News for 27 May 2011
Friday, 27 May 2011 09:27 | 
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All the news for Friday 27 May 2011
An improved performance but a 2-4 loss for the Black Sticks Women’s Development Team
The full time score was the same but coach of the Black Sticks Women’s Development team, Chris Leslie, said it was an improved performance from his team tonight in their second of five games against Japan’s national side.
The New Zealand side lost 2-4 at the Gifu Green Stadium in Kakamigahara tonight, despite goals coming from Anna Wetherall and Jan Burrows and some brilliant individual performances from Krystal Forgesson, Jasmin McQuinn and Kelsey Dunn.
The Black Sticks Development team came out attacking hard in the opening spell, having five shots at goal in the first 12 minutes. Despite the New Zealanders speed through the midfield and excellent pressing from the strikers, it was Japan that scored early on from a penalty corner deflection in the sixth minute and then again off a penalty corner in the 10th minute.
In the 30th minute the hard work finally paid off for the Black Sticks when Jan Burrows scored off a deflection from a penalty drag flick taken by Kelsey Dunn. At the half time whistle, it was 2-1 to Japan.
The goal of the game came in the 42nd minute. It started with a deceptive pass by Krystal Forgesson at the half way mark and was finished off when Anna Wetherall made the most of the ball coming high off a Japanese stick in the circle and took a superb reverse stick shot, firing it into the back of the net.
But Japan remained clinical throughout all aspects of their game and counter attacked, scoring the final goal of the game in the 55th minute.
“Our game structure and phases of play were much improved tonight compared to our first game on Tuesday. We were punished in the second phase of Japan’s penalty corners - we would make the first saves but they were superb in scoring off the rebound,” says Leslie.
The Black Sticks Development Team will play their next game against Japan on Saturday 28 May at 11am (Japan time). The final two games of the series are on Sunday 29 May at 11am (Japan time) and Tuesday 31 May at 3pm (Japan time). All games are being played in Gifu, Japan.
RESULTS
Full time score: 4-2 (Japan win)
Half time score: 2-1 (Japan lead)
NZ goal scorers: Jan Burrows and Anna Wetherall
Hockey New Zealand Media release
9-1 hammering, then 2-1 defeat Down Under
The Malaysian Project 2013 squad were hammered 9-1 by Australian Under-21 side in their first match in Perth.
However, in the return match, Malaysia narrowed the defeat margin to 1-2.
Jugjet's World of Field Hockey
New Jersey and the South advance to the finals of the Women's National Championships
Ashley Meunier
COLORADO SPRINGS, C.O. – Today marked the end of regular tournament play at the Women’s National Championships in Washington, D.C. New Jersey was the only team to finish the day with a win. Matches between New England and Mid Atlantic and Pennsylvania and the South ended in a draw. New Jersey’s win placed them first on the standing boards and fighting for the title of Regional Champions tomorrow in the final against the South. Mid Atlantic and Pennsylvania and New England and California will battle it out one more time for third through sixth position.
Over the last week, the Women’s National Championship has brought together the top one hundred field hockey athletes in the country to compete for selection onto the National Team Roster. Tomorrow is the moment of truth. Athletes will wait in anticipation as National Team Coaches announce selected athletes onto the National Team. Olympic dreams will become a reality for a chosen few.
Due to the chance of inclement weather, New England and Mid Atlantic had a 10:00am start time rather than 2:30pm. Mid Atlantic looked slightly tired as they took the field, but powerhouse Katie O’Donnell (Blue Bell, PA) forced the first penalty corner in the fourth minute and the fatigue quickly wore off.
A turnover in the midfield, gave New England possession of the ball. With a series of short passes, Chapin Duke (Dedham, MA) finished off the nice run for New England. Duke’s goal was her first of the tournament. Shortly following, Abby Beltrani (East Setauket, NY) fired a rocket from the top of the circle, giving New England a two goal advantage.
