News for 18 June 2009
Thursday, 18 June 2009 08:57 | 
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All the news for Thursday 18 June 2009
Standard Chartered Bank FIH Junior Men's World Cup
BEL 6 JPN 2
IND 9 ENG 0
ESP 1 ARG 4
NED 1 GER 1
USA 1 CHI 2
SIN 3 RUS 4
KOR 1 PAK 5
AUS 2 NZL 0
MAS 2 EGY 2
Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand make up semi-finals
At the Standard Chartered Bank FIH Junior Men's World Cup, the last round of pool matches was played today in Singapore and Johor Bahru.
In the medal round pools E and F, the Netherlands and Germany split points in a 1:1 draw today, which keeps the Dutch in first place in pool E, while in pool F, Australia defeated New Zealand who despite the defeat move through to the semi-finals.
Argentina inflicted a consummate defeat on Spain in pool E to claim third place in the pool and the right to play in the match for fifth place, while Pakistan achieved the same with a clear victory over Korea. It is thus the encounter between Argentina and Pakistan that will decide fifth place, while Spain and Korea do battle over seventh place.
In pool G, India steamrollered England 9:0 to top the pool table and play Poland for ninth place, after Poland had won pool H with a win over South Africa in the morning game. Belgium came from behind to defeat Japan 6:2 and claim second place in the standings which gets them into the match for eleventh place against Malaysia who drew with Egypt today. Egypt will be playing Japan for 13th place, while England and South Africa lock horns over 15th place.
Finally, in pool I, playing for the 17 to 20 final rankings, Russia narrowly slipped past Singapore and Chile wrestled down the USA. This means that Russia play Chile for 17th place, while Singapore and the USA are left behind to do battle over the red lantern.
Follow our extensive tournament coverage including a live ticker from key matches, daily summaries, a photo gallery and video interviews at http://www.juniorworldcupmen2009.sportcentric.com.
WorldHockey
FIH Men's Junior World Cup Day 10
New Zealand have secured the final berth in the semi-finals at the Standard Charted Bank FIH Men's Junior World Cup.
This was despite losing 0-2 to Australia. Singapore were again denied their first points of the tournament when they lost 4-3 to Russia.
In a see-saw battle played at the Sengkang Sports and Recreational Centre this evening, Singapore took the lead three times but were pegged back each time by Russia. The co-hosts had lost all their matches so far in the tournament and had hoped to break their duck against the Russians who were on a high after registering a 4-2 win over Chile on Tuesday. Singapore drew first blood in the 15th minute when Muhammad Aidil Ibrahim scrambled in a cross from the left to set the home crowd wild.
But their happiness was short-lived when Russia fired themselves straight back with just a minute of going behind.
Singapore again took the lead after a well-worked penalty corner in the 26th minute through Prashan Anbalagan. And again Russia equalised - this time crucially on half-time through captain Alexey Mayorov via a penalty corner.
Stung by the set-back, the Singapore boys regained the lead in the second half when Elifh Enrico Marican sent the home crowd wild in the 41st minute. But Russia never gave up and levelled the tie for the third time through another clinical penalty corner by Mayorov. Singapore tried to regain the lead but were caught by a Russian counter-attack which led to Golubev's winning goal in the 60th minute. The co-hosts thought they had a chance for a equaliser when Golubev turned from hero to zero after being yellow carded and sent to the bench in the 63rd minute. But the Russians held on to deny the home side their maiden victory.
Singapore coach Low Chiow Chuan lamented his team's loss, after almost drawing with Poland, Chile and the USA previously. "I'm disappointed of course... I thought we played well today; we took the initiative to get into the circle, score a couple of goals but again the problem was holding our lead. I thought we played consistently throughout the tournament where we are able to score goals but we are also generous in giving away goals and that is our biggest problem. Going forward, we are looking to at least get 19th place which I believe will be a big boost for our boys."
New Zealand lost their final Pool F match against Australia by a 0-2 scoreline, but still managed to book a berth for the semi-final after South Korea was defeated by Pakistan 1-5 in the other medal round match held in Johor Bahru.
Australia enjoyed the most of the possession from the opening whistle and both teams did not have a clear chance at goal. In the 26th minute, Australia earned a penalty corner and Australia opened the accounts when Joshua Pollard rifled in a shot after a well-executed dummy-play. A blunder by the New Zealand defence resulted in Australia's second goal eight minutes later when Aaron Kleinschmidt intercepted a cross-field pass at the top of the 'D' and took two touches before slotting in a reverse-stick hit to put his team up 2-0 till the end of the first half.
In the second half, New Zealand tested the Australian defence and earned several penalty corners but Australia's goalkeeper Leon Hayward put on a man-of-the-match performance to keep out several shots on goal. Midway through the second half, the Wallabies were down to nine men for eight minutes after two yellow cards infringements. But the Kiwis could not find the net despite the numerical advantage and the match ended with an Australia victory.
Said Australia coach Jason Duff, "It was the toughest game we played in some ways. We came up with a good game plan and we struggled to break them down for a little while. Our guys were on the back foot for a little bit at the start but I think we worked our way into the first half. There were patches in the game that we didn't do as well as the last game. We'll learn from those and apply the strategies for the next game so that it doesn't happen again. The amount of balls dropping in the circle for the last few games we haven't had the composure to put it away. So there are a couple of things we really need to work on, including our defence."
Added Kiwi coach Peter Miskimmin, "I compliment Australia. I thought it was a pretty even contest but and I thought they played exceptionally well. Australia pressed our back four and we made a vital mistake just before half-time. We had too many corners but without any results so there are a few things we need to fix. To come to an international hockey tournament and to know that Germany, Holland and Australia are in the semi-finals and little old New Zealand are there as well makes us enormously proud as this doesn't happen very often to us.
"I think it's difficult going into the semi-finals because everyone knows each other and seen all the games and every team is trying to improve their own performance. So we have to be in a ‘finals' mind and we have got nothing to lose. "
In the other matches today, the match between Pool E favourites Netherlands and Germany saw relatively sedated game play from both teams, resulting in a 1-1 draw. As both countries have already qualified for the semi finals, this match was to determine the pool leader. Germany claimed the first goal and the rest of the first half saw little action until the second half when the Netherlands renewed their attack and Jan-Willem Buissant equalised with a goal in the 38th min. Invigorated, the Dutch team kept possession well and Germany seemed unable to gain control. In the last 10 minutes however, Germany stepped up the pressure on their opponents with several close attempts at goal, but both teams held their ground and ended the game tied.
Following Wednesday's results, Netherlands will face New Zealand in the semi-final while Germany will face Australia.
In Pool G, India makes it three wins out of three with a 9-0 thrashing of England 9-0 to top the pool.
ESPNStar.com
Burras advance to Junior World Cup Semi Final
The Burras have confirmed their place in the semi finals of the 2009 Men’s Junior World Cup, defeating New Zealand overnight in Singapore.
The Burras will now face Germany, who they drew with 1-1 during their match up earlier in the tournament.
Despite the loss New Zealand have also qualified for the semi finals and will face the Netherlands.
Although the Burras already had their place in the semi finals confirmed, they didn’t make it easy on their neighbours, dominating the first half to deny New Zealand any genuine shot on goal.
On the other hand the Burras appeared dangerous, with Josh Pollard opening the scoring 24 minutes into the match. Things continued to go to plan for the Burras, with Victorian Aaron Kleinschmidt adding to the score at the 33 minute mark.
The Burras continued to attack after half time, however were unable to add to their score.
They will face Germany in the semi finals on Friday 19 June.
Burras 2 New Zealand 0 (2-0 half time)
Goals - Pollard 24m PC, Kleinschmidt 33m FG
Hockey Australia media release
NZ make junior World Cup hockey semifinals
New Zealand have reached the medal playoffs of the Junior World Cup hockey tournament and will meet the Netherlands on Saturday morning (NZ time) for a place in the final.
