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News for 02 February 2016

All the news for Tuesday 2 February 2016


Uttar Pradesh Wizards break the jinx, defeat Delhi Waveriders



New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Wizards defeated Delhi Waveriders 6-4 and broke their jinx of three consecutive losses. The Delhi Waveriders who changed their home ground to Shivaji Stadium this year were playing their first match on home turf.This match also marked the second win for the Uttar Pradesh Wizards, both of them coming from away matches.

The match as expected to other matches began with a slow tempo, with both the teams displaying good midfield and defensive play but the first quarter lacked a lot of attacking play. The teams started pressing hard only in the second quarter and it was the visitors who drew first blood in the 19th minute converting a penalty corner from V R Raghunath, giving a much needed lead of 1-0 to the visitors.

The rest of the quarter saw the hosts making numerous attempts to score but some brilliant defence and goal keeping from the Wizards ensure they finish the first half with a lead of 1-0 over Delhi Waveriders.

The third quarter of the match saw similar play from both the sides but none of the sides could find the back of the net and the score remained at 1-0 in the favour of Uttar Pradesh Wizards. As the fourth quarter began, it could have never been expected that these last 15 minutes would result in nine goals, a red card and one of the most attacking game showcasing top class hockey from both the sides.

It were the visitors who scored in the 54th minute through Chinglensana Singh, taking their lead to 3-0. The Visitors did not stop at that and attacked again and successfully converting another field goal in the 55th minute through Jamie Dwyer taking their lead to a massive 5-0, but the hosts struck back on the counter attack scoring a spectacular field goal through Justin Reid Ross.

The score now stayed at 5-2 still in the favour of the Uttar Pradesh Wizards. This goal led to an altercation between Uttar Pradesh Wizards PR Sreejesh and Tristan White of Delhi Waveriders and the latter was shown a red card, the first red card this season.

The visitors kept on pressing hard and were soon rewarded with a penalty corner in the 58th minute and Gonzalo Peillat made no mistakes in converting it to their favour, giving the Uttar Pradesh Wizards a massive lead of 6-2 in the final two minutes of the game, but it was Talvinder Singh from the Delhi Waveriders who made a beautiful counter attack to score a field goal for the hosts in the same minute giving them a respectable defeat of 4-6.

With this win the Uttar Pradesh Wizards are placed fifth in the points table with 12 points to their kitty, while Delhi Waveriders are placed third with 17 points in their name.

Coal India Goal of the Match award of INR 50,000- Chinglensana Singh from Uttar Pradesh Wizards
Most Entertaining Player of the Match award- PR Sreejesh UPW
Man of the Match award of INR 50,000- Jamie Dwyer UPW
Hero Emerging Player of the Match award of INR 25,000- Akashdeep Singh

The next match of the 4th Coal India Hockey India League will be played between Delhi Waveriders and Jaypee Punjab Warriors at the Shivaji Stadium, New Delhi on 2nd February, 2016.

Stick2Hockey.com



Struggling Wizards ride on Sreejesh magic

Uthra Ganesan


Uttar Pradesh Wizards' V.R. Raghunath exults after scoring against Delhi Waveriders. Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Eleven penalty corners and not one resulted in a goal as the Delhi Waveriders lost 4-6 to Uttar Pradesh Wizards in its opening home game of the fourth Hockey India League here on Monday.

The former champion was thwarted by UP goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, who ensured only the second win for his team after three consecutive losses at home. The India goalkeeper stretched, dove and sprinted to keep the Waveriders’ strikers at bay. At the other end, the forward line finally came good.

The under-pressure visitor, struggling to score despite playing attacking hockey, was desperate for victory. Defender Wouter Jolie had admitted the team was looking to play 60 minutes the way it did for the first 30 so far and the players seemed up for the challenge.

Starting aggressively as always, Wizards got the first chance early on but Ramandeep Singh hit straight to the Waveriders goalkeeper Devon Manchester.

The host lost no time on the counter and earned its first penalty corner but Rupinder Pal Singh’s shot was parried by a stretching Sreejesh. The end-to-end game saw both teams going on the offensive in the second quarter but muffed chances upfront — Mandeep’s pass from the backline going waste for Waveriders and Harmanpreet Singh’s solo effort sailing over the post for Wizards — before UP got its first penalty corner and Raghunath made no mistake in sounding the board. Waveriders earned six back-to-back penalty corners at the stroke of half time but Sreejesh and Raghunath saved them all.

