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All the news for Thursday 23 December 2010

Charlesworth is the man

By S. Thyagarajan.

The year 2010 will be remembered for the dominance of Australian men and Argentine women.

On top of the world...Jamie Dwyer with the World Cup at the Major Dhyanchand Stadium in New Delhi.
The Australian captain was named the FIH Player of the Year. PTI

Eventful as always and exhilarating throughout, competitive hockey coursed through an incandescent phase and into history, engulfing the enthusiasts in an emotional melange.

Two World Championships and an equal number of Champion Trophy tournaments, the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games, the Youth Olympics and a plethora of internationals across the globe give the 2010 season a euphoric aura.

Sifting through this panorama to identify the high points of the year is not easy. Suffice to say the material available is stupendous by any yardstick. On reflection, it can be said without any fear of contradiction that 2010 was a year to remember for the Australian men and Argentine women.

Quite understandably, the man of the year award, if there is one, should indisputably go to the Aussie stalwart, Ric Charlesworth. The Australian Institute of Sports in Perth only honoured itself by conferring that title on the Champion coach, who guided the Aussies to a glorious treble — the World Cup (Delhi), Champions Trophy (Monchengladbach) and Commonwealth Games (Delhi). Incidentally, Australia's victory in the Commonwealth Games was its third gold in succession.

Blessed as Charlesworth was with the depth and diversity of talent — the players were spotted, nurtured and groomed for the big occasions — the achievements of the Australian men in 2010 stand apart. They showed the intensity of professionalism, the importance of dedication and the determination to succeed at all costs. In this, the Aussies were chiefly guided by the craft, class and consistency of the incomparable all-rounder, Jamie Dwyer, who deservedly claimed the FIH's Best Player of the Year Award for 2010.

It must also be acknowledged that Dwyer in his endeavour was supported well by Luke Doerner, Desmond Abbott, Glenn Turner, Christopher Ciriello and, of course, goalkeeper, Nathan Burges.

There was no team either in Europe or Asia that could match Australia. The team's dominance is better illustrated by six victories in a row in the Champions Trophy in Monchengladbach.

On the distaff side, Argentina held the centre stage. Brushing aside the challenge of the traditional powerhouse, the Netherlands, Argentina claimed the Champions Trophy in Nottingham. It then proved its calibre by beating the same Dutch side in the final of the World Cup in Rosario. The star of Argentina was the glamorous Luciana Aiymar, who was declared the Player of the Year again by the FIH.

Hockey in Asia had a mixture of good, bad and ugly — ugly especially involving the administrations in India and Pakistan.

Despite its four successive defeats against India during the year, Pakistan salvaged a lot of its pride by regaining the Asian Games gold medal in Guangzhou. The return of Sohail Abbas proved a blessing for Pakistan as much as the gains it had from the coaching of the Dutchman, Michel van Heuven.

Murky scenes and court hearings notwithstanding, India had a reasonably good year, winning the silver medal in the Commonwealth Games, the bronze in the Asian Games and sharing the trophy with South Korea in the Azlan Shah tournament.

True, these achievements did nothing to enhance the profile of the national team but they definitely indicated the improvement made under the Spanish coach, Jose Brasa.

Constantly hunted and humiliated, Brasa bore everything that the officialdom hurled at him with equanimity. He was bent on showing some results. The fact that he never had anything his way was more than clear to everybody. Yet, he worked sincerely. It is a pity that the Spaniard went back without fulfilling his goal.

Sandeep Singh, who slammed 11 goals in the Asian Games, and Rani Ramphal, whose tally of eight goals in the World Cup earned her a nomination for the Young Player of the Year Award, dominated the scoring.

Bedevilled by one controversy or the other, the Indian hockey administration suffered a serious confidence crisis. It got caught in the crossfire between the Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association on too many issues. That the FIH added to the confusion cannot go unsaid.

As if these weren't enough, there was the abominable charge against the seasoned coach, M. L. Kasushik, who was accused of misbehaving with some of the players in the women's team. The episode needs no detailed introspection and should be dismissed as unholy and unwarranted.

Following this incident, Sandeep Somesh was put in charge of the women's team. With little time to comprehend what he had inherited, Sandeep had to wade through many uncertainties.

If India failed to retain the bronze medal in Guangzhou after claiming one in the first ever Asian Champions Trophy in Seoul, Sandeep should be the last man to be blamed.

As another season is set to dawn, it goes without saying that a lot of thinking needs be done while reorganising the men's and women's teams. The coaching staff too needs to be restructured.

Whoever eventually comes to clean the stables has a stupendous task on his hands

Sportstar

Black Sticks attract top teams for Golden Summer series

The Black Sticks will play a total of 14 matches in New Zealand between 5-22 February against top ranked international teams – Korea, Japan and Belgium.

