News for 25 January 2009
Sunday, 25 January 2009 10:05 | 
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All the News for Sunday 25 January 2009
Junior Scots storm into final
In Guimaraes (Portugal), after convincing victories over the hosts and Croatia on Saturday, Scotland’s under-21 women stormed into Sunday's final of the European Junior Indoor Trophy competition against Switzerland, who won the earlier pool match in the dying seconds with the only goal of the game.
Against Portugal, the young Scots controlled the game from start to finish. Remakably, given their lack of goals against Switzerland, they scored five - all five of them netted by Milne Craig Western’s Ellie Cockburn. Against Croatia, the weakest team in the competition, Gordonians’ Louise Fleming set the Scots on the right road from a penalty corner in the sixth minute. After the Croatians equalised, Emily Bain, Susan McGilveray and Amy Brodie stretched it to 4-1 by half-time. Bain and Brodie, with two more, added to their tallies, while Hollie Porter joined in the fun in the second half as the Scots ran out 8-2 winners.
Manager Sheila Gray said the girls still had a way to go in terms of performance, but they’d achieved all they been asked to do with these victories: "Ellie scored all the goals in the morning, but with good assistance from those around her, and it was good to see all the other strikers and playmakers on the scoresheet against Croatia.
"But we’re still not playing the structured game that coach David Stott would like to see, except in short spells. So we’ve got to lift our game to a new level and move the ball around much more quickly if we’re to defeat the Swiss in the final and gain promotion to the Championship level for the future."
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Slazenger England Hockey League
Results and Scorers from Saturday 23 January 2009
Men's Conference North
Women's Conference North
England Hockey Media release
Inverleith beat Menzieshill
The pirates of Inverleith blew open the destiny of the men’s Subway indoor national league with a spirited and swashbuckling 5-2 defeat of Menzieshill, Scotland’s No 1 indoor club, undefeated for the best part of six years, in Perth yesterday.
Stephen Dick’s side were clearly up for it. They went ahead in the 11th minute when Adam Mckenzie converted a penalty corner, and never went behind. By half-time, they were 3-1 ahead after Dick first slammed past his own goalkeeper brother Allan into the roof of the Menzieshill net, then exploited a dithering defence to score two seconds from the half-time hooter.
After the break Dick engineered a superb pass to Derek Salmond for him to score, and McKenzie’s second set-piece goal rocketed triumphantly into the net as Menzieshill, conquerors of England in Paisley last week, stood thoroughly beaten to leave both sides equal on points.
Menzieshill made heavy weather of defeating VWS Wanderers in their later derby game, but it was a comfortable enough 5-2 at the hooter following Kerr Thomson’s hat-trick, netting twice from the spot, though only once from a dozen penalty corner opportunities.
Inverleith then took the shine off their earlier victory by conceding a 3-3 draw in their game with Azzurri Kelburne. After Gareth Hall had given the Buddies a two-goal start, three goals in three minutes in the final quarter, from Dick, John Harris and teenager Fraser Hirst, gave Inverleith the advantage, which was then trumped by a late equaliser from Ross Stott.
But, even though that gave back a two-point lead to Menzieshill, the top two teams meet up again next Saturday to determine who goes home with the trophy.
Other matches in Perth were games of two halves. Wanderers went three goals up in the first half against Kelburne, thanks to two corner conversion by David Johnson and an Alan Law open-play strike, but allowed the Whitehaugh crew to snatch a 4-4 draw, Alan Forsyth scoring the last two goals to grab a point.
Harris were 4-0 up against Western Wildcats when the half-time hooter sounded, Jamie Carnegie having netted three of them, including a penalty stroke, the only one of five in the game to be successfully netted. But the Wildcats had a miraculous morphogenesis when they emerged for the second period, totally dominating as they hit five into the net, Dougie Simpson getting the last three, including two in the final sixty seconds of full time.
And Grange also came back from a first-half deficit, scoring five in the second period after Magnus Ferrier had given Watsonians a 2-1 advantage at half-time. David Knipe, David Ellis (2), Martin Johnstone and Colin McIvor added to Craig Harper’s first-half goal for a 6-2 finish.
In the relegation pool, Watsonians were condemned to the drop to Division Two after losing 6-1 to Harris, but Western Wilddcats and Grange served up the game of the day in terms of sheer entertainment, with 21 goals between them. But David Knipe’s hat-trick and Gary Cameron’s brace for Grange were not enough to top the Wildcats, for whom David Mitchell scored the first five, then Dougie Simpson the next six before allowing McCallum a look in for a 12-9 finish.
