News for 30 May 2009
Saturday, 30 May 2009 08:53 | 
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All the news for Saturday 30 May 2009
Sell-out EHL Final Four ready to begin!
A sell-out crowd will watch this weekend’s stunning climax to the 2008-09 season of the Euro Hockey League, known as EHL Final Four. Such has been the demand for tickets, the EHL took the decision on Thursday to build an extra stand to boost capacity at H.C. Rotterdam, but even these tickets have been snapped up at an unprecedented rate meaning that there will be no tickets available for purchase at the venue entrance. It is an extraordinary situation showing the huge popularity of European hockey’s showpiece tournament.
36 matches have been played so far in this year’s competition, reducing 24 of Europe’s best club teams down to just four, all of which will compete in this weekend’s Grand Finale. Reigning champions UHC Hamburg have battled their way once again to the Semi Final stage where they will face Belgium minnows KHC Leuven, a team that has surprised everyone by eliminating two former European Champions. The second Semi Final is an all-Dutch affair, with Teun de Nooijer’s HC Bloemendaal taking on host club H.C. Rotterdam. The Semi Finals take place on Saturday, with the Third Place Play-Off and the EHL tournament final taking place on Sunday. It promises to be a weekend of spectacular action featuring some of the world’s best players in arguably the world’s finest club competition.
WWW.EHLHOCKEY.TV - the official website of the Euro Hockey League - will be broadcasting all of the action from this weekend’s EHL Final Four event in Rotterdam via its live streaming service, ensuring that the outstanding conclusion to the tournament will be seen by as many people as possible. All four matches will be broadcasted live over two days of competition, with the coverage featuring the two exciting Semi Final clashes on Saturday 30th May with the Final and Third Place Play-Off on taking place on Sunday 31st May. It is your chance to watch this incredible competition being televised in the best way possible, with incredible close-ups, stunning camera angles and video replays all adding to the experience.
You can find more information about all of these stories and many others at www.ehlhockey.tv – the official website of the Euro Hockey League.
Euro Hockey League media release
Caldas: Rotterdam are a “terrific side”
HC Bloemendaal coach Max Caldas has put last weekend’s stunning victory in the Dutch Play-Offs behind him, insisting that his team are firmly focussed on success during this weekend’s EHL Final Four competition. The Argentinean coach won the Dutch Championship in his first season in charge of Bloemendaal thanks to a Ronald Brouwer Golden Goal against Amsterdam H&BC in the Play-Off Finals last Sunday, but despite the success it was not ideal preparation ahead of the Euro Hockey League.
“I think the Play-Offs and the EHL are two completely different things”, said Caldas, who is aiming to win Bloemendaal’s first elite European title since 2001. “They have different rules and a different format as well so we are not banking on our performances in the Play-Offs to get ready for the EHL. It would not be the right thing to do. We have really enjoyed ourselves playing in the Dutch Play-Offs but that is over now. This weekend is something different, and that is the way we look at it. A fresh start once again.”
Bloemendaal go into their Semi Final match against H.C. Rotterdam with a fully fit squad, with Jamie Dwyer being a notable addition to the team that recorded two victories at KO16 Hamburg. Dwyer missed the last 16 and Quarter Final matches in Hamburg due to the birth of his first child, and the two time World Hockey Player of the Year is rumoured to be fired up for the EHL Final Four tournament. Despite this, Caldas refuses to single out any individuals ahead of the weekend. “It is difficult to say who is the most in form player. I like the way the team is moving at this point in time.”
H.C. Rotterdam has faced H.C. Bloemendaal many times in the last few weeks, most recently in the Dutch Play-Off Semi Finals. Bloemendaal managed to win the three game series 2-1, although significantly Rotterdam recorded a victory in the home leg of that fixture. Caldas is a man who has a great deal of respect for his opponents, and knows that his players will not underestimate them.
“I think they are a terrific, powerful side, there is no question in my mind about that. I have no special thoughts about playing them again. It is the way it has to be for both of us and we have to deal with it. They have a lot of qualities, from individual skills owned by Jeroen Hertzberger, Mark Knowles and Waseem Ahmad through to penalty corners with Sohail Abbas and their tip ins. They also have scoring power with Child and Burrows and players with a huge work rate such as Willem Hertzberger and Robert Tigges. They are a very good team!”
When asked about what it would mean for Bloemendaal to lift Europe’s top club prize for the first time since 2001, Caldas replied: “The only thing that matters is that we have given ourselves a chance to play for a prize, that's all. It is the same chance that three other clubs have.”
HC Bloemendaal play H.C. Rotterdam in the Euro Hockey League Semi Finals today. The match takes place at 14.30 (CEST / GMT+1) on Saturday 30th May at H.C. Rotterdam. All of the matches from the weekend will be broadcasted live on EHLHOCKEY.TV via the live streaming service.
Euro Hockey League media release
Young Black Sticks chasing cup glory
By JONATHAN MILLMOW
The Junior Black Sticks have 6000 reasons to play like possessed young men at the World Cup in Singapore and Malaysia next week.