Finding themselves down by two, Mid Atlantic quickly made adjusts to match New England’s speed and intensity. In the fourteenth minute, Jill Witmer (Lancaster, PA) found herself wide open in the circle and was easily able to hit a direct shot on net. Melissa Gonzalez (Mohegan Lake, NY) intercepted a pass made by opponent Dina Rizzo (Annapolis, MD). Gonzalez found Pam Spuehler (Sudbury, MA) who faked the goalie right leaving an open area for her score.
Gonzalez’s intensity on the field helped New England to hold an advantage over Mid Atlantic throughout the first half. With a few minutes remaining, Haley Carpenter (Virginia Beach, VA) took a powerful strike on net, adding one more goal for Mid Atlantic.
New England came out fierce in the second half. However, aggressive play led New England to two green cards and playing with one less field player for ten minutes. Regardless of New England’s disadvantage, Lauren Pfeiffer’s (Mt. Laurel, NJ) strength and consistency in the backfield kept Mid Atlantic from scoring.
Witmer sent a perfectly executed chip shot to the upper right corner of the cage, evening the score 3-3. Both teams battled it out for the remainder of the match, but neither were able to convert. The final ended in a draw, 3-3.
Pennsylvania and the South fought hard for scoring opportunities in the first half. With outstanding performances by both goalies, Amy Tran-Swenson (Norfolk, VA) and Jackie Kintzer (Chapel Hill, NC), the match remained scoreless at halftime. Fifteen minutes into the second, Michelle Kasold (Chapel Hill, NC) found teammate Jesse Gey (Greenlane, PA) who faked Swenson and fired a shot to the right corner of the cage. The South had several back-to-back corner opportunities but struggled to convert any into goals.
With under ten minutes to go in the match, a well executed penalty corner resulted in a goal for Pennsylvania. Shannon Taylor (Le Mesa, CA) blasted the ball to the back of the boards. Another draw for the day with Pennsylvania and South tied at 1-1.
The final match of the day was played between New England and California. Despite New Jersey’s strength and speed from the start, California got on the boards first with a penalty corner goal scored by Katelin Peterson (Escondido, CA).
Rachel Neufeld (Doylestown, PA) re-directed a pass straight to the right corner of the cage to tie the match 1-1. The scoring only continued for New Jersey. Kathleen Sharkey (Moosic, PA) added her fifth goal of the tournament and Katie Evans (Newtown Square, PA) followed it with a stunning sweep from the top of the circle. New Jersey led California 3-1 until the final minute, when Caroline Nichols (Virginia Beach, VA) sent a stroke to the top right of the cage. The match ended with a win for New Jersey, 3-2. The victory put New Jersey in first position and in the final match tomorrow against the South at 3:00pm.
Tomorrow’s schedule is as follows:
11:00am California vs New England (5 v 6)
1:00pm Pennsylvania vs Mid Atlantic (3 v 4)
3:00pm New Jersey vs South (1 v 2)
USFHA media release
California Cup 40th Anniversary celebrations begin this Friday
By Jawwad Qamar
Moorpark, CA: The 40th California Cup will be held at Moorpark College from May 27-30. Affectionately known as the Cal Cup, this international field hockey tournament was founded in 1972 by Tom Harris, an academic at Moorpark College. The first tournament consisted of six teams with one visiting team from Germany. Today, Cal Cup has grown into one of the largest and most diverse field hockey tournaments in the world. The 2011 edition of Cal Cup will host 130 teams featuring over 2,500 players from all over the globe.
Competition will take place in 13 divisions ranging from Mixed Under-8 to Men/Women Super Divisions. In addition to $5,000 top prize in each Super Division, every player in the top three teams of each division will receive Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals.
This year’s Cal Cup will also serve as a selection platform for the USA Men’s National Team. Besides members of USA men’s national squad, a number of current and former international player are expected to play in the men and women Super Divisions.