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Foreign teams not too keen on Azlan Shah tournament
By S. RAMAGURU
KUALA LUMPUR: There is no shortage of teams interested in taking part in the proposed four-nation hockey tournament to test the facilities in Johor Baru ahead of the Junior World Cup.
But the same cannot be said of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which will be held in Ipoh in April.
Entries for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup closed on Jan 15 and there are still only four teams confirmed.
Besides Malaysia, the others are India, Pakistan and New Zealand.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) may be forced to call up other second tier teams to make up the numbers as they need three more teams to make it a seven-nation meet.
It was reported recently that Egypt might be invited for the tournament.
If so, then they will make their debut in the tournament, which is scheduled for April 3-12.
MHF deputy president Nur Azmi Ahmed admitted that they were having problem wooing the top teams as most of them had other prior commitments.
“The final list of teams is not ready yet. We have no problems getting teams for the Junior tournament,” he said.
“There are a lot of teams showing interest but we will only make our selection later next month.”
Azmi said they would invite one team from Europe and two from Asia for the four-nation meet, which will be held in the second week of March as a dry run of the facilities which will be used for the Junior World Cup in June.
“Basically, the stadium — especially the main pitch at the venue — is ready for use. So we are confident that we can run the tournament as scheduled in March,” he said.
The Star of Malaysia
Ball now in IOA’s court: Brasa
BY Harpreet Kaur Lamba
New Delhi, Jan. 24: Tipped to take over as India’s national hockey coach, Spanish Jose Brasa on Friday sent a "detailed draft" of his plans to the Indian Olympic Association’s ad-hoc committee following his meetings with the top brass in the capital last week. An International Hockey Federation (FIH) Masters coaching degree holder, Brasa said "the ball is now in the IOA’s court" as he had fulfilled all the formalities from his side.
Handed a rough draft before his return to Spain, Brasa was asked to "fill, modify, erase or add all the things that he believed were necessary to be changed".
Brasa, who had laid down scientific and technical support as one of his main condition to accept the job, told this paper from Spain, "After days of brainstorming, I sent my reply to the authorities on Friday. It contains all the requirements of the assistants, a physical trainer and physiotherapist, and also the need of consultants doctors in physiology, psychology and power."
For the same, Brasa has also offered to bring his own support staff from Spain. "I have given them full details of the technology, material, apparatus and the main lines of the work plan, and they now have to buy to prepare to start training in a scientifically way as soon as possible. Also, I have specified the time period that the staff will need to spend in India."
Termed "satisfactory" by one and all, the ad-hoc committee has referred Brasa’s appointment to the sports ministry, which will now take the final call on the matter.
Recommended by FIH Master Coach Tayyab Ikram, the 57-year old also brushed aside reports that he had asked for a huge sum of money. "I read some reports saying that I have agreed to join on a sum of $12,500. Let me clarify that my salary is close to half of that, and I have accepted exactly what was offered to me for the year 2009. I have sent my confirmation in black and white.
"Except a few number of articles still under the study of my lawyer, my job to approach towards a fast deal is already done. Some articles are still to be agreed, and they are only pure law articles, anything that could slow/stop the final answer from the Indian side. The ball is now in your court.
Though the ad-hoc committee refused to divulge on the matter, sources in the ministry suggest that Brasa’s appointment is more or less confirmed, and the Spaniard is expected to get the go-ahead in a few days’ time.
The Asian Age
National Hockey enters final round on Monday
From our correspondent
LAHORE: The preliminary round of the 56th National Hockey Championship concluded at the National Hockey Stadium here on Saturday. The top ten teams have qualified for the final round, while the other nine teams will play the tray championship starting from January 26 (Monday) simultaneously.
The draws of the final round and tray championship will be announced on Sunday (today).
According to the new format of the National Championship, the last two teams of the final round will play the tray championship next year and the top two teams will qualify for the final round of the next championship.
The qualified teams of the final round are PIA and Sui Gas (Pool A), NBP and Railways (Pool B), Army and HBL (Pool C), WAPDA and Navy (Pool D) and Port Qasim and Punjab (Pool E).
The rest who will play the tray championship are PTV and Balochistan (Pool A), KESC and NWFP (Pool B), PAF (Pool C), Sindh and KESC (Pool D), Police and Capital Territory (Pool E).
