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All the news for Wednesday 30 August 2017

Total mismatch as Malaysia tear Myanmar apart to take hockey gold


As easy as it gets: The Malaysian hockey team celebrating after thrashing Myanmar 14-0 in the final at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

THE Malaysian men’s hockey team went on a goal spree to thrash hapless Myanmar 14-0 in the final for the gold medal.

This is world No. 85 Myanmar’s first-ever silver in men’s hockey.

With the win, Malaysia ended the hockey competition with three golds, including two from the men’s indoor hockey and women’s field hockey teams.

The women’s indoor hockey side could only get a bronze after finishing behind Indonesia (gold) and Thailand (silver).

In yesterday’s final, world No. 12 Malaysia opened account right from the first minute at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Muhd Razie Rahim (first, seventh and 60th) and Shahril Saabah (sixth, 27th and 29th) scored a hattrick each.

Faizal Shaari (46th and 58th) and Aiman Nik Rosemi (47th and 58th) netted a brace each.

Meor Azuan Hasan (43rd), Fitri Shaari (47th), Azril Hassan (52nd) and Rashid Baharom (53rd) chipped in with one apiece.

National coach Stephen van Hui­zen is happy to see his team adding to Malaysia’s overall gold medal tally.

“The other South-East Asian teams are no match for us, although teams like Myanmar, Thailand and Singapore have improved by hiring foreign coaches and going for overseas stints,” said Stephen.

Malaysia’s next assignment is the Asia Cup in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from Oct 11-23.

The Star of Malaysia

Junior Green Army suffer painful late defeat to France


Jess McMaster takes on Emma Ponthieu. Pic: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics

Yohanna Lhopital’s 58th minute goal saw Ireland’s Junior Green Army fall to a gutting 1-0 defeat to France at a rain-drenched Valencia.

It is a defeat that puts their hopes of staying in the top tier – even at this early stage of the competition – on the back foot with margins very tight.

Reflecting on the tie, coach Dave Passmore said it was a tough result to take after his side held the majority of the possession but the slow nature of the pitch led to it being a battle low on fluid hockey.

“I’m really disappointed for the girls but France are a really difficult team to play against with 14 senior internationals who have played in their own European Championships three weeks ago.

“We controlled the game for the most part. We knew where they were dangerous and that they would try and throw aerials and hit us on the counter. Largely, we dealt with that well.

“You will only get half chances in games like that and the ones that fell our way were in congested circles.”

To that end, the first quarter played out to little fanfare with Ellen Curran and Jess McMaster showing up well in midfield while the 17-year-old Lhopital was consistently the French go-to player.

Suzie Kelly’s tackle on Lhopital denied the first chance of note in the 20th minute. In response, a lovely interchange between Taite Doherty and Abbie Russell unlocked the French defence but goalkeeper Mathile Petriaux raced out to clear the danger.

After half-time, Ireland took control of the ball with France content to sit very deep and throw long balls to try and alleviate the pressure. Sorcha Clarke shot a reverse just wide from a narrow angle while Michelle Carey and Sarah Torrans – both part of the Irish Under-18 setup this summer – also combined well.

But two Irish penalty corners could yield no joy, nor could Clarke’s dancing feet down the left baseline after a beautiful piece of skill. A corner with three minutes to go also went awry with a slow push-out as the rain intensified.

“It was such a shame about the last corner because we worked on that, knew how they would defend. For the injection not to go right, devastated.”

France duly pounced with time running out from a rare break, Ines Lardeur – a veteran of almost 50 senior international ties – fired into the circle from the left. It broke to Lhopital, seemingly off a French foot, and she slapped into the bottom corner.


Abbie Russell sees a chance blocked by Mathilde Petriaux. Pic: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics

It leaves Ireland destined for the relegation pool where they will need to beat higher ranked opposition.

“You don’t know what else will happen,” Passmore said, confident his side will regroup quickly for the challenges ahead. “Odd, strange things can happen. We obviously didn’t want to lose the game but we are still in it. The girls are a really strong, tight group and they will pull themselves together.”

They play Germany on Thursday at 8am (Irish time).