The junior Black Sticks lost their last second round match against Australia 0-2 this morning, their first defeat in seven matches at the tournament.
They finished second in their group after Pakistan destroyed Korea's semifinal hopes with a 5-1 defeat.
New Zealand had earlier drawn with Korea and beaten Pakistan.
Their semifinal meeting with the Netherlands will be a re-match after both teams drew 2-2 in the first round.
Saturday's other semifinal will be between Australia and Germany.
Australia enjoyed most of the possession from the opening whistle today and scored in the 26th minute from a penalty corner by Joshua Pollard.
New Zealand fell further back after a defensive blunder eight minutes later. Aaron Kleinschmidt intercepted a cross-field pass at the top of the circle and took two touches before slotting in a reverse-stick hit to put his team up 2-0 up.
New Zealand tested the Australian defence in the second half and earned several penalty corners but found Australia goalkeeper Leon Hayward hard to beat.
Australia were reduced to nine men for eight minutes after two yellow card infringements but the Kiwis could not find the net despite numerical advantage.
"I compliment Australia. I thought it was a pretty even contest but and I thought they played exceptionally well," New Zealand coach Peter Miskimmin said.
"Australia pressed our back four and we made a vital mistake just before half-time.
"We had too many corners but without any results so there are a few things we need to fix."
New Zealand have never advanced beyond the first round at the Junior World Cup.
Germany won the title in 1982, 1985, 1989 and 1993 and Australia won in 1997. The Netherlands have made the final once in 1985 and finished third in the inaugural tournament in 1979.
"To come to an international hockey tournament and to know that Germany, Holland and Australia are in the semifinals and little old New Zealand are there as well makes us enormously proud as this doesn't happen very often to us," Miskimmin said.
"I think it's difficult going into the semifinals because everyone knows each other and seen all the games and every team is trying to improve their own performance," Miskimmin said.
"So we have to be in a `finals' mind and we have got nothing to lose."
Stuff
Junior Black Sticks make Semi-Finals at Junior World Cup
In spite of a defeat against Australia New Zealand reached the semifinal. The Netherlands are winners of Pool E after a 1:1-draw versus Germany. Australia clash Germany in one semi-final, the other is the Netherlands versus New Zealand.
Poland will play for the final rank 9 and 10 versus India. South Africa and England will compete for rank 15. Moreover Russia won Pool I and play for the final ranking 17 and 18 against Chile. USA and Singapore battle for rank 19 and 20.
Match report (from JBS manager)
The New Zealand Junior Blacksticks have made history by qualifying for the semi-finals of the Junior World Cup for the first time in New Zealand’s hockey history. Even though the Junior Black Sticks lost today 0-2 to Australia they still finished second in their pool behind Australia as Pakistan beat Korea 5-1.
From the hit-off both sides were eager to attack and the game flowed from end to end. Both sides created chances but it was the Australians who scored first from a penalty corner variation. New Zealand forced three penalty corners but could not score from these attempts. Australia then doubled their lead in the final minute of the half to take the score to 2-0 from a turnover.
The second half was an even contest and even though there were scoring chances from both teams there was no change to the score. The New Zealand team was ecstatic to learn that Pakistan had defeated Korea and that they had made the semi-finals.
The semi-finals see New Zealand play The Netherlands and Germany take on Australia on Friday evening.
Hockey New Zealand Media release
New Zealand lose but advance
by Jugjet Singh
NEW Zealand lost but were still in seventh heaven as they advanced to the semi-finals of the Junior World Cup for the first time ever yesterday.
Australia, who had already qualified, didn't take it easy against their neighbours, winning the final Group F match 2-0 at Singapore's Sengkang Stadium but Pakistan whipped South Korea 5-1 to help the Kiwis through.
Australia topped the group and will play Germany in the semi-finals while New Zealand will face the Netherlands.
Germany and Netherlands played to a 1-1 draw in their last Group E match, which was only to decide which team topped the group going into the semi-finals. Both teams are the strong favourites to meet in the final.
Yesterday was the seventh match for Germany and Netherlands and both teams have yet to be beaten in the tournament.
Germany took the lead in the 12th minute when Jan Fleckhaus deflected a pass from the right side of the circle directly into the goal.
The Netherlands won two penalty corners in row in the middle of the second half but both were saved by goalkeeper Niklas Sakowsky.
However, the Dutch defeated Sakowsky three minutes into the second half when Jan-Willem Buissant won possession, went into the circle and shot home.
The fifth-sixth spot will be a battle between former champions Argentina and Pakistan. Yesterday, Pakistan hammered South Korea 5-1, while Argentina beat Spain 4-1.
New Straits Times
Kiwis steal semis spot
by S. RAMAGURU
JOHOR BARU: New Zealand secured their first-ever semi-final appearance in the Junior World Cup series even though they were beaten 0-2 by Australia in their last Group F match at the Sengkang Hockey Stadium in Singapore yesterday.
They advanced to the medal playoffs — thanks to Pakistan, who defeated South Korea 5-1 at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium here.
The Koreans would have pipped the Kiwis to a semi-final berth if they had beaten the Pakistanis by a three-goal margin.
But they were a pale shadow of their earlier form and went down without a fight.
New Zealand will play against Holland on Friday for a place in the final while Australia will take on Germany in the other semi-final.
Holland and Germany drew 1-1 in a Group E match in Sengkang and the Dutch topped the group on better goal difference.
New Zealand needed to beat Australia to be sure of a semi-final berth irrespective of the result of the match between South Korea and Pakistan. But Australia were in no mood to grant them any favour.
Australia scored both the goals in the first half through Joshua Pollard and Aaron Kleinschmidt in the 26th and 33rd minutes respectively.
Pakistan, who lost their earlier two matches, found their form too late and Mohamed Zubair and Haseem Khan scored a brace each against the Koreans while Abbas Haider grabbed the other goal. The Koreans’ consolation goal was scored by Kang Moon-kyu in the last minute.
Pakistan will play against Argentina for fifth spot while South Korean will face Spain for seventh placing. Argentina beat Spain 4-1 in Taman Daya yesterday to take third spot in Group E.
In the match to decide the Group E winners, Germany led Holland with a field goal by Jan Fleckhaus in the 20th minute. But three minutes into the second-half, the Dutch equalised through Jan-Wilem Buissant.
Spain also led Argentina with an eighth-minute goal by Gabriel Dabanch but they ended up losers too, conceding second-half goals to Juan Cruz Aguilero (40th), Nahuel Salis (42nd), Martin Gabriel Gebhardt (49th) and Leandro Tolini (56th).
The Star of Malaysia
Malaysia in playoff against Belgium for 11th place
JOHOR BARU: Malaysia drew 2-2 with Egypt in their final Group H match of the Junior World Cup Finals at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium here last night and will play for 11th place against Belgium on Saturday.
The Malaysians went into the match against Egypt knowing they had lost the chance to top the group and get into the playoff for ninth place. Poland had defeated South Africa 5-4 in the morning to take the top spot. But still the Malaysians needed at least a draw to avoid a lower-place finish in the final standings.
Malaysia were lucky that their top scorer, Faizal Saari, was free to play the match last night. He was given a warning instead of a one-match suspension for his second yellow card in the previous match against South Africa.
Egypt’s Mohamed Mamdoh was not so lucky and had to sit out the match yesterday.
But Faizal was yellow carded again last night and he is unlikely to be let off the hook again for Malaysia’s final classification match against Belgium.
Faizal gave Malaysia the lead over Egypt with a penalty stroke conversion in the 26th minute to take his tally to eight goals. But the Egyptians were back on level terms in the 32nd minute with a penalty corner goal by Mohamed Abdel Hakim.