The 18 players have had to raise $6000 each after Hockey New Zealand whipped away funding for the trip from under their noses and re-channelled it to the national women's team.
Initially, the Junior Black Sticks had to raise $2000 each but that became $6000 when HNZ had to change tack when Sparc stopped funding the women after their disastrous Olympic Games effort in Beijing.
There is an irony that is hard to overlook. Sparc punished HNZ, which in turn took out its frustration on the Junior Black Sticks, who just happen to be coached by Sparc chief executive Peter Miskimmin.
Anyway, after golf days, movie nights, wine sales and endless other fundraisers, the 23 players have all reached their magical figure and will board a flight for Singapore on Monday.
The Wellington contingent are Stephen Jenness, Blair Hilton, Alex Schroder, Alex Shaw and Blair Tarrant, all members of the capital team that won the national under-21 tournament earlier this month.
Jenness is one of the stars of the New Zealand team. The 18-year-old from the Hutt club will form a classy striking partnership with senior Black Stick Simon Child.
Jenness has worked in the Bluebird Foods factory and done landscape gardening to get himself to Singapore and feels the hardship in getting to the tournament has galvanised the group.
"We came up with a decision that we still wanted to go, so we all just went for it," Jenness said.
"I'm a bit nervous but excited at the same time. It's not every day you get to fly away to an international event like this.
"I'm pretty happy with how I'm playing at the moment. I've been scoring a few goals, so hopefully I'm peaking at the right time."
No-one rates the Junior Blacks after they were humiliated at an eight-nation tournament in Malaysia early last year.
However, by the end of the year they were good enough to draw and narrowly lose twice to Australia in Australia. Then last weekend they twice beat a New Zealand selection that included half a dozen of the Black Sticks men's squad.
Twenty teams are contesting the Junior World Cup and New Zealand are in pool D with minnows Poland and Singapore and powerhouses India and the Netherlands.
"We are going to have to knock over one of India or the Netherlands to get through to the next phase," Jenness said.
Wellington Indians' Blair Hilton has already played for the national men's side and will be one of the steadying influences on the New Zealand side.
He has a fulltime job as a salesman but got to the $6000 mark quicker than he might have thanks to the generosity of his father, who shelved plans to make the trip himself.
"We have a hard pool and we will have to focus on every game because Poland will be tough and Singapore will have the home crowd," Hilton said.
"Apparently all the Poles are six foot and tough, they play indoors a lot.
"We're all improved from last year so it will be interesting to see how it goes. We can cause some huge upsets if we play well."
OFF TO SINGAPORE
Squad: Joseph Bartholomew, Shay Neal (North Harbour), Marcus Child, Simon Child (captain), Devon Manchester, Arun Panchia (Auckland), Ricky Clarke (Midlands), Callum Bailey, Nick Wilson (Central), Blair Hilton, Stephen Jenness, Alex Schroder, Alex Shaw, Blair Tarrant, (Wellington), George Connell, Isaac Staples (Canterbury), Hugo Inglis, Nick Ross (Southern).
Coach: Peter Miskimmin. Assistant: Shane McLeod.
Schedule: June 7 v Poland, June 9 v India, June 11 v Singapore, June 12 v Netherlands, June 14 medal rounds, June 21 final.
Stuff
Euro champs Spain set sights on winning Junior W-Cup
By AFTAR SINGH
KUALA LUMPUR: European champions Spain are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to win the Junior World Cup hockey tournament, which Malaysia will co-host with Singapore from June 7-21.
Spain team manager Alejo Noblom said the best they had done in the tournament was a third placing in Rotterdam in 2005.
“This time we are well prepared, both physically and mentally, to give a stronger challenge to our opponents and bag our first Junior World Cup title.
“We have been working hard since winning the European junior tournament last July,” Noblom said in a telephone interview from Johor Baru yesterday.
Spain, who are in Group C with Malaysia, South Korea and the United States, were the first foreign team to arrive in Johor Baru on Wednesday.
Noblom explained that they decided to arrive 10 days earlier to get used to the humid weather and the new pitch at Taman Daya Hockey Stadium.
“The pitch is a little bumpy but my players will be able to get used to it by the time we play our first match next weekend,” said Noblom, whose team will open their campaign against the US on June 8.
The Spaniards will be led by Roc Oliva Isern, who was a member of Spain’s senior team who bagged the silver medal in the Beijing Olympics last August.
“Oliva is an experienced player, having represented the national senior team more than 20 times,” said Noblom, who is confident that his team can beat their group rivals to emerge as champions to reach the second round.
“We have beaten England and Malaysia in the four-nation invitational tournament in Seville in March and we can do it again.
“The teams who can give us a real fight for the title are defending champions Argentina, Australia and India,” said Noblom.
Argentina are in Group A with Belgium, Egypt, Pakistan and Russia while Group B comprises Australia, Chile, Germany, South Africa and Japan. Group D will have India, Holland, New Zealand, Poland and Singapore.
