen because she’s got one heck of an aerial on her.


Giselle Ansley Credit:  Getty Images Sport

Grace Balsdon: She’s pretty new to the squad, but she has a ridiculously good reverse stick tackle. Quite often we’ll think someone passed her and then she’ll pick them off on her reverse. It tends to be one of the more difficult tackles to make.

Sophie Bray: I’ve got plenty on her! We call her the Baby-Faced Assassin because she’s so class up front. Her superstition for the Olympics was she didn’t change her kit, and we all took the mick out of her for doing that.

Alex Danson: She’s an absolute weapon up front. But she likes cheesy music. She’ll be in the changing room keeping to herself, because she likes her music. And it’s a good job she keeps it on her own iPod because she listen to things like Reach by S Club 7.


Alex Danson Credit:  Andrew Crowley

Emily Defroand: Emily is new to the program so I’ve never shared a changing room with her. But from what I’ve heard, she’s an Essex girl and she likes to look good before she plays.

Sarah Haycroft: On the pitch, she’s probably one of the best players to retain the ball. She’s got skills on her. She’s very good at holding the ball in tight situations.

Jo Hunter: She likes a good bit of chat. She’s just got married to George Pinner, the England men’s goalkeeper, so I’m sure there’ll be a lot of banter flying around about that in the changing room. They’re hockey’s golden couple.

Joie Leigh: She’s a quiet character. She’s a Yorkshire lass and she loves a cup of tea. I’ve never seen anyone drink as many cups or tea as Joie--she even brings her own mug on tour!

Hannah Martin: I don’t know too much about her as she’s new to the program. Her brother, Harry Martin, plays for England men’s team.

Shona McCallin: Absolute class act, lovely girl. She tends to come across as quiet, but she’s one of those type of girls who will always get stuck in the chat and come out with some belting one-liners.


Shona McCallin Credit:  AP

Miriam Pritchard: She got her very first cap two weeks ago in Spain. I don’t know too much about her, but if her being a goalie is anything to go by, goalies are one of a kind. They always have a unique sense of humour.

Ellie Rayner: She’s probably one of the fastest people I’ve ever come up against. She does running events, track and field, and she will put them to good use in the internationals. She’s absolutely rapid.

Erica Sanders: She’s a quiet girl, but she’ll be more than confident to find her feet in the senior team and see what she’s got.

Zoe Shipperley: She’s a lovely girl. She laughs and jokes, because she will wear her heart on her sleeve and say it how it is. She’s one of the souls of the changing room. She’s probably got the hardest hockey hits I’ve ever come across. You don’t want to be stood in front of the ball when she’s straight striking at you.

Amy Tennant: I’ve played quite a bit of club hockey with her. She’s good fun. She’s one of the most natural talents in goal. She always wears her hair down, funnily enough, even before a game.

Anna Toman: She was a player last season who really started to come into her own, having joined the program quite late. She comes across as being quiet but she’ll give her two pence and get involved with the jokes.


Susannah Townsend Credit: Geoff Pugh

Susannah Townsend: Where do I start? Towner is one of a kind. She’s constantly laughing, constantly on the go. In the changing room she likes to do keepy-up with a hockey stick and ball. We refer to her as International Relations because she always has a friend on every team regardless of what country they’re from. Any free time she’s got she’ll be out meeting someone for a coffee.

Laura Unsworth: Unsy is an absolute character. We call her a terrier. She gets stuck in on the pitch, and she was one in the changing room who I would be bouncing off. She loves a giggle with anyone who will join in. She likes to do a fake tan, so she’ll have brown legs and white shins.

Hollie Webb: Hollie is a class act. She’s possibly my tip to be a future captain. She will put 100% on the pitch. Off it she’s chilled but very organised and serious when she needs to be. She ticks all the boxes.


Hollie Webb celebrates scoring the winning goal in the Olympic final penalty shoot-out Credit:  PA Wire

Nicola White: Nick is hilarious. Sometimes she’s known as the one who can be quite ditzy although she’s actually quite smart. I think she plays up to that role. She’s a funny one. On the pitch, she scores when it matters. When she’s not training she watches Jeremy Kyle, things like that.