Cal Cup is held annually under the auspices the Field Hockey Federation and California Cup Organizing Committee to grow and promote the sport. The 2011 Cal Cup tournament is expected to contribute more than $ 6 M to the local economy with the participation of top level teams from Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Chinese Tai Pei, and the USA.
For schedule and directions to the venues, please visit www.calcup.net.
Fieldhockey.com Exclusive
England U16s v Scotland
Emma Broad
England’s under 16s travel to Glasgow this bank holiday weekend to play two matches against Scotland.
At the end of what has been a very difficult week for England’s young internationals following the tragic news that under 16 girls’ teammate Emma Broad passed away in her sleep last weekend, the girls and boys teams will play Scotland on Sunday and Monday afternoons.
As a mark of respect, the players will observe a minute’s silence before Sunday’s first match and will wear black ribbons on their shirts in memory of Emma.
The under 16 girls play at 14:45 on Sunday and 10:00 on Monday while the boys play immediately after each of those games, at 16:15 on Sunday and 12:00 on Monday.
England Hockey Board Media release
Indian Oil blanks Sapura Club
Defending champions Air India rode on some excellent performance from former India recruits to beat Sports Authority of India (SAI) 4-3 in the 65th All India Obaidullah Khan Gold Cup hockey tournament.
Air India, which included the likes of former India captain Dhanraj Pillay, Samir Dad and Shivender Singh in their ranks, took the lead in the 30th minute through Joga Singh but their joy was short-lived as SAI levelled the score a minute later with Shakir converting the only penalty stroke of the match.
However, Air India regained the lead in 32nd minute after Dhanraj Pillay relished on a pass from Dad to score the second goal for his side. Dad and Shivender then made the score read 4-1 after the two scored in the 55th and 57th minute of the match. SAI, however, made some lost ground scoring two goals in quick succession but that did not prove enough.
Avinash found the Air India net in 64th minute while Azam Baig scored for SAI in the dying moments of the game to make it 4-3.
In the second match of the day Indian Oil rode on a brace from Prabhjot Singh to blank Sapura Club of Malaysia 4-0. In another match, ONGC drubbed Bangladesh 9-1.
The Hindu
National Hockey at Bhopal
New Delhi: The Senior National Hockey Championship for men, to be organised by Hockey India, will be held in Bhopal from June 10 to 19. Thirty-two teams, affiliated to Hockey India, have confirmed their participation in the championship, which will be played on a league-cum-knockout format.
The matches will be played simultaneously on four artificial pitches at Aish Bagh Stadium, Mayur Park and the Sports Authority of India turfs. Matches will be held under floodlights at the Aish Bagh Stadium and the SAI centre. Hosts Madhya Pradesh will take on Jammu & Kashmir in the opening match on June 10 at the Aish Bagh Stadium.
The teams have been divided into eight pools as under:
Pool A: Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttarakhand; Pool B: Chandigarh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Assam; Pool C: Delhi, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal; Pool D: Air-India, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh; Pool E: Services, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur; Pool F: Haryana, Maharashtra, Goa, Meghalaya; Pool G: Railways, Combined Universities, Puducherry, Tripura; Pool H: Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar.
During the championship, the Hockey India selectors will select the probables for the next coaching camps for preparation of the Indian team for various international competitions in 2011 and 2012.
The Indian men's team is slated to compete in the Asian Champions Trophy at Ordos, China, in early September, followed by a Test series and four-nation tournament in Australia in October.
India will then play in the 33rd FIH Men’s Champions Trophy in Delhi in December and also host the 1st Olympic qualifier in Delhi for the London Games, from February 15-26, 2012.
The Tribune
Hockey Nationals in Bhopal next month
NEW DELHI: Hockey India (HI) is all set to stage the first Senior Men National Championship in Bhopal from June 10-19.
This will be the first ever nationals since HI took over from the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) as sport's governing body.