The top two teams in each group will advance into the second round, which begins on June 14.
The Star of Malaysia
Seniors hand National Juniors another lesson
KUALA LUMPUR: The National Juniors ended their two-match friendly against the national senior hockey team in familiar fashion – defeat.
The Juniors, who are preparing for the Junior World Cup – to be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore from June 7 – were outplayed 2-6 on Thursday.
And yesterday the Juniors lost 3-5.
Both matches were played at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
National Juniors coach K. Rajan shrugged off the defeats, saying the matches were “more of a workout for my boys”.
“The score is not important as my players needed to get some quality matches,” said Rajan.
The Juniors will leave for Johor Baru today and will play two friendly matches – against Belgium on Tuesday and Pakistan on Thursday.
Rajan will name his final squad of 18 players after the match against Pakistan.
The Star of Malaysia
Geriatrics grapple at Forthbank home international tourney
Scottish Hockey veterans host the first ever home international tournament, for the over 60s Grand Masters men, this weekend at Forthbank Stadium in Stirling.
82-year-old George Black, President of Scottish Veterans LX Hockey Club and the team’s goalkeeper, said: "We’re hoping this tournament will become a regular series for us older players, all qualifying for bus passes, who still turn out on the hockey pitch every weekend.
“We may have slowed down over the years but so have the opposition, so the challenge is just as exciting for us as it is for our younger counterparts.”
Scotland will challenge England and Wales for the Linburn Trophy, donated by Linburn Industries. Scotland’s Grand Masters face tough competition as England and Wales have strong squads, both of which finished above Scotland in the 2008 European Championships in Barcelona last year.
Scotland went on to finish a creditable fifth in the World Championships in Hong Kong later in 2008, avoiding England, the eventual winners, in the draw.
In addition to the tournament this weekend, Scotland’s Great Grand Masters, men over 65, play England in a double header.
These matches also promise to be close affairs, as there was little between the teams in their respective age group in Barcelona’s European Championships where the result was a no-scoring draw with England, who went on to win the trophy.
Scotland’s Grand Masters push back against Wales first at 17:45 Saturday evening. Sunday they start off against England at 09:30 before challenging Wales again at 13:00.
The Great Grand Masters start their series against England at 16:00 on Saturday followed by at 11:15 match time on Sunday.
Match Schedule
Saturday 30 May
12:45 England training session
14:15 Scotland Grand Masters training session
16:00 England v Scotland Great Grand Masters
17:45 England v Wales Grand Masters
Sunday 31 May
09:30 Scotland v England Grand Masters
11:15 Scotland v England Great Grand Masters
13:00 Wales v Scotland Grand Masters
14:15 Presentation of Linburn Trophy (Grand Masters) by Scottish Hockey Honorary President Martin Boag
Squad details:
Scotland Grand Masters
George Black (GK) Stepps
Alan Auld (Capt) Giffnock
Alan Bryce Kelburne
Douglas Caren Carnegie
Alex Cathro Dundee Wanderers
Roy Crichton Waverley Inveresk
Ian Downie Aberdeen GSFP
Tony Duguid Aberdeen GSFP
Douglas Dunlop Clydesdale
Andrew Ferrol ex Clydesdale
Allan Golightly Waverley Inveresk
David Margerison Ilkley
David McIntosh Carnegie
Paul Monkman Ben Rhydding
Colin Tucker Reivers
Sandy Weir Edinburgh HC
Scotland Great Grand Masters
Matt Aird Helensburgh
Howard Andrew ex Western
Alan Bremner Nairn
David Cassell (Capt) Taunton Vale
Ernie DiRollo Bowdon
Keith Forster Carnegie
Ron Fraser (GK) Aberdeen GSFP
Rab Keddie Carnegie
Kieran McLernan Aberdeen GSFP
Doug Morrice Edinburgh HC
Donald Paterson Vancouver
Norrie Springford Edinburgh HC
Alan Strachan Granite City Wanderers
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Team has foundations to match world's best
By Terry Maddaford
National women's hockey coach Mark Hager is convinced the players named next week for the four-match series against India will have the individual skills to match the best in the world but he reserves judgment on how they will perform as a team.
Hager and his co-selectors met yesterday after the last of four back-to-back trial matches at Lloyd Elsmore Park this week to select the 18 players for the games - not official tests - against India in Christchurch and Nelson next month and an expanded national squad of up to 25 players.
It was Hager's first real look at budding Black Sticks despite being in the country since January.
There was plenty of new talent on display with only Gemma Flynn, Kate Saunders and Stacey Carr of the 16-strong squad who disappointed at last year's Beijing Olympics in action. Other Olympians Krystal Forgesson, Emily Naylor, Kayla Sharland and Sheree Horvath opted out of the trials because of on-going European commitments but may well be named by Hager when he releases the squads next week.