The Golden Summer Series will see the Black Sticks Men play Korea, Japan and Belgium and the Black Sticks Women take on Korea in matches hosted in Auckland, Whangarei, Hamilton and Tauranga.

“Our focus is to give both Black Sticks teams as much top quality international competition over the next 20 months as possible so they are prepared to take on the world’s best at the 2012 London Olympics – and this series is a great start to the year,” says Hockey New Zealand’s high performance manager Toni Cumpston.

The big weekend of the Golden Summer Series will be the double header matches at Lloyd Elsmore Park in Auckland on Saturday 12 February and Sunday 13 February, where the Black Sticks Women will play their final two matches against Korea and the Black Sticks Men will play Korea and Belgium.

“With Korea women ranked eighth, only one behind us in the world rankings, these matches will be hotly contested,” says Cumpston.

Black Sticks co-captain Emily Naylor, who has been playing in the European league following the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, says she is looking forward to regrouping with the team at the end of January.

“Although we have been keeping our fitness up, we haven’t played together since the Commonwealth Games, so it will be great to get back on the turf again and play against a top side,” says Naylor who is currently based in Palmerston North.

The Black Sticks Women will play three matches in Auckland and the other two matches will be held in Whangarei on 8 February and 10 February.

Black Sticks midfielder Andy Hayward says although he is looking forward to playing games in all four locations, he will enjoy playing the three matches in his home town of Tauranga the most.

“With two matches being held on a summer weekend here, it will be great to get some local support. To start the year with a home test series like this is fantastic and it provides us with some good competition before we head offshore for the Azlan Shah Tournament in Malaysia,” says Hayward.

Tickets for all the Golden Summer Series matches go on sale tomorrow and can be purchased through www.iticket.co.nz. To see a full schedule of the games go to www.hockeynz.co.nz

Hockey New Zealand Media release

Men's Indoor World Cup Preparation and Selection Tour

Ashley Meunier

The USA Men’s National Indoor Hockey Team is preparing for the 3rd International Hockey Federation (FIH) Indoor World Cup, February 8-13 in Poznan, Poland. The team will start their tour in Dundee, where they will train and compete in the Grove Menzieshill Indoor Tournament and play additional games with Scotland U- 21 and Scottish Champions Menzieshill.

The team will play two games against England in Northampton, before travelling to Vienna for a tournament with Austria, Switzerland, England, Austria U- 21 and host club SV Arminen.

At the conclusion of the tour, the final 12 players for the Indoor World Cup team will be selected and will regroup in the beginning of February in Berlin, Germany for a week of training before heading to Poznan, Poland.

The USA Men’s Indoor team receives continuing financial support from both USA Field Hockey and the USA Men’s Field Hockey Foundation. For the first time, the Men’s Indoor team will also be receiving funds from the USA Field Hockey Foundation. In addition, the Men’s Indoor team conducted a fundraising drive to further ease the financial burden on the individual players. Donations are still be accepted and can be given by visting our website at www.usafieldhockey.com.

An opportunity still exists for a company to place a name and logo on the team’s shirts for the Indoor World Cup. For more information, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

2011 Men's Indoor World Cup Traveling Squad: Patrick Cota (San Francisco, CA), Patrick Harris (Moorpark, CA), Sean Harris (Moorpark, CA), Shawn Hindy (Lehighton, Pa), JaJa Kentwell (Spring City, Pa), Thomas Krauss (New York, NY), Steven Mann (New York, NY), Moritz Runzi (Boston, MA), Robert Schilling (Long Beach, CA), Kevin Segeren (Twin Falls, Idaho), Jason Wellings (San Diego, CA), Chistopher Winter (Easton, Pa), Steven Danielson (San Francisco, CA), Jesse Larson (Westminster, MD),
Thomas Staddon (USA).

USFHA media release

Buck-up order for UniKL-TRC

KUALA LUMPUR: UniKL-TRC have to buck up to challenge strongly in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL).

UniKL, who have the services of three foreign players, struggled against last season’s Division One runners-up UiTM in a Premier Division match last Saturday.

UiTM led twice but UniKL came back to win 3-2 with the winning goal coming off a last-minute penalty corner.

UniKL coach Darren Smith said that they had players with good individual skills but they were not playing to their true form.

“The early goal (conceded) affected the players and they failed to follow the game plan.

“We made errors giving the ball away cheaply and paid a heavy price for it,” he said.

“Often, the players chose to dribble instead of making a simple pass.

“But these things will need time to correct and while I am glad with the win, I cannot say the same for the performance.

“We need to be focused right from the start.

“But credit to UiTM as they made us work hard for the win and I believe they will give a tough time to others too with their hard-running style.