The last two quarters saw both teams going all out for the goals and earned a series of PCs but the game was confined largely to the midfield. It took Chinglensana Singh, receiving the ball on the go and slamming it into an empty goal, to re-energise the proceedings in the 54th minute.

A minute later, Jamie Dwyer stamped his class with a solo run from the half line past three defenders to put Akashdeep Singh through. Crossing over into the striking circle, he received the ball back and sent it into the net to extend the lead.

With nothing to lose, the host threw everything into the game and seconds later, Justin Red-Ross got his team on the scoresheet with a brilliant reverse hit. A penalty corner to either side saw UP add one more to its tally while Delhi successfully sent the ball out of the striking circle in an attempt to get a field goal and Talwinder Singh did the job. It was, however, too little, too late for the host.

The result: Uttar Pradesh Wizards 6 (Chinglensana Singh 2 FG, Jamie Dwyer 2 FG, V.R. Raghunath PC, Gonzalo Peillat PC) bt Delhi Waveriders 4 (Justin Reid Ross 2 FG, Talwinder Singh 2 FG).

The Hindu



UP Wizards beat Delhi Waveriders 6-4 in a thrilling HIL encounter

Mukesh Thapliyal


(TOI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh Wizards - bounced back from their crushing 2-10 home loss to Kalinga Lancers - registered a convincing 6-4 victory over home team Delhi Waveriders to record their second victory in the league stage of the Hockey India League (HIL) played at the Shivaji Stadium on Monday.

The Delhi crowd witnessed some finest of hockey skills during the fourth and final quarter of the game as four field goals and a lone penalty corner conversion out of the total six took place in the last five minutes of the match.

Waveriders and Wizards remained static at third and fifth places in the points table with 17 and 12 points respectively. For the triumphant Wizards team VR Raghunath (19' PC), Chinglensana Singh (54' FG), Jamie Dwyer (55' FG) and Gonzalo Peillat (58' PC) were the goal scorers while Justin Reid-Ross (55' FG) and Talwinder Singh (58' FG) slotted in for the losing Waveriders side.

The match got off to a thunderous start as Wizards' Ramandeep Singh got a good long pass from Vikas Pillay as early as in the third minute of the game but he was well tackled by the defender. Waveriders got the first penalty corner in the fifth minute but Rupinder's grounded drag-flick was finely saved by India's top-most goalkeeper PR Sreejesh who stretched his legs wide on his left to make the first quarter a goalless affair.

The second quarter saw some great action straightaway as Ramandeep once again received a fine long pass on the left flank as he dodged past two defenders to enter the striking circle and unleash a strong hit but to his dismay it was thwarted by Wizards custodian Sreejesh with his pads.

Wizards earned their first penalty corner of the game in the fourth minute of second quarter. Ramandeep took the push and drag-flick specialist VR Raghunath made no mistake as he sounded the board with a lowly goal piercing shot which foxed everyone from defence to goalkeeper, giving the Uttar Pradesh Wizards a crucial 1-0 lead.

Soon, Waveriders skipper Simon Child got one chance but his strong reverse hit from the zero degree angle went directly to Wizards' goalkeeper Devon Manchester's pads. Wizards got the best opportunity of the day to double their lead 2-0 when Kenneth Bain got an aerial ball and he was just one-on-one with onrushing Delhi team goalkeeper but instead of dodging the 'keeper he tried for the lob which went over the post.

The Delhi crowd witnessed some thrilling action between India's top-most drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh and goalkeeper Sreejesh in the last three minutes of the second quarter. Waveriders wasted five back-to-back penalty corners after Srjeesh blocked first four short corners taken by Rupinder, who tried different styles of drag-flick shots from grounded to aerial. Under-pressure Rupinder missed the fifth one as Wizards maintained their 1-0 lead against Waveriders at half-time.

Wizards get two successive penalty corners in third quarter but got saved by Delhi 'keeper Manchester. Delhi got another penalty corner, their first in the third quarter, but Wizards goalkeeper Sreejesh again came to the fore to deny the home team any chance of restoring parity in the penultimate quarter.

The action-packed fourth quarter started in a great fashion as Waveriders got the first but Rupinder's strike was well tackled by on-rushing Wizards defender Raghunath. Wizards' rising India star Chinglensana Singh and Aussie legend Jamie Dwyer scored stunning back-to-back field goals in the 54th and 55th minute to give their team crucial 5-0 lead.