In the second half, Malaysia piled the pressure on their opponents and got their second goal in the 50th minute. It came off the penalty corner with Mohamed Nor Hafiq Abdul Ghaffar deflecting the ball into goal.
But the Egyptians did not give up and in the 68th minute Hamada Atef scored form the penalty corner. It was the Egyptians third draw in the classification round for places ninth-16th and they will play against Japan for 13th place.
Poland had to work hard for their victory over the winless South Africans at the Sengkang Hockey Stadium in Singapore.
The Polish side scored their goals through Krystian Makowski, Piotr Kozlowski (two), Michal Nowakowski and Syzmon Oszyjczyk. South Africa replied with a goal by Anthony Vervoort and brace by Dalan Phillips.
Poland will play against Group G winners India for ninth place while South Africa will be up against England for 15th spot.
In Group G, India blasted England 9-0 in a lop-sided affair while Belgium earned the playoff match against Malaysia with a 6-2 win over Japan.
The Star of Malaysia
Malaysia looking at 11th placing
By Jugjet Singh
MALAYSIA will meet Belgium in the 11th-12th placing playoff after drawing 2-2 with Egypt in Group H of the Junior World Cup at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru yesterday.
Malaysia's chance of finishing ninth was dealt a blow at 9.30am itself, when Poland edged South Africa 5-4 to top group H, and will play India in the crossover.
Malaysia wasted an early penalty corner and then in the 19th minute, Izwan Firdaus was fed a lovely overhead ball which found him in the middle of the Egyptian semi-circle, but he failed to beat goalkeeper Karem Khodary.
The capacity crowd at the second pitch kept cheering the boys, and in the 26th minute, Harvinder Singh's attempt earned Malaysia a penalty stroke.
Faizal Shaari stepped up and flicked strongly into the net for his eighth goal of the tournament, and Malaysia had the lead they were looking for, but not for long.
The Egyptians pressed hard, and earned their fourth penalty corner in the 32nd minute, and Mohamed Abdelhakim hammered in a rebound for the equaliser.
Three minutes before the half time hooter, Malaysia received another blow when Faizal was sent to the sin-bin for a rough tackle, for his third yellow of the tournament.
The second half was productive for Malaysia as they earned their merit badge in the 50th minute, when Nor Hafiq Ghafar flicked in a penalty corner to re-take the lead.
Egypt tried to make inroads in the last 10 minutes of the match, but goalkeeper Abdul Hakim brought off some super saves to keep Malaysia into the higher playoff bracket.
But they finally drew level in the 68th minute, when Hamada Atef scored a penalty corner, but a draw was enough for Malaysia.
In Group G, another Asian team fell by the wayside when Japan were thrashed 6-2 by Belgium. Belgium ended second in the group.
Meanwhile, India hammered England 9-0 to top Group G and will play Poland, in the ninth-10th bracket.
India were merciless from the start, and took a 5-0 lead going into the breather, and the English never recovered and let in four more in the second half.
The India goals, almost at seven minute-intervals, were led by skipper Diwakar Ram with a hat-trick, followed by Danish Mujtaba with a brace, and one goal each from Karan Jay, Victo Singh, Mandeep Antil and Innocent Kullu.
New Straits Times
India outplays England for a 9-0 win
K. Arumugam
Attacking in waves, India mopped up a whopping nine goals, while conceding nil, against England in the non-medal round of the 9th Junior World Cup, Singpore.
Forwards Pramod Kumar, Mandeep Antil, Victo Singh and Danish Mujtaba kept the raw England side on tender hooks all the 70 minutes, and the goals came in troves.
Mujtaba's first goal was scored within 30 seconds from the start, virtually from the bulley off. This set the tune and tenor of the proceedings to follow.
Indians in fact showed how great goals can be scored from field play. The third goal of Danish Mujtaba needs special mention, as it comes after a gem of a deflection off a diagonal pass from deep inside the midfield from Innocent Kullu.
Jaykaran entered his name in the scorer board with deft forehand shot in the 6th minute before the Mujtaba's great effort.
Diwakarram converted teams first PC in the 22nd minute and then converted a stroke in the 49th minute. Victo singh, inbetween, scored from his patented wing surge in the 30th minute to take India a 5-0 lead at the lemon time.
After Diwakar's stroke goal, Mandeep scored in the 54th minute, then Innocent Kullu off a penalty corner in the 62nd minute before Diwakar converted a short corner through an immaculate grounder in the 67th minute.
England played its first match here in Singapore, and had to face the wrath of the Indians, who defeated them 6-1 at Melbourned early this year at the Youth Olympics.
England came close to scoring midway through the second half when it got three successive penatly corners, but as usual Indian goalie Mrinal Choubey was in his elements.
Mandeep Antil deserved to be named man of the match today, as his speed and acumen in sending crosses were beyond the reach of the English colts.
Stick2Hockey.com
India pound England 9-0, to play for 9th place
SINGAPORE: Skipper Diwakar Ram scored a hat-trick as India pounded England 9-0 on Wednesday to set up a clash with Poland for the ninth position in the Junior World Cup hockey tournament.
In a completely lop-sided match at the Seng Kang Sports Complex, India led 5-0 at half time before returning to pump in four more goals.
For them, skipper Diwakar scored thrice (23rd, 48th, 67th minutes) and Danish Mujtaba twice (1st and 20th) while Jay Karan (7th), Victo Singh (32nd), Mandeep Antil (52nd) and Innocent Kullu (63rd min) found the target once each.
India, who had beaten Poland 4-2 in an earlier first round pool match, will face the same opponents again on Saturday.
The Indian colts took the lead in the opening minute as central mid-fielder Vikas Sharma set up Jay Karan on the left flank. The nippy winger dodged past full back Simon Faulkner to set up Danish Mujtaba who beat goalkeeper James Bailey.
India's second goal came six minutes later as left mid-fielder Manjeet Kullu sent a crisp pass into the circle for Jay to deftly push home a reverse.
Buoyed by the early goals, India intensified attack, outplaying England comprehensively with their swift off-the-ball running, short pass and the quick position interchange among the forwards.
And whenever England mounted attacks, it died on the Indian defence. Indian custodian Mrinal Choubey did a good job under the bar, thwarting four penalty corners.
Danish increased the Indian tally in the 20th minute with a faint tickle from a Diwakar push and three minutes later the captain scored the fourth goal from a penalty stroke after Antil was deliberately fouled by Bailey.
Victo Singh continued the rampage for India scoring the fifth goal in the 32nd minute connecting a backhander from Pramod Kumar's set up.
Diwakar flicked a penalty corner upon resumption in the second session to put India six up in the 48th min and four minutes later Antil sounded the board after shaking off his markers.
The rampaging Indians found the target twice more from their fourth and fifth penalty corners in the 63rd and 67th minutes with Innocent Kullu and Diwakar respectively driving them in.
The Times of India
Bad day at the office for England
It was a bad day at the office for the England U21 men in Singapore today as they went down 9-0 to India in the final Pool G, non-medal round, match.
Manager Andy Halliday later admitted that his side had “met India on a very good day for them and a bad day for us” in a game in which India clinically punished England errors.
As happened against Japan on Monday, England were behind from the first minute when Danish Mujtaba punished a defensive mistake to open the scoring and after conceding a second goal to Karan Jay in the seventh minute England found it impossible to gain a foothold in a match that was already running away from them.
More goals followed in the 20th, 23rd and 32nd minutes as India demonstrated their striking potency; displaying speed and individual skill that England struggled to cope with. On the occasions that England got the ball forward they all too often surrendered possession and looked susceptible to the dangerous Indian counter.
