News for 21 February 2009
Saturday, 21 February 2009 05:37 | 
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All the news for Saturday 21 February 2009
Black Sticks and Indian Men Draw First Test in Wellington
New Zealand and India drew the first match of the Men’s four test series, in Wellington today . The result was a fair result in a game in which both teams dominated a half apiece.
After playing strongly in the first half and going into the break 1 -0 up the Black Sticks lost their accuracy after India equalised in the 55th minute. New Zealand was caught out on defence when India changed tactics. Until then India had employed a hard hit into the circle as their main means of attack. The switch to a short passing buildup caught the Kiwis unawares and Shivendra Singh slotted from close range.
New Zealand’s goal came just three minutes into the first half, aptly scored by home town captain Phil Burrows playing his 212th game for New Zealand. Burrows struck home well from the right, the beneficiary of some good work by fellow striker Simon Child who dispossessed an Indian defender in the midfield.
The Black Sticks found the back of the net a minute or so later, but unfortunately the ball struck a New Zealand foot on the way and was disallowed.
Brad Shaw was outstanding as an attacking left half and formed a solid left side defence with Dean Couzins. Young keeper Stephen Graham made some good saves and strikers Nick Wilson and Simon Child worked well up front picking up some great ball uncontested. Bryce Collins made a good return from injury. New Zealand was awarded three penalty corners, India just one.
India 1 – New Zealand 1
Half time 1 – 0 NZ
Goal scorers : NZ- Phil Burrows. India – Shivendra Singh
Hockey New Zealand Media release
Burrows has goal in sight
By FRED WOODCOCK
Wellington hero Phil Burrows is hoping to turn around a goalscoring rut when the Black Sticks men clash with India in two internationals at Wellington's National Hockey Stadium this weekend.
The 212-test veteran, who no longer plays as an out-and-out striker, feels his form has been good but he hasn't found the net as much as he would have liked in recent times, and is keen to make amends in his hometown.
New Zealand and India clash today and tomorrow in Wellington, then head to Auckland for the third and fourth tests next weekend.
"My form hasn't been too bad lately," said Burrows, 28, who plays club hockey for Rotterdam in the highly-rated Netherlands league.
"I haven't scored many goals, which is a bit of a shame, but hopefully I can turn that around in the next couple of weeks.
"But, to be honest, I don't really care who scores the goals, as long as we win some games."
New Zealand are using the Indian series as part of their build-up for the World Cup qualifier against Australia in August, the big match of 2009.
"It would be great to go through to the World Cup that way, rather than having to do it by going to a tournament and winning it," Burrows said. "It's always a tough ask to beat Australia. I've been in the team nine years and never beaten them, so maybe August will be the time to do it."
Accordingly, coach Shane McLeod is expected to tinker with players and combinations in the next week. However, Burrows, who co-captains the team with defender Dean Couzins, said winning the series was a key objective.
"The captaincy record is going downhill," he quipped. "I wouldn't have a clue what it is but I wouldn't want to count after the last trip, so we need to turn that around."
The Black Sticks welcome back the experienced Brad Shaw and Bryce Collins to the team that finished third of four nations in the recent Punjab Gold Cup in India.
New Zealand beat world and Olympic champions Germany in the tournament, but twice lost to India, 2-0 and 3-2.
Burrows felt they played good hockey in India and deserved more than the one win, something he said the team was desperate to rectify this weekend.
New Zealand are ranked No 7 in the world, four spots above the Indians, but the two losses in India proves that little separates them.
In fact, of the 10 internationals played between the two teams during the past five years, each have won four, with two draws.
"We did lose both games in India but we probably deserved to win the second one," Burrows, the sixth New Zealander to have been capped more than 200 times, said.
"We had a couple of refereeing decisions that went the wrong way and they ended up going down the other end and scoring, so I think we're very even sides and if you're going to pick a winner you'd have to flip a coin, because that's how close it is."
India are rebuilding after missing the Olympics for the first time, a devastating blow to the proud hockey nation, but performed well in the Punjab Gold Cup, losing to the Netherlands in the final.
They are quick on the counter-attack and have a slick penalty corner unit on show yesterday as they tuned up with a 7-1 win against the New Zealand Indians.
India scored from four of their five penalty corners, the fifth hitting the woodwork, but otherwise they were made to work hard by a committed defensive effort from the New Zealanders, who scrambled a consolation goal with the last play of the game.
HOW THEY LINE UP
New Zealand (from): David Green, Nick Haig, Andrew Hayward, Simon Child, Dean Couzins, Casey Henwood, Brad Shaw, Joel Baker, Stephen Graham, Kyle Pontifex, Phil Burrows, James Nation, Bryce Collins, Lloyd Stephenson, Shay Neal, Richard Petherick, Steve Edwards, Nick Wilson.
India (from): Baljeet Singh, Adrian d'Souza, Dilip Tirkey, Raghunath Vokkaliga Ramachandra, Gurbaj Singh, Vinaya Vakkaliga Swamy, Vikram Pillay, Prabodh Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey, Sardar Singh, Deepak Thakur, Hari Prasad, Shivendra Singh, Rajpal Singh, Arjun Halappa, Tushar Khandekar, Sunil Sowmarpet Vitalacharya, Bharat, Saranjit Singh, Sandeep Singh.
India's tour schedule:- Today: first test in Wellington, 2.30pm Tomorrow: second test in Wellington, 2.30pm February 24: v New Zealand A in Wellington February 26: v New Zealand A in Auckland February 28: third test in Auckland March 1: fourth test in Auckland
Stuff
Pak hockey team camp begins today
LAHORE: The training camp of Pakistan Hockey Team will start from Saturday (today) here at the National Hockey Stadium.