The Telegraph



Dharmaraj gets the right pill

By Jugjet Singh


LONE RANGER WITH TONTO... Dharmaraj (right) with manager Lailin Abu Hassan at a Press Conference Friday to name his World League Semifinals players.

WOMEN'S coach K. Dharmaraj was worried sick over his team's chances in the World League Semifinals in Brussels, but his charges' confidence was just the pill that he needed.

Malaysia at 22 and the lowest ranked team in Brussels, have been written off by all and sundry -- except for the coaching set-up and the players themselves.

"For the last four days, I have been worried sick on how to plan and win at least one match in our group to qualify for the quarter-finals in Belgium which will assure us a place in next year's World Cup.

"But the jitters was calmed when my players told me "don't worry coach, we will qualify for the World Cup," said Dharmaraj after naming the final 18 who will play in the WL Semifinals from June 21 to July 2.

Malaysia are in Group B with Australia (No 4), New Zealand (5), Belgium (14) and Spain (10).

They must finish top-four in the group stages to qualify for the World Cup.

In Group A are Netherlands (1), China (8), South Korea (9), Italy (16) and Scotland (17).

"Their soothing words, determination and confidence in training is what I needed to plan ahead for at least one win in the group. I acknowledge, Australia and New Zealand are many rungs above my girls, but I believe we have enough talent to beat either Spain or Belgium," said Dharmaraj.

With the World Cup showcasing 16 teams next year in London, those which finish top-eight in the World League Semifinals in Brussels and South Africa are almost sure bets to qualify.

"We need to finish fourth in Group B, and even though it looks easy, it will not be so, as all the other teams have seen action at high levels while my players have qualified for the first time to play in the WL Semifinals," said Dharmaraj.

Yesterday, Dharmaraj named his final 18 for Brussels with three changes from the team which won silver in the World League Round Two in Kuala Lumpur.
 Back then, they upset 16th ranked Italy to qualify for their first World League Semifinals.

After Round Two Siti Shahidah Saad called it quits to concentrate on her family, and it threw a spanner in Dharmaraj's engine room.

And after much deliberation, he selected Nur Syafiqah Zain to take over Siti's defenders job.

Nur Syafiqah, at 22, will be making her debut with the Malaysian team. The other two replacement for injured players are Norbaini Hashim and Nur Zafirah Aziz.

MALAYSIA -- Juliani Din, Siti Noor Amarina (C), Raja Norsharina,  Nor Hasliza, Fatin Shafika, Nurul Nabihah, Mas Huzaimah (Gk), Norazlin Sumantri, Siti Rahmah, Wan Norfaiezah Saiuti, Hanis Nadiah Onn, Farah Ayuni (Gk), Fazilla Sylverster Silin, Nuraini Rashid, Nurbaini Hashim,
Nur Syafiqah Zain, Nuraslinda Said, Nur Zafirah Aziz.

Jugjet's World of Field Hockey



Nur Syafiqah gets national call-up

by Aftar Singh



KUALA LUMPUR: Defender Nur Syafiqah Mohd Zain (pic) has made a major breakthrough in her hockey career.

The 22-year-old Kuala Lumpur player has been included for the first time in the national team for the women’s World League Semi-Finals in Brussels, Belgium, from June 21-July 2.

Yesterday, national coach K. Dharmaraj named Nur Syafiyah in his final 18-player squad for the 12-day tournament.

Dharmaraj made three changes to the team who finished runners-up to Ireland in the World League Round Two at the Tun Razak Stadium in January. He dropped Siti Shahidah Saad, Surizan Awang Noh and Nurul Safiqah Mat Isa.

Besides Nur Syafiqah, Dharmaraj also included midfielder Norbaini Hashim and forward Nur Zafirah Aziz.

Dharmaraj said that Nur Syafiqah was selected based on her performances for overall champions Terengganu in the National Women’s League, which ended in March.

“Nur Syafiqah also played well in the recent friendlies. She’s a good replacement for the experienced Siti Shahidah (who quit the national team after getting married in March),” said Dharmaraj.

On the other two inclusions, Dharmaraj said: “Norbaini has recovered from her knee injury. We need her to beef up the midfield.

“Nur Zafirah is an up-and-coming striker. She scored a goal against Japan in the Asian Champions Trophy in Singapore last year.”