Despite the goal count, goalkeeper James Bailey, who plays his club hockey for Old Loughtonians, played very well, making several good saves as wave after wave of Indian pressure probed the English circle.
The second half brought more of the same as India netted a further four times, including captain Diwakar’s second and third goals of his hat-trick.
At the other end, England pair Chris Griffiths and Alex Edmonstone both came close to scoring and Mrinal Choubey in the Indian goal did well to keep out a series of penalty corners to maintain the clean sheet.
Speaking after the game, Halliday spoke realistically about the match: “India played very, very well today. Unfortunately, it was all about punishing our mistakes. Despite the score the team never gave up; they fought right to the end.”
England will now face South Africa, who finished bottom of Pool H, on either Friday or Saturday to determine final classification positions 15 and 16.
INDIA 9 (5)
Danish Mujtaba 1, 20 (F, F)
Karan Jay 7 (F)
Diwakar 23, 48, 67 (PS, PC, PC)
Victo Singh Kshetrimayum 32 (F)
Mandeep Antil 52 (F)
Innocent Kullu 63 (PC)
ENGLAND 0 (0)
SQUAD
Started
Ben Arnold (Beeston)
James Bailey (GK) (Old Loughtonians)
David Beckett (Loughborough Students)
Nick Catlin (Loughborough Students)
David Condon (Loughborough Students)
Richie Dawson-Smith (Bowdon)
Alex Edmonstone (Bowdon)
Marc Edwards (C) (Loughborough Students)
Simon Faulkner (Loughborough Students)
Johnny Kinder (Fareham)
Tom Woods (University of Exeter)
Substitutes Used
Chris Griffiths (Stourport)
Ed Kelleher (Reading)
Sam Middleton (Bournville)
Ben Tibble (Surbiton)
Henry Weir (Loughborough Students)
Did Not Play
Chris Gregg (Loughborough Students)
Ian Scanlon (GK) (Hampstead & Westminster)
England’s classification is as follows:
Date – Competition – Opposition – Time - Location
Friday 19 or Saturday 20 June – JWC Classification Round - South Africa – TBC - TBC
England Hockey Media release
Pakistan down South Korea 5-1
Staff Report
LAHORE: Pakistan thrashed South Korea 5-1 in the last Super 8 round match of the Junior World Cup Hockey Tournament at Johor Bahru in Malaysia on Wednesday.
According to a spokesman for the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), Pakistan were leading by three goals to nil at lemon break.
Abbas Haider opened the account through a field goal in the 4th minute. Muhammad Zubair slammed two goals in the 17th and 45th minutes while Abdul Haseem Khan netted two in 29th and 68th minutes.
The only goal from Korea was scored by Dong Hyun in the 70th minute off a penalty corner.
Earlier, the Netherlands and Germany played 1-1 draw and Australia beat New Zealand 2-0.
Netherlands, Germany, Australia and New Zealand have qualified for the semi-finals.
The Daily Times
USA vs. Chile
The USA Field Hockey Men’s Under-21 National Team fell to Chile, 2-1, in the final crossover match of the 2009 Men’s Junior World Cup in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Team captain Jon Ginolfi scored for the Americans.
With the result, the USA will face Singapore in the 19/20 classification match. The match will be contested either on Friday, June 19 or Saturday, June 20. The USA finished crossover play in Pool I with two victories and one loss.
Three teams in Pool I have two victories and six points – Russia sits atop with +2 goal differential. With both teams +1 in goal differential, Chile edged out the USA for second place based on head-to-head play. Russia and Chile will contest the 17/18 classification match.
The USA had the opportunity to play into the 17/18 game with a win or tie over Chile. But Chile’s Sven Richter opened the scoring in the 11th minute putting Chile ahead, 1-0 at the USA back on their heels.
“We played too timidly to start,” said Head Coach Nick Conway. “We needed to push for the win, but psychologically it wasn’t there.”
Chile added a second goal before the half from Martin Rodriguez, heading to the locker room with a 2-0 lead.
“We allowed two soft goals,” said Conway.
The USA began the second half with greater intensity, and, at times, had a personnel advantage as Chile collected three yellow cards.
Team captain Jon Ginolfi got the USA on the scoreboard in the 63rd minute, with a backhand goal through the goalkeeper’s legs at the top of the circle. But the USA could not pull even, and Chile took the contest, 2-1.
“We need to shift the psychology of the group,” said Conway. “We’re pretty devastated to have missed the opportunity for the 17/18 game. So we’ve got to regroup and consciously work to get everyone focused.”
Conway has taken notice of the level of play of his young American squad against some of the world’s top junior national teams.
“Our ball-handling ability is definitely below the level required to perform in this tournament. That’s been glaringly obvious. The reality for us is our basic skills need to get better if we want to contest at this level.”
The Americans now set their sights on the 19/20 against Singapore, a squad that has gone winless so far in the tournament, but forced a close game against the USA in earlier Pool I play.
“The challenge against Singapore is to outlet the ball,” said Conway. “Last time we played, they had the ball two-thirds of the time. We’re going to be required to build and pass, and if we can do that effectively we can get a good result. If we can’t, it’s going another close game against Singapore.”
The match against Singapore will be the final one for the USA at the 2009 Men’s Junior World Cup.
“We’re going to try desperately to finish on a high note and win the game,” said Conway.
USFHA media release
SA U21 Hockey Team facing the wooden spoon
In the 8.30h match the leader of Pool H (Poland) clashed the last of the Pool (South Africa). Through the 5:4-victory Poland will play for the final rank 9 and 10 versus the winner of Pool G. South Africa is definitely last in Pool H and compete for the final ranking 15 to 16.
Poland started ideally into the game. The first attack in the second minute brought the first goal, scored by Krystian Makowski. South Africa needed a bit of time to get themselves organised. In the 15th minute they gained two penalty corners in row, the second one ended up in an awarded penalty stroke. It was taken by Antony Vervoort who equalized. Afterwards Poland missed a couple of good opportunities while South Africa’s Vervoort converted a penalty corner to 1:2. It seemed already like South Africa will start to dominate the match now. However, in the 31st minute Poland made an equal score again through a penalty corner goal. They were also able to win the lead back. Just two minutes before the halftime whistle Piotr Kozlowski scored his second penalty corner goal in that game.
The 3:3-equalizer followed in the second half when South Africa’s Dalan Phillips converted a nice pass from his team-mate. Both teams battled on equal levels, it was hard to see who is leader and who is last of Pool H.
Poland took the lead in the middle of the second half again but South Africa’s answer followed immediately. Phillips made his second goal in the game. The slugfest was not finished yet. Poland scored the game winning goal through Szymon Oszyjczyk just a few minutes after the equalizer. But this time the Polish were clever enough to save the victory.
South Africa v Poland 4:5 (2:3)
0:1 Krystian Makowski (FG), 1:1 Antony VERVOORT (PS), 2:1 Antony VERPOORT (PC), 2:2 Piotr KOZLOWSKI (PC), 2:3 Piotr KOZLOWSKI (PC), 3:3 Dalan Phillips (FG), 3:4 Michal NOWAKOWSKI (PC), 4:4 Dalan Phillips (PC), 4:5 Szymon OSZYJCZYK (PC)
SA Hockey World
SA U21 hockey team done in by Kamikaze defence
GRAHAM BENNETTS gives us the Junior Hockey World Cup low-down
My apologies for the lack of reports but we are getting to the business end of the tournament and travelling to Johore is not making it any easier. Our match vs Egypt was the usual affair of physicality over skills.
Unfortunately both umpires let the Egyptians, especially one player, get away with murder and by the time they tried to reign both teams in it was too late. In hindsight both teams were very unhappy with the umps.