This camp is organised for the preparations of Azlan Shah Cup being held in Malaysia from April 3rd to 12 and 8th Asia Cup being held in Dubai from May 8th to 15th.
PHF already invited 40 players for the training camp. 36 players reported to the National Hockey Stadium on Friday. Four senior players Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmad, Rehan Butt and Salman Akbar did not take part in the camp. They are representing their clubs in the European League.
The players called for the camp are as under:
Goalkeepers: Nasir Ahmad, Sajid, Waseem, Muhammad Iqbal. Full Backs: Zeeshan Ashraf, Muhammad Imran, Ehsan Ullah, Muhammad Kamran, Rao Shahid, Qaiser Raza, Adnan Javed. Halves: Rana Asif, Dilawar Hussain, Muhammad Saqlain, Zeeshan Ali, Waqas Zafar, Sibtain Raza, Khurram Shahzad. Forwards: Ali Baig, Noman , Kashif Ali, Shakeel Abbasi, Waqas Sharif, Waqas Akbar, Arshad, Rana Javed, Akhtar ALI, Sajid Junaid, Muhammad Amin, Shabir Khan, Asim Khan, Tariq Aziz, Sajjad Anwar, Saeed Shah, Imtiaz Panu and Ibrar Haider.
The News International
National hockey camp begins today
Staff Report
LAHORE: A training camp of the Pakistan hockey team for the forthcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and 8th Asia Cup will start at the National Hockey Stadium here from Saturday (today). The Azlan Shah Cup will be played from April 3 to 12 in Kuala Lumpur and Asia Cup will held in Dubai from May 8 to 15.
“In all 40 players will attend the camp but only 36 have reported,” a spokesman for the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) told reporters on Friday. Those who did not report included four former Olympians Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmad, Rehan Butt and Salman Akbar who were specially invited by the PHF to reinforce the national team. “The reason of their absence is their commitments with their European clubs,” added the spokesman.
Camp probables:
Goalkeepers: Nasir Ahmad (PIA), Sajid (Railways), Waseem (Steel Mills), Muhammad Iqbal (Navy). Full-backs: Zeeshan Ashraf (NBP), Muhammad Imran (Army), Ehsan Ullah (PIA), Muhammad Kamran (Steel Mills), Rao Shahid (Army), Qaiser Raza (WAPDA), Adnan Javed (PIA). Centre-halfs: Rana Asif (WAPDA), Dilawar Hussain (PIA), Muhammad Saqlain (ABL), Zeeshan Ali (KESC), Waqas Zafar (Army), Sibtain Raza (NBP), Khurram Shahzad (HBL). Forwards: Ali Baig (Police), Noman (NWFP), Kashif Ali (Railways), Shakeel Abbasi (SSGC), Waqas Sharif (WAPDA), Waqas Akbar (PIA), Arshad (Army), Rana Javed (WAPDA), Akhtar Ali (NBP), Sajid Junaid (KESC), Muhammad Amin (Quetta), Shabir Khan (SSGC), Asim Khan, Tariq Aziz, Sajjad Anwar, Saeed Shah, Imtiaz Panu and Ibrar Haider.
The Daily Times
Men’s prov indoor hockey a three-horse race
by Jon Cook
AFTER day two of the U21 indoor hockey provincial invitation tournament at the YMCA in Pietermaritzburg Friday, it is clear that the men’s section is going down to the wire.
KZN Coastals, Southern Gauteng Invitation and dark horses Eastern Gauteng are all in the race for Saturday’s 5 pm final berths, and all three sides have pivotal matches Saturday morning that will decide the afternoon finalists in this three-day tournament.
Southerns have the easier ride when they meet KZN Coastal Colts at 10 am, while the real battle will be between Coastals and Easterns at 9 am.
Hosts Midlands are out of the men’s title race after their loss to Easterns Friday.
In the women’s section, the cross-pool playoffs will be played at St John’s from 8 am Saturday before the teams revert back to the YMCA for the classification matches and the final at 4 pm. Coastals and Midlands look the likely finalists.
RESULTS
Men: Midlands 4 Eastern Gauteng 5; KZN Coastals 5 Coastal Colts 0; KZN Coastals 3 Southern Gauteng Invitation 3; Midlands II 0 KZN Coastals 7; Midlands I 3 SG Inv 3; Mid II 0 East Gau 8.
Women: Midlands Country Districts 0 Eastern Gauteng 8; KZN Inland Schools 0 KZN Coastal Colts 4; E Gau 2 KZN Coastals 5; Mid B 0 KZN Coastal Colts 13; Mid A 3 KZN Coastals 2; Mid Inv 1 KZN Inland Schools 5.
The Cook Report
20 Teams vie for Big Apple Indoor crown this weekend in
By Jawwad Qamar
New York, Feb 20: Action packed hockey will be on display this weekend at the 2009 Big Apple International Indoor tournament when 10 men and 10 women teams from Canada and USA compete at the indoor facility of Riverbank State Park in Manhattan. 40 preliminary round matches begin at 8am on Saturday with the finals taking place late Sunday afternoon at the 11th Big Apple indoor classic.
The two veteran teams from last year’s finals; the winners, Toronto Lions and the runner-up, Charlestown Chiefs from are expected to face each other for the men’s finals once again. However, the 2006 champs Toronto Titans, the 2007 winners Rye FHC, and Chicago FHC, riding the Obama wave, can all have a say in the final outcome.