The results on the fourth day of the preliminary round on Saturday were: Sui Gas beat PTV 4-1, Railways beat NWFP 7-1, NBP v KESC 5-0, WAPDA beat Steel Mills 5-2 and HBL beat PAF 3-2.
The News International
Preliminary round of National Hockey Championship concludes
Staff Report
LAHORE: The preliminary round of the 56th National Hockey Championship concluded at the National Hockey Stadium here on Saturday when ten teams qualified for the final round that is commencing at the same venue from Monday (tomorrow). The qualified teams of the final round are Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Sui Gas (Pool A), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Pakistan Railways (Pool B), Pakistan Army and Habib Bank Limited (HBL) (Pool C), Pakistan WAPDA and Pakistan Navy (Pool D) and Port Qasim Authority and Punjab (Pool E).
The remaining nine teams of the preliminary round will play the Tray Championship also starting from January 26. The draws of the final round and the Tray Championship will be announced on Sunday (today). According to the new format of the National Championship, the last two teams of the final round will play the Tray Championship next year and top two teams of the Tray Championship will qualify for the final round of the next National Championship.
In the matches on Saturday, Sui Gas routed PTV 4-1. Sui Gas and PTV were 1-1 at half time. Railways were leading 3-1 at half time before beating NWFP 7-1. NBP thrashed Karachi Elctric Supply Corporation (KESC) 5-0. The winners were leading 3-0 at the break. WAPDA outplayed Steel Mills 5-2. WAPDA were leading the first half 2-0. HBL scored a narrow 3-2 win over Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The winners were leading 1-0 at the interval.
The Daily Times
PAF Coach Olympian Mansoor Banned for one match
Lahore , January 24: Coach of PAF hockey team Olympian Mansoor Ahmad banned for one match for misconduct during the match. Olympian Mansoor Ahmad entered in the ground for protest against the decision of umpire during the match between PAF and HBL at National Hockey Stadium here on Saturday. Tournament Director of 56th National hockey Championship Akhlaq Ahmad imposed one match ban on Mansoor Ahmad for misconduct.
Pakistan Hockey Federation media release
PTV defeat champions PIA in National Hockey
LAHORE, Jan 23: A match-winning goal by Mohammed Zulfiqar helped Pakistan Television (PTV) defeat national champions Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) 2-1 in the 56th National Hockey Championship here at the National Hockey Stadium on Friday.
PTV led the first half 1-0 as Zahid scored a field goal in the 30th minute. The second session saw Ehsanullah netting the equaliser for PIA in the 39th minute. But Zulfiqar struck in the 57th minute to score the winner.
PIA missed all of their six penalty-corners.
Meanwhile, three goals by Farhan and two by Sohail Abbas helped Wapda thrash Sindh 8-0. The winners led 6-0 in halftime.
M. Shabbir (eighth min), Zakirullah (13th min), Khalid (21st min), Sohail Abbas (24th and 27th min) and Farhan (34th, 43rd and 48th min) were the scorers for Wapda.
In another match, two-goal Abbas Haider propelled Sui Gas to a 2-1 win against Balochistan.
Abbas fired in the 53rd and 63rd minutes. Mohammad Amin scored in the 17th minute for Balochistan.
In the fourth encounter, Port Qasim Authority defeated Punjab 4-2 after leading the first half by 2-1.
Shahzad Hanif (13th), Usman (27th and 63rd mins) and Mohsin (50th min) scored for the winners.
Rizwan Butt (14th min) and Mohammad Saqlain (56th min) reduced the margin for Punjab.
Police outplayed Capital Territory 4-2. Shahid Waseem (fifth min), Tasawar Raza (10th and 54th mins) and Atif Baig (33rd min) scored for the winning side. Zahid (29th min) and Sohail (40th min) were the scorers for the losing outfit.
A solitary goal by Mohammad Rizwan in the 34th minute helped Army edge past Pakistan Air Force 1-0. The winner was scored Rizwan in the 50th minute.
Finally, after a half-time score of one-all, Navy fought hard to beat Pakistan Steel Mills 4-3.
Umair (17th and 51st mins), Bilal (52nd min) and Mushtaq Ahmad (59th min) were the scorers for the seamen.
Steel Mills scored through M. Rauf (32nd min), Amir Zia (45th min) and Sultan Ashraf (66th min).
Saturday, the last day of the preliminary round, will see the playing of five matches.