Waveriders fought back in the next minute as Justin Reid-Ross scored a top-class field goal to make it 2-5 against UP Wizards. Wizards' Gonzalo Peillat converted a fine short corner to make it 6-2. Delhi got another penalty corner in the very next move and they smartly converted a short corner into a classic field goal to read the scoreline 4-6.

Delhi Waveriders will now play with Jaypee Punjab Warriors tomorrow at the same venue.

The Times of India



Wizards beat Waveriders


UP Wizards beat Delhi Waveriders 6-4 on Monday. Tribune photo

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Wizards bounced back from three consecutive defeats to beat Delhi Waveriders 6-4 and pocket five crucial points in the Hockey India League at the Shivaji Hockey Stadium.

For Wizards, VR Raghunath converted a penalty corner in the 19th minute to give them a 1-0 lead. Chinglesana Singh (54th), Jamie Dwyer (55th) scored two field goals and Wouter Jolie converted a penalty corner in the 58th minute to complete the tally for the visitors.

Waveriders got their goals through Justin Reid-Ross (55th) and Mandeep Singh (58th). They will have to blame their penalty corner experts who failed to score from as many as 10 chances.

Wizards collected five points from the match and are at the fifth position with 17 points. Punjab Warriors also have 17 points, but are ahead on goal difference.

Waveriders can bounce back within 24 hours as they host Punjab Warriors on Tuesday.

The Tribune



Coal India Hockey India League: Week 2 Round-up


Ranchi Rays celebrating another goal in the Coal India Hockey India League (Photo: Coal India Hockey India League)

Week 2 of the Coal India Hockey India League proved to be an exceptional one for Ranchi Rays, who recorded three successive victories to storm to the top of the league table.

In week one, the Rays bounced back from a 2-0 defeat against Jaypee Punjab Warriors in their opening game by claiming a 4-2 win at Uttar Pradesh Wizards, with team captain Ashley Jackson scoring a late penalty corner double to seal maximum points.

The England and Great Britain midfielder has continued to be an inspirational force for Ranchi, inspiring his side to a trio of wins on home soil.

Jackson netted both goals in Ranchi’s 2-1 triumph over Simon Child’s Delhi Waveriders on Tuesday and scored a crucial leveller in Thursday’s meeting with eastern rivals Kalinga Lancers before Australian international Tim Deavin sealed a 3-2 victory with a fourth quarter strike.

In their most recent match, a final quarter penalty corner effort from set-piece specialist Sandeep Singh earned the Rays a revenge win over Jaypee Punjab Warriors.

The 5-4 victory leaves Ranchi very much in charge of their own destiny at the half way point of the tournament, while the Warriors now find themselves fourth in the league standings.

Kalinga Lancers, captained by Germany legend Moritz Fürste, currently sit second in the league table, having won three and lost two of their five matches played so far.

A huge 10-2 win away at Uttar Pradesh Wizards last Monday came as a result of five field goals, which count double in the Coal India Hockey India League.

Australian Kookaburras star Glenn Turner netted twice in the contest, with compatriot Aran Zalewski also on target alongside India internationals Lalit Upadhyay and Dharamvir Singh.

Following their defeat to Ranchi, the Lancers claimed a fine 6-4 away triumph over Dabang Mumbai courtesy of crucial field goals from Upadhyay and Englishman Adam Dixon to remain very much in the hunt.

Coach Cedric D’Souza and his Delhi Waveriders lost in their first home match of this season’s competition as they went down 6-4 to Uttar Pradesh Wizards today. This will come as some disappointment to Delhi having claimed an impressive three wins and one loss in four matches on the road. 

Dabang Mumbai are the only winless team in this year’s competition, a situation they will be hoping to rectify on Wednesday in their home match against in-form Ranchi.

To follow all the live action, visit the Coal India Hockey India League website by clicking here.

FIH site



Double success for East Grinstead

By Mike Haymonds

EAST GRINSTEAD enjoyed double success at the Super 6s National Indoor Championships at the Wembley Arena, while Canterbury suffered double heartbreak.

Grinstead's men won their eighth successive national title with a 5-1 win over the Kent club in a repeat of last year's final. Their women overcame the same opponents 3-1 to lift the trophy in only their second appearance at the Wembley finals. It was the first time that the same club had lifted both men's and women's titles at the same tournament.