In Brussels, world No. 22 Malaysia are in Group B with Australia (No. 4), New Zealand (No. 5), Spain (No. 10) and Belgium (No. 14).

Malaysia will open their campaign against former world champions Australia on June 21 followed by former Olympic gold medallists Spain (June 22), Belgium (June 24) and New Zealand (June 27).

Group A comprises world No. 1 Holland, China (No. 8), South Korea (No. 9), Italy (No. 16) and Scotland (No. 17).

“We are the lowest-ranked team in the tournament. It’s going to be tough to get a win but the players are in high spirits,” said Dharmaraj.

The top top eight teams will qualify for the 16-team World Cup Finals in London next year. The other eight Finalists will come from the other World League Semi-Finals in Johannesburg, South Africa, from July 8-23.

THE SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Farah Ayuni Yahya, Mas Huzainah Mohd Aziz.
Defenders: Juliani Muhamad Din, Siti Noor Amarina Ruhani (captain), Raja Norsharina Raja Shabuddin, Nur Syafiqah Mohd Zain, Fatin Shafika Muhd Sukri.
Midfielders: Noor Hasliza Mohd Ali, Siti Rahmah Othman, Wan Norfaiezah Mohd Saiuti, Fazilla Sylvester Silin, Norbaini Hashim.
Forwards: Nurul Nabihah Mansur, Norazlin Sumantri, Hanis Nadiah Onn, Nuraslinda Said, Nur Zafirah Aziz.

The Star of Malaysia



Men’s National Team visit to Vimy Ridge “truly a day none of us will ever forget”

Kori Sidaway


Photo by Guy Robertson

It was a quiet, contemplative, and emotional day off the field for the Men’s National Team. In between their French Exhibition Series and the World League Semi-Finals, the team made a trip to a bit of home lying on French soil: Canada’s War Memorial at Vimy Ridge.

The team spent a sombre afternoon touring the towering marble monument as well as the bombed out battlefields, trenches and tunnels that weave their way underneath Vimy.

The team’s visit coincides with Vimy’s 100-year anniversary, while Canada celebrates its 150th year as a country – a time where the nation is particularly reflective, and so was the team.

“It was truly a day none of us will ever forget,” says midfielder Mark Pearson, who had a relative fight in World War One.

Vimy Ridge was a strategically important high point fiercely fought over during World War One. The sacrifice Canadians made in the battle of Vimy Ridge has come to define Canadian national identity – a message that wasn’t lost on the athletes.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge “helped Canada emerge and assert itself on the world stage. And I think that’s what we’re hoping to do in London in a week,” Pearson adds. “We’re not comparing what we have to do to what the Canadian soldiers did 100 years ago, but certainly it’s something that we can take inspiration from and something we can look to for strength.”

Canada’s men now turn their attention to the World League Semi-Final in London, England, which kicks off a week from today when they face Pakistan on June 16.

Field Hockey Canada media release



Austria and Russia the big winners on EHL rankings list


SV Arminen celebrating a goal against AHTC Wien last weekend. Pic: Sander Uijlenbroek

Austria and Russia have emerged as the big winners in terms of the men’s national club ranking tables following the conclusion of last weekend’s competitions around the continent.

The combination of SV Arminen’s second place finish in the Euro Club Trophy along with AHTC Wien's sixth place in the same competition boosted Austria's cause. Those results were enough to lift the country above both Wales and Italy into tenth in the EHL rankings, meaning their national champion – which will be decided on June 17 – will qualify for the EHL next season.

Wales hang to their EHL place in 12th on the rankings list by virtue of Cardiff & Met’s victory over SG Amsicora last October in ROUND1. On the flip side, Italy, after three successive seasons in the EHL, lose their place in the top tier with their top team going into the 2018 Trophy.

Russia, meanwhile, moved up to eighth place in the list which brings with it two tickets to the EHL next season, overtaking Poland who will only have one place in next year’s competition.

Dinamo Elektrostal were the side to win the place by finishing third in the Trophy tournament in front of their home fans last Monday, adding to points won by Dinamo Kazan at ROUND1. Indeed, Elektrostal’s 4-0 win over Grove Menzieshill in the bronze medal playoff meant that Russia stayed ahead of Scotland by the narrowest of margins.