Dawn
Gaining attention in Chula Vista
Tiffany Snow a member of the U.S. women's field hockey team and a San Pasqual High graduate watches as her teammates play No. 1-ranked Netherlands Wednesday at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. (Photo by Jamie Scott Lytle - Staff photographer)
CHULA VISTA ---- In a national sports landscape dominated by football, baseball and basketball, the U.S. women's field hockey team is gaining attention the only way it knows how: by putting up a fight.
"We persist," defender Rachel Dawson said. "It's not always easy, and we don't necessarily get the acclaim. But we put in the sacrifice because we're building this team to be something more."
The United States has long struggled in field hockey, having failed to qualify for three of four Olympics until it reached the 2008 games in Beijing.
But by placing eighth in Beijing, the U.S. made such an impression that the top-ranked team in the world has come to Chula Vista this week to train with and scrimmage the Americans.
The five-game series against the 2008 Olympic champion Netherlands, which continues through Monday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, represents a significant change in the international field hockey community's perception of the Americans.
"Just having the Olympic gold medalists wanting to come and play scrimmages against us is a pretty good indication that we're gaining respect in the world and they're interested in seeing what we're doing," U.S. coach Lee Bodimeade said.
Last July, the U.S. team won its first Olympic qualifier since 1988 with a win over Belgium in Kazan, Russia. The Americans haven't won an Olympic medal since taking bronze at the 1984 games in Los Angeles.
"To compete against this caliber of team, its pretty rewarding to see their skills and try to emulate that," said San Pasqual High graduate Tiffany Snow, one of two North County high school products on the U.S. roster for this week's session. "We're striving to be at that level so for them to come out and play against us is a great opportunity and kind of a sign of respect."
Torrey Pines grad Jessica Javelet, a member of the national team's developmental squad, is also competing for the U.S. this week.
The Americans have made the majority of their progress since Bodimeade became their head coach in 2005. A member of Australia's men's national team from 1991 to 1998, Bodimeade quickly earned the players' respect and was named USA Field Hockey's national coach of the year in 2006.
"I respect and admire him so much," said Dawson, the 2007 college player of the year at North Carolina. "We all know that he was a great player for Australia, but I think his ability to connect with us and invest in us has paid off."
The Americans have lost each of the first three scrimmages to the Netherlands by a combined score of 18-0. The fourth scrimmage is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m., with the finale set for Monday at 3 p.m. All scrimmages are free and open to the public.
Despite the lopsided scores, the U.S. has clearly progressed the past four years.
"When I took over, the team had been unsuccessful in qualifying for the 2004 Olympic Games," Bodimeade said. "Through that came a lot of fallout with players who thought their dreams of playing in the Olympics were over and changes in the coaching structure took place. It was really a feeling of where do we go from here."
Bodimeade said one of his key aims as head coach was to establish a personality for the team.
"What we've defined, first and foremost, is what style of hockey the USA plays," he said. "Our philosophy is to attack, that's the driving attitude of this team. Once we established that mentality, we were able to come up with a four-year plan that got us to Beijing."
The week of scrimmages against the Netherlands is just another step toward his attempt to bring the USA back to the top of the field hockey world. In February, the team will head to the Bahamas to compete in the Pan Am Cup.
"What better way to prepare for the Pan Am than playing against the No. 1 team?" he said. "I think right now we're the envy of the field hockey community, getting to play against such high quality competition."
Dawson said she hopes the momentum that's starting to build behind the U.S. team translates into new field hockey fans.
"This is the time to buy in," Dawson said. "We're definitely going places and this is a great spectator sport. We hope to inspire young kids to play and get them involved because we really are only going up from here."
Jugjet's World of Field Hockey
Junior Scots storm into final
In Guimaraes (Portugal), after convincing victories over the hosts and Croatia on Saturday, Scotland’s under-21 women stormed into Sunday's final of the European Junior Indoor Trophy competition against Switzerland, who won the earlier pool match in the dying seconds with the only goal of the game.
Against Portugal, the young Scots controlled the game from start to finish. Remakably, given their lack of goals against Switzerland, they scored five - all five of them netted by Milne Craig Western’s Ellie Cockburn. Against Croatia, the weakest team in the competition, Gordonians’ Louise Fleming set the Scots on the right road from a penalty corner in the sixth minute. After the Croatians equalised, Emily Bain, Susan McGilveray and Amy Brodie stretched it to 4-1 by half-time. Bain and Brodie, with two more, added to their tallies, while Hollie Porter joined in the fun in the second half as the Scots ran out 8-2 winners.