Grinstead's victory was their third successive triumph over Canterbury in the final and a more emphatic one than previously. Canterbury were only level when Liam Foster equalised Simon Faulkner's first minute corner strike before a solo effort by Ross Stott put the Sussex club ahead by half-time. They then added three unanswered goals from David Condon (2) and Josh Conaglio.

In the semi-finals Grinstead had beaten Sevenoaks 6-3 with Condon bagging a brace while Canterbury beat Reading 9-6, thanks to a hat-trick by Kwan Browne and doubles for Harry Jawanda and Wei Adams.

Canterbury's women, losing semi-finalists in the last two years, beat University of Birmingham, making their first Wembley finals appearance,  4-2  while East Grinstead's victory against defending champions Bowdon Hightown came from a lone goal from Dutch import Malou Pheninckx. The Sussex club's defence, especially former international goalkeeper Becky Waters, was outstanding, a performance they repeated in the final.

In that final Pheninckx opened the scoring mid-way through the first half before Sarah Kerly equalised at the same point of the second period. Takara Haines restored Grinstead's lead in the 35th minute from their second corner. Canterbury took off their goalkeeper with three minutes left but the gamble failed when Pheninckx finished off a three-strong breakaway just before time.

Daily Express



Pheninckx rises from the ashes

By Mike Haymonds

WE are used to the exploits of overseas footballers filling the sports pages of the newspapers but it is extremely rare for a ‘foreign’ player to make such an impact as Malou Pheninckx did on the Super 6s national indoor finals day on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Dutch  medical student played a major part in East Grinstead women winning their first national indoor title at the SSE Wembley Arena.

Pheninckx scored the only goal in her side’s semi-final win against defending champions Bowdon Hightown and then scored twice in their 3-1 victory over Canterbury in the final.

She only came to play the indoor season at the prompting of her compatriot Maud Van Der Kamp, who is playing for East Grinstead indoors and out.

Pheninckx will now return home to play outdoors for her Utrecht-based club Kampong but does not rule out a return next year.

She said: “It was really cool to experience playing in a different country. When I came over I never expected to achieve what we have done.”

Daily Express



Yekaterineburg fight back twice to land Russian title



Dinamo Yekaterineburg produced an incredible comeback to beat Dinamo Elektrostal 5-4 to win the Russian indoor championship on Sunday.

Needing a win to secure the championships, they found themselves 3-1 down with precious little time remaining. They withdrew their keeper and it paid a perfect dividend as theyr score three times in two minutes with Aleksandr Lykov scoring a corner before Lykov created the equaliser with a diagonal ball for Matkovskiy to deflect in.

They went in front 4-3 with a truly spectacular goal as Matkovskiy’s first time pass from right back split the whole Elektrostal team. Artem Borisov picked up the ball mid-circle and he spun brilliantly on his backhand and flicked in.

That would have been enough for the title but there were still plenty of twists as Marat Khiarullin tied the game at 4-4 to leave the Urals team needing yet another goal.

Sergey Kostarev found yet another lovely passing line into the circle for Sergey Spichkovsky to guide home from close range for the final, critical goal.

Euro Hockey League media release



Orange stay focussed on title

Telkom inch closer to retaining national women hockey trophy

By Elizabeth Mburugu


Strathmore players Elizabeth Ngombo(l) and Orange Betsy Omalla fight for the ball when they played National Women at City Park. Orange scored 2-0. ON 31/01/16 PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE

National women hockey champions Telkom Orange extended their dominance in the league with a 2-0 victory over Strathmore University.

The win saw Telkom extend their league lead to eight points ahead of Strathmore, who are second.

The current Africa champions have been in their best form this season and have scored 98 goals and conceded one after 14 rounds of matches. Orange’s assistant coach Josephine Ataro said her charges will retain the title.

“They have played well so far and I believe that they will have a better performance in the remaining matches. We want to retain our trophy in style.”

Goals in each half by international Audrey Omaido in 14th minute and upcoming striker Maureen Okumu in the 45th minute were enough to see Orange condemn the Scorpions to their third defeat of the season. Strathmore lost 1-2 in their first leg encounter against Orange.

The 17-time national champions seem headed for a record title number 18 as they top the table with 42 points from 14 rounds of matches. They are yet to lose a match in their league fixtures.