EuroHockey Junior Championships

Ireland 0
France 1 (Y Lhopital)

Ireland: L Murphy, J McMaster, S Torrans, T Doherty, E Getty, H McLoughlin, R Maguire, E Nyland, S Twomey, S Kelly, E Curran
Subs: T Hastings, A Ogilby, S Clarke, M Carey, S Patton, A Russell

France: M Petriaux, E Ponthieu, G van Bolhuis, J Brachet, V Vankemmel, E Lecas, M Simon, A Garot, N Roque, D Gaspari
Subs: C Deroo, A Demars, A Isore, I De Taeye, I Lardeur, S Lauret

Umpires: R Woodcock (ENG), S Bockelmann (GER)

The Hook

England U21 women beat Ireland in Euros opener


England u21 v Ireland

England U21 women started their EuroHockey Junior Championships campaign with a 3-0 win over Ireland.

Goals from captain Erica Sanders Holly Munro and Holly Hunt guided England to the victory and the top of Pool B.

Munro converted a penalty corner before Sanders repeated the trick and Hunt’s strike saw England take a 3-0 lead into the half-time break.

Head coach Colin Clarke said: “We are pleased with our opening performance after a long period of preparation. The girls were clinical and managed well in testing conditions.”

The team next face Germany today before taking on France in their final pool game on Thursday.

You can see the tournament schedule and watch selected games at eurohocekytv.org.

England Hockey Board Media release

Calnan scores five as England put eight past Portugal


England U21 v Portugal

England U21 men began their EuroHockey Junior Championships with an 8-0 win over Portugal.

Will Calnan netted five times while Duncan Scott, Jack Clee and Peter Scott were also in target in the comfortable win.

The side dominated from start to finish in their tournament opener, being held in Valencia, racing into a 3-0 lead at half-time with a brace from Calnan and a field Goal from Duncan Scott.

Calnan completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the second half before Peter Scott and Clee extended the lead after the break.

Two goals from penalty corners later in the game saw Calnan round off the win and take his tally to five.

The team next face the Netherlands on Wednesday before their final pool A game with hosts Spain on Thursday.

England Hockey Board Media release

Nations winning the double crown (by winning title in both Men's and Women's)

By B.G.Joshi (Sehore-Bhopal,India)

Netherlands have won the gold medals in both the category of Euro Hockey Cup held in Amsterdam (August 2017). It is a rarity to win Title in both the genders of the championships. In regular International Hockey tournaments it has happened on 37 occasions since inception in 1908. In Olympics no nation has the distinction of winning both men's and women's event gold medal. Australia and Netherlands have unique record of having won FIH and Continental Championships as detailed below:

Fieldhockey.com

Dar Academy Ends Holland Tour with Big 10-0  Win

By Ijaz Chaudhry

Vught, Eindhoven: In their ninth and last match of the tour, Dar Hockey Academy faced their hosts MOP in Vught.

It was MOP's first men's team which is preparing for the Dutch League starting in a few days.

But the Pakistani youngsters held complete sway over their older and much experienced opponents from the word go.

Through excellent interplay and individual dribbling runs they repeatedly tore apart the MOP defence.

Numerous open play chances were created. In addition, six penalty corners and one penalty stroke were garnered.

The distribution of goals: Seven field goals, two penalty corners and one penalty stroke.

MOP had very few circle penetrations; one PC and only a couple of genuine open play attempts.

Five of the ten goals arrived in the last quarter, It is a testimony of academy's youngsters' physical fitness which was evident in almost all the tour matches.

SCORERS: Asif Hanif 3, Mohammad Usman 2, Usman Nazim 2, Mubashar, Tauseeq & Gulsher

Final Tour Record: 7 Wins & 2 Defeats

Ijaz Chaudhry writes on hockey & other sports. For more about him and his work, visit: www.sportscorrespondent.info  

Fieldhockey.com

Giddens & Sutton Promoted to FIH World Development Panel for Umpiring



COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Back in March, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced changes to its Committee and Panel structures that oversees the management and development of the sport to align with the Hockey Revolution strategy. USA Field Hockey is pleased to state that umpires Maggie Giddens and Suzi Sutton have been promoted to the FIH World Development Panel for Outdoor Hockey.

“We are so proud of Maggie and Suzi for achieving this next level of umpire recognition,” said Steve Horgan, USA Field Hockey’s Director of Umpiring. “All of our umpires are working very hard to advance in the international ranks. They are true students of the game and are continuing to educate themselves to 21st Century Hockey.”