"I feel we are heading in the right direction," said Hager. "Individually skill-wise I feel the players are up there but now we need to see where we are at when competing internationally. The team who play India will be vastly different from the one who played at the Olympics.
"Some of the players who weren't here for the trials will definitely be considered both to play India and for inclusion in the national squad. Others from that team have either retired or made themselves unavailable in the meantime at least."
Asked whether the next Anna Lawrence, Suzie Muirhead, Mandy Smith or Lizzy Igasan - all standout players for New Zealand in recent times - will emerge from this latest group, Hager said he felt there were three or four players with the potential to be world class. "It is now up to them to put the time in and show they want to do it," he said.
Hager said the new rules which had been in force this year had not met universal acceptance but the players were coming to grips with them.
"We haven't spoken about them at length but we have to quickly learn how we and other teams utilise them."
On the vexed question of finding a truly international drag flicker, Hager said those who had been tried so far were "pretty raw" but said he was prepared to be patient.
"We have focused on four or five players but we need to realise it can take up to two years to become really proficient. The drag flick option at penalty corners gives you so many variations so we have to work at it but at the same time be patient."
Of a more pressing concern is the determination by Hager to see the Black Sticks climb the world rankings. Now outside the top 10, Hager says it will be a challenge.
"Under the ranking system it is difficult to climb even one or two places but we have a good chance to assess our progress with matches against some of the world's best with series against Argentina and China in July and Australia in the Oceania tournament in Invercargill in August."
NZ Herald
‘Hockey house to be put in order’
M S Unnikrishnan, Tribune New Service
New Delhi, May 29: Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Dr Manohar Singh Gill assured here today that a new unified democratic hockey body, by merging the men’s and women’s associations, would be put in place very soon to enable India to host the 2010 Hockey World Cup without any hitch.
Dr Gill said this while interacting with a select group of reporters immediately after taking over as the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports at his Shastri Bhawan office here today.
Dr Gill was Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports with independent charge in the previous Congress-led UPA Government from April 6, 2008 to May 15, 2009 and did much for the wheels to move on the Commonwealth Games front.
But now that he has been promoted as a Cabinet Minister, he looks forward to contribute substantially for the promotion of sports in the country, by keeping strict checks and balances on the money spent by the ministry.
“During the last one year, several initiatives were taken and I will continue to work with the same momentum”, he said. “Whatever bottlenecks were there in the construction of stadia by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) have been removed and am confident that all timelines will be met,” he added.
Dr Gill said he had taken up with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi the urgent need to form a democratic “Hockey India” body with the unification of the men’s and women’s associations, as has been the norm world-wide.
He said he was satisfied with the approach of new foregin coach Jose Manuel Brasa of Spain and will provide whatever technical support he needs.
Dr Gill said he had requested the Finance Ministry to sanction at least Rs 10 crore so that deserving sportspersons could be rewarded. “Imagine an athlete of P.T.Usha’s standing was getting a monthly pension of Rs 4000, which I have doubled to Rs 8000. Athletes like Usha and Milkha Singh should be getting at least Rs 20,000 per month,” he noted.
The Tribune
UiTM reduce Malacca’s lead to four points
KUALA LUMPUR: Mirhardy Nawawi scored a hat-trick to help Malacca City Council (MCC) thrash Armed Forces Juniors 7-0 in a Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Division One match at the Malacca Hockey Stadium yesterday.
Mirhardy was on target in the 34th, 41st and 44th minutes while Mohd Syakir Amir Kamarudin (12th, 15th) and Mohd Fareez Ismail (57th, 70th) scored a brace each.
However, MCC saw their lead at the top cut to four points after UiTM moved into second place with a 1-0 win over the Dolphins.
The Malacca side’s next match is at home against Ipoh City Council tomorrow.
Universiti Malaysia Perlis (Unimap), meanwhile, came back from a goal down to edge Armed Forces Airod 2-1 at the Tun Razak Stadium. It was Unimap’s first win in five matches.
Armed Forces Airod dropped to third place on seven points after the setback.
Ahmad Azuan Syahrill put Airod ahead in the 34th minute before Unimap fought back in the last 15 minutes to score twice through Mohd Yusri Yusob (55th minute) and Noor Fazemil Naim (64th).
The Star of Malaysia
John nets six
Kovilpatti: John Varghese played a stellar role with a tally of six goals for Canara Bank (Bangalore), which overwhelmed Rajesh Pillai Sports Academy (Pune) 10-2 in the pre-quarterfinals of the Lakshmi Ammal all-India hockey tournament at KR Nagar here on Thursday. The winner led 6-1 at half-time.
Sunil Benjamin (two), Mudappa and Appanna were the other scores for the Bangalore outfit, while Amit Rajput and Deep Patel netted for the Pune team.
In another match, Southern Railway beat Tamil Nadu colts 2-0 to enter the quarterfinals. Diwakar scored the goals.
Royals holds Guards
HYDERABAD: Royal Club drew 1-1 with AC Guards in the A-2 division league hockey championship on Friday.