Ironically, when they did try to stamp their authority, it was Owen Mvimbi, who had made a rather innocuous tackle, who was given a yellow card. The match ended two-all with the Egyptians converting a short corner after full time. After the vast majority of possession the SA team made some naive decisions in the last five minutes of the game that have come back to haunt them in the second round of the JWC.
The next night we travelled to Johore again, this time for a 7:30 fixture against the hosts and a huge crowd with a penchant for vocal support. Our ten or so parents tried their best to compete. Ja.... Teams had complained about the Malaysians running down the barrel but for whatever reason this plea had been ignored on more than one occasion. With the SA team counting on their very effective short corner team this would prove to be a major problem in this match. SA went up first through an Antony Vervoort Penalty Stroke. Malaysia responded three minutes later with a PC. The SA boys enjoyed the lion's share of possession and attacked repeatedly but failed to convert the ball provided by their midfield and defence. Despite many PC opportunities the South Africans were unable to convert, mainly due to the Malaysian first wave repeatedly employing his tactic of negative running.
Protestations from the bench fell on deaf ears. Frustration crept in and, with the deafening roar from the crowd, the Malaysians earned two PCs that they converted to win 3 - 1.
Both games in Johore had been entirely unpleasant affairs and although seldom critical of umpires, these four men were poor in the execution of their duties at this level. I had a word with the TD post the Malaysian match and he promised that the umpire's coach would have noticed any wrong doings. My point was that the USA, amongst other teams, had spoken to the umpires before the games but they had let the negative tactics persist. The goalkeepers of both teams had "kit malfunctions" at vital parts of the matches. We had been promised at the coach's meeting that this would be monitored closely. Clearly not closely enough!
Tomorrow (Wed) at 2:30am SA time, we take on Poland. We need to beat them by
4 goals and Malaysia and Egypt need to draw to ensure us a 9/10 finish.
Beyond that the permutations are manifold.
SA Hockey World
The Terry Walsh story
By S.S. Dhaliwal
Terry Walsh was a terror on the pitch during his days when playing for Australia. Having coached over the last two decades, Walsh is in a position to provide insights on the state of hockey at present. I caught up with Walsh during his stay in Johor Bahru for the Junior World Cup.
Question: Having seen some of the matches, what is your opinion on the quality of play in the JWC?
Terry Walsh: Due to the 2 venue format I have not seen all the teams play but as expected there is a significant variation in the level of play teams are exhibiting. For me the cultural variations exhibited by teams is more pronounced at the U/21 age group level than at senior level. The top level teams are producing performance levels which are impressive.
Question: Do you agree on the increased number of teams and the format of play?
Terry Walsh: There is no doubt that the overall growth of the game improves with 20 teams. However the complexities involved would seem to increase with 2 separate venues, naturally. The exposure for the teams outside the top 8 is a key issue for the development of our game globally. As we move forward the ability to see how a 2 pitch venue can handle this number of teams, or even more, is interesting to contemplate. Obviously the format for this tournament was driven significantly by climate parameters.
Question: The autoplay rule is to help speed up play, so does it really help?
Terry Walsh: This rule requires umpires to have a significant feel for the game as interpretation of appropriate usage is diverse. The physiological implications of this rule will gradually unfold but my sense is that this will become a key tactic in creating major tempo changes in matches. Ultimately this could lead us beyond the present physiological preparations for a tournament as teams endeavour to take a further advantage in the physiological edge. It is clearly an addition to the power options available to teams.
Question: What rule changes will you suggest to make the sport more spectator friendly?
Terry Walsh: Playing the ball above the shoulder is confounding. Why not permit danger to be the key factor in the receiving or playing of high balls? Conjecture as to the ball being above shoulder height at the point of reception in field play compared to legally saving a high ball from a goal shot seems unnecessarily confusing. My view is that our rules have moved away from black and white – indeed many are extremely ‘grey’. Creating ambiguity is confusing not just to spectators but also to players and I sense also for the umpires.
For the very top level I think we need to have a semi professional circuit of umpires.
Question: Having coached in Malaysia, and having kept abreast with its developments, where would you place Malaysian hockey 15 years after you left?
Terry Walsh: My sense is that Malaysia is now further from the top level of International performance. This is not enhanced with a disjointed approach to development. Quite frankly there needs some very tough administrative decisions made if there is to be success. There is a lot to be said for planning and implementing effective processes...but it won’t happen overnight. One wonders where the coaching development programs implemented in the early 90’s are today.
Question: Who do you pick to win the JWC or your pick for the last four?
Terry Walsh: Somehow I sense the New Zealand group will make it through. In the end I think they will join Holland , Australia and Germany. From there my reading of it would be that Australia’s exhibited power will be difficult to maintain in the end against Holland. Having said that the finals will bring something special. One thing is for sure, it will be very tight.
Question: What is your role in Fieldhockey USA?
Terry Walsh: My role is ‘USAFH Technical Director of High Performance’. My responsibilities are primarily to the direction and guidance of the International Programs at senior, junior and development level for both the women’s and men’s programs. USA hosts the Junior World Cup for Women in Boston during August this year while our senior National Teams vie for positions at the World Cups next year. We are pleased with our progress but the road in front of us is a very long one. However I see that USA can be a major contributor in the International scene, especially in the women’s program. We have plenty of numbers on the women’s side but it is clear our numbers must build on the men’s side as we only really have less than 30 players to choose from for the present Junior World Cup challenge.
Question: Will you consider a coaching position if approached for the 2012 Olympics?
Terry Walsh: My focus is now not in coaching a specific National Team. My role with USAFH is all encompassing and extremely challenging. Assisting to bring USAFH to the Olympic arena as a regular and consistent competitor in both the Women’s and Men’s programs is challenging and somewhat daunting. Our progression to date has been encouraging. I do understand this is a long term project but 2016 should see us be able to realistically assess our development. But in the end this project will continue to evolve.
S.S.Dhaliwal Blogspot
Special training for goalies
Harpreet Kaur Lamba
Pune, June 17: The advent of technology in sport has seen India lag far behind the pack, especially in hockey. As the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De India revealed, there is still a very long way to go and India’s new coach, Spaniard Jose Brasa, is determined to bring down the barriers that have kept India’s hockey players from deriving the best of what a modern approach can provide.
As a start, Brasa is looking to break up the traditional patterns of practice and training the Indian squad have become used to, and there are a few more novelties the Spaniard is planning to unleash on his wards at the Balewadi Sports Complex camp that began here on Monday.
Special machines have been ordered from Spain to train the goalkeepers. Brasa had an interesting explanation for this, "Eyes never tell you the truth. They create an illusion, and tell lies to the brain.
"This machine will be like a long table which will restrict a goalkeeper’s view while he attempts to stop a shot. He will be able to see the attacker and his movement only till the time the ball is released. As the ball travels, his view is blocked. So this way we are not allowing the eye to see, and hence lie to the brain.
Another thing Brasa is determined to do away with is practice matches during training. "Never in my life have I allowed my team to play a normal match while training. You can say I am mad, but for me a match is an exam. It is not possible to pass an exam by giving another exam."
GPS (global positioning systems), heart-rate monitors, instruments to test players while lifting weights, special machines to keep track of a player’s movements at every stage — training, running, foot movement, body weight, etc. — have been ordered and will be part of day-to-day activities soon.
The Asian Age
Revington Reveals Champions Challenge II Line Up
Dublin is where some of the world's biggest hockey nations will descend this summer for the inaugural Champions Challenge II Tournament from the 6th - 12th July at the national hockey stadium. Hosts Ireland (18th) will square up to Japan (11th); Poland (20th) and Chile (27th) while Pool B pits Malaysia (15th); France (17th); Austria (22nd) and Russia (25th) against each other to see who rise to the top for Saturday's crossovers followed by the finals on Sunday.