Strathmore, who were last year’s first runner-up in the league contest, are second with 34 points from 15 rounds of matches and have won 11 games, drawn one and lost three.

Sliders are third with 29 points from nine wins, two draws and three losses. Vikings are fourth after displacing last year’s second runner-up United States International University of Africa (USIU-A) following their 5-0 victory over Daystar University on Sunday evening.

Mount Kenya University are still rooted at the bottom of the standings with two points from 14 rounds of matches, while Daystar are second last with seven points from 14 rounds of matches.

In the men’s premier league title chase, Nakuru HC were the biggest winners of the weekend after they returned home with double victory at the end of their trip to the city.

Nakuru beat Kenya College of Accountancy (KCAU) 2-1 and then defeated Mombasa Sports Club (MSC) 2-0 in their second win of the weekend.

The win saw them break into the top-10 ranking for the first time this season. They are now ninth with 25 points. Western Jaguars and KCAU are 11th and 12th on the log.

KCAU bounced back from their 2-1 loss to Nakuru to trounce Jaguars 6-1 in their second fixture, while Jaguars on the other hand, defeated MSC 4-1 in their weekend opener.

Defending champions Butali Sugar Warriors still top in men’s standings with 46 points followed by former champions Kenya Police on 45 points. USIU-A, in third position, have 31 points.

The Standard Online



Ribe hit Kaloleni to win Coast schools hockey title

By Ernest Ndunda


Peter Barnard Principal of Braeburn Mombasa International School (BMIS) handing over the winner’s trophy and medals to Ribe Girls captain Winnie Kache as the CHA Treasurer looks on

Ribe Girls High School of Kilifi County are this year’s Coast Hockey Association inter-secondary schools champions. In the final match at Shanzu Teachers Training College, Ribe, who were making their debut to the festival, now in its third edition, defeated Braeburn Mombasa International School 2-0.

Ribe had upset former champions St John’s Kaloleni 1-0, while Braeburn defeated Matuga Girls High School 3-1 on post-match penalties after a barren draw after normal time.

The tournament attracted numerous schools among them; St. John’s, Matuga Girls, Kwale Girls, St. Charles Lwanga, Braeburn Mombasa International School, Ribe Girls, Shimo La Tewa and St George’s.

In the boys’ category, St Charles, Braeburn, St George’s and Shimo La Tewa competed for glory. St Charles beat Braeburn 6 – 0, while Shimo La Tewa defeated St George’s 3 – 0 on their way to the final.

In the final match, Shimo La Tewa won 4 – 3 in post-match penalties after both sides tied after normal time.

Abigail Kioko of Kwale Girls and Joseph Ngari of St. George’s were awarded the most promising up-coming players, while Zubeda Ahmed of Matuga Girls (three goals) and Samuel Ngari (four goals) of St. Charles were the festival’s top scorers.

Association Chairman Oliver Mascarenhas thanked all the participating teams, sponsors and officials for their support in making the event a success.

The Standard Online



Punt to miss Argentina trip


Anita Punt of New Zealand in action during the Hockey World League Final. Photo / Getty Images

Black Sticks women's captain Anita Punt's facing a common roadblock for semi-professional athletes in an Olympic year.

The 28-year-old has had to pull out of this month's tour of Argentina due to work commitments.

Punt says ideally she would have preferred to go but being part of an Olympic campaign uses up so much leave.

She says their centralised programme is around 14 weeks before the Olympics, and is further extended if players make the 16-strong squad.

It's only the second tour Punt has missed since making her debut in 2009.

The New Zealand Herald



Junior men begin centralization with high hopes for 2016 and beyond

Shaheed Devji



For the Canadian men’s Junior National Team the next few months will shape how the rest of an important year will go.

With 2016 Junior World Cup qualification on the line in Toronto in May and the World Cup at the end of the year, the year ahead carries a lot of weight, which is why having a core group of athletes centralized in Vancouver beginning this week is the key ingredient to success.

“It’s huge for us. It kind of gives us a competitive advantage,” says Canadian Under-21 coach Inderpal Sehmbi, who coached a coached a Canadian Under-18 to a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China in 2014. “These guys will be living and playing with each other for three or four months. You need every advantage you can get going into Pan Ams.”

The 2016 Junior Men’s Pan American Championship is a seven-team tournament that will be held in Toronto from May 20-28. The top two finishers at the tournament earn a spot in the 2016 Junior Men’s World Cup in India this December.