Srikanth scored for Royal club and Haneef for Guards.
The Hindu
Sell-out EHL Final Four ready to begin!
A sell-out crowd will watch this weekend’s stunning climax to the 2008-09 season of the Euro Hockey League, known as EHL Final Four. Such has been the demand for tickets, the EHL took the decision on Thursday to build an extra stand to boost capacity at H.C. Rotterdam, but even these tickets have been snapped up at an unprecedented rate meaning that there will be no tickets available for purchase at the venue entrance. It is an extraordinary situation showing the huge popularity of European hockey’s showpiece tournament.
36 matches have been played so far in this year’s competition, reducing 24 of Europe’s best club teams down to just four, all of which will compete in this weekend’s Grand Finale. Reigning champions UHC Hamburg have battled their way once again to the Semi Final stage where they will face Belgium minnows KHC Leuven, a team that has surprised everyone by eliminating two former European Champions. The second Semi Final is an all-Dutch affair, with Teun de Nooijer’s HC Bloemendaal taking on host club H.C. Rotterdam. The Semi Finals take place on Saturday, with the Third Place Play-Off and the EHL tournament final taking place on Sunday. It promises to be a weekend of spectacular action featuring some of the world’s best players in arguably the world’s finest club competition.
WWW.EHLHOCKEY.TV - the official website of the Euro Hockey League - will be broadcasting all of the action from this weekend’s EHL Final Four event in Rotterdam via its live streaming service, ensuring that the outstanding conclusion to the tournament will be seen by as many people as possible. All four matches will be broadcasted live over two days of competition, with the coverage featuring the two exciting Semi Final clashes on Saturday 30th May with the Final and Third Place Play-Off on taking place on Sunday 31st May. It is your chance to watch this incredible competition being televised in the best way possible, with incredible close-ups, stunning camera angles and video replays all adding to the experience.
You can find more information about all of these stories and many others at www.ehlhockey.tv – the official website of the Euro Hockey League.
Euro Hockey League media release
Caldas: Rotterdam are a “terrific side”
HC Bloemendaal coach Max Caldas has put last weekend’s stunning victory in the Dutch Play-Offs behind him, insisting that his team are firmly focussed on success during this weekend’s EHL Final Four competition. The Argentinean coach won the Dutch Championship in his first season in charge of Bloemendaal thanks to a Ronald Brouwer Golden Goal against Amsterdam H&BC in the Play-Off Finals last Sunday, but despite the success it was not ideal preparation ahead of the Euro Hockey League.
“I think the Play-Offs and the EHL are two completely different things”, said Caldas, who is aiming to win Bloemendaal’s first elite European title since 2001. “They have different rules and a different format as well so we are not banking on our performances in the Play-Offs to get ready for the EHL. It would not be the right thing to do. We have really enjoyed ourselves playing in the Dutch Play-Offs but that is over now. This weekend is something different, and that is the way we look at it. A fresh start once again.”
Bloemendaal go into their Semi Final match against H.C. Rotterdam with a fully fit squad, with Jamie Dwyer being a notable addition to the team that recorded two victories at KO16 Hamburg. Dwyer missed the last 16 and Quarter Final matches in Hamburg due to the birth of his first child, and the two time World Hockey Player of the Year is rumoured to be fired up for the EHL Final Four tournament. Despite this, Caldas refuses to single out any individuals ahead of the weekend. “It is difficult to say who is the most in form player. I like the way the team is moving at this point in time.”
H.C. Rotterdam has faced H.C. Bloemendaal many times in the last few weeks, most recently in the Dutch Play-Off Semi Finals. Bloemendaal managed to win the three game series 2-1, although significantly Rotterdam recorded a victory in the home leg of that fixture. Caldas is a man who has a great deal of respect for his opponents, and knows that his players will not underestimate them.
“I think they are a terrific, powerful side, there is no question in my mind about that. I have no special thoughts about playing them again. It is the way it has to be for both of us and we have to deal with it. They have a lot of qualities, from individual skills owned by Jeroen Hertzberger, Mark Knowles and Waseem Ahmad through to penalty corners with Sohail Abbas and their tip ins. They also have scoring power with Child and Burrows and players with a huge work rate such as Willem Hertzberger and Robert Tigges. They are a very good team!”
When asked about what it would mean for Bloemendaal to lift Europe’s top club prize for the first time since 2001, Caldas replied: “The only thing that matters is that we have given ourselves a chance to play for a prize, that's all. It is the same chance that three other clubs have.”
HC Bloemendaal play H.C. Rotterdam in the Euro Hockey League Semi Finals today. The match takes place at 14.30 (CEST / GMT+1) on Saturday 30th May at H.C. Rotterdam. All of the matches from the weekend will be broadcasted live on EHLHOCKEY.TV via the live streaming service.
Euro Hockey League media release
Young Black Sticks chasing cup glory
By JONATHAN MILLMOW
The Junior Black Sticks have 6000 reasons to play like possessed young men at the World Cup in Singapore and Malaysia next week.
