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All the news for ~thursday 1 November 2018

2018 4 Nations Mens Tournament Valencia (M)
Valencia (ESP)

Fixtures for 1 November (GMT +1)

16:30     NED v IRL (RR
18:30     ESP v ENG (RR)

Pool standings

FIH Match Centre

Danny Kerry finds delight in defeat after second England loss



England will rely on the old Hockey Champions Trophy format in a bid to come away from Valencia with 4 Nations success.

Danny Kerry’s side sit bottom after defeats to Ireland on the opening day and the Netherlands, after a narrow 2-1 loss on Tuesday.

They play hosts Spain in their final round robin on Thursday and could well face them again in the semi-finals when first play fourth.

The Spanish sit atop the group after beating Ireland and the Dutch, leaving the World Cup form guide wide open.

A goal from Jeroen Hertzberger six minutes from time did for England, who scored through Barry Middleton, while Kerry bemoaned a late yellow to co-captain Ian Sloan.

Kerry said: “We are absolutely delighted with our performance. It was a tight and even game and we carried plenty of threat and created opportunities. Equally, we were strong in defence.

“Unfortunately a late yellow card was the difference in the scoreline. I was very proud of the standard of our performance today.”

Meanwhile, Great Britain women played the first of two friendly games against local men’s sides on Tuesday.

They came away with a 1-1 draw against Marlow men, before a second encounter against High Wycombe on Wednesday night.

The Hockey Paper

South Africa to take on France in a Four Match Test Series

France will be taking part at their third FIH Hockey World Cup in India, their first since 1990. They achieved qualification in South Africa at the FIH World League Semi-Final last July when they defeated Egypt in the 7/8th playoff game. They are big fans of the country as they also won the FIH World League Round 1 in Cape Town in 2015. With those happy memories in place, France will come back to take on South Africa in four test matches at the same venue.

France are currently ranked 20th in the world but have been showing steady improvements over the past three years in their climb up the rankings. Their squad to take on the South Africans will be backed with four centurions in Tom Genestet, Hugo Genestet, Jean-Baptiste Fogues and Gaspard Baumgarten littered amongst some fantastic youth. It will be the first time that South Africa and France have locked horns in International hockey which adds an extra element of excitement and intrigue to the heavily anticipated series.

For South African Hockey fans, it will be the first time to see the National team play at home this year and the first time they will get to see the team under the guidance of Mark Hopkins, who was appointed national coach in January this year. There is a lot of good feeling around the team currently including the recent team camps in Durban and in Europe for the foreign based players and this will be an opportunity for the team to show corporate South Africa why they are worth backing.

The squad to play France will be the World Cup selected squad with only one change due to injury and it promises to offer an exciting spectacle for the local fans. The likes of experienced heads Austin Smith, Rhett Halkett, Rassie Pieterse and Julian Hykes supplemented by the exciting Tyson Dlungwana, Dayaan Cassiem and Keenan Horne. Of course, all South African Hockey fans will also be incredibly excited by the opportunity to see Nic Spooner in action for a long overdue second cap.

For more great benefit the opening two matches of the series will be televised live on Supersport, further underlining their incredible investment and support of the sport. Although the second game will not be televised fans are encouraged to come through to Wits University and give the team support before they head off to India.

South Africa vs. France Fixtures

1st Test - 3 November – 12:00 – Live on SuperSport
2nd Test - 4 November – 12:00 – Live on SuperSport
3rd Test - 9 November – 19:30
4th Test - 10 November – 16:00

SA Hockey Association media release

Hockeyroos Team Named For Champions Trophy

Ben Somerford



Hockey Australia today announces the 18-member Hockeyroos team which will compete at the upcoming 2018 FIH Champions Trophy in China.

Third-ranked Australia will come up against hosts China (ranked 11th), defending champions Argentina (fourth), Olympic champions Great Britain (England ranked second), world number one Netherlands and the invited Japan (14th).

The Champions Trophy, which will be the last-ever edition of the event which has run since 1978 before next year’s introduction of the new FIH Pro League, runs from 17-25 November in Changzhou, China.