Safe to say there is a lot riding on the next few months of preparation for Canada’s junior men.

The squad will be training multiple times a week on and off the field, and will have access to National Team coaches, support staff, and facilities. It’s not something that can be replicated with athletes training individually across the country, says Sehmbi.

“Kids are running 8-10 kilometers a training session, 2-3 times a week” he explains. “It’s too hard to simulate on your own.”

The short term goal of centralization is to make physiological and technical gains to a point where the junior team is ready to challenge for a spot at the 2016 Junior World Cup and perform well if it can qualify.

To meet this end, they will be leveraging one of the biggest assets available to them in Vancouver: the senior men, who are preparing for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil this August.

“For us, the big thing is to piggy back on the senior team,” says Sehmbi. “Playing against the senior development team and hopefully the top sixteen. When you have a team preparing for the Olympics, that’s the best competition you can get.”

The level of training the juniors will see throughout the months leading up to the Pan Ams also works toward a broader goal of developing athletes to sustain Canada’s elite and competitive senior men’s team through 2016 and beyond.

“It’s great to qualify for a Pan Ams, but you want to get these kids ready for a senior team,” adds Sehmbi. “It’s not feasible for kids to be playing three months of the year and expect to make a senior team.

“Our job is to get these guys ready to play on the men’s team. That’s our first goal, to make them international athletes.”

The Junior Development Squad begins its centralized training period Monday with fitness testing at the Richmond Olympic Oval and will be on the field training on Tuesday evening at UBC’s Wright Field.

Field Hockey Canada media release



Yo-Yo UniKL Young Guns

By Jugjet Singh

UNIKL Young Guns were the team to beat last season, but this year, they have hit turbulent waters after just six matches in Division One of the Junior Hockey League.

From double silver medallists, the Young Guns are heading towards an empty season -- all due to overconfidence.

UniKL manager Faiz Isa said: "Preparation wise, this team has received the best compared to last season as we started very early, in fact, they have been playing and training together for almost nine months."

But the results have been akin to a yo-yo.

They started off by being whitewashed 1-6 by BJSS Thunderbolts, and have since lost 1-0 to Politeknik and drew 2-2 with the weakest Division One side -- SSTMI Juniors.

Before holding UniKL to a 2-2 draw, SSTMI Juniors were on a four-match losing streak and had let in 22 goals.

"I still can't come to grips with this draw as we played the bottom of the table team after beating number two SSP-MSP Thunderbolts 3-2 and could not seal three points.

"Its all due to overconfidence and also I don't see much promise in many players we have now. In previous UniKL teams you could pick out five or six players who were above the rest and they went on to represent the country in the Junior World Cup. But this team, I have yet to see any promising players."

UniKL, formed in 2009, has developed a string of national players for the men's team, and now will contribute towards the development of women players.

"UniKL will field a girls team in the WJHL and selections are ongoing right now. We have always been actively developing the men's hockey, and with this move, we hope to help women's hockey grow as well," said Faiz.

The closing date to register teams for the inaugural WJHL is Feb 5, and about 10 teams are in the midst of scouting for players.

Meanwhile four Malaysians have been appointed to officiate at the 12th South Asian Games hockey tournament in Guwhati, Assam, on Feb 5 to 14.

Daljit Singh is the Tournament Director, while Amarjit Singh the Umpires Manager.

Iskandar Rashdan and K. Illango will be the neutral umpires.

DIVISION ONE

                 P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts

SSTMI TNDER'      5 5 0 0 26 4   15
SSP-MSP-TNDER'    5 4 0 1 28 7   12
UNIKL YOUNG GUNS  6 3 1 2 14 15  10
BJSS TNDER'       4 3 0 1 11  5  9
OLAK TIGERS       6 3 0 3 14 19  9
POLITEKNIK        5 2 1 2 9  8   7
PJCC              5 2 0 3 7  11  6
SMKDBL YOUNG GUNS 6 1 1 4 10  16 4
NURINSAFI         5 0 2 3 6  21  2
SSTMI JRS         5 0 1 4 5  24  1

Jugjet's World of Field Hockey



Women’s hockey match ends in melee at Lucknow University

On Monday, a heated match at the North Zone Inter-Varsity Women’s Hockey Tournament, pitting the hosts Lucknow University (LU) against Kurukshetra University, spiralled into a free-for-all, with the players not just having a go at each other, but also allegedly hitting the referees officiating the game.