In the women's division, defending champions are going for their fourth straight title and are heavy favorites. The NCAA 2008 Champions are likely to get a run for the title from a young Team. of from and are also expected to make things difficult for Head Coach Missy Meharg’s Terrapins.
Please visit www.bigapplehockey.com for schedule and directions to the venue.
Fieldhockey.com Exclusive
Sabu shines in Bharat Petroleum's semis entry
K. Arumugam
Ever-green Sabu shone in Bharat Petroleum's passage to the semis in the Fifth Maharaja Ranjit Singh Gold cup underway at Gurgaon.
Sabu scored the all important equalizer for his side in the 65th minute which was trailing till then by an odd goal scored by Gagandeep of Punjab and Sind Bank in the 24th minute.
In the ensued tie-breaker, Bharat Petroleum converted first three strokes while the bankmen failed in their quota. The competition therefore did not go beyond three strokes
Ravi Pal, Bundhalik and Irashad Ali were the scorers while Mandeep Singh, Ranjodh Singh and Daler Singh failed for the Bank team.
Sabu Varkey has been declared the Man of the Match.
FIXTURE FOR 21st FEBRUARY, 2009 – SATURDAY
IST MATCH : II : 12.00 NOON INDIA COLTS V/s NAMDHARI XI
2ND MATCH : II : 02.00 PM INDIAN OIL V/s P.N.B.
Stick2Hockey.com
Bharat Petroleum wins
GURGAON: Bharat Petroleum defeated Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) through penalty shoot-out in the fifth Oriental Bank-Maharaja Ranjit Singh hockey tournament at the Nehru Stadium, here on Friday.
The two sides were locked 1-1 after the regulation time. Sabu Varkey of Bharat Petroleum and Gagandeep Singh of PSB were the scorers. In the penalty shoot-out, Ravi Pal, Irshad Ali and Pundalik Bellary found the target for Bharat Petroleum. Both the teams have already made it to the semifinals.
The Hindu
PHF nominates five members for FIH committees
By Mohammad Yaqoob
LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), while withdrawing former Olympian Islahuddin Siddiqui and Col (retd) Mudassar Asghar from different committees of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has nominated another five individuals for various posts in the international body.
PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa confirmed that the names of Islah (Rule Board) and Mudassar (Competition Committee) had been withdrawn.
‘The PHF has recommended the names of Hasan Sardar (Athlete), Rana Mujahid (Rule Board, in place of Islah), myself (Competition, in place of Mudassar), Shahbaz Sr, (Development and Coaching), Pervaiz Bhindara (Marketing) for the various committees but it is not necessary that all will be elected,’ he said.
Bajwa said that the change was made due to the PHF’s wish to have those people in the FIH, who were already working with the federation as they could perform better that way.
However, it is a fact that Islah, who has been associated with the FIH since 1993 as a member of the Rule Board is also on the PHF’s Executive Board.
When contacted, Islah, who was also unwell recently, told Dawn that he was not in a position to make any comments.
‘I am still recovering after my angioplasty and have no information about this. Even if the PHF has taken such a step, I have not been made aware of it by them,’ Islah said.
Meanwhile, when Bajwa was asked if the different role would affect Rana Mujahid’s performance, he said that he had so far only worked with the PHF as a member of the senior selection committee and director operations but, he added, ‘Rana Mujahid is quite capable of playing a positive role. He is doing a good job which is also why he is on board. It is also a misperception that the PHF is giving him a number of roles,’ the secretary said.
He said that Mujahid in the past had organised three tournaments in his home city Faisalabad from his own pocket for which the previous management did not even compensate him.
To yet another question, he said that the PHF had not received any invitation from the Senate Standing Committee on Sports to appear before it on Feb 23.
‘We will go to apprise the members about our achievements and future programmes and will seek their guidance on how to improve the working, after getting an official invitation from them,’ he said.
Asif, who is also the manager of the Pakistan team for the next Asia Cup, said that a long-term team management would be announced after the event.
Asif was given the additional charge after Ayaz Mahmood failed to get a release from his department, PIA, for which he worked as station manager in Moscow, to join the PHF as the head coach.
Dawn
Senate Committee to discuss hockey on 28
Staff Report
LAHORE: A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Sports will be held on February 28 here at the National Hockey Stadium to discuss hockey issues. “We have received the notice of the meeting from the concerned authorities,” a spokesman for the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) said on Friday. The PHF will inform the senators regarding ongoing hockey development projects in the country and initiatives being taken for revival of the game in the country.
The Daily Times
Easy wins for Tenaga, BJSS
By Jugjet Singh
FAVOURITES Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) and Tenaga Nasional stamped their mark with convincing opening wins in Division Two of the Malaysia Hockey League yesterday.
Double champions BJSS, fielding Under-17 players, beat Batu Pahat 4-0, while Tenaga Nasional thumped BJSS Juniors 5-0.
BJSS took the lead in the 19th minute off Izad Hakimi, and then scored three more off Yusof Mohamed Nor (31st), Hairulnizam Maizan (52nd) and Dangerous Lee Mathew (70th).
Tenaga got their goals off Sabri Mohamed (14th), Faizal Yaacob (33rd), Hafizul Akmal (40th, 50th) and Hizzat Sumantri (68th).
And former champions Old La Sallians Association of Klang (Olak) also got off to a winning start when they beat Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS) Juniors 3-2.
"It was a close game, but my boys took the chances that came their way and we managed to start on a good note. However, it is too early to celebrate as we will be meeting better prepared teams.