The Hockeyroos, who finished fourth at the World Cup in July, were last in action in the Japan Four Nations in September, with several changes from that team, including the returns of forward Emily Smith, goalkeeper Rachael Lynch, midfielder Brooke Peris and experienced defenders Karri McMahon and Jodie Kenny.

Three uncapped players are included in Queensland’s Rebecca Greiner, NSW’s Greta Hayes and WA’s Penny Squibb.

Hockeyroos head coach Paul Gaudoin said: “We want to win but we’ve also got an eye on the Tokyo Olympics and developing our athlete cohort.

“We want to identify the right athletes who’ll help us prepare for 2020, so we’ve taken the opportunity to expose some new athletes to the international arena, but we still have some core athletes.

“Among the new additions are those who’ve had some good form in the AHL and those who we’ve been keeping an eye on for a fair period of time.”

Bundaberg forward Greiner, 19, comes into the team after finishing as equal top scorer at the Australian Hockey League (AHL) which concluded on Sunday. She was previously called up for the Japan Four Nations but had to withdraw due to injury.

Hayes, who plays her club Hockey for Sydney University, is a dynamic midfielder. The 21-year-old was a key part of the NSW Arrows side which lifted the AHL title on Sunday.

Squibb, who hails from Tambellup in WA’s Great Southern region, comes from the National Development Squad and is a 25-year-old defender who offers a goal threat from penalty corners. Squibb impressed in the 2018 AHL with WA with five goals and was last year’s joint top scorer.

“Rebecca has been developing nicely in her training environment in Queensland,” Gaudoin said.

“She played extremely well at the Under-21s and was the equal top scorer at the AHL. We’re looking for that youth and enthusiasm to add to our group. She’s fully deserved her position.

“Greta played at the Junior World Cup in 2016. She’s been in Belgium for a year and just got back a few months ago.

“She was in our Development Squad prior to that. She came in and had a wonderful AHL, she was very impressive, she’s a hard-working midfielder and we’re looking for those. She gets an opportunity to continue with her progression after having some quality time in Belgium.

“Penny has been in our Development Squad for a couple of years. She’s been in our training environment a couple of times on a VAA scholarship.

“She’s performed very well in the AHL and we believe she deserves an opportunity to show what she can do at the next level.”

Australia are six-time champions and five-time runners-up but haven’t won the title since 2003.

“We’re certainly looking at taking a team to China that can win the Champions Trophy,” Gaudoin said.

“But we are also looking to finalise our 2019 National Squads. We need to keep evolving and developing our athlete cohort.”

The Hockeyroos team is due to fly to China on Monday 12 November ahead of their opening game against Argentina on Saturday 17 November from 7pm (AEDT). All matches will be televised LIVE on FOX SPORTS.

Hockeyroos’ 18-member Champions Trophy team:
Edwina Bone (Orange, NSW) *Plays for ACT
Lily Brazel (Sydney, NSW) *Plays for VIC
Jane Claxton (Adelaide, SA)
Kalindi Commerford (Mollymook, NSW) *Plays for ACT
Madison Fitzpatrick (Cabarita Beach, NSW) *Plays for QLD
Rebecca Greiner (Bundaberg, QLD)
Greta Hayes (Sydney, NSW)
Jodie Kenny (Wamuran, QLD)
Stephanie Kershaw (Townsville, QLD)
Rachael Lynch (Warrandyte, VIC)
Karri McMahon (Berri, SA)
Ambrosia Malone (Burleigh, QLD)
Kaitlin Nobbs (Newington, NSW)
Hayley Padget (Doncaster, VIC)
Brooke Peris (Darwin, NT)
Emily Smith (Crookwell, NSW)
Penny Squibb (Tambellup, WA)
Ashlee Wells (Morwell, VIC) *Plays for SA

Hockeyroos 2018 Champions Trophy schedule (all times AEDT):
Saturday 17 November 7pm – Australia v Argentina
Sunday 18 November 5pm – Australia v Great Britain
Tuesday 20 November 5pm – Australia v Netherlands
Thursday 22 November 7pm – Australia v China
Saturday 24 November 5pm – Australia v Japan
Sunday 25 November – Finals

Hockey Australia media release

Vantage Black Sticks men named for 2018 Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup



The Vantage Black Sticks Men have announced their team ahead of the 2018 Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup which starts later this month. The men will be looking to build on the recent success of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games where they came away with the Silver Medal.