The FIH Umpire Rating process consists of five tiers, including International, Promising Umpire List, Grade 1, World Development Panel and World Panel. With Giddens and Sutton’s promotions, they are one step closer to the top level of international umpiring. The only USA representative on the World Panel is Amy Baxter.

"It is very exciting and humbling to be named to the FIH World Development Panel," said Giddens. "I am really proud of my fellow USA umpires who have recently achieved upgrades. We are a tight group so it's awesome that we had four upgrades this year, Mary Driscoll to Promising List, Grant Hundley to Grade 1, Suzi Sutton and myself to World Development Panel. I feel lucky and thankful to have all the support that I do from my family. Umpiring is a challenging adventure, I feel very fortunate for opportunities and places it has taken me."

“I'm super grateful and honored to be upgraded to the World Development Panel and want to celebrate the rest of the USA Umpires for their upgrades,” said Sutton. “I personally have made many sacrifices to be able to serve the game at this level, and I am excited for the Hockey Revolution and Pro League! I am extremely lucky to have the support of family, friends, hockey 'framily', USA Field Hockey and Lafayette Fire Co. I am blessed that the opportunity to umpire this game allows me to remember to have faith that we all serve a purpose much greater than our gifts to the game!”

Also receiving promotion following recent FIH Hockey World League Semifinals events is Grant Hundley, who has been moved into Grade 1. He joins the upgrade ranks to be with fellow USA Umpires including Saleem Aaron, Stephanie Judefine and Gus Soteriades.

In April 2017, Mary Discroll was promoted to the Promising Umpire List. Also including in the ranks on the International Level is Ridge Bair, Maggie Befort, Benjamin Peters and Lance Sarabia.

For a complete list of FIH Official Upgrades and Placements, click here.

FIH Umpiring Committee Representation in the USA (as of August 2017):

Outdoor Hockey

    World Panel – Amy Baxter (W)
    World Development Panel – Maggie Giddens & Suzi Sutton (W)
    Grade 1 – Saleem Aaron, Grant Hundley, Gus Soteriades (M) & Stephanie Judefine (W)
    Promising Umpire List – Mary Discroll (W)
    International – Ridge Bair, Benjamin Peters, Lance Sarabia (M) & Maggie Befort (W)

Indoor Hockey

    Grade 1 – Gus Soteriades (M) & Stephanie Judefine (W)
    International – Maggie Giddens (W)

FIH Tournament Directors/Technical Officers Representation in the USA (as of April 2017):

    Category 3 –  Lurah Hess & Rene Zelkin (W)
        Explanation: TD FIH Invitational and CF Tournaments/TO for FIH/CF Tournaments

FIH Umpires Managers Representation in the USA (as of June 2017):

    International – Steve Horgan (M Outdoor)
    Potential for International – Dean Wenrich (M Indoor)

USFHA media release

Veteran-Led Group Has Lofty Goals for Field Hockey in 2017

By Bennett Gross


The Red's upperclassmen will be a key to success in the 2017 season. Photo: Michael Wenye Li

The Red's upperclassmen will be a key to success in the 2017 season.

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After a fourth-place finish in the Ivy League last season, the field hockey team is looking to make significant strides in 2017, with much of the same squad that won 10 games last season returning this year.

The team lost just three seniors to graduation, and this fall’s group will feature the top two goal scorers from last year, in senior forwards Krysten Mayers and Katie Carlson. Starting goalkeeper Kelly Johnson is also back in net.

“Our experience has helped us a lot in the early going,” said head coach Donna Hornibrook. “We have a core group of kids that have done a really solid job. It doesn’t feel like we are starting from ground zero, but instead, we are just building off of where we left off last season.”

Captains Sam McIlwrick and Isabel Josephs will anchor the Red’s defense.

“We have strong leadership coming from throughout this team,” McIlwrick said. “It is not just coming from the captains or the senior class, but everyone who has been on the team for at least one year has been leading in some form.”

After closing out the 2016 campaign on a high note — winning its last four games, three of which were in the Ivy League — the Red is hoping to carry that same momentum into this year. But despite many familiar faces, the Red must rely on some key underclassmen, including freshmen midfielder Taylor Gladd and forward Juliana Tardif, each of whom Hornibrook expects to be crucial to the team’s success.