Revington who took hold of the Irish Men's reigns in early January has announced a squad of just seventeen so far with the eighteenth spot to be announced post the Celtic Cup which takes place just seven days prior to the Champions Challenge II. The selected seventeen have an average age of 24 and 56 caps, the most experienced of these players coming in the form of marksman Stephen Butler who has amassed a total of 143 caps and 73 goals over a ten year career so far. The side which will be led out by Ronan Gormley with the support of David Hobbs and Graham Shaw, head into this tournament on the back of two recent wins against Wales early this month.
Commenting on the impending tournament Revington said "The creation of this level of FIH event is a great incentive for our Irish Team to perform well and improve our world ranking. The quality of teams attending this event will also provide our Team with a great test of how well we have progressed since January as individuals and as a team collectively."
Ireland as a nation has produced a mixed bag of results against the varying countries over the years. Ireland last met their first pool opponents Chile a year and a half ago in Santiago where they secured a convincing six nil win, but Ireland's most recent results against their remaining pool opponents were not as favorable, in 2006 Ireland lost narrowly to Japan 2-1 at the WCQ in Changzhou City however over their six ever meetings little separates these two sides which has so far resulted in two wins, two losses and two draws. Ireland has more experience against their final pool opponents, Poland with 22 meetings in all (8 wins; 4 draws; 10 losses) the last of which was in 2006 where Poland secured a 4-2 victory.
The Champions Challenge II which will be played under the new autopass rule will however give Ireland the opportunity to perform in front of a home crowd as they continue preparations for the EuroHockey Nations Trophy taking place in Wrexham this August "This event comes at a great time for the Irish team and it will be exciting to see the progress that the team have made under Paul. A home competitive tournament at this stage of the preparation towards the Europeans gives opportunity to assess the progress made, whilst leaving time for adjustments before Wrexham. The diversity in playing styles of the opposition teams, playing under the new autopass rule will provide an interesting tournament." Commented Director of High Performance, Dave Passmore.
IRELAND MEN - Champions Challenge II Squad.
Player Club Caps
David Harte (GK) Pembroke W 32
Iain Walker (GK) YMCA 15
Ronan Gormley (C) Pembroke W 75
Tim Lewis Pembroke W 41
Joe Brennan Glenanne 17
Conor Harte Pembroke W 19
John Jackson Loughborough 17
Graham Shaw (V/C) Glenanne 129
Stephen Butler Glenanne 143
John Jermyn Cork C of I 92
David Hobbs (V/C) Cork C of I 128
Geoffrey McCabe Banbridge 40
Andy McConnell Three Rock Rovers 7
Eugene Magee Banbridge 81
Timmy Cockram Lisnagarvey 74
Mitch Darling Three Rock Rovers 20
Alan Sothern Pembroke W 16
Management
Paul Revington (Coach); Peter Jackson (Manager); Craig Fulton (Asst. Coach); Arul Anthoni (Asst. Coach); Nigel Henderson (GK Coach); Stephen Barry (S&C) Sinead Murphy (Physio); Tristan Seaton-Stednam (Video)
Irish Hockey Association media release
Ireland A Annouced For Senior Celtic Cup (Women's Hockey)
Ireland this year will be sending an 'A' team to the Senior Celtic Cup which takes place over three days, 26th - 28th June, in Edinburgh, during the same period that the Senior Women's Team will be competing at the Champions Challenge II in Kazan, Russia.
Coach Garret today annouced a squad of 16 commenting "We have been working hard and withour final training camp this coming weekend I feel that we are ready for the challenge that lies ahead. We have shown that we have become a much more cohesive unit over the past then months."
Ireland A will take on France, Wales and then hosts Scotland who have won the Celtic Cup for the last two years.
SQUAD
Hannah Bowe Slough HC
Aisling Campion Loreto HC
Miriam Crowley UCC HC
Nicci Daly Glenanne HC
Nicola Evans Hermes HC
Vicki Green (GK) Clifton HC
Kate McConnell Pegasus HC
Liz McInerney UCD
Rachel Mulligan Armagh
Anna O'Flanagan Hermes
Audrey O'Flynn UCC
Stephanie Quinn Armagh HC
Cliodhan Sargent Cork Harlequins HC
Katherine Steenson Armagh
Helen Stevenson (GK) Railway Union
Emma Thornbury Armagh
Unavailable for selection: Zara Delaney / Grace Watters
Match Schedule:
Friday 26th June
Ireland A V France (12.00)
Saturday 27th June
Ireland A V Wales (10.00am)
Sunday 28th June
Ireland A V Scotland (2.00pm)
Irish Hockey Association media release
Roy and Bose raise objection
NEW DELHI: The President of the Bengal Hockey Association, J.B. Roy, and the Secretary of the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation, Ms. Amrit Bose, have objected to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) move to give recognition to Hockey India.
Support claimed
In a letter to the FIH President, Leandro Negre, Mr. Roy and Ms. Bose — claiming the support of 22 men and 20 women State associations — on Wednesday said, “…it has been reported in the Indian press today that Mr. Peter Cohen the FIH Secretary-General) has issued a letter recognising Hockey India. If that is true, then there seems to be a communication gap between you and Mr. Peter Cohen (the FIH Secretary-General) as you had clearly indicated to us that the mechanism to be adopted will be completely democratic and this purported letter (if true) would be seen as support to a completely undemocratic manner of functioning.”
“We would request you to advise Mr. Cohen not to act in haste, which may lead to subversion of the democratic process in India,” they said.
Mr. Roy and Ms. Bose are slated to meet Mr. Negre during the FIH President’s visit to India on June 25 and 26.
The Hindu
Roy wants FIH to reconsider recognition to Hockey India
NEW DELHI: The JB Roy led faction Wednesday appealed to International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre to reconsider the decision to recognise the newly-formed Hockey India (HI), "formed undemocratically" with "members not associated with hockey".
In a joint letter, Bengal Hockey Association (BHA) president JB Roy and Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF) secretary Amrit Bose told FIH their outfits represented 22 men's and 20 women's associations, constituting two-thirds of the majority of 70 state-level associations in the country.
"The joint body unanimously objected to the manner Hockey India was formed and was fully in favour of a democratic unified body for men and women. As apprised to you earlier, ideally the Indian Olympic Association should have called a joint meeting of both men's and women's state units and then formed the unified body," the letter stated.
The meeting held at Amby Valley Sunday has authorised Roy and Bose to talk to the FIH for a proper appreciation of the situation.
"We appreciate your consistent stance that apart from the basic pre-condition of the unified body, it has to be democratically formed. There is evidence to show that Hockey India was formed undemocratically and with members who were never associated with hockey."
The letter has expressed concern over media reports that FIH secretary general Peter Cohen has issued a letter "recognising Hockey India" and said "if that is true then there seems to be a communication gap between you and Mr. Cohen as you had clearly indicated to us that the mechanism to be adopted will be completely democratic. But the purported letter, if it is true would be seen as support to a completely undemocratic manner of functioning."
Roy and Bose also submitted a copy of resolutions passed in the meeting signed by 42 members.
They sought a meeting with the FIH chief when he is in India next week.
The Times of India
Four-month deadline for hockey units
V Narayan Swamy, TNN
BANGALORE: The recognition from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has strengthened Hockey India's arms enough for it to not merely set a deadline for state associations to merge with it but to implement its directive with authority.
The merger process is already on, according to Hockey India, with around 24 units ready to join its fold.
"How can the state associations continue to enjoy recognition if they haven't joined us?" asked Hockey India secretary Mohd Aslam Khan.
In a parallel move, the IOA has sent an advisory to the state Olympic associations to work towards giving official recognition to a "single hockey association which will look after the game's activities... before setting the merger process with Hockey India in motion." The time frame is 120 days, according to Aslam, after which state hockey associations unyielding in their stand will find themselves in the wilderness.