The side will be led by experienced defender Blair Tarrant (186 caps) who returns to the squad after missing the Commonwealth Games due to injury. The side will be looking to improve on their most recent world cups where they finished 7th in 2014 and 9th in 2010.

The team departs for Bhubaneswar on the 14th of November where they will travel via Kuala Lumpur and play three matches against the Malaysian team before making their way onto India to start their World Cup campaign.

The Vantage Black Sticks Men's first game is against France on the November 30 at 2:30 am (NZST). The men will then have two further games in their pool against the current Olympic Champions Argentina who the Black Sticks have not come up against since before their Rio 2016 campaign. The men also come up against the 8th-ranked Spain in the final game of their pool play on December 7th.

Jared Panchia is likely going to bring up his 100th cap in the pre-tournament series with Malaysia. The squad is an experienced one which features eight players with over 100 caps.

This will be the first time that Head Coach Darren Smith has had his full availability of players since the team competed on the Gold Coast. The most experienced member of the squad is Shea McAleese (272 caps) who will be looking to add a world cup medal to his two Commonwealth Games medals.

This will be coach Darren Smiths 4th world cup and 1st as Head Coach. Smith competed in two world cups as a player where his best finish was 9th in 2002 and was also an assistant coach in the 2010 campaign.

All games will be played at India’s Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar having previously played host to the 2014 Champions Trophy. The stadiums capacity has been increased for this prestigious event to 15,000 seats.

Sky Sport will be providing comprehensive coverage of all the games starting on the 29th November at 12:30 am where Belgium takes on Canada. The Vantage Black Sticks first game will be on Sky Sport 4 at 2:30 am on November 30 where the men will take on France.

VANTAGE BLACK STICKS MEN’S WORLD CUP TEAM

Hockey New Zealand Media release

Black Sticks men name experienced side for World Cup


Blair Tarrant. Photo / Photosport

The Black Sticks men have announced a familiar team ahead of the Men's Hockey World Cup in India later this month.

Coach Darren Smith's was able to name an experienced full strength 18-man squad, which features eight players with over 100 caps.

Captain Blair Tarrant (186 caps) returns to the squad after missing the Black Sticks' silver-medal run at the Commonwealth Games due to injury.

The side will be looking to improve on their most recent world cups where they finished 7th in 2014 and 9th in 2010.

New Zealand will play three warm up games against Malaysia before making their way to India for their opening game against France on November 30th.

Black Sticks men World Cup team:

Cory Bennett, Marcus Child, George Enersen, Hugo Inglis, Stephen Jenness, Richard Joyc, Dane Lett, Shea McAleese, George Mui, Dominic Newman, Jared Panchia, Arun Panchia (vc), Hayden Phillips, Nick Ross, Kane Russell, Aidan Sarikaya, Blair Tarrant (c), Nic Woods.

The New Zealand Herald

Black Sticks coach sticks with established squad for World Cup

OLIVIA CALDWELL


The Black Sticks have been named for the 2018 Hockey World Cup starting at the end of the month in India. BRADLEY KANARIS/GETTY IMAGES

Black Sticks coach Darren Smith has stuck with his tried and true players, naming an established squad to go to the 2018 Hockey World Cup in India.

The men will be looking to build on April's Commonwealth Games silver medal success as they head to Bhubaneswar in mid November.

Eight members of the team have over 100 caps for the Black Sticks.


The Black Sticks have been named for the 2018 Hockey World Cup starting at the end of the month in India. ANDREW CORNAGA/PHOTO SPORT

The 186-test veteran Blair Tarrant will captain the side after missing the Commonwealth Games through injury.

The side will be looking to improve on their recent world cup efforts of 7th in 2014 and 9th in 2010.

The team departs for Bhubaneswar on November 14, via Kuala Lumpur where they play three matches against Malaysia before making their way onto India.

They will play France first up on November 30.

Also in their pool are current Olympic champions Argentina who the Black Sticks have not come up against since before Rio 2016.

Spain will be their final game of their pool play on December 7.