"Our target is to try and play in the quarter-finals, which means we have to play much better to be among the top-six in Division Two," said Olak team manager Joseph de Silva.
At the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium, Kijang Mas of Kelantan stunned Project School Setapak High, when they held them to a 0-0 draw. However, the Setapak side fielded Under-17 players while Kelantan had Under-19 players.
The only major casualties of the day were Petaling Jaya Municipal Council, who lost 2-0 to Anderson of Ipoh.
RESULTS -- Division Two: BJSS Juniors 0 Tenaga Nasional 5, MSN Malacca 1 Bandar Penawar Sports School 1, BPSS Juniors 2 Olak 3, Setapak High School 0 Kijang Mas Kelantan 0, Anderson 2 Petaling Jaya City Council 0, Batu Pahat 0 Bukit Jalil Sports School 4.
Division Three: Matri 0 MSS Penang 0, Nur Insafi 5 Datuk Taha 2, MSS Selangor 0 MSS Temerloh 1, Kuala Selangor 1 MSS Perlis 6, English College 1 Tampin-TBSS 1.
TOMORROW -- Division Two: BJSS Juniors v Setapak High (Tun Razak Stadium, 5pm), Petaling Jaya CC v BPSS (Tun Razak 7pm), BPSS Juniors v BJSS (Bandar Penawar, 5pm), Anderson v Kijang Mas (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5pm), Tenaga Nasional v MSN Malacca (KLHA Stadium, 5pm), Batu Pahat v Olak (Batu Pahat, 5pm).
Division Three: Perlis v Nur Insafi (Kangar, 5pm), Penang v Temerloh (USM Stadium, 5pm), TBSS-Tampin v Matri (Tampin, 5pm), Selangor v Datuk Taha (Pandamaran Stadium, 5pm), English College v Kuala Selangor (Johor Baru, 5pm).
New Straits Times
Fancied teams BJSS, Tenaga open campaign with big wins
By S. RAMAGURU
KUALA LUMPUR: Last year’s Junior Hockey League double champions Bukit Jalil Sports School continued to flex their muscles in the new Malaysia Hockey League Under-19 category with a 4-0 win over Johor Sports Council-Batu Pahat at the JB Hockey Stadium yesterday.
Six matches kicked off in the Division Two with BJSS and last year’s runners-up Tenaga Nasional chalking up big wins.
Bukit Jalil’s Mohamed Izzat Hakim opened accounts in the 19th minute followed by Mohamed Yusof in the 31st minute. After the break, Hairulnizam Mazlan and Dangerous Lee added the other goals in the 52nd and 70th minutes respectively.
Their second team, BJSS Juniors, however had a poor start when they went down tamely 0-5 to former champions Tenaga Nasional at the Tun Razak Stadium.
Tenaga Nasional hardly faced any resistance in their opening match. Mohamed Sabri opened the scoring in the 14th minute followed by Faizal Yaacoob in the 33rd minute.
Mohamed Hafizul helped himself to a brace in the 40th and 50th minutes before Nor Izzal Sumantri wrapped it up with a goal in the 69th minute.
Former champions Old La Sallians Association of Klang (Olak) also got off to a winning start with a 3-2 win over Bandar Penawar SS Juniors at the Pandamaran Hockey Stadium in Klang.
Olak scored through Azraie Azizan (12th), Ahmad Fudhai (25th) and Arshad Repiki Ali in the 52nd minutes.
The goals from BPSS Juniors came through the efforts of Mohamed Hafiz Saleman in the 28th minute and Shahril Saabah in the 63rd minute.
MSN Malacca and Bandar Penawar SS turned in a 1-1 draw at the Bukit Serendit Hockey Stadium in Malacca.
Mohamed Noor Faeez scored with a penalty stroke in the 33th minute to put BPSS in the lead. But Mohamed Hanif Rahim scored the equaliser in the 53rd minute through a penalty corner.
At the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, SM Anderson opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ). Their goal scorers were Mohamed Firdau and Mohamed Zairul Akmar.
Last years Division Two champions, Mas Kijang from Kelantan were held to a scoreless draw with Setapak High at the KL Hockey Stadium.
The Star of Malaysia
Coach Rajan to rope in players who shine in MHL
KUALA LUMPUR: The National Juniors team have been trimmed to 26 players but the door is still open for players who impress during the Malaysia Hockey League (Under-19 category) which started yesterday.
National Juniors coach K. Rajan said players who proved they can play well consistently during the league will be roped in.
“I had a talk with Juniors manager Johari Abdul Aziz and we agreed to include players who are exceptionally good.
“We will try and look at some of the matches when we can and coaches and team officials will also be on the lookout for good players during the MHL. We will then assess the players and make a decision,’’ said Rajan.
The MHL Under-19 category started off yesterday with 12 teams in Division Two and 10 in Division Three.
The National Juniors are preparing for the Junior World Cup which will be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore from June 7-21.
The Juniors are not involved in the MHL and are currently in Penang on a nine-day training stint.
They will move to Johor Baru on March 3. They will play two matches against the Penang state team over the next few days.
Only 24 players have gone to Penang as Wong Kee Hoon and goalkeeper Hairi Abdul Rahman are nursing injuries and will only join the team in Johor Baru.
Rajan said the stint in Penang is to give the players a break before they start their final run-in in Johor.
The team will play in a Four-Nation meet in Johor Baru from March 11-15. The other teams involved are India, Pakistan and Singapore.
The team will then go on a European tour in April and then complete their final phase of training in Johor Baru.