For Poland, losses for WKS Grunwald Poznan in the KO16 and AZS AWF Poznan in ROUND1 meant they drop back to tenth on the list from seventh.

Elsewhere, the top five nations stay in order with the Netherlands first, Germany second, Belgium third, Spain in fourth and England in fifth. Wimbledon’s run to the FINAL4 closed the gap to Spain in pursuit of a third EHL spot but the English side needed to reach the GRAND FINAL to have a chance of going up a place.

The other move saw Ireland move up to sixth in the European list from eighth, going above France and Poland. This was primarily due to Banbridge’s performances this season. They go into ROUND1 next October with Three Rock Rovers returning after a nine-year absence for the KO16.

At this stage, 22 of the sides have been confirmed for next year’s EHL with the qualifiers from Poland and Austria to be decided in the next 10 days.

** To view the EHL rankings list, click here

EHL 2017/18 qualifiers (subject to approval by the national federations and the EHF)
1. Netherlands (3): SV Kampong, Rotterdam (both KO16), HC Bloemendaal (ROUND1)
2. Germany (3): Mannheimer HC, Rot-Weiss Köln (KO16), Uhlenhorst Mülheim (ROUND1)
3. Belgium (3): KHC Dragons, Herakles (KO16), Racing Club de Bruxelles (ROUND1)
4. Spain (3): Atlètic Terrassa, Real Club de Polo (KO16), Club Egara (ROUND1)
5. England (2): Surbiton (KO16), Wimbledon (ROUND1)
6. Ireland (2): Three Rock Rovers (KO16), Banbridge (ROUND1)
7. France (2): Racing Club de France (KO16), Saint Germain (ROUND1)
8. Russia (2): Dinamo Kazan (KO16), Dinamo Elektrostal (ROUND1)
9. Scotland (1): Kelburne (ROUND1)
10. Poland (1): to be confirmed
11. Austria (1): to be confirmed
12. Wales (1): Cardiff & Met (ROUND1)

Euro Hockey League media release



Briels completes full set of EHL medals in final Dragons tie



Thomas Briels completed a set of gold, silver and bronze EHL medals last Sunday in Brasschaat as his last game of his current spell ended with a 3-1 win over Wimbledon.

The result was not quite the dream final game he might have hoped for, missing out on the GRAND FINAL after a 5-3 loss to eventual champions Rot-Weiss Köln in the semi-final.

Nonetheless, the result adds to a gold and silver won with Oranje-Zwart and he now returns to Eindhoven next season with Oranje-Rood for the next chapter of his career.

Looking back on the bronze, Briels told the Hockey Belgium website: "Even a third place in Europe is magnificent. We deserved it given the match against Wimbledon.

“We are champions of Belgium and we finish with a bronze medal in EHL, it is remarkable. Nobody could have imagined that at the beginning of the season. We have worked hard to get here."

Reflecting on the Rot-Weiss tie, he admitted his side was“very disappointed with our performance in the semis. We wanted to do much better in front of our home audience.

“We could clearly have played a lot better and offer a completely different performance. But, this is sport; you have to recognise when your opponent is superior and that was the case against Köln on Saturday.

“There is still a lot of work to be done but let's not forget that we had the team with such a young average age on the pitch.”

Speaking about his match with the club where he grew up against Wimbledon, Briels added: "It was weird even though I did not really think it about it as my last game in the Dragons jersey.

“You never know what might happen in the future, especially in sport. But I just wanted to play well for my friends and make a fond farewell. I wanted to help the club win this latest medal and that's what I did. I am happy. We had an exceptional season and we deserved it."

He is currently taking a week out from hockey in Ibiza before linking up on Monday with the Belgian Red Lions as they begin their preparations for the World League in South Africa.

Euro Hockey League media release



7th Indian Senior National Hockey C'ship-PSPB thrash Hockey Rajasthan 11-0

Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) recorded a commanding 11-0 victory over Hockey Rajasthan in their Pool A match of the ongoing 7th Senior National Hockey Championships 2017 (Men) ?B? Division on Friday.