The 18 players have had to raise $6000 each after Hockey New Zealand whipped away funding for the trip from under their noses and re-channelled it to the national women's team.
Initially, the Junior Black Sticks had to raise $2000 each but that became $6000 when HNZ had to change tack when Sparc stopped funding the women after their disastrous Olympic Games effort in Beijing.
There is an irony that is hard to overlook. Sparc punished HNZ, which in turn took out its frustration on the Junior Black Sticks, who just happen to be coached by Sparc chief executive Peter Miskimmin.
Anyway, after golf days, movie nights, wine sales and endless other fundraisers, the 23 players have all reached their magical figure and will board a flight for Singapore on Monday.
The Wellington contingent are Stephen Jenness, Blair Hilton, Alex Schroder, Alex Shaw and Blair Tarrant, all members of the capital team that won the national under-21 tournament earlier this month.
Jenness is one of the stars of the New Zealand team. The 18-year-old from the Hutt club will form a classy striking partnership with senior Black Stick Simon Child.
Jenness has worked in the Bluebird Foods factory and done landscape gardening to get himself to Singapore and feels the hardship in getting to the tournament has galvanised the group.
"We came up with a decision that we still wanted to go, so we all just went for it," Jenness said.
"I'm a bit nervous but excited at the same time. It's not every day you get to fly away to an international event like this.
"I'm pretty happy with how I'm playing at the moment. I've been scoring a few goals, so hopefully I'm peaking at the right time."
No-one rates the Junior Blacks after they were humiliated at an eight-nation tournament in Malaysia early last year.
However, by the end of the year they were good enough to draw and narrowly lose twice to Australia in Australia. Then last weekend they twice beat a New Zealand selection that included half a dozen of the Black Sticks men's squad.
Twenty teams are contesting the Junior World Cup and New Zealand are in pool D with minnows Poland and Singapore and powerhouses India and the Netherlands.
"We are going to have to knock over one of India or the Netherlands to get through to the next phase," Jenness said.
Wellington Indians' Blair Hilton has already played for the national men's side and will be one of the steadying influences on the New Zealand side.
He has a fulltime job as a salesman but got to the $6000 mark quicker than he might have thanks to the generosity of his father, who shelved plans to make the trip himself.
"We have a hard pool and we will have to focus on every game because Poland will be tough and Singapore will have the home crowd," Hilton said.
"Apparently all the Poles are six foot and tough, they play indoors a lot.
"We're all improved from last year so it will be interesting to see how it goes. We can cause some huge upsets if we play well."
OFF TO SINGAPORE
Squad: Joseph Bartholomew, Shay Neal (North Harbour), Marcus Child, Simon Child (captain), Devon Manchester, Arun Panchia (Auckland), Ricky Clarke (Midlands), Callum Bailey, Nick Wilson (Central), Blair Hilton, Stephen Jenness, Alex Schroder, Alex Shaw, Blair Tarrant, (Wellington), George Connell, Isaac Staples (Canterbury), Hugo Inglis, Nick Ross (Southern).
Coach: Peter Miskimmin. Assistant: Shane McLeod.
Schedule: June 7 v Poland, June 9 v India, June 11 v Singapore, June 12 v Netherlands, June 14 medal rounds, June 21 final.
Stuff
Euro champs Spain set sights on winning Junior W-Cup
By AFTAR SINGH
KUALA LUMPUR: European champions Spain are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to win the Junior World Cup hockey tournament, which Malaysia will co-host with Singapore from June 7-21.
Spain team manager Alejo Noblom said the best they had done in the tournament was a third placing in Rotterdam in 2005.
“This time we are well prepared, both physically and mentally, to give a stronger challenge to our opponents and bag our first Junior World Cup title.
“We have been working hard since winning the European junior tournament last July,” Noblom said in a telephone interview from Johor Baru yesterday.
Spain, who are in Group C with Malaysia, South Korea and the United States, were the first foreign team to arrive in Johor Baru on Wednesday.
Noblom explained that they decided to arrive 10 days earlier to get used to the humid weather and the new pitch at Taman Daya Hockey Stadium.
“The pitch is a little bumpy but my players will be able to get used to it by the time we play our first match next weekend,” said Noblom, whose team will open their campaign against the US on June 8.
The Spaniards will be led by Roc Oliva Isern, who was a member of Spain’s senior team who bagged the silver medal in the Beijing Olympics last August.
“Oliva is an experienced player, having represented the national senior team more than 20 times,” said Noblom, who is confident that his team can beat their group rivals to emerge as champions to reach the second round.
“We have beaten England and Malaysia in the four-nation invitational tournament in Seville in March and we can do it again.
“The teams who can give us a real fight for the title are defending champions Argentina, Australia and India,” said Noblom.
Argentina are in Group A with Belgium, Egypt, Pakistan and Russia while Group B comprises Australia, Chile, Germany, South Africa and Japan. Group D will have India, Holland, New Zealand, Poland and Singapore.