The Star of Malaysia
Black Sticks and Indian Men Draw First Test in Wellington
New Zealand and India drew the first match of the Men’s four test series, in Wellington today . The result was a fair result in a game in which both teams dominated a half apiece.
After playing strongly in the first half and going into the break 1 -0 up the Black Sticks lost their accuracy after India equalised in the 55th minute. New Zealand was caught out on defence when India changed tactics. Until then India had employed a hard hit into the circle as their main means of attack. The switch to a short passing buildup caught the Kiwis unawares and Shivendra Singh slotted from close range.
New Zealand’s goal came just three minutes into the first half, aptly scored by home town captain Phil Burrows playing his 212th game for New Zealand. Burrows struck home well from the right, the beneficiary of some good work by fellow striker Simon Child who dispossessed an Indian defender in the midfield.
The Black Sticks found the back of the net a minute or so later, but unfortunately the ball struck a New Zealand foot on the way and was disallowed.
Brad Shaw was outstanding as an attacking left half and formed a solid left side defence with Dean Couzins. Young keeper Stephen Graham made some good saves and strikers Nick Wilson and Simon Child worked well up front picking up some great ball uncontested. Bryce Collins made a good return from injury. New Zealand was awarded three penalty corners, India just one.
India 1 – New Zealand 1
Half time 1 – 0 NZ
Goal scorers : NZ- Phil Burrows. India – Shivendra Singh
Hockey New Zealand Media release
Burrows has goal in sight
By FRED WOODCOCK
Wellington hero Phil Burrows is hoping to turn around a goalscoring rut when the Black Sticks men clash with India in two internationals at Wellington's National Hockey Stadium this weekend.
The 212-test veteran, who no longer plays as an out-and-out striker, feels his form has been good but he hasn't found the net as much as he would have liked in recent times, and is keen to make amends in his hometown.
New Zealand and India clash today and tomorrow in Wellington, then head to Auckland for the third and fourth tests next weekend.
"My form hasn't been too bad lately," said Burrows, 28, who plays club hockey for Rotterdam in the highly-rated Netherlands league.
"I haven't scored many goals, which is a bit of a shame, but hopefully I can turn that around in the next couple of weeks.
"But, to be honest, I don't really care who scores the goals, as long as we win some games."
New Zealand are using the Indian series as part of their build-up for the World Cup qualifier against Australia in August, the big match of 2009.
"It would be great to go through to the World Cup that way, rather than having to do it by going to a tournament and winning it," Burrows said. "It's always a tough ask to beat Australia. I've been in the team nine years and never beaten them, so maybe August will be the time to do it."
Accordingly, coach Shane McLeod is expected to tinker with players and combinations in the next week. However, Burrows, who co-captains the team with defender Dean Couzins, said winning the series was a key objective.
"The captaincy record is going downhill," he quipped. "I wouldn't have a clue what it is but I wouldn't want to count after the last trip, so we need to turn that around."
The Black Sticks welcome back the experienced Brad Shaw and Bryce Collins to the team that finished third of four nations in the recent Punjab Gold Cup in India.
New Zealand beat world and Olympic champions Germany in the tournament, but twice lost to India, 2-0 and 3-2.
Burrows felt they played good hockey in India and deserved more than the one win, something he said the team was desperate to rectify this weekend.
New Zealand are ranked No 7 in the world, four spots above the Indians, but the two losses in India proves that little separates them.
In fact, of the 10 internationals played between the two teams during the past five years, each have won four, with two draws.
"We did lose both games in India but we probably deserved to win the second one," Burrows, the sixth New Zealander to have been capped more than 200 times, said.
"We had a couple of refereeing decisions that went the wrong way and they ended up going down the other end and scoring, so I think we're very even sides and if you're going to pick a winner you'd have to flip a coin, because that's how close it is."
India are rebuilding after missing the Olympics for the first time, a devastating blow to the proud hockey nation, but performed well in the Punjab Gold Cup, losing to the Netherlands in the final.
They are quick on the counter-attack and have a slick penalty corner unit on show yesterday as they tuned up with a 7-1 win against the New Zealand Indians.
India scored from four of their five penalty corners, the fifth hitting the woodwork, but otherwise they were made to work hard by a committed defensive effort from the New Zealanders, who scrambled a consolation goal with the last play of the game.
HOW THEY LINE UP
New Zealand (from): David Green, Nick Haig, Andrew Hayward, Simon Child, Dean Couzins, Casey Henwood, Brad Shaw, Joel Baker, Stephen Graham, Kyle Pontifex, Phil Burrows, James Nation, Bryce Collins, Lloyd Stephenson, Shay Neal, Richard Petherick, Steve Edwards, Nick Wilson.
India (from): Baljeet Singh, Adrian d'Souza, Dilip Tirkey, Raghunath Vokkaliga Ramachandra, Gurbaj Singh, Vinaya Vakkaliga Swamy, Vikram Pillay, Prabodh Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey, Sardar Singh, Deepak Thakur, Hari Prasad, Shivendra Singh, Rajpal Singh, Arjun Halappa, Tushar Khandekar, Sunil Sowmarpet Vitalacharya, Bharat, Saranjit Singh, Sandeep Singh.
India's tour schedule:- Today: first test in Wellington, 2.30pm Tomorrow: second test in Wellington, 2.30pm February 24: v New Zealand A in Wellington February 26: v New Zealand A in Auckland February 28: third test in Auckland March 1: fourth test in Auckland
Stuff
Pak hockey team camp begins today
LAHORE: The training camp of Pakistan Hockey Team will start from Saturday (today) here at the National Hockey Stadium.