The Red will open its season Friday when it hosts Ohio University at 5 p.m. Last season, Cornell defeated the Bobcats 2-1.

“Early in the season, there is not really a big body of work by any team in order to make a lot of determinations, so what we are really doing heading into the game against Ohio is focusing on our team,” Hornibrook said of the upcoming matchup. “I think that we are all just really looking forward to hearing that initial whistle blow, and to keep progressing, as we have over the past few weeks.”

The team’s second game against Bucknell Sunday is one that is especially important for the team, as the Red will hold a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In 2005, sophomore midfielder Maddy Conklin was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, and in 2008, Conklin had her wish of surfing in Hawaii granted by the foundation. So, throughout high school and now college, she has held fundraisers to benefit Make-A-Wish so that others could have their wishes granted as well.

“Since I had my wish granted, I have been very involved in the charity, because without them, my wish was an opportunity that otherwise never would have happened,” Conklin said. “I am excited to see the turnout this weekend, and I hope that for as long as I am here, we can have more events such as this one.”

After opening with six non-conference matchups, the Red will begin its Ivy-slate Sept. 23, when it travels to Penn. But the players will try to treat every game just as seriously.

“We plan to go into every game treating it like we are playing our hardest opponent; we want to set the standard each game and walk off the field feeling like we played to the best of our abilities,” Carlson said. “The score is just a number, so the main aspect we can control is the effort and work we put into each game, and then the results will follow.”

With its talent, experience and mindset, the team believes strongly in its chance of winning the Ivy League and making an appearance in the NCAA tournament.

“We have some high expectations this year, as our goal is to make it to the NCAA tournament,” Carlson said. “We want Cornell field hockey to continue improving every year, so we want to keep raising the bar for future players and maintain a team atmosphere that people want to be a part of.”

Cornell Sun

Field hockey aims for balanced scoring

Natalie Cafone, field hockey star, graduated and can no longer help Iowa to victory as the star player, leading Iowa to utilize a scoring-by-committee approach.

By Taylor McNitt 


Iowa forward Natalie Cafone looks for an open player during the Iowa v. Saint Louis game at Grant Field on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. The Hawkeyes defeated the Billikens 11-0. (The Daily Iowan/Anthony Vazquez)

This season, the Iowa field-hockey team misses a face that had been front and center for four years.

“Yeah, I mean, Natalie Cafone was a huge name for us for the last three years; two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, West Region Player of the Year, scored 20-plus goals,” said field-hockey head coach Lisa Cellucci.

Cafone, a 2017 Hawkeye graduate and field-hockey star, has left a legacy.

Some of her accolades include being named to the first-team All-Big Ten squad three times, being a two-time first-team All-American, 2014 Hawkeye Female Athlete of the Year, 2014 NCAA Field-Hockey Statistical Champion, and the Big Ten leader in the 2016 season in goals, goals per game, shots, shots per game, and points. She is the sixth all-time leading field-hockey scorer in Hawkeye history.

Not only has she left a legacy, though, but she’s also left a team that needs to rework its attack without her on the field.

“With Natalie, she was a big threat because she individually could run past most people, and she would be up-field all alone, and sometimes it allowed our team to not join and not play a balanced team attack,” Cellucci said.

Seniors Melissa Progar and Mallory Lefkowitz agree with Cellucci when it comes to their former teammate.

“Obviously, Nat provided a lot of strong attacking opportunities for us,” Progar said.

So questions arose about who would take over the scoring load.

Sophomore Katie Birch is proving herself to be a potential star player like Cafone, but the Hawkeyes are thinking of a different approach from years past.

“I think our goal scoring will definitely be different, but just in the way that it’s not just totally on [Cafone] to get a goal,” Lefkowitz said. “I think that’s going to be a share of the workload up in the circle.”

Cellucci echoed her.

“We knew coming into this season that we were going to have to find a way to score goals without [Cafone], and that’s kind of what we’re still working on,” she said.

The games over this past weekend have given Iowa a good idea of where it can start and how it can move forward in attacks.

“Right now, we know exactly where we stand,” Cellucci said. “We played much better team defense on the second day, and that completely changed the game for us. [Our team defense] actually gave us some attacking chances that were just near misses.”

It’s clear that this year the focus will be on the team as a whole.