The top two teams in each group will advance into the second round, which begins on June 14.
The Star of Malaysia
Seniors hand National Juniors another lesson
KUALA LUMPUR: The National Juniors ended their two-match friendly against the national senior hockey team in familiar fashion – defeat.
The Juniors, who are preparing for the Junior World Cup – to be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore from June 7 – were outplayed 2-6 on Thursday.
And yesterday the Juniors lost 3-5.
Both matches were played at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
National Juniors coach K. Rajan shrugged off the defeats, saying the matches were “more of a workout for my boys”.
“The score is not important as my players needed to get some quality matches,” said Rajan.
The Juniors will leave for Johor Baru today and will play two friendly matches – against Belgium on Tuesday and Pakistan on Thursday.
Rajan will name his final squad of 18 players after the match against Pakistan.
The Star of Malaysia
Geriatrics grapple at Forthbank home international tourney
Scottish Hockey veterans host the first ever home international tournament, for the over 60s Grand Masters men, this weekend at Forthbank Stadium in Stirling.
82-year-old George Black, President of Scottish Veterans LX Hockey Club and the team’s goalkeeper, said: "We’re hoping this tournament will become a regular series for us older players, all qualifying for bus passes, who still turn out on the hockey pitch every weekend.
“We may have slowed down over the years but so have the opposition, so the challenge is just as exciting for us as it is for our younger counterparts.”
Scotland will challenge England and Wales for the Linburn Trophy, donated by Linburn Industries. Scotland’s Grand Masters face tough competition as England and Wales have strong squads, both of which finished above Scotland in the 2008 European Championships in Barcelona last year.
Scotland went on to finish a creditable fifth in the World Championships in Hong Kong later in 2008, avoiding England, the eventual winners, in the draw.
In addition to the tournament this weekend, Scotland’s Great Grand Masters, men over 65, play England in a double header.
These matches also promise to be close affairs, as there was little between the teams in their respective age group in Barcelona’s European Championships where the result was a no-scoring draw with England, who went on to win the trophy.
Scotland’s Grand Masters push back against Wales first at 17:45 Saturday evening. Sunday they start off against England at 09:30 before challenging Wales again at 13:00.
The Great Grand Masters start their series against England at 16:00 on Saturday followed by at 11:15 match time on Sunday.
Match Schedule
Saturday 30 May
12:45 England training session
14:15 Scotland Grand Masters training session
16:00 England v Scotland Great Grand Masters
17:45 England v Wales Grand Masters
Sunday 31 May
09:30 Scotland v England Grand Masters
11:15 Scotland v England Great Grand Masters
13:00 Wales v Scotland Grand Masters
14:15 Presentation of Linburn Trophy (Grand Masters) by Scottish Hockey Honorary President Martin Boag
Squad details:
Scotland Grand Masters
George Black (GK) Stepps
Alan Auld (Capt) Giffnock
Alan Bryce Kelburne
Douglas Caren Carnegie
Alex Cathro Dundee Wanderers
Roy Crichton Waverley Inveresk
Ian Downie Aberdeen GSFP
Tony Duguid Aberdeen GSFP
Douglas Dunlop Clydesdale
Andrew Ferrol ex Clydesdale
Allan Golightly Waverley Inveresk
David Margerison Ilkley
David McIntosh Carnegie
Paul Monkman Ben Rhydding
Colin Tucker Reivers
Sandy Weir Edinburgh HC
Scotland Great Grand Masters
Matt Aird Helensburgh
Howard Andrew ex Western
Alan Bremner Nairn
David Cassell (Capt) Taunton Vale
Ernie DiRollo Bowdon
Keith Forster Carnegie
Ron Fraser (GK) Aberdeen GSFP
Rab Keddie Carnegie
Kieran McLernan Aberdeen GSFP
Doug Morrice Edinburgh HC
Donald Paterson Vancouver
Norrie Springford Edinburgh HC
Alan Strachan Granite City Wanderers
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Team has foundations to match world's best
By Terry Maddaford
National women's hockey coach Mark Hager is convinced the players named next week for the four-match series against India will have the individual skills to match the best in the world but he reserves judgment on how they will perform as a team.
Hager and his co-selectors met yesterday after the last of four back-to-back trial matches at Lloyd Elsmore Park this week to select the 18 players for the games - not official tests - against India in Christchurch and Nelson next month and an expanded national squad of up to 25 players.
It was Hager's first real look at budding Black Sticks despite being in the country since January.
There was plenty of new talent on display with only Gemma Flynn, Kate Saunders and Stacey Carr of the 16-strong squad who disappointed at last year's Beijing Olympics in action. Other Olympians Krystal Forgesson, Emily Naylor, Kayla Sharland and Sheree Horvath opted out of the trials because of on-going European commitments but may well be named by Hager when he releases the squads next week.
"I feel we are heading in the right direction," said Hager. "Individually skill-wise I feel the players are up there but now we need to see where we are at when competing internationally. The team who play India will be vastly different from the one who played at the Olympics.