“We will use the break in competition to rectify all the shortcomings in the team to put up a stronger challenge in the next match.”

New Zealander Richard Patherick was the toast for UniKL, scoring all the goals for UniKL against UiTM.

Patherick, who was named man-of-the-match, said that he was happy to chalk up the first hat-trick of the competition but felt that his team could have done much better.

“We are a bit hasty in our play and rather than let the ball do the work, we started running with the ball,” said Patherick.

UniKL’s next match on Dec 31 is against Yayasan Negri Sembilan (YNS), who have 11 foreign players in their ranks.

YNS have sent out a early warning to other teams by outplaying former champions Maybank 4-1 in their opening match.

The Star of Malaysia

Rock Rovers win in Liberals hockey

Displaying fine hockey skills, strong contenders Punjab National Bank New Delhi defeated PSEB Patiala 3-0 on the fourth day of the 35th Liberals All-India Hockey Tournament at Punjab Public School Hockey Stadium, Nabha.

In the other matches of the day UP Police Lucknow outclassed Hawks Ropar 5-2 while Western Central Railway Jabalpur drubbed I.T.B.P Jalandhar 7-4 in a tie-breaker and in the last match of the day Rock Rovers Chandigarh defeated SSB New Delhi 6-4 in another tie-breaker.

Punjab National Bank New Delhi continued with their winning streak outperforming their rivals, the PSEB Patiala 3-0 in a rather one-sided match. Supremacy of Bankers was clear as they made inroads in the opposition defense time and again and were successful almost half the times they entered. However the PSEB circle was demolished with 2 quick goals in 26th and 29th minutes with field goals coming in quick succession from Damandeep and Ravinder Tapial respectively. Crossing over with 2-0 lead the PNB side forced two short corners in 42nd and 45th minute off which left-back Satpal converted the second short-corner to make the lead invincible at (3-0). Earlier in the day the first match this morning saw real clash of the titans when the U.P Police prevailed over Hawks Ropar 5-2 in the battle of strokes after the two strong outfits failed to resolve the deadlock.

The Tribune

Hockey league on the lines of IPL

Vinay Nayudu

MUMBAI: The Indian hockey team may be going through a low following their heart-breaking loss to Malaysia in the Asian Games in Guangzhou recently, but the sport itself is set for a huge boost at home. Indian hockey is set to get a lavish dose of glamour, much like the Indian Premier League did to cricket.

Hockey, in fact, was the first to woo fans through an interesting city-based league format, through the Premier Hockey League (PHL), which thrilled fans across various cities in India from 2005 to 2008. However, it could not sustain itself and soon lost steam. It's time for a comeback now and TOI has reliably learnt of a much bigger and more expensive annual league that could be launched in the second half of 2011.

A leading television network, which also holds the rights to broadcast Indian cricket, has joined hands with the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) to help organize and promote the league, which will have as many as ten teams. The budget for each year is said to be running in several crores. Hockey won't be cricket's poor cousin, after all and could warm the fans' hearts during the chilly winters.

"It's a mega project and they have already signed a host of players. It's a great boost for not just us Indian players, but foreigners as well," informed a player, who recently signed a contract for the same.

Sources informed that as many as 50 Indian players have been roped in and those in the top bracket could well be receiving Rs 10 lakhs per year. "Some of these players have already been paid a signing amount of Rs 1 lakh each," he revealed.

The league will be played on a home and away basis under lights across several cities in India and televised live. Almost everything is on lines of PHL except there are more teams in fray this time.

Foreign players have shown their willingness to be a part of the league and the likes of Australian Jamie Dwyer and Argentinian Jorge Lombi are expected to join in. There is no word though on the inclusion of players from Pakistan.

The organizers, however, seem to be finding it difficult to get former Indian captain Viren Rasquinha on board as he is now a part of the Olympic Gold Quest and as such cannot take part.

"You can be sure of a cracking show and almost all players from each hockey playing nation have shown a willingness to be a part of this league," one in the know of things added. Time then for Indian hockey to enter a league of its own.

The Times of India

Learn from India, MHF

We have organised the MHL since 1987, and this is the 21st edition. But as usual it is littered with poor planning and inconsistent decisions, with the sponsors team getting the extra benefits it seems. Look at what happened to Japan. They came and learnt from us in football and the J-League is thriving, cos they never make mistakes like we do.

So MHF, please read the rival league that will one day make yours seem like a Sunday picnic.

The Indian hockey team may be going through a low following their heart-breaking loss to Malaysia in the Asian Games in Guangzhou recently, but the sport itself is set for a huge boost at home. Indian hockey is set to get a lavish dose of glamour, much like the Indian Premier League did to cricket.