HI had earlier also attempted to hold the tournament a couple of times but failed to do so as the power struggle between the IHF and HI had resulted in scheduling, rescheduling and cancellation of the event a number of times.
The previous national championships was held in 2006 in Delhi and Punjab and was conducted by the IHF.
Out of the 35 affiliated units of the HI, 32 teams have confirmed their participation in the Championship, which will be played on a league cum knockout format.
The matches will be played simultaneously on four artificial pitches at Aishbagh Stadium, Mayur Park and Sports Authority of India turfs. Floodlights will be used at both Aishbagh Stadium and Sports Authority of India Centre.
The inaugural match will be played between hosts Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir on June 10 at Aishbagh Stadium.
During the course of the National Championship, HI selectors will select the probables for the next coaching camps for the preparation of the Indian national team for various International competitions in 2011 and 2012.
The Indian men team will compete in the Asian Champions Trophy at Ordos, China in early September followed by a Test series and Four Nation Tournament in Australia in October.
India will then play in the 33rd FIH Men's Champions Trophy at Delhi in December and also host the first Olympic Qualifier for the London Olympic Games.
This Qualifier will be played from February 15-26 next year.
The teams have been divided into eight Pools:
Pool A: Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttarakhand
Pool B: Chandigarh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Assam
Pool C: Delhi, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal
Pool D: Air India, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh
Pool E: Services, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur
Pool F: Haryana, Maharashtra, Goa, Meghalaya
Pool G: Railways Sports Promotion Board, Combined Universities, Puducherry, Tripura Olympic Association
Pool H: Orissa, M P, Andaman & Nicobar, Jammu & Kashmir.
The Times of India
Senior national hockey championship in Bhopal June 10-19
NEW DELHI: The senior national hockey championship will be held at Bhopal from June 10 to 19.
This is the first senior national championship organised by Hockey India (HI) since it was formed in 2009.
In all, 32 teams have confirmed participation in the tournament that will be played on a league-cum-knockout format.
"The matches will be played on four artificial pitches at Aishbagh Stadium, Mayur Park and Sports Authority of India (SAI) turfs. Floodlights will be used at both Aishbagh stadium and SAI centre," said HI in a statement.
Probables for the coaching camps for the national team for various international competitions in 2011 and 2012 will be selected after the tournament.
The men's team will compete in the Asian Champions Trophy at Ordos, China in early September followed by a Test series and a four-nation tournament in Australia in October.
India will then play in the men's Champions Trophy in Delhi in December and also host the 1st Olympic qualifier Feb 15-26.
The Times of India
MHA aiming to host ties in World Series Hockey
MUMBAI: Mumbai Hockey Association is aiming to host eight or nine matches of the proposed World Series floated by the Indian Hockey Federation in association with Nimbus Sport later this year.
"We want to host eight to nine games of the proposed World Series Hockey. We are awaiting the green signal from the Maharashtra government for getting the grant for laying the new artificial turf," said MHA secretary Gurbax Singh Grewal at a media conference on Thursday.
"We expect the grant to be okayed soon and once we receive it, we can lay the new turf in two months. The foundation is already there. We have to change the water pipes for the sprinklers as they are 20 years old," said the Olympian.
Grewal downplayed the threats issued by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to players not to take part in the WSH that has been promoted by IHF as the world body recognises the rival Hockey India and has chalked out plans to start its own global league.
"Nobody can stop players from playing hockey. The series is on," said Grewal.
The proposed WSH, to be held in a period of two and a half months between November-December, 2011 and February, 2012, was announced by IHF and Nimbus in December last. But since then there has been no word.
Grewal said that MHA has already got the lease for occupying its current premises extended by 15 years but were fighting a court case to increase it to 32 years as has been done by the state government in the case of the Western India Football Association.
The Times of India
Hockey team named
Imphal: The Manipur Hockey Association has selected 18 players for the 1st Hockey India Men’s Senior National Championship 2011 to be held at Bhopal from June 10-19.