The Times of India
Checkers, Malvern in Women's Big 4 tonight
Maritime Harvard Checkers take on Stag Malvern as the Trinidad and Tobago Hockey Board (T&THB) Toyota Big Four men's and women's competitions continue tonight at the National Hockey Centre, Tacarigua.
The tournament began last night and is being contested among the top four finishers in both the men's and women's divisions.
Carib Magnolia, the 2009 women's league winners, Maritime Harvard Checkers, Stag Malvern and Defence Force are contesting honours among the females, while Stag Malvern, Defence Force, Notre Dame and Petrotrin will clash in the men's Big Four tournament.
T&T BIG FOUR MATCHES:
Today
7 p.m.--Maritime Harvard Checkers vs Stag Malvern (Women)
8.30 p.m.--Defence Force vs Notre Dame (Men)
Saturday
2 p.m.--Carib Magnolia vs Stag Malvern (Women)
3.45 p.m.--Stag Malvern vs Notre Dame (Men)
5.30 p.m.--Maritime Harvard Checkers vs Defence Force (Women)
7.15 p.m.--Defence Force vs Petrotrin (Men)
Sunday
1 p.m.--Defence Force vs Stag Malvern (Women)
2.45 p.m.--Notre Dame vs Petrotrin (Men)
4.30 p.m.--Carib Magnolia vs Maritime Harvard Checkers (Women)
6.15 p.m.--Stag Malvern vs Defence Force (Men)
The Trinidad & Tobago Express
Taskmaster Beng Hai gets critical reviews
Jonathan Fernandez
THERE’S unrest in the national hockey team. Several players, it seems, do not have faith in coach Tai Beng Hai. Beng Hai took the job in January.
“We are underachieving. It has been six months but there hasn’t been significant improvement in the team’s performance. Things were fine initially but now we are forced to rethink. We don't think he’s the right man for the job. I think Sarjit (Singh) was better,” said one player who declined to be named for obvious reasons.
The basis: Under Sarjit, the team finished second in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (lost the final to Australia) and third in Asia Cup in Chennai. With Beng Hai at the helm, the result was second in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (lost final to India) and fourth in Asia Cup, Kuantan.
“If you compare our results then and of late, it is evident we are sliding. We even lost to China to finish fourth in the Asia Cup played at home,” added another player.
“In the Azlan Shah tournament, we lost to India in the final. Before that we lost to Australia who are higherranked than the Indians.”
However, a couple of former internationals have come forward in support of Beng Hai. Their argument is that Beng Hai can only do so much as a coach. It is the attitude of the players that leaves much to be desired. Last week, four players were caught entering the hostel in the wee hours of the morning on the CCTV.
Allegedly, the players came back intoxicated.
“You cannot rely on the coach alone. Hockey is a team game. Ultimately what happens on the field is up to the players. Players must be dedicated. They must be able to make decisions for themselves,” said former national captain Mirnawan Nawawi.
“Beng Hai cannot come running onto the field and score a goal for them.” Logan Raj concurred. He reckons Beng Hai is the right man for the job and should be given more time to switch the fortunes of the national team.
“I have played under a number of coaches and Beng Hai has my utmost respect. We have seen so many come and go during the last years. Stephen (Van Huizen), Paul (Lissek), Sarjit and now Beng Hai. They all are different coaches but have a good head for hockey,” said Logan, 28, who quit the national team two years ago.
“Beng Hai is a workaholic and has the burning passion to push the team to greater heights.”
However, there is also the opinion that players who are complaining now are those from whom Beng Hai brooks no nonsense. The previous regime has often been accused of compromising on discipline. Beng Hai, on the other hand, is a tough taskmaster and hence, the complaints.
Malay Mail
Lissek leaves NSC to join Hockey Australia
By S. RAMAGURU
JOHOR BARU: German Paul Lissek is leaving his job as the National Sports Council (NSC) development coach to join Hockey Australia.
The 61-year-old Lissek has signed a one-year contract as consultant for the Australian national team and he will begin work on July 1. The job requires him to work closely with the Australian coach, Richard Charlesworth.
However, Lissek said yesterday that he was not leaving Malaysian hockey for good.
“This is a short-term appointment and I hope to be back after the 2010 World Cup. My current employers, the NSC, have agreed to my release,” he said.
“I have also spoken at length with the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) president (Tengku Abdulah Sultan Ahmad Shah) and he has given me the blessings as well.”
Lissek is now with the national juniors as the consultant for their campaign in the Junior World Cup Finals.
Previously, Lissek was the consultant for the national senior side for the 1998 Commonwealth Games before he took full charge of the team in 2001.
He quit in 2004 after Malaysia failed to qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympics.
But the NSC hired him as development coach and he also acted as consultant to the senior and junior teams whenever requested.
“I have no regrets working in Malaysia. There are some plans being worked out and I could be back next year for a specific job function. It will be development work,” said Lissek, who also holds the credentials of having led Germanay to three consecutive Junior World Cup triumphs from 1982.
The Star of Malaysia
Standard Chartered Bank FIH Junior Men's World Cup
Wednesday 17 June
All times are local (GMT+8)
BEL 6 JPN 2
IND 9 ENG 0
ESP 1 ARG 4
NED 1 GER 1
USA 1 CHI 2
SIN 3 RUS 4
KOR 1 PAK 5
AUS 2 NZL 0
MAS 2 EGY 2
Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand make up semi-finals
At the Standard Chartered Bank FIH Junior Men's World Cup, the last round of pool matches was played today in Singapore and Johor Bahru.
In the medal round pools E and F, the Netherlands and Germany split points in a 1:1 draw today, which keeps the Dutch in first place in pool E, while in pool F, Australia defeated New Zealand who despite the defeat move through to the semi-finals.
Argentina inflicted a consummate defeat on Spain in pool E to claim third place in the pool and the right to play in the match for fifth place, while Pakistan achieved the same with a clear victory over Korea. It is thus the encounter between Argentina and Pakistan that will decide fifth place, while Spain and Korea do battle over seventh place.
In pool G, India steamrollered England 9:0 to top the pool table and play Poland for ninth place, after Poland had won pool H with a win over South Africa in the morning game. Belgium came from behind to defeat Japan 6:2 and claim second place in the standings which gets them into the match for eleventh place against Malaysia who drew with Egypt today. Egypt will be playing Japan for 13th place, while England and South Africa lock horns over 15th place.
Finally, in pool I, playing for the 17 to 20 final rankings, Russia narrowly slipped past Singapore and Chile wrestled down the USA. This means that Russia play Chile for 17th place, while Singapore and the USA are left behind to do battle over the red lantern.
Follow our extensive tournament coverage including a live ticker from key matches, daily summaries, a photo gallery and video interviews at http://www.juniorworldcupmen2009.sportcentric.com.
WorldHockey
FIH Men's Junior World Cup Day 10
New Zealand have secured the final berth in the semi-finals at the Standard Charted Bank FIH Men's Junior World Cup.
This was despite losing 0-2 to Australia. Singapore were again denied their first points of the tournament when they lost 4-3 to Russia.
In a see-saw battle played at the Sengkang Sports and Recreational Centre this evening, Singapore took the lead three times but were pegged back each time by Russia. The co-hosts had lost all their matches so far in the tournament and had hoped to break their duck against the Russians who were on a high after registering a 4-2 win over Chile on Tuesday. Singapore drew first blood in the 15th minute when Muhammad Aidil Ibrahim scrambled in a cross from the left to set the home crowd wild.
But their happiness was short-lived when Russia fired themselves straight back with just a minute of going behind.