Manager Sheila Gray said the girls still had a way to go in terms of performance, but they’d achieved all they been asked to do with these victories: "Ellie scored all the goals in the morning, but with good assistance from those around her, and it was good to see all the other strikers and playmakers on the scoresheet against Croatia.
"But we’re still not playing the structured game that coach David Stott would like to see, except in short spells. So we’ve got to lift our game to a new level and move the ball around much more quickly if we’re to defeat the Swiss in the final and gain promotion to the Championship level for the future."
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Slazenger England Hockey League
Results and Scorers from Saturday 23 January 2009
Men's Conference North
| University of Durham | | (2) | | 4 | - | 1 | | (1) | | Sheffield University Bankers |
| Andrew Baggs 25 - F | | | | |
| | | | | Joshua Poke 5 - F |
|
|
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | University of Durham | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 16 | 16 | 24 |
| 2 | Belper | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 10 | 30 | 21 |
| 3 | Brooklands MU | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 11 | 22 | 20 |
| 4 | Leek | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 14 |
| 5 | Doncaster | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 19 | 1 | 13 |
| 6 | Sheffield Hallam | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 25 | -1 | 13 |
| 7 | Sheffield University Bankers | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 35 | -14 | 10 |
| 8 | Formby | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 34 | -23 | 9 |
| 9 | Barford Tigers | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 32 | -15 | 3 |
| 10 | Telford and Wrekin | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 17 | 36 | -19 | 1 |
Women's Conference North
| Whitley Bay and Tynemouth |
| (0) |
| 0 | - | 1 |
| (1) |
| Loughborough Students |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Sarah Mills 5 - F |
|
|
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Loughborough Students | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 9 | 21 | 26 |
| 2 | Belper | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 16 |
| 3 | University of Durham | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 13 |
| 4 | Beeston | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 13 |
| 5 | Bradford | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 13 |
| 6 | Liverpool Sefton | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 10 |
| 7 | Doncaster | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 23 | -7 | 9 |
| 8 | Whitley Bay and Tynemouth | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 24 | -14 | 7 |
| 9 | Sunderland Ladies | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 16 | -7 | 6 |
| 10 | Ben Rhydding | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 28 | -12 | 5 |
England Hockey Media release
Inverleith beat Menzieshill
The pirates of Inverleith blew open the destiny of the men’s Subway indoor national league with a spirited and swashbuckling 5-2 defeat of Menzieshill, Scotland’s No 1 indoor club, undefeated for the best part of six years, in Perth yesterday.
Stephen Dick’s side were clearly up for it. They went ahead in the 11th minute when Adam Mckenzie converted a penalty corner, and never went behind. By half-time, they were 3-1 ahead after Dick first slammed past his own goalkeeper brother Allan into the roof of the Menzieshill net, then exploited a dithering defence to score two seconds from the half-time hooter.
After the break Dick engineered a superb pass to Derek Salmond for him to score, and McKenzie’s second set-piece goal rocketed triumphantly into the net as Menzieshill, conquerors of England in Paisley last week, stood thoroughly beaten to leave both sides equal on points.
Menzieshill made heavy weather of defeating VWS Wanderers in their later derby game, but it was a comfortable enough 5-2 at the hooter following Kerr Thomson’s hat-trick, netting twice from the spot, though only once from a dozen penalty corner opportunities.
Inverleith then took the shine off their earlier victory by conceding a 3-3 draw in their game with Azzurri Kelburne. After Gareth Hall had given the Buddies a two-goal start, three goals in three minutes in the final quarter, from Dick, John Harris and teenager Fraser Hirst, gave Inverleith the advantage, which was then trumped by a late equaliser from Ross Stott.
But, even though that gave back a two-point lead to Menzieshill, the top two teams meet up again next Saturday to determine who goes home with the trophy.
Other matches in Perth were games of two halves. Wanderers went three goals up in the first half against Kelburne, thanks to two corner conversion by David Johnson and an Alan Law open-play strike, but allowed the Whitehaugh crew to snatch a 4-4 draw, Alan Forsyth scoring the last two goals to grab a point.
Harris were 4-0 up against Western Wildcats when the half-time hooter sounded, Jamie Carnegie having netted three of them, including a penalty stroke, the only one of five in the game to be successfully netted. But the Wildcats had a miraculous morphogenesis when they emerged for the second period, totally dominating as they hit five into the net, Dougie Simpson getting the last three, including two in the final sixty seconds of full time.