The stakes were high at the game, with the LU team, who had finished among the top four alongside Kurukshetra University, having lost in their previous two matches on Sunday. The 70-minute contest, which the hosts eventually won 2-1, was hardly a clean game; verbal duels and pushing were routine and the visiting side were shown two yellow cards, whereas LU got a green card.

What followed, however, was far worse. According to eyewitnesses HT spoke to, the players of the losing team, Kurukshetra University, heckled umpires Sumit Pal and Rishi Kumar for their ‘biased officiating’ as they were leaving the ground. A few team members allegedly used their hockey sticks to push the two officials.

Bharti Sharma, the captain of the Kurukshetra team, however, refutes the allegation. “It’s baseless that we abused the umpires or pushed them with sticks. We just told them about their biased umpiring and before we could move out of the ground, the LU girls and some male officials tried to push us,” Sharma told HT.

“Both the umpires were biased and never wanted us to win. Throughout the match, we were abused by the LU players and their supporters, but no one from the organisers or officials uttered a word against this,” she said.

Kurukshetra coach, LK Saini, seconded her. “My girls didn’t abuse or slap anyone,” he said.

Umpire Sumit Pal, however, said the officiating was fair and they only penalised what they perceived as rough play by the visiting team during the match. “It’s baseless that we were biased or were trying to help LU win.”

Lucknow University Athletics Association’s chief, Pawan Agarwal, while condemning the incident, defended the umpires. “The umpires did no wrong, they were honest. The Kurukshetra girls were in an aggressive mood and played a rough game from the beginning.”

He said that the organising committee had issued a notice to the Kurukshetra officials, who have promised to respond on the matter soon.“So far we haven’t written to the All India University Athletics Association about the incident. Let their (Kurukshetra University’s) reply come, only then we will send our report to the national body,” said Agarwal.

Hindustan Times



Joyce Sombroek - Hockey Stars 2015 Women's Goalkeeper of the Year



For the second consecutive year, Netherlands Joyce Sombroek has won the FIH Hockey Stars Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year Award, and for good reason.

Where other ‘keepers have moments of sheer brilliance, Sombroek can always be relied upon to be on her game. Her performances at the FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Final in Antwerp, Belgium were a study in calm composure and, while the Netherlands had to settle for silver in the EuroHockey Championships in London, England, Sombroek’s performances throughout that event were again first class.



Her impressive powers of concentration are the reason that the Netherlands team is able to play with such creativity and flow. When you have a foundation as steady as Sombroek, then the rest of the team can shine.

In typically modest fashion, Sombroek paid tribute to her competitors: “I am really happy and honoured to be announced Goalkeeper of the Year! I was pleasantly surprised, especially considering the fact that fellow goalkeepers like Maddie (Hinch) did a great job as well. I would also like to thank my teammates, trainers, family, friends, fans and sponsors for their great support!”

FIH site



David Phenis officially appointed CEO of Hockey Wales

Hockey Wales is delighted to confirm that David Phenis is to take on the position of CEO of Hockey Wales on a full-time basis.

The appointment by the Board of Directors this week is fantastic news for the organisation and more widely, hockey in Wales, as David brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience from an extensive career in local government and sport development.

David, who joined Hockey Wales as Interim CEO in September, said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed leading the organisation forward during this time, but now I am thrilled that I can look forward to continuing the work I have begun and strive towards our target of Vision 2020.”

Prior to joining Hockey Wales, David was a self-employed Sports Advisor working with USW and a number of national governing bodies including the WRU. He has 35 years of experience in local government and is widely recognised for his effective leadership and delivery in Sport Development and Management.

Richard Proctor, Chair of the Hockey Wales Board of Directors, said that the Board were ecstatic to officially welcome David to the role and consider him an asset to the organisation:

“I am delighted that David will be joining the Hockey Wales family on a full-time basis. We all believe that this is an excellent appointment for Hockey Wales and we have great confidence that David will continue to build on the good work he has been doing on an interim base, to drive vision 2020 on a full time basis.”

David will guide Hockey Wales on its journey towards Vision 2020, an ambitious 9-year strategic vision that aims to make hockey in Wales bigger, better and more engaging than ever before.

Hockey Wales media release

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