Singapore again took the lead after a well-worked penalty corner in the 26th minute through Prashan Anbalagan. And again Russia equalised - this time crucially on half-time through captain Alexey Mayorov via a penalty corner.
Stung by the set-back, the Singapore boys regained the lead in the second half when Elifh Enrico Marican sent the home crowd wild in the 41st minute. But Russia never gave up and levelled the tie for the third time through another clinical penalty corner by Mayorov. Singapore tried to regain the lead but were caught by a Russian counter-attack which led to Golubev's winning goal in the 60th minute. The co-hosts thought they had a chance for a equaliser when Golubev turned from hero to zero after being yellow carded and sent to the bench in the 63rd minute. But the Russians held on to deny the home side their maiden victory.
Singapore coach Low Chiow Chuan lamented his team's loss, after almost drawing with Poland, Chile and the USA previously. "I'm disappointed of course... I thought we played well today; we took the initiative to get into the circle, score a couple of goals but again the problem was holding our lead. I thought we played consistently throughout the tournament where we are able to score goals but we are also generous in giving away goals and that is our biggest problem. Going forward, we are looking to at least get 19th place which I believe will be a big boost for our boys."
New Zealand lost their final Pool F match against Australia by a 0-2 scoreline, but still managed to book a berth for the semi-final after South Korea was defeated by Pakistan 1-5 in the other medal round match held in Johor Bahru.
Australia enjoyed the most of the possession from the opening whistle and both teams did not have a clear chance at goal. In the 26th minute, Australia earned a penalty corner and Australia opened the accounts when Joshua Pollard rifled in a shot after a well-executed dummy-play. A blunder by the New Zealand defence resulted in Australia's second goal eight minutes later when Aaron Kleinschmidt intercepted a cross-field pass at the top of the 'D' and took two touches before slotting in a reverse-stick hit to put his team up 2-0 till the end of the first half.
In the second half, New Zealand tested the Australian defence and earned several penalty corners but Australia's goalkeeper Leon Hayward put on a man-of-the-match performance to keep out several shots on goal. Midway through the second half, the Wallabies were down to nine men for eight minutes after two yellow cards infringements. But the Kiwis could not find the net despite the numerical advantage and the match ended with an Australia victory.
Said Australia coach Jason Duff, "It was the toughest game we played in some ways. We came up with a good game plan and we struggled to break them down for a little while. Our guys were on the back foot for a little bit at the start but I think we worked our way into the first half. There were patches in the game that we didn't do as well as the last game. We'll learn from those and apply the strategies for the next game so that it doesn't happen again. The amount of balls dropping in the circle for the last few games we haven't had the composure to put it away. So there are a couple of things we really need to work on, including our defence."
Added Kiwi coach Peter Miskimmin, "I compliment Australia. I thought it was a pretty even contest but and I thought they played exceptionally well. Australia pressed our back four and we made a vital mistake just before half-time. We had too many corners but without any results so there are a few things we need to fix. To come to an international hockey tournament and to know that Germany, Holland and Australia are in the semi-finals and little old New Zealand are there as well makes us enormously proud as this doesn't happen very often to us.
"I think it's difficult going into the semi-finals because everyone knows each other and seen all the games and every team is trying to improve their own performance. So we have to be in a ‘finals' mind and we have got nothing to lose. "
In the other matches today, the match between Pool E favourites Netherlands and Germany saw relatively sedated game play from both teams, resulting in a 1-1 draw. As both countries have already qualified for the semi finals, this match was to determine the pool leader. Germany claimed the first goal and the rest of the first half saw little action until the second half when the Netherlands renewed their attack and Jan-Willem Buissant equalised with a goal in the 38th min. Invigorated, the Dutch team kept possession well and Germany seemed unable to gain control. In the last 10 minutes however, Germany stepped up the pressure on their opponents with several close attempts at goal, but both teams held their ground and ended the game tied.
Following Wednesday's results, Netherlands will face New Zealand in the semi-final while Germany will face Australia.
In Pool G, India makes it three wins out of three with a 9-0 thrashing of England 9-0 to top the pool.
ESPNStar.com
Burras advance to Junior World Cup Semi Final
The Burras have confirmed their place in the semi finals of the 2009 Men’s Junior World Cup, defeating New Zealand overnight in Singapore.
The Burras will now face Germany, who they drew with 1-1 during their match up earlier in the tournament.
Despite the loss New Zealand have also qualified for the semi finals and will face the Netherlands.
Although the Burras already had their place in the semi finals confirmed, they didn’t make it easy on their neighbours, dominating the first half to deny New Zealand any genuine shot on goal.
On the other hand the Burras appeared dangerous, with Josh Pollard opening the scoring 24 minutes into the match. Things continued to go to plan for the Burras, with Victorian Aaron Kleinschmidt adding to the score at the 33 minute mark.
The Burras continued to attack after half time, however were unable to add to their score.
They will face Germany in the semi finals on Friday 19 June.
Burras 2 New Zealand 0 (2-0 half time)
Goals - Pollard 24m PC, Kleinschmidt 33m FG
Hockey Australia media release
NZ make junior World Cup hockey semifinals
New Zealand have reached the medal playoffs of the Junior World Cup hockey tournament and will meet the Netherlands on Saturday morning (NZ time) for a place in the final.
The junior Black Sticks lost their last second round match against Australia 0-2 this morning, their first defeat in seven matches at the tournament.
They finished second in their group after Pakistan destroyed Korea's semifinal hopes with a 5-1 defeat.
New Zealand had earlier drawn with Korea and beaten Pakistan.
Their semifinal meeting with the Netherlands will be a re-match after both teams drew 2-2 in the first round.
Saturday's other semifinal will be between Australia and Germany.
Australia enjoyed most of the possession from the opening whistle today and scored in the 26th minute from a penalty corner by Joshua Pollard.
New Zealand fell further back after a defensive blunder eight minutes later. Aaron Kleinschmidt intercepted a cross-field pass at the top of the circle and took two touches before slotting in a reverse-stick hit to put his team up 2-0 up.
New Zealand tested the Australian defence in the second half and earned several penalty corners but found Australia goalkeeper Leon Hayward hard to beat.
Australia were reduced to nine men for eight minutes after two yellow card infringements but the Kiwis could not find the net despite numerical advantage.
"I compliment Australia. I thought it was a pretty even contest but and I thought they played exceptionally well," New Zealand coach Peter Miskimmin said.
"Australia pressed our back four and we made a vital mistake just before half-time.
"We had too many corners but without any results so there are a few things we need to fix."
New Zealand have never advanced beyond the first round at the Junior World Cup.
Germany won the title in 1982, 1985, 1989 and 1993 and Australia won in 1997. The Netherlands have made the final once in 1985 and finished third in the inaugural tournament in 1979.
"To come to an international hockey tournament and to know that Germany, Holland and Australia are in the semifinals and little old New Zealand are there as well makes us enormously proud as this doesn't happen very often to us," Miskimmin said.
"I think it's difficult going into the semifinals because everyone knows each other and seen all the games and every team is trying to improve their own performance," Miskimmin said.
"So we have to be in a `finals' mind and we have got nothing to lose."
Stuff
Junior Black Sticks make Semi-Finals at Junior World Cup
In spite of a defeat against Australia New Zealand reached the semifinal. The Netherlands are winners of Pool E after a 1:1-draw versus Germany. Australia clash Germany in one semi-final, the other is the Netherlands versus New Zealand.
Poland will play for the final rank 9 and 10 versus India. South Africa and England will compete for rank 15. Moreover Russia won Pool I and play for the final ranking 17 and 18 against Chile. USA and Singapore battle for rank 19 and 20.
Match report (from JBS manager)
The New Zealand Junior Blacksticks have made history by qualifying for the semi-finals of the Junior World Cup for the first time