And Grange also came back from a first-half deficit, scoring five in the second period after Magnus Ferrier had given Watsonians a 2-1 advantage at half-time. David Knipe, David Ellis (2), Martin Johnstone and Colin McIvor added to Craig Harper’s first-half goal for a 6-2 finish.
In the relegation pool, Watsonians were condemned to the drop to Division Two after losing 6-1 to Harris, but Western Wilddcats and Grange served up the game of the day in terms of sheer entertainment, with 21 goals between them. But David Knipe’s hat-trick and Gary Cameron’s brace for Grange were not enough to top the Wildcats, for whom David Mitchell scored the first five, then Dougie Simpson the next six before allowing McCallum a look in for a 12-9 finish.
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Foreign teams not too keen on Azlan Shah tournament
By S. RAMAGURU
KUALA LUMPUR: There is no shortage of teams interested in taking part in the proposed four-nation hockey tournament to test the facilities in Johor Baru ahead of the Junior World Cup.
But the same cannot be said of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which will be held in Ipoh in April.
Entries for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup closed on Jan 15 and there are still only four teams confirmed.
Besides Malaysia, the others are India, Pakistan and New Zealand.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) may be forced to call up other second tier teams to make up the numbers as they need three more teams to make it a seven-nation meet.
It was reported recently that Egypt might be invited for the tournament.
If so, then they will make their debut in the tournament, which is scheduled for April 3-12.
MHF deputy president Nur Azmi Ahmed admitted that they were having problem wooing the top teams as most of them had other prior commitments.
“The final list of teams is not ready yet. We have no problems getting teams for the Junior tournament,” he said.
“There are a lot of teams showing interest but we will only make our selection later next month.”
Azmi said they would invite one team from Europe and two from Asia for the four-nation meet, which will be held in the second week of March as a dry run of the facilities which will be used for the Junior World Cup in June.
“Basically, the stadium — especially the main pitch at the venue — is ready for use. So we are confident that we can run the tournament as scheduled in March,” he said.
The Star of Malaysia
Ball now in IOA’s court: Brasa
BY Harpreet Kaur Lamba
New Delhi, Jan. 24: Tipped to take over as India’s national hockey coach, Spanish Jose Brasa on Friday sent a "detailed draft" of his plans to the Indian Olympic Association’s ad-hoc committee following his meetings with the top brass in the capital last week. An International Hockey Federation (FIH) Masters coaching degree holder, Brasa said "the ball is now in the IOA’s court" as he had fulfilled all the formalities from his side.
Handed a rough draft before his return to Spain, Brasa was asked to "fill, modify, erase or add all the things that he believed were necessary to be changed".
Brasa, who had laid down scientific and technical support as one of his main condition to accept the job, told this paper from Spain, "After days of brainstorming, I sent my reply to the authorities on Friday. It contains all the requirements of the assistants, a physical trainer and physiotherapist, and also the need of consultants doctors in physiology, psychology and power."
For the same, Brasa has also offered to bring his own support staff from Spain. "I have given them full details of the technology, material, apparatus and the main lines of the work plan, and they now have to buy to prepare to start training in a scientifically way as soon as possible. Also, I have specified the time period that the staff will need to spend in India."
Termed "satisfactory" by one and all, the ad-hoc committee has referred Brasa’s appointment to the sports ministry, which will now take the final call on the matter.
Recommended by FIH Master Coach Tayyab Ikram, the 57-year old also brushed aside reports that he had asked for a huge sum of money. "I read some reports saying that I have agreed to join on a sum of $12,500. Let me clarify that my salary is close to half of that, and I have accepted exactly what was offered to me for the year 2009. I have sent my confirmation in black and white.
"Except a few number of articles still under the study of my lawyer, my job to approach towards a fast deal is already done. Some articles are still to be agreed, and they are only pure law articles, anything that could slow/stop the final answer from the Indian side. The ball is now in your court.
Though the ad-hoc committee refused to divulge on the matter, sources in the ministry suggest that Brasa’s appointment is more or less confirmed, and the Spaniard is expected to get the go-ahead in a few days’ time.