This camp is organised for the preparations of Azlan Shah Cup being held in Malaysia from April 3rd to 12 and 8th Asia Cup being held in Dubai from May 8th to 15th.
PHF already invited 40 players for the training camp. 36 players reported to the National Hockey Stadium on Friday. Four senior players Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmad, Rehan Butt and Salman Akbar did not take part in the camp. They are representing their clubs in the European League.
The players called for the camp are as under:
Goalkeepers: Nasir Ahmad, Sajid, Waseem, Muhammad Iqbal. Full Backs: Zeeshan Ashraf, Muhammad Imran, Ehsan Ullah, Muhammad Kamran, Rao Shahid, Qaiser Raza, Adnan Javed. Halves: Rana Asif, Dilawar Hussain, Muhammad Saqlain, Zeeshan Ali, Waqas Zafar, Sibtain Raza, Khurram Shahzad. Forwards: Ali Baig, Noman , Kashif Ali, Shakeel Abbasi, Waqas Sharif, Waqas Akbar, Arshad, Rana Javed, Akhtar ALI, Sajid Junaid, Muhammad Amin, Shabir Khan, Asim Khan, Tariq Aziz, Sajjad Anwar, Saeed Shah, Imtiaz Panu and Ibrar Haider.
The News International
National hockey camp begins today
Staff Report
LAHORE: A training camp of the Pakistan hockey team for the forthcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and 8th Asia Cup will start at the National Hockey Stadium here from Saturday (today). The Azlan Shah Cup will be played from April 3 to 12 in Kuala Lumpur and Asia Cup will held in Dubai from May 8 to 15.
“In all 40 players will attend the camp but only 36 have reported,” a spokesman for the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) told reporters on Friday. Those who did not report included four former Olympians Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmad, Rehan Butt and Salman Akbar who were specially invited by the PHF to reinforce the national team. “The reason of their absence is their commitments with their European clubs,” added the spokesman.
Camp probables:
Goalkeepers: Nasir Ahmad (PIA), Sajid (Railways), Waseem (Steel Mills), Muhammad Iqbal (Navy). Full-backs: Zeeshan Ashraf (NBP), Muhammad Imran (Army), Ehsan Ullah (PIA), Muhammad Kamran (Steel Mills), Rao Shahid (Army), Qaiser Raza (WAPDA), Adnan Javed (PIA). Centre-halfs: Rana Asif (WAPDA), Dilawar Hussain (PIA), Muhammad Saqlain (ABL), Zeeshan Ali (KESC), Waqas Zafar (Army), Sibtain Raza (NBP), Khurram Shahzad (HBL). Forwards: Ali Baig (Police), Noman (NWFP), Kashif Ali (Railways), Shakeel Abbasi (SSGC), Waqas Sharif (WAPDA), Waqas Akbar (PIA), Arshad (Army), Rana Javed (WAPDA), Akhtar Ali (NBP), Sajid Junaid (KESC), Muhammad Amin (Quetta), Shabir Khan (SSGC), Asim Khan, Tariq Aziz, Sajjad Anwar, Saeed Shah, Imtiaz Panu and Ibrar Haider.
The Daily Times
Men’s prov indoor hockey a three-horse race
by Jon Cook
AFTER day two of the U21 indoor hockey provincial invitation tournament at the YMCA in Pietermaritzburg Friday, it is clear that the men’s section is going down to the wire.
KZN Coastals, Southern Gauteng Invitation and dark horses Eastern Gauteng are all in the race for Saturday’s 5 pm final berths, and all three sides have pivotal matches Saturday morning that will decide the afternoon finalists in this three-day tournament.
Southerns have the easier ride when they meet KZN Coastal Colts at 10 am, while the real battle will be between Coastals and Easterns at 9 am.
Hosts Midlands are out of the men’s title race after their loss to Easterns Friday.
In the women’s section, the cross-pool playoffs will be played at St John’s from 8 am Saturday before the teams revert back to the YMCA for the classification matches and the final at 4 pm. Coastals and Midlands look the likely finalists.
RESULTS
Men: Midlands 4 Eastern Gauteng 5; KZN Coastals 5 Coastal Colts 0; KZN Coastals 3 Southern Gauteng Invitation 3; Midlands II 0 KZN Coastals 7; Midlands I 3 SG Inv 3; Mid II 0 East Gau 8.
Women: Midlands Country Districts 0 Eastern Gauteng 8; KZN Inland Schools 0 KZN Coastal Colts 4; E Gau 2 KZN Coastals 5; Mid B 0 KZN Coastal Colts 13; Mid A 3 KZN Coastals 2; Mid Inv 1 KZN Inland Schools 5.
The Cook Report
20 Teams vie for Big Apple Indoor crown this weekend in
By Jawwad Qamar
New York, Feb 20: Action packed hockey will be on display this weekend at the 2009 Big Apple International Indoor tournament when 10 men and 10 women teams from Canada and USA compete at the indoor facility of Riverbank State Park in Manhattan. 40 preliminary round matches begin at 8am on Saturday with the finals taking place late Sunday afternoon at the 11th Big Apple indoor classic.
The two veteran teams from last year’s finals; the winners, Toronto Lions and the runner-up, Charlestown Chiefs from are expected to face each other for the men’s finals once again. However, the 2006 champs Toronto Titans, the 2007 winners Rye FHC, and Chicago FHC, riding the Obama wave, can all have a say in the final outcome.