Experienced player Jared Panchia is likely going to bring up his 100th cap in the pre-tournament series with Malaysia.

This will be the first time Smith has had full availability of the players since the team competed on the Gold Coast.

Smith has compete in three world cups as a Black Stick, but this will be his first as head coach.

He was assistant coach in the 2010 campaign.

All games will be played at Indias Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, which previously played host to the 2014 Champions Trophy.

Black Sticks World Cup Team
Cory Bennett, Marcus Child, George Enersen, Hugo Inglis, Stephen Jenness, Richard Joyc, Dane Lett, Shea McAleese, George Mui, Dominic Newman, Jared Panchia, Arun Panchia, Hayden Phillips, Nick Ross, Kane Russell, Aidan Sarikaya, Blair Tarrant, Nic Woods

Stuff

PHF names 26 players for world cup training camp

LAHORE  -    The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Wednesday announced the names of 26 players for attending a training camp to prepare for World Cup to be held from November 28 in Bhubaneswar, India.

The camp will commence from November 2 here at the National Hockey Stadium under the supervision of camp commandant and manager of the team Hasan Sardar. “Chief selector Islah-ud-Din announced names of the players based on their performance in national and international events,” said PHF spokesman here on Wednesday.

The players, who will attend the camp, are Imran Butt, Mazhar Abbas, Amjad Ali, M Irfan Senior, Rashid Mehmood, M Aleem Bilal, Ammad Shakeel Butt, Mubashar Ali, Tasawar Abbas, M Rizwan Senior, M Toseeq Arshad, Ali Shah, M Umar Bhutta, Abu Bakar Shafqat Rasool, M Azfar Yaqoob, M Arslan Qadir, Ajaz Ahmad, M Irfan Junior, M Zubair, M Rizwan Junior, M Dilber, M Atiq Arshad, M Faisal Qadir, M Asif Mushtaq and Saran Bin Qamar.

The Nation

National camp last chance for all 34 players to earn WC berths, says Indian coach Harendra Singh


Harendra Singh with the Indian Hockey Team , PTI

The Asian Champions Trophy was an ideal preparation for the World Cup and the India camp will be the last chance for probables to prove their mettle before the squad is finalised, said coach Harendra Singh.

Hockey India on Wednesday named a 34-member core group for the final national camp before the season-ending men's World Cup, to be held in Bhubaneswar from November 28 to December 16.

The 23-day camp will begin on Thursday at the Kalinga Stadium and the 34 campers will report to chief coach Harendra.

The camp will give Harendra a chance to work with the core group and pick his final 18-member squad.

"Our campaign at the 5th Men's Hero Asian Champions Trophy Muscat 2018 served as good preparation for the team before the World Cup, but now is the most critical time for us as we look to reinvigorate our spirits and work on the areas which need improvement," Harendra said.

"The camp will give all the 34 core group players the chance to work hard and show what edge they can provide to the team," he said.

"It is now time for all the core group players to step up and show what they can bring to the table."

Having returned joint winners along with Pakistan from the recently-concluded Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat, the team will undergo intense training sessions under Harendra.

The 34-member core group includes three goalkeepers -- PR Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera and Krishan Pathak while defenders Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Pardeep Singh, Suman Beck and captain of the junior men's team for the Sultan of Johor Cup 2018, Mandeep Mor, have been called up for the camp.

Among midfielders, Manpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Sumit, Simranjeet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Yashdeep Siwach and Vishal Antil have all been selected.

Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Sumit Kumar, Gursahibjit Singh, and Shilanand Lakra will fight it out for slots in the forward line.

Ace striker Ramandeep Singh, who underwent a knee surgery after sustaining an injury during the FIH Champions Trophy earlier this year, along with seasoned defenders Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra, have also been included in the camp.

Experienced forward SV Sunil, who suffered a ligament injury on his left knee in the last camp, have also been included but it is not yet clear whether he has fully recovered from the ailment.

Daily News & Analysis

Haziq hopes to impress coach Oltmans for World Cup spot

By Aftar Singh



KUALA LUMPUR: It is the dream of every hockey player to feature in the World Cup.

And 24-year-old forward Muhd Haziq Samsul (pic) is keeping his fingers crossed that he will be selected by national coach Roelant Oltmans for the Nov 28-Dec 16 World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India.