The Asian Age
National Hockey enters final round on Monday
From our correspondent
LAHORE: The preliminary round of the 56th National Hockey Championship concluded at the National Hockey Stadium here on Saturday. The top ten teams have qualified for the final round, while the other nine teams will play the tray championship starting from January 26 (Monday) simultaneously.
The draws of the final round and tray championship will be announced on Sunday (today).
According to the new format of the National Championship, the last two teams of the final round will play the tray championship next year and the top two teams will qualify for the final round of the next championship.
The qualified teams of the final round are PIA and Sui Gas (Pool A), NBP and Railways (Pool B), Army and HBL (Pool C), WAPDA and Navy (Pool D) and Port Qasim and Punjab (Pool E).
The rest who will play the tray championship are PTV and Balochistan (Pool A), KESC and NWFP (Pool B), PAF (Pool C), Sindh and KESC (Pool D), Police and Capital Territory (Pool E).
The results on the fourth day of the preliminary round on Saturday were: Sui Gas beat PTV 4-1, Railways beat NWFP 7-1, NBP v KESC 5-0, WAPDA beat Steel Mills 5-2 and HBL beat PAF 3-2.
The News International
Preliminary round of National Hockey Championship concludes
Staff Report
LAHORE: The preliminary round of the 56th National Hockey Championship concluded at the National Hockey Stadium here on Saturday when ten teams qualified for the final round that is commencing at the same venue from Monday (tomorrow). The qualified teams of the final round are Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Sui Gas (Pool A), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Pakistan Railways (Pool B), Pakistan Army and Habib Bank Limited (HBL) (Pool C), Pakistan WAPDA and Pakistan Navy (Pool D) and Port Qasim Authority and Punjab (Pool E).
The remaining nine teams of the preliminary round will play the Tray Championship also starting from January 26. The draws of the final round and the Tray Championship will be announced on Sunday (today). According to the new format of the National Championship, the last two teams of the final round will play the Tray Championship next year and top two teams of the Tray Championship will qualify for the final round of the next National Championship.
In the matches on Saturday, Sui Gas routed PTV 4-1. Sui Gas and PTV were 1-1 at half time. Railways were leading 3-1 at half time before beating NWFP 7-1. NBP thrashed Karachi Elctric Supply Corporation (KESC) 5-0. The winners were leading 3-0 at the break. WAPDA outplayed Steel Mills 5-2. WAPDA were leading the first half 2-0. HBL scored a narrow 3-2 win over Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The winners were leading 1-0 at the interval.
The Daily Times
PAF Coach Olympian Mansoor Banned for one match
Lahore , January 24: Coach of PAF hockey team Olympian Mansoor Ahmad banned for one match for misconduct during the match. Olympian Mansoor Ahmad entered in the ground for protest against the decision of umpire during the match between PAF and HBL at National Hockey Stadium here on Saturday. Tournament Director of 56th National hockey Championship Akhlaq Ahmad imposed one match ban on Mansoor Ahmad for misconduct.
Pakistan Hockey Federation media release
PTV defeat champions PIA in National Hockey
LAHORE, Jan 23: A match-winning goal by Mohammed Zulfiqar helped Pakistan Television (PTV) defeat national champions Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) 2-1 in the 56th National Hockey Championship here at the National Hockey Stadium on Friday.
PTV led the first half 1-0 as Zahid scored a field goal in the 30th minute. The second session saw Ehsanullah netting the equaliser for PIA in the 39th minute. But Zulfiqar struck in the 57th minute to score the winner.
PIA missed all of their six penalty-corners.
Meanwhile, three goals by Farhan and two by Sohail Abbas helped Wapda thrash Sindh 8-0. The winners led 6-0 in halftime.
M. Shabbir (eighth min), Zakirullah (13th min), Khalid (21st min), Sohail Abbas (24th and 27th min) and Farhan (34th, 43rd and 48th min) were the scorers for Wapda.
In another match, two-goal Abbas Haider propelled Sui Gas to a 2-1 win against Balochistan.
Abbas fired in the 53rd and 63rd minutes. Mohammad Amin scored in the 17th minute for Balochistan.
In the fourth encounter, Port Qasim Authority defeated Punjab 4-2 after leading the first half by 2-1.
Shahzad Hanif (13th), Usman (27th and 63rd mins) and Mohsin (50th min) scored for the winners.
Rizwan Butt (14th min) and Mohammad Saqlain (56th min) reduced the margin for Punjab.