In the women's division, defending champions are going for their fourth straight title and are heavy favorites. The NCAA 2008 Champions are likely to get a run for the title from a young Team. of from and are also expected to make things difficult for Head Coach Missy Meharg’s Terrapins.
Please visit www.bigapplehockey.com for schedule and directions to the venue.
Fieldhockey.com Exclusive
Sabu shines in Bharat Petroleum's semis entry
K. Arumugam
Ever-green Sabu shone in Bharat Petroleum's passage to the semis in the Fifth Maharaja Ranjit Singh Gold cup underway at Gurgaon.
Sabu scored the all important equalizer for his side in the 65th minute which was trailing till then by an odd goal scored by Gagandeep of Punjab and Sind Bank in the 24th minute.
In the ensued tie-breaker, Bharat Petroleum converted first three strokes while the bankmen failed in their quota. The competition therefore did not go beyond three strokes
Ravi Pal, Bundhalik and Irashad Ali were the scorers while Mandeep Singh, Ranjodh Singh and Daler Singh failed for the Bank team.
Sabu Varkey has been declared the Man of the Match.
FIXTURE FOR 21st FEBRUARY, 2009 – SATURDAY
IST MATCH : II : 12.00 NOON INDIA COLTS V/s NAMDHARI XI
2ND MATCH : II : 02.00 PM INDIAN OIL V/s P.N.B.
Stick2Hockey.com
Bharat Petroleum wins
GURGAON: Bharat Petroleum defeated Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) through penalty shoot-out in the fifth Oriental Bank-Maharaja Ranjit Singh hockey tournament at the Nehru Stadium, here on Friday.
The two sides were locked 1-1 after the regulation time. Sabu Varkey of Bharat Petroleum and Gagandeep Singh of PSB were the scorers. In the penalty shoot-out, Ravi Pal, Irshad Ali and Pundalik Bellary found the target for Bharat Petroleum. Both the teams have already made it to the semifinals.
The Hindu
PHF nominates five members for FIH committees
By Mohammad Yaqoob
LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), while withdrawing former Olympian Islahuddin Siddiqui and Col (retd) Mudassar Asghar from different committees of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has nominated another five individuals for various posts in the international body.
PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa confirmed that the names of Islah (Rule Board) and Mudassar (Competition Committee) had been withdrawn.
‘The PHF has recommended the names of Hasan Sardar (Athlete), Rana Mujahid (Rule Board, in place of Islah), myself (Competition, in place of Mudassar), Shahbaz Sr, (Development and Coaching), Pervaiz Bhindara (Marketing) for the various committees but it is not necessary that all will be elected,’ he said.
Bajwa said that the change was made due to the PHF’s wish to have those people in the FIH, who were already working with the federation as they could perform better that way.
However, it is a fact that Islah, who has been associated with the FIH since 1993 as a member of the Rule Board is also on the PHF’s Executive Board.
When contacted, Islah, who was also unwell recently, told Dawn that he was not in a position to make any comments.
‘I am still recovering after my angioplasty and have no information about this. Even if the PHF has taken such a step, I have not been made aware of it by them,’ Islah said.
Meanwhile, when Bajwa was asked if the different role would affect Rana Mujahid’s performance, he said that he had so far only worked with the PHF as a member of the senior selection committee and director operations but, he added, ‘Rana Mujahid is quite capable of playing a positive role. He is doing a good job which is also why he is on board. It is also a misperception that the PHF is giving him a number of roles,’ the secretary said.
He said that Mujahid in the past had organised three tournaments in his home city Faisalabad from his own pocket for which the previous management did not even compensate him.
To yet another question, he said that the PHF had not received any invitation from the Senate Standing Committee on Sports to appear before it on Feb 23.
‘We will go to apprise the members about our achievements and future programmes and will seek their guidance on how to improve the working, after getting an official invitation from them,’ he said.
Asif, who is also the manager of the Pakistan team for the next Asia Cup, said that a long-term team management would be announced after the event.
Asif was given the additional charge after Ayaz Mahmood failed to get a release from his department, PIA, for which he worked as station manager in Moscow, to join the PHF as the head coach.
Dawn
Senate Committee to discuss hockey on 28
Staff Report
LAHORE: A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Sports will be held on February 28 here at the National Hockey Stadium to discuss hockey issues. “We have received the notice of the meeting from the concerned authorities,” a spokesman for the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) said on Friday. The PHF will inform the senators regarding ongoing hockey development projects in the country and initiatives being taken for revival of the game in the country.
The Daily Times
Easy wins for Tenaga, BJSS
By Jugjet Singh
FAVOURITES Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) and Tenaga Nasional stamped their mark with convincing opening wins in Division Two of the Malaysia Hockey League yesterday.
Double champions BJSS, fielding Under-17 players, beat Batu Pahat 4-0, while Tenaga Nasional thumped BJSS Juniors 5-0.
BJSS took the lead in the 19th minute off Izad Hakimi, and then scored three more off Yusof Mohamed Nor (31st), Hairulnizam Maizan (52nd) and Dangerous Lee Mathew (70th).
Tenaga got their goals off Sabri Mohamed (14th), Faizal Yaacob (33rd), Hafizul Akmal (40th, 50th) and Hizzat Sumantri (68th).
And former champions Old La Sallians Association of Klang (Olak) also got off to a winning start when they beat Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS) Juniors 3-2.
"It was a close game, but my boys took the chances that came their way and we managed to start on a good note. However, it is too early to celebrate as we will be meeting better prepared teams.