Hockey, in fact, was the first to woo fans through an interesting city-based league format, through the Premier Hockey League (PHL), which thrilled fans across various cities in India from 2005 to 2008. However, it could not sustain itself and soon lost steam. It's time for a comeback now and TOI has reliably learnt of a much bigger and more expensive annual league that could be launched in the second half of 2011.

A leading television network, which also holds the rights to broadcast Indian cricket, has joined hands with the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) to help organize and promote the league, which will have as many as ten teams. The budget for each year is said to be running in several crores. Hockey won't be cricket's poor cousin, after all and could warm the fans' hearts during the chilly winters.

"It's a mega project and they have already signed a host of players. It's a great boost for not just us Indian players, but foreigners as well," informed a player, who recently signed a contract for the same.

Sources informed that as many as 50 Indian players have been roped in and those in the top bracket could well be receiving Rs 10 lakhs per year. "Some of these players have already been paid a signing amount of Rs 1 lakh each," he revealed.

The league will be played on a home and away basis under lights across several cities in India and televised live. Almost everything is on lines of PHL except there are more teams in fray this time.

Foreign players have shown their willingness to be a part of the league and the likes of Australian Jamie Dwyer and Argentinian Jorge Lombi are expected to join in. There is no word though on the inclusion of players from Pakistan.

The organizers, however, seem to be finding it difficult to get former Indian captain Viren Rasquinha on board as he is now a part of the Olympic Gold Quest and as such cannot take part.

"You can be sure of a cracking show and almost all players from each hockey playing nation have shown a willingness to be a part of this league," one in the know of things added. Time then for Indian hockey to enter a league of its own.

Malaysian Hockey blogspot

No foreigner interested in hockey job

By Mihir S Vasavda

Hockey India (HI) may well be forced to appoint an Indian as the coach of the men’s team. Not because of the ideological or monetary issues the national body has being talking about so far, but the reason for that is that no foreigner has so far shown interest to coach the national team.

Chairman of HI’s technical committee Pargat Singh said on Wednesday that though they have received bio-data’s of around 10 Olympians, technically advanced and experienced foreign coaches have shown little interest for the top job.

“It was the first time we(technical committee) met today. We have scanned through the applicants and will shortlist the candidates soon. No foreigner has applied for the job yet, but we are expecting to receive a few resumes in the coming days,” Pargat told DNA.

The deadline for the applications, which initially was Wednesday, has been extended till December 29, HI secretary general Narendra Batra said.

“We’ll see what the response is and then we will meet again on January 5 to shortlist the applicants,” Batra said.

While neither of them divulged the names of the candidates being considered for the job, it is learnt that Harendra Singh, who quit as the national coach following the Asian Games debacle, former captain Dhanraj Pillay, Olympian and drag-flick coach Jugraj Singh, Clarence Lobo, who was the manager of the team during the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and Olympian Gundeep Singh are a few names in the fray.

Asked whether HI would themselves approach a foreigner, Pargat said, “I cannot say right now. We will meet again in the next few days. We will study the applications we have got so far. If the need arises to approach an experienced foreign coach, we will not hesitate to do that.”

He also said that the committee, which also consists of Merwyn Fernandes, Thoiba Singh and AB Subbaiah, will reconsider Jose Brasa as well.

The Spaniard, whose contract wasn’t renewed after the Asian Games, recently said that he is still the best man to coach the Indian hockey team.

DNA

Harendra, Dhanraj, Lobo in contention for hockey coach's post

NEW DELHI: Harendra Singh might have stepped down as national hockey coach after India's unexpected loss in the Asian Games semifinals but he, along with former captain Dhanraj Pillay, has applied for the top job of the national team.

The newly-formed development committee of Hockey India, headed by former India captain Pargat Singh, met on Wednesday for the first time and discussed at length the various aspects related to the game, including prospective candidates for the posts of national team's coach which is lying vacant after Spaniard Jose Brasa's contract expired last month.

According to a highly-placed source in Hockey India, the development committee has so far received 10 applications from within the country for the vacant coach's position and has also approached the International Hockey Federation to suggest some foreign candidate's name.

"Today, the development committee met for the first time and discussed in length about all the issues, including that of coaches. The committee will meet here again January 5," the source told PTI.

"The committee has so far received 10 applications for the coach's post. Among Indians, Pillay, Harendra and Clarence Lobo are the notable names who have applied. They are discussing every angle and have also approached FIH for suggestion on foreign candidates," he added.

The source also said that the committee was of the view that giving the next coach a long tenure will enable him to build a team for the future.

"The committee members discuss to give ample time to the new coach. They want at least four-year term for him," he said.

He also added the entire selection process of the national team coach would be finished by January next year.

The Times of India