Lalit Upadhyay kept up his good form by scoring in the first minute of the game to give Petroleum Sports Promotion Board the lead. A brace each from Sumit (37?, 57?) and Bikash Toppo (54?, 60?) aided a clinical performance that gave them the three points.

In Pool F, Hockey Bengaluru beat Assam Hockey 5-3. Mithun S Bijwad (7?, 8?) and HT Ramesh (40?, 41?) scored a brace each, while Manikanth Bejawad scored a goal in the 47th minute in their victory. Assam Hockey?s goals were scored by Balin Boro (30?), Rituraj Boro (54?) and Harvir Singh (56?).

In Pool B, Central Reserve Police Force beat Hockey Him 3-0. Goals for Central Reserve Police Force were scored by Saroj Ekka (40?), Bikash Kujur (41?) and Sudhir Horo (58?).

In Pool F, Hockey Madhya Pradesh recorded a 16-0 victory over Hockey Gujarat to kick start their campaign on a winning note. Prakash Singh Rawat (7', 21', 22'), Mayank James (15?, 33?, 50?) and Meet Singh Thakur (16?, 54?, 55?) scored hat-tricks, while Dharmendra K Rajbhar (4?, 26?) and Sushil Maharashi (35?, 44?) scored a brace each in the victory.

In Pool G, Punjab National Bank beat Kerala Hockey 14-2. Sukhjeet Singh (17?, 18?, 54?) and Gagandeep Singh Sr. (33?, 59?, 60?) scored a hat-trick each in their comfortable victory. Kerala Hockey?s goals were scored by Jinoy Varghese (11?) and B Sreejith (51?).

In Pool C, Hockey Coorg beat Sports Authority of Gujarat ? Hockey Academy 3-2 in a pulsating encounter. The two teams traded goals constantly, till KT Kunjappa struck the winner two minutes from full time. Bachira Biddappa (20?) and MK Muddappa (38?) were also among the goals for Hockey Coorg. Goals for Sports Authority of Gujarat ? Hockey Academy were scored by Ruchit Patel (28?) and Ashab Kureshi (35?).

In Pool G, Hockey Puducherry beat Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association 4-3. Dadra & Nagar Haveli Hockey Association took the lead via Nitesh in the 23rd minute, Hockey Puducherry came back strongly in the 3rd Quarter and scored 3 goals ,N Kamalakannan (36?), T Arunkumar (38?) and R Ragu (39?) which gave them the lead. The final blow came from N Sellamuthu (51') to seal the victory for Hockey Puducherry.

In Pool D, Central Secretariat beat Goans Hockey 15-0. S Puliyanda Thimmanna scored five goals (2?, 17?, 30?, 34?, 40?) and Hassan Basha got a hat-trick (53?, 53?, 60?) in their commanding victory to open the campaign.

Hockey Manipur beat Hockey Madhya Bharat 4-1. H Amerjit SIngh (47') & Bhakar Ningombam (55') scored a goal each and Ganendrajit Ningombam (32', 43') scored a brace for Hockey Manipur which took them to a comfortable victory. The only goal for Hockey Madhya Bharat came from Jagmohan Kushwah (21').

In Pool E, Bengal Hockey Association opened their campaign with a 22-0 victory over Tripura Hockey. Mohammad Riyazuddin (1?, 17?, 26?, 31?, 52?), Saurabh Kumar Singh (3?, 8?, 22?, 42?) and Gurpreet Singh (10?, 12?, 58?) scored hat-tricks in their comfortable victory.

In Pool H, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu beat Chhattisgarh Hockey 2-0 in a feisty encounter. In a game that was as much a physical battle as it was tactical, neither team managed to trouble the scorers for the first three quarters. In the final quarter, S Silverstalin finally broke the deadlock with a 49th minute PC conversion. Chhattisgarh Hockey pushed forward in numbers searching for an equalizer, but through a counter, Silverstalin doubled his and the team?s tally with a goal in the 56th minute, one that settled the encounter in their favour.

In Pool H, Sashastra Seema Bal beat Hockey Jammu & Kashmir 6-1. A brace each from Agandeep Singh (17?, 27?) and Naocha K Singh (26?, 42?) guided them to a comfortable victory to kick-start their campaign. Captain Jasprit Singh scored Hockey Jammu & Kashmir?s lone goal in the 18th minute.