"Our target is to try and play in the quarter-finals, which means we have to play much better to be among the top-six in Division Two," said Olak team manager Joseph de Silva.
At the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium, Kijang Mas of Kelantan stunned Project School Setapak High, when they held them to a 0-0 draw. However, the Setapak side fielded Under-17 players while Kelantan had Under-19 players.
The only major casualties of the day were Petaling Jaya Municipal Council, who lost 2-0 to Anderson of Ipoh.
RESULTS -- Division Two: BJSS Juniors 0 Tenaga Nasional 5, MSN Malacca 1 Bandar Penawar Sports School 1, BPSS Juniors 2 Olak 3, Setapak High School 0 Kijang Mas Kelantan 0, Anderson 2 Petaling Jaya City Council 0, Batu Pahat 0 Bukit Jalil Sports School 4.
Division Three: Matri 0 MSS Penang 0, Nur Insafi 5 Datuk Taha 2, MSS Selangor 0 MSS Temerloh 1, Kuala Selangor 1 MSS Perlis 6, English College 1 Tampin-TBSS 1.
TOMORROW -- Division Two: BJSS Juniors v Setapak High (Tun Razak Stadium, 5pm), Petaling Jaya CC v BPSS (Tun Razak 7pm), BPSS Juniors v BJSS (Bandar Penawar, 5pm), Anderson v Kijang Mas (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5pm), Tenaga Nasional v MSN Malacca (KLHA Stadium, 5pm), Batu Pahat v Olak (Batu Pahat, 5pm).
Division Three: Perlis v Nur Insafi (Kangar, 5pm), Penang v Temerloh (USM Stadium, 5pm), TBSS-Tampin v Matri (Tampin, 5pm), Selangor v Datuk Taha (Pandamaran Stadium, 5pm), English College v Kuala Selangor (Johor Baru, 5pm).
New Straits Times
Fancied teams BJSS, Tenaga open campaign with big wins
By S. RAMAGURU
KUALA LUMPUR: Last year’s Junior Hockey League double champions Bukit Jalil Sports School continued to flex their muscles in the new Malaysia Hockey League Under-19 category with a 4-0 win over Johor Sports Council-Batu Pahat at the JB Hockey Stadium yesterday.
Six matches kicked off in the Division Two with BJSS and last year’s runners-up Tenaga Nasional chalking up big wins.
Bukit Jalil’s Mohamed Izzat Hakim opened accounts in the 19th minute followed by Mohamed Yusof in the 31st minute. After the break, Hairulnizam Mazlan and Dangerous Lee added the other goals in the 52nd and 70th minutes respectively.
Their second team, BJSS Juniors, however had a poor start when they went down tamely 0-5 to former champions Tenaga Nasional at the Tun Razak Stadium.
Tenaga Nasional hardly faced any resistance in their opening match. Mohamed Sabri opened the scoring in the 14th minute followed by Faizal Yaacoob in the 33rd minute.
Mohamed Hafizul helped himself to a brace in the 40th and 50th minutes before Nor Izzal Sumantri wrapped it up with a goal in the 69th minute.
Former champions Old La Sallians Association of Klang (Olak) also got off to a winning start with a 3-2 win over Bandar Penawar SS Juniors at the Pandamaran Hockey Stadium in Klang.
Olak scored through Azraie Azizan (12th), Ahmad Fudhai (25th) and Arshad Repiki Ali in the 52nd minutes.
The goals from BPSS Juniors came through the efforts of Mohamed Hafiz Saleman in the 28th minute and Shahril Saabah in the 63rd minute.
MSN Malacca and Bandar Penawar SS turned in a 1-1 draw at the Bukit Serendit Hockey Stadium in Malacca.
Mohamed Noor Faeez scored with a penalty stroke in the 33th minute to put BPSS in the lead. But Mohamed Hanif Rahim scored the equaliser in the 53rd minute through a penalty corner.
At the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, SM Anderson opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ). Their goal scorers were Mohamed Firdau and Mohamed Zairul Akmar.
Last years Division Two champions, Mas Kijang from Kelantan were held to a scoreless draw with Setapak High at the KL Hockey Stadium.
The Star of Malaysia
Coach Rajan to rope in players who shine in MHL
KUALA LUMPUR: The National Juniors team have been trimmed to 26 players but the door is still open for players who impress during the Malaysia Hockey League (Under-19 category) which started yesterday.
National Juniors coach K. Rajan said players who proved they can play well consistently during the league will be roped in.
“I had a talk with Juniors manager Johari Abdul Aziz and we agreed to include players who are exceptionally good.
“We will try and look at some of the matches when we can and coaches and team officials will also be on the lookout for good players during the MHL. We will then assess the players and make a decision,’’ said Rajan.
The MHL Under-19 category started off yesterday with 12 teams in Division Two and 10 in Division Three.
The National Juniors are preparing for the Junior World Cup which will be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore from June 7-21.
The Juniors are not involved in the MHL and are currently in Penang on a nine-day training stint.
They will move to Johor Baru on March 3. They will play two matches against the Penang state team over the next few days.
Only 24 players have gone to Penang as Wong Kee Hoon and goalkeeper Hairi Abdul Rahman are nursing injuries and will only join the team in Johor Baru.
Rajan said the stint in Penang is to give the players a break before they start their final run-in in Johor.
The team will play in a Four-Nation meet in Johor Baru from March 11-15. The other teams involved are India, Pakistan and Singapore.
The team will then go on a European tour in April and then complete their final phase of training in Johor Baru.
The Star of Malaysia