Police outplayed Capital Territory 4-2. Shahid Waseem (fifth min), Tasawar Raza (10th and 54th mins) and Atif Baig (33rd min) scored for the winning side. Zahid (29th min) and Sohail (40th min) were the scorers for the losing outfit.
A solitary goal by Mohammad Rizwan in the 34th minute helped Army edge past Pakistan Air Force 1-0. The winner was scored Rizwan in the 50th minute.
Finally, after a half-time score of one-all, Navy fought hard to beat Pakistan Steel Mills 4-3.
Umair (17th and 51st mins), Bilal (52nd min) and Mushtaq Ahmad (59th min) were the scorers for the seamen.
Steel Mills scored through M. Rauf (32nd min), Amir Zia (45th min) and Sultan Ashraf (66th min).
Saturday, the last day of the preliminary round, will see the playing of five matches.
Dawn
Gaining attention in Chula Vista
Tiffany Snow a member of the U.S. women's field hockey team and a San Pasqual High graduate watches as her teammates play No. 1-ranked Netherlands Wednesday at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. (Photo by Jamie Scott Lytle - Staff photographer)
CHULA VISTA ---- In a national sports landscape dominated by football, baseball and basketball, the U.S. women's field hockey team is gaining attention the only way it knows how: by putting up a fight.
"We persist," defender Rachel Dawson said. "It's not always easy, and we don't necessarily get the acclaim. But we put in the sacrifice because we're building this team to be something more."
The United States has long struggled in field hockey, having failed to qualify for three of four Olympics until it reached the 2008 games in Beijing.
But by placing eighth in Beijing, the U.S. made such an impression that the top-ranked team in the world has come to Chula Vista this week to train with and scrimmage the Americans.
The five-game series against the 2008 Olympic champion Netherlands, which continues through Monday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, represents a significant change in the international field hockey community's perception of the Americans.
"Just having the Olympic gold medalists wanting to come and play scrimmages against us is a pretty good indication that we're gaining respect in the world and they're interested in seeing what we're doing," U.S. coach Lee Bodimeade said.
Last July, the U.S. team won its first Olympic qualifier since 1988 with a win over Belgium in Kazan, Russia. The Americans haven't won an Olympic medal since taking bronze at the 1984 games in Los Angeles.
"To compete against this caliber of team, its pretty rewarding to see their skills and try to emulate that," said San Pasqual High graduate Tiffany Snow, one of two North County high school products on the U.S. roster for this week's session. "We're striving to be at that level so for them to come out and play against us is a great opportunity and kind of a sign of respect."
Torrey Pines grad Jessica Javelet, a member of the national team's developmental squad, is also competing for the U.S. this week.
The Americans have made the majority of their progress since Bodimeade became their head coach in 2005. A member of Australia's men's national team from 1991 to 1998, Bodimeade quickly earned the players' respect and was named USA Field Hockey's national coach of the year in 2006.
"I respect and admire him so much," said Dawson, the 2007 college player of the year at North Carolina. "We all know that he was a great player for Australia, but I think his ability to connect with us and invest in us has paid off."
The Americans have lost each of the first three scrimmages to the Netherlands by a combined score of 18-0. The fourth scrimmage is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m., with the finale set for Monday at 3 p.m. All scrimmages are free and open to the public.
Despite the lopsided scores, the U.S. has clearly progressed the past four years.
"When I took over, the team had been unsuccessful in qualifying for the 2004 Olympic Games," Bodimeade said. "Through that came a lot of fallout with players who thought their dreams of playing in the Olympics were over and changes in the coaching structure took place. It was really a feeling of where do we go from here."
Bodimeade said one of his key aims as head coach was to establish a personality for the team.
"What we've defined, first and foremost, is what style of hockey the USA plays," he said. "Our philosophy is to attack, that's the driving attitude of this team. Once we established that mentality, we were able to come up with a four-year plan that got us to Beijing."
The week of scrimmages against the Netherlands is just another step toward his attempt to bring the USA back to the top of the field hockey world. In February, the team will head to the Bahamas to compete in the Pan Am Cup.
"What better way to prepare for the Pan Am than playing against the No. 1 team?" he said. "I think right now we're the envy of the field hockey community, getting to play against such high quality competition."
Dawson said she hopes the momentum that's starting to build behind the U.S. team translates into new field hockey fans.
"This is the time to buy in," Dawson said. "We're definitely going places and this is a great spectator sport. We hope to inspire young kids to play and get them involved because we really are only going up from here."
Jugjet's World of Field Hockey