The Trolak-born Haziq did not feature in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, in April and also in the Asian Games in Jakarta in August as he was recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games last year.

But Haziq featured for Malaysia in the four-nation tournament in Darwin, Australia in September and he scored three goals to help Malaysia finished third in the tournament.

Haziq was not included in the recent Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat, Oman, where Malaysia finished third.

Haziq said that he would return to the national training camp next week and hoped to impress the Dutch coach.

“I have about three weeks to prove to the national coach that I have the ability to play in the World Cup,” said Haziq.

“I have played close to 100 times for Malaysia and has proven myself in the four-nation tournament in Darwin by scoring the most number of goals for Malaysia.”

Haziq, however, will face a strong challenge from the other forwards like Faizal Saari, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil, Muhd Shahril Saabah, Muhd Firhan Ashaari, Muhd Nik Aiman Nik Rozemi and Mohd Ramadan Rosli to win a place in the World Cup squad.

For the World Cup, Malaysia are drawn in Group D with Holland, Germany and Pakistan.

Haziq, who is playing for Perak in the Razak Cup, said that he wants to help his state to retain the title in the oldest hockey tournament in Malaysia.

The silver state have secured a place in the final with one match in hand. They have 10 points from three wins and a draw and will wrap up the round-robin fixtures against Johor today.

The Star of Malaysia

Additional players added to NZ U18 men’s and women’s development camp


Maddie Harris of Central makes the Development Camp

Following the recent Secondary Schools Tournaments and the NZ U18 Goal Keeping Camp, Hockey New Zealand has added 11 female athletes and 6 male athletes to the New Zealand U18 Development Camp to be held from the 15th – 21st of  December 2018.

U18 Women
Kelly Carline (Central)
Sophia Howard (Auckland)
Sophie Maxwell (North Harbour)
Natalie Austin (Capital)
Georgia Bonne (Canterbury)
Jenna Rae McIntyre (Canterbury)
Francesca Williamson (Canterbury)
Maddie Harris (Central)
Alysha Donovan (Northland)
Madeleine Fleming (Midlands)
Ruby Evans (Midlands)

U18 Men
Calum Grassick (North Harbour)
Harrison Groom (Capital)
Luke Elmes (Central)
Reuben Crawford (Midlands)
Michael Lambourne (North Harbour)
Tai Wihare (Midlands)

More information about the camp will be released at a later date.

Hockey New Zealand Media release

Pak hockey coach says wanted to play washed-out final, 'blatant lie', say India


India-Pakistan hockey match

They lifted the Asian Champions Trophy jointly but India and Pakistan were Wednesday locked in a war of words over how the decision was reached to abandon the final after a thunderstorm and heavy showers in Muscat.

The two teams jointly took the trophy on Sunday night and on Wednesday Pakistan coach Hasan Sardar triggered a controversy by claiming that India backed out of the summit clash on a soggy pitch even though his side wanted to play. A Hockey India official rejected the claim, calling it a "blatant lie" and said Pakistan were the ones in a hurry to leave owing to an early morning return flight. "Our boys were pumped up for the final match. Even after the heavy rains we told the organisers we will play if they wanted the final to go ahead. But the Indians refused because of the conditions," Sardar said on Wednesday in Karachi.

Hockey India rubbished the assertion. "It's a blatant lie. It was Pakistan who didn't want to play as they had a return flight at 3am in the morning. Our flight was next day so we had no problem in waiting," the HI official told PTI on condition of anonymity. "By the time rain stopped, it was already 10.30 pm local time and if match was to start, it would have taken at least two more hours to prepare the pitch. The pitch was completely flooded, even the Tournament Director, broadcasters and commentators rooms were flooded," he added.

Addressing other issues, Sardar also requested the government to release much-needed funds for the hockey team. "People need to understand the mental state of our players and officials at the moment. The players responded magnificently despite not getting their full daily allowances. "There were problems with the hotel booking as well adding to the strain on us. But I say hats off to the PHF President, Brigadier (retd) Khalid Khokar who managed to arrange funds to pay off the hotel dues and give some peace of mind to the team," he said.

Daily News & Analysis