In the last two games, passing was prevalent, and the team plans on making it more so. With this strategy, every play will be a team effort.

“I think that we have a very strong team this year, and I think as a team we’ll be able to capitalize on the opportunities that we do have on attacks and score some goals,” Progar said.

The Hawkeyes are up to the task, both returning players and new faces alike.

“We definitely have a really good balance throughout the team,” Lefkowitz said. “A lot of quick forwards, a lot of skilled midfielders and skilled defense, so I think it really helps us move up the field together, more in unison.”

Balance is key.

Because a star player won’t carry the majority of the load, it’s up to the team to accept the challenge, which the Hawkeyes are prepared to do.

“We’re looking to be a little more balanced, create overloads in our offensive half and really have numbers in our attack,” Cellucci said. “That’s the way we feel we’ll be able to draw penalty corners, get more shots on goal, and hopefully, that’ll lead to more goals.”

The Daily Iowan

PM Narendra Modi pays tributes to hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tributes to legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand on his birth anniversary. August 29 is celebrated as National Sports Day in an honour to ace player Dhyan Chand.

PM Modi also congratulated all sportspersons and sports enthusiasts in his tweet.

"On #NationalSportsDay, I congratulate all sportspersons and sports enthusiasts who pursue sports with great vigour and passion," tweeted PM Modi.

"I pay tributes to the exemplary Major Dhyan Chand, whose legendary sporting skills did wonders for Indian hockey," he said in another tweet.

PM said that India is blessed with immense sporting talent and to harness this potential, a web portal was launched by Sports Ministry.

"The #NationalSportsTalentSearchPortal gives essential direction and support to youngsters to pursue their sporting aspirations and shine," tweeted PM Modi.

Tributes have been pouring in for Major Dhyan Chand. Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, Hockey player Sreejesh P R, cricketer Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, and many other personalities extended their greetings to nation on the occasion of National Sports Day and also paid tribute to Major Dhyan Chand.

Economic Times

Abdul Rasheed Junior — The iconic hockey star with three Olympic medals


Abdul Rasheed Junior — The iconic hockey star with three Olympic medals

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s district Bannu has produced many brilliant field hockey players for Pakistan. Hockey has been the district’s identity. In fact, Bannu has played the role of a nursery for Pakistan hockey, producing many greats of the game. The seeds of hockey in Bannu, as in many other parts of the sub-continent, were planted by the British. Bannu was founded as Dhulipnagar in 1848 by Herbert Benjamin Edwardes. He was a lieutenant in a regiment of the East India Company’s private army which was posted there. Although the outpost was initially named after the Maharajah of Lahore at the time, the town became Edwardesabad in 1869. In 1903, it finally received its current name, Bannu. Hockey was seen as a game to attain peak physical fitness and soldiers of the British army were into the game because of this reason. Watching soldiers in action, Bannu’s indigenous youth was also inspired to play this game. Little did they know then that hockey will become a source of pride for the area.

After Abdul Hameed ‘Hameedi’, Bannu’s second son to attain legendary status was Abdul Rasheed Junior, the younger brother of Hameedi. Originally a right-in like his illustrious brother, he was converted into an opportunistic centre-forward by Pakistan hockey great Brigadier Manzoor Hussain Atif. He turned out to be a predator availing even half chances. In his first big tournament, the 1968 Olympics, he was joint top-scorer of the gold medal winning team. Rasheed Junior was again Pakistan’s top-scorer at the 1972 Olympics. In between, he also earned a World Cup winners medal in its inaugural edition of 1971. Rasheed Junior ended his career emulating his brother by captaining Pakistan at the Olympics (Montreal, 1976). His tally of Olympic goals is just one short of Hameedi’s 16 goals. He enjoys a unique distinction in Pakistan sports history to be the only sportsman to have a complete set of Olympic medals: Gold (1968), Silver (1972) and Bronze (1976). When he called it a day, Rasheed Junior’s tally of 96 international goals was a Pakistan record at the time.

Like Hameedi, Rasheed Junior also had a managerial spell with the Pakistan hockey team. And he achieved one distinction that even eluded Hameedi - managing Pakistan to a global title, World Cup 1994. He was also the manager of the 1994 victorious FIH Champions Trophy team. Rasheed Junior lives with his family in Islamabad.

The Daily Times