The players include L.Sidhartha Singh, A. Himat, Ksh. Martun, K. Suresh, Kh. Jayanta, Kh. Kothajit, Ksh. Wangamba, M. Premchand, M. Chingkheinganba, L. Bikram, Ph. Arunkumar, N. Biken, L. Shitaljoy, N. Abung, M. Sanjaymani, L. Purnachandra and Kh. Rabikanta Singh. The team will be led by Ksh. Ibopishak, World Cup veteran L. Tiken and Kh. Biren Singh as manager, coach and support staff respectively. The players will leave on June 4.
Player transfer: The All-Manipur Football Association has declared that the inter-state transfer of players as per the revised regulation for status and transfer of AIFF, will be held at the first window from June 9 to August 31 and the second window from January 15 to February 16, 2012 at the Association’s office.
Trekking meet: Four sports climbers of Manipur Mountaineering & Trekking Association will be a part of the 16-member Indian team for the Asian Youth Championship to be held at Singapore from July 28-30. The climbers are A. Puspakanta Singh, K. Surjit Singh, L. Muhindro Singh and H. Mimar Singh.
The Telegraph, India
Destination Ipoh (I)
By Zakir Hussain Syed
I was Ipoh once again for the 20th edition of Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament, the only regularly organised international hockey event in Asia. After the 19th Azlan Shah Tournament, I had written that this event was losing its appeal because of the participation of second grade teams like Egypt, and also even the stronger teams that did compete used this event as an experimental platform. Fortunately, the 20th edition was different as it was participated by seven of the top teams in the world ranking. Australia are ranked No.2, Great Britain No.4, Korea No.6, New Zealand No.7, Pakistan No.8, India No.9 and hosts Malaysia No.25. More importantly, every participating team, except Malaysia, took it as a first step towards London Olympics in 2012. This was Pakistan’s first international commitment after a gap of nearly 6 months since the Asian Games in November 2010. Pakistan team had also included 4 young players in the national team to blood them for future. I will give a brief review of Pakistan’s matches in this tournament before analysing the overall performance of the team.
Pakistan’s first match was against New Zealand at 4:00 pm which happened to be the hottest period of the day. Pakistan won this match comfortably by a margin of 4-2. Pakistan were never really tested in this match with Pakistan goals coming in through Rizwan Senior, Haseem Khan, Syed Kashif Shah and Umar Bhutta. Pakistan’s second game was against highly rated South Korea. This match again was played at 4:00 pm. Until half time it was 1-1 but then Pakistan played very well in the second half scoring 3 goals in the last 12 minutes, a proof of Pakistan’s domination and superiority. Next game against Great Britain was lost by a margin of one goal with final result being 3-2 in favor of Great Britain. However, Pakistan should have won this game by a margin of at least 3 goals as they completely outclassed Great Britain in the second half. There was unbelievable missing by all the Pakistan forwards including experienced Rehan Butt. Pakistan played their fourth match against Australia once again at 4:00 pm. This was Pakistan’s worst performance in the tournament as Australia completely dominated this match with a stunning 5-1 victory. For the first 15 minutes of the match, Pakistan remained confined to their own half and hardly made an attacking move. The Australian forwards were too speedy for Pakistan defense and literally weaved circles around them.
Then came the crunch game against India and once again Pakistan played superbly coming from behind to beat India 3-1. This match showed Pakistan’s potential as a team and the victory was well merited. Pakistan’s last match against Malaysia was perhaps the easiest of the entire tournament and Pakistan’s victory in this match was never in doubt which though the final victory was only by a single goal. Pakistan thus qualified on merit for the final of the tournament which they had won thrice in 1999, 2000 and 2003 while India and South Korea, last year’s finalists were left fighting for 5th and 6th place. It just showed how international standings can change so quickly.