In Pool E's second game, Hockey Himachal beat Hockey Bihar 8-2. Anuj scored a hat-trick (4?, 14?, 20?, 55?) and was ably assisted by Sumeet Pal Singh?s brace (1?, 18?) as Hockey Himachal took a vital victory in their opening game of the tournament. Hockey Bihar?s goals were scored by Anuj Raj (42?) and Jony Kumar (54?).

DNA



Bengal hands Tripura a crushing defeat

Bengal captain Mohd. Riyazuddin led from the front, scoring five goals in his team’s massive 22-0 crushing of hapless Tripura in a Pool E match of the Men’s National hockey championship B-Division here on Friday.

S. Silverstalin struck twice in Tamil Nadu’s 2-0 win against Chhattisgarh in Pool H, while favourite PSPB won its fourth match on the trot with an 11-0 victory over Rajasthan.

The results:

Pool A: PSPB 11 (Sumit 2, Bikash Toppo 2, Varun Kumar, Diwakar Ram, Lalit Upadhyay, Sher Singh, Md. Amir Khan, Tushar Khandker) bt Rajasthan 0.

Pool B: CRPF 3 (Saroj Ekka, Bikash Kujur, Sudhir Horo) bt Hockey Him 0.

Pool C: Bengaluru 5 (S. Mithun Bijwad 2, H.T. Ramesh 2, Manikanth Bejawad) bt Assam 3 (Rituraj Boro, Balin Boro, Harvir Singh); Coorg 3 (Biddappa Bachira, K.T. Kunjappa, M.K. Muddappa) bt Sports Authority of Gujarat 2 (Ruchit Patel, Ashab Kureshi).

Pool D: Central Secretariat 15 (S.P. Thimmanna 5, Hassan Basha 3, Jayesh Jadhav 2, Ajitesh Roy 2, M. Gunasekar, Vikas Pillay, Ranjit Kullu) bt Goa 0; Manipur 4 (Ganendrajit Ningombam 2, Bhakar Ningombam, Amerjit Singh Hemam) bt Madhya Bharat 1 (Jagmohan Kushwaha).

Pool E: Bengal 22 (Md. Riyazuddin 5, Saurabh Kumar Singh 4, Gurpreet Singh 3, Taranveer Singh 2, Gurdeep Singh 2, Avik Chakraborty 2, Gurdeep Singh Buttar, Shariq Mohammed, Deepak Kumar Sah, Abhinandan Thakur) bt Tripura 0; Himachal 8 (Anuj 4, Sumeet Pal Singh 2, Vinod Kumar, Jaswinder Singh) bt Bihar 2 (Anuj Raj, Jony Kumar).

Pool F: Madhya Pradesh 16 (Prakash Singh Rawat 3, Meet Singh Thakur 3, Mayank James 3, Sushil Maharshi 2, Dharmendra Rajbhar 2, Deepak Pal, Tanmay Ram, Sampath Kumar) bt Gujarat 0.

Pool G: PNB 14 (Gagandeep Singh Sr. 3, Sukhjeet Singh 3, Gurjinder Singh 2, Satender Dalal 2, Shivdeep 2, Gagandeep Singh 2) bt Kerala 2 (B. Sreejith, Jinoy Varghese); Puducherry 4 (R. Ragu, N. Sellamuthu, T. Arunkumar, N. Kamalakannan) bt Dadra & Nagar Haveli 3 (Suman Sachin Kindo, Ved Prakash, Nitesh).

Pool H: Tamil Nadu 2 (S. Silverstalin 2) bt Chhattisgarh 0; SSB 6 (Agandeep Singh 2, Naocha K. Singh 2, Pradeep Singh, Ashutosh Kumar) J&K 1 (Jasprit Singh).

The Hindu



2017 NASUWT National Primary Festival



The 2017 NASUWT National Primary Festival saw over 400 pupils, teachers and volunteers descend upon the Glasgow National Hockey Centre to take part on Thursday 1st June.