"Some of the players who weren't here for the trials will definitely be considered both to play India and for inclusion in the national squad. Others from that team have either retired or made themselves unavailable in the meantime at least."
Asked whether the next Anna Lawrence, Suzie Muirhead, Mandy Smith or Lizzy Igasan - all standout players for New Zealand in recent times - will emerge from this latest group, Hager said he felt there were three or four players with the potential to be world class. "It is now up to them to put the time in and show they want to do it," he said.
Hager said the new rules which had been in force this year had not met universal acceptance but the players were coming to grips with them.
"We haven't spoken about them at length but we have to quickly learn how we and other teams utilise them."
On the vexed question of finding a truly international drag flicker, Hager said those who had been tried so far were "pretty raw" but said he was prepared to be patient.
"We have focused on four or five players but we need to realise it can take up to two years to become really proficient. The drag flick option at penalty corners gives you so many variations so we have to work at it but at the same time be patient."
Of a more pressing concern is the determination by Hager to see the Black Sticks climb the world rankings. Now outside the top 10, Hager says it will be a challenge.
"Under the ranking system it is difficult to climb even one or two places but we have a good chance to assess our progress with matches against some of the world's best with series against Argentina and China in July and Australia in the Oceania tournament in Invercargill in August."
NZ Herald
‘Hockey house to be put in order’
M S Unnikrishnan, Tribune New Service
New Delhi, May 29: Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Dr Manohar Singh Gill assured here today that a new unified democratic hockey body, by merging the men’s and women’s associations, would be put in place very soon to enable India to host the 2010 Hockey World Cup without any hitch.
Dr Gill said this while interacting with a select group of reporters immediately after taking over as the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports at his Shastri Bhawan office here today.
Dr Gill was Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports with independent charge in the previous Congress-led UPA Government from April 6, 2008 to May 15, 2009 and did much for the wheels to move on the Commonwealth Games front.
But now that he has been promoted as a Cabinet Minister, he looks forward to contribute substantially for the promotion of sports in the country, by keeping strict checks and balances on the money spent by the ministry.
“During the last one year, several initiatives were taken and I will continue to work with the same momentum”, he said. “Whatever bottlenecks were there in the construction of stadia by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) have been removed and am confident that all timelines will be met,” he added.
Dr Gill said he had taken up with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi the urgent need to form a democratic “Hockey India” body with the unification of the men’s and women’s associations, as has been the norm world-wide.
He said he was satisfied with the approach of new foregin coach Jose Manuel Brasa of Spain and will provide whatever technical support he needs.
Dr Gill said he had requested the Finance Ministry to sanction at least Rs 10 crore so that deserving sportspersons could be rewarded. “Imagine an athlete of P.T.Usha’s standing was getting a monthly pension of Rs 4000, which I have doubled to Rs 8000. Athletes like Usha and Milkha Singh should be getting at least Rs 20,000 per month,” he noted.
The Tribune
UiTM reduce Malacca’s lead to four points
KUALA LUMPUR: Mirhardy Nawawi scored a hat-trick to help Malacca City Council (MCC) thrash Armed Forces Juniors 7-0 in a Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Division One match at the Malacca Hockey Stadium yesterday.
Mirhardy was on target in the 34th, 41st and 44th minutes while Mohd Syakir Amir Kamarudin (12th, 15th) and Mohd Fareez Ismail (57th, 70th) scored a brace each.
However, MCC saw their lead at the top cut to four points after UiTM moved into second place with a 1-0 win over the Dolphins.
The Malacca side’s next match is at home against Ipoh City Council tomorrow.
Universiti Malaysia Perlis (Unimap), meanwhile, came back from a goal down to edge Armed Forces Airod 2-1 at the Tun Razak Stadium. It was Unimap’s first win in five matches.
Armed Forces Airod dropped to third place on seven points after the setback.
Ahmad Azuan Syahrill put Airod ahead in the 34th minute before Unimap fought back in the last 15 minutes to score twice through Mohd Yusri Yusob (55th minute) and Noor Fazemil Naim (64th).
The Star of Malaysia
John nets six
Kovilpatti: John Varghese played a stellar role with a tally of six goals for Canara Bank (Bangalore), which overwhelmed Rajesh Pillai Sports Academy (Pune) 10-2 in the pre-quarterfinals of the Lakshmi Ammal all-India hockey tournament at KR Nagar here on Thursday. The winner led 6-1 at half-time.
Sunil Benjamin (two), Mudappa and Appanna were the other scores for the Bangalore outfit, while Amit Rajput and Deep Patel netted for the Pune team.
In another match, Southern Railway beat Tamil Nadu colts 2-0 to enter the quarterfinals. Diwakar scored the goals.
Royals holds Guards
HYDERABAD: Royal Club drew 1-1 with AC Guards in the A-2 division league hockey championship on Friday.
Srikanth scored for Royal club and Haneef for Guards.
The Hindu