To be concluded
(Zakir Hussain Syed is Pakistan’s internationally renowned sports administrator, sports broadcaster and sports analyst)
The Daily Times
PHF names 18-man squad for Junior Asia Cup
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Thursday named an 18-member Pakistan junior team to feature in the 3rd Junior Asia Cup to be played from June 17 in Singapore. The team was named after two-day trials watched by the national selection committee here at Naseer Bunda Stadium. “The selectors after thorough deliberations finalised the squad who are capable of producing good results,” chief selector and former Olympian Hanif Khan told reporters.
Goalkeeper Mazhar Abbas will lead the side whose other members are Waseem Abbas, Sultan Amir, Ali Hassan Mansoor, Muhammad Sohaib, Muhammad Bilal Khan, Muhammad Usman Tanveer, Zohaib Ashraf, Muhammad Irfan, Muhammad Arslan Qadir, Muhammad Asad Bashir, Ali Shan, Muhammad Bilal Qadir, Khurram Shahzad, Hafiz Rizwan Ali, Muhammad Suleman, Muhammad Sufian and Muhammad Umair. Two reserve players are Muhammad Dilbar and Muhammad Adnan Anwar while nine stand bye players are Adnan Shakoor, Amjad Ali, Zahid Ullah, Muhammad Adnan, Faisal Qadir, Hafiz Umar Sardar, Abdul Karim Khan, Arslan Sherazi and Zohaib Khan. “After availing one week break, the squad will reassemble at Hockey Club of Pakistan on June first to give final touch to their preparations,” said the chief selector.
The Daily Times
Giving the Razak Cup a new shine
By K. Kandiah
National defender Madzli Ikmar, who suffered a fractured cheekbone during the match against Australia in the Azlan Shah Cup, may recover in time to play for Negri Sembilan in the Razak Cup South Zone Qualifier on June 3-5
THE Razak Cup North and Central Zone Qualifiers will kick off this weekend with the top two teams from each zone qualifying for Division One action, while the others will play in Division Two in Malacca on July 20-30.
Penang HA secretary V. Jayanandhan said the Razak Cup will take a different format this year where the competition's first round will be played on a zonal basis.
"The Razak Cup tournament is the premier hockey competition in the country, but sadly it is slowly losing importance and popularity.
"So the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) has come up with this format to make the competition relevant and also popular among hockey enthusiasts, state associations and players.
"The competition is divided into five zones and will be held on a two-leg format, after which the top two from each zone will play in Division One while the other teams will play in Division Two at the national level tournament in Malacca in July," he said.
Jayanandhan said MHF will pay a subsidy of RM1,000 per game for every game played at the zone level and also an additional incentive of RM5,000 and RM3,000 for teams who qualify for Division One and Division Two respectively.
This is the first time MHF is making a two-tier payment to teams competing in the Razak Cup.
The north zone comprises Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Armed Forces while the central zone will have Perak, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and the National Under-16 team.
The south zone is made up of Negri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor and Singapore while the east zone has Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Police.
The East Malaysia zone has Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei.
Armed Forces and hosts Penang are expected to top the table in the north zone tournament.
The hosts will open their campaign against Perlis while Armed Forces will play their opening match against Kedah at the Universiti Sains Malaysia Hockey Stadium in Penang.
The return leg will be held at the Sultan Abdul Halim Shah Hockey Stadium in Sungai Petani on June 24-26.
FIXTURES -- NORTH ZONE (all matches at the USM Stadium) Today: Penang v Perlis (5pm), Armed Forces v Kedah (7pm).
Tomorrow: Penang v Armed Forces (5pm), Perlis v Kedah (7pm).
Sunday: Perlis v Armed Forces (5pm), Penang v Kedah (7pm).
CENTRAL ZONE (All matches at the Ministry of Education Pitch) -- Today: Perak v Kuala Lumpur (6.30pm), Selangor v Project 2017 (8.30pm).
Tomorrow: Kuala Lumpur v Project 2017 (6.30pm), Selangor v Perak (8.30pm).
Sunday: Perak v Project 2017 (6.30pm), Kuala Lumpur v Selangor (8.30pm).
New Straits Times
Negri pin hopes on young ones
NATIONAL defender Madzli Ikmar, who fractured his cheekbone during the recent Azlan Shah Cup, is looking good to represent Negri Sembilan in the Razak Cup South Zone Qualifier on June 3-5.
Malacca and Johor are their opponents, and only two teams from this group will play in Division One, while the third will be relegated to Division Two.
"We have a tough group as all three are Division One sides and last year we lost 2-1 to Johor and drew 0-0 with Malacca.
"However, this year, we will be parading many Under-21 players and hopefully their young legs will keep us in Division One," said Negri coach S. Chandran.
"Our national players are goalkeeper S. Kumar, Marhan Jalil and Madzli Ikmar.
"And the former players are S. Kuhan and Suhaimi Ibrahim.
"The rest will be junior players as we plan for the future and stop relying on old hands like in previous years," said Chandran.
Madzli, who was injured in the face against Australia in the Azlan Shah Cup, has started training with Negri.
"He said he wants to help Negri in the Qualifier as there is still time for him to fully recover from the injury," said Chandran.
Meanwhile, the Negri Under-21 trials will be held tomorrow at the Seremban II Stadium from 7pm.
For details, contact Tamil Selvan at 019-3650303.
New Straits Times
FIH Hockey Monthly Episode 74 now available
The latest edition of the FIH Hockey Monthly show is now available for your viewing pleasure.
This month the show focuses on the action from the Euro Hockey League’s showpiece KO16 event which took place in Bloemendaal, North Holland at Easter. As well as featuring action from the competition, the program also trace the history of HC Bloemendaal and find out what attracts some of the world’s best players to the club.
The show also provides an interview with Atlétic Terrassa’s inspirational captain Andreu Enrich, as well as bringing you the biggest news stories from around the world including Belgium’s recent win in the FIH Champions Challenge II event in Vienna.
To see the video, please click here.
FIH Media release
Robert Heatly MBE appointed as Chief Executive Officer
Robert Heatly
Scottish Hockey is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Heatly MBE as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective from Monday 13 June.
Heatly, 52, is a former senior Royal Marines Officer (Lieutenant Colonel) with considerable leadership and management experience in a diverse range of matters within the Military, Civil and Diplomacy sectors.
He had a distinguished career developing international understanding and maintaining success in a variety of senior level positions, including Head of Royal Navy/Royal Marines Recruiting for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Commenting on his appointment, Heatly said, "I am delighted to have given this fantastic opportunity by Scottish Hockey. Having had a varied, demanding and interesting career in the Royal Marines, I was determined to become involved in sports management."
"While on the surface this may seem a huge change of career direction from the military, there are actually considerable overlaps with the sports industry. I have worked with teams of committed individuals striving to overcome challenges in an environment where teamwork is essential. Many of the qualities required to serve in the military are similar to those faced by committed sportsmen and women. I'm looking forward to the challenges that the job will bring and to progressing the initiatives implemented by my predecessor."
Other highlights of his career include receiving an operational MBE in 1993, and being awarded the 'Sword of Honour' as the top officer throughout his military training. A varied career has seen him travel extensively in over 50 countries worldwide, including time spent living in USA and South Africa.
Born and bred in Edinburgh, he attended George Watson's College and his sporting interests focussed on swimming and water polo. His father is Sir Peter Heatly, three times Commonwealth Games medallist, Life Vice-President of the Commonwealth Games Federation and former Chairman of the Scottish Sports Council.
Having returned to Scotland in 2006, he now lives in Edinburgh, married to Debs, with three teenage sons, of which his son James (14) is Scottish senior champion in three diving events.
Heatly will replace current chief executive Brent Deans, who is returning to his native Australia following sixteen years with the national governing body, including Director of Hockey, Performances Manager, and latterly as CEO.
Scottish Hockey Union media release