The event included 37 teams from 20 local authorities taking part, the highest level of participation since the event began. Designed for girls and boys of primary 6 and 7 ages, the day offered a fantastic opportunity for young players to come along and play in a fun environment at the Commonwealth venue while honing their hockey skills. We also saw 12 volunteers give their time to the event, including 6 senior pupils from High School of Dundee who used this opportunity to finalise their youth umpire award.

The format of the festival saw the schools divided into pools based on their ability (experienced or inexperienced) and playing in a round robin format. No scores were officially kept with main focus being fun and participation.



The Glasgow National Hockey Centre was a hive of activity, with eight games being played at any one time. With so many pupils making the most of their time on the pitch, they also took to playing on our inflatable hockey pitch during some down time in between games. The enthusiasm and excitement displayed by many of the children and volunteers just goes to show how important an event like this is in encouraging and developing youth level hockey.



There were teams from all over Scotland playing, including teams from Highland and the Scottish Borders. The fact that teams from afar were able to attend the festival was aided by the support of our event sponsor, NASUWT. NASUWT, the largest teachers union in the UK, are title sponsors of the event and we are hoping to continue this partnership in years to come. Through the invaluable support of the NASUWT we were able to offer subsidised travel to all teams – a huge help which made the day possible for many teams. Additional support from NASUWT allowed every child to take away a goody bag containing branded mementos such as a water bottle, t-shirt and key-ring.

A huge thank you goes to NASUWT and every teacher, coach and volunteer who came along and made the day a huge success and fun for all. We hope to make the event even bigger and better next year!

Scottish Hockey Union media release



DAZN secures live and exclusive broadcast rights for international hockey until 2018


DAZN will broadcast hockey throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland

DAZN will broadcast all major international hockey events until 2018 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, including next year’s Hockey World Cups. This ensures that fans in these countries can access world class hockey action whenever and wherever they want on DAZN.

The partnership with the International Hockey Federation (FIH) will see DAZN broadcast more than 250 games which sums up to more than 700 hours of live coverage online over the next two years, including the Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 and the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018.

Available on most connected devices including Smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV and games consoles like Xbox and PlayStation 4, fans will also be able to enjoy coverage of the Hockey World League Semi-Finals and Finals later this year as well as the last ever Hockey Champions Trophies in 2018.

First up, DAZN will broadcast the Men’s Hero Hockey World League Semi-Final in London, England between 15-25 June. The Women's FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Final in Brussels, Belgium then follows between 21 June and 2 July. The focus will turn to Johannesburg, South Africa where a Men's and Women's Hockey World League Semi-Final will take place between 8-23 July,  where both German teams will join the action.

The women’s and the men’s Hockey World League Finals will also be broadcast later in November and December this year from Auckland, New Zealand and Bhubaneswar, India respectively.

The Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 then takes place in July and August next year with the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 being held in November and December in India.

The last ever Hockey Champions Trophies will also be held in 2018, the men’s in Amsterdam in June and July and Changzhou, China hosting the women in November.

Andy Oram, FIH TV and Broadcast Director, said: “The partnership with DAZN marks an important step as we look to increase fans opportunity to watch our sport in these nations, particularly Germany which is one of the world’s most successful hockey nations. DAZN and FIH are fully aware of global trends indicating fans are consuming more sports through online channels, a platform we are looking to move into in-line with our 10-year Hockey Revolution strategy which aims to make hockey a global game that inspires the next generation.”

Kay Dammholz, Managing Director Rights & Distribution DACH, said: “We are delighted to partner with FIH. This comprehensive package of world’s best hockey action is an outstanding offer for hockey fans in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. DAZN sets fans first: They can enjoy their favorite sports live on DAZN in HD quality on almost every connected device. After one month of free trial, DAZN is just €9.99 a month which can be cancelled monthly.”

Germany hockey star Moritz Fürste, a London 2012 Olympic gold medallist and commentator on DAZN, added: “Hockey fans will be delighted with this news. World League, Champions Trophy and World Cup, everything live on DAZN. It very soon starts to get exciting: Mid-June the World League Semi-Finals take place, where the German teams aim to qualify for the World Cup. I expect an exciting challenge for the German team which has had to regroup after the Olympic games in Rio. I wish the guys the very best and I am really looking forward to see it all covered live on DAZN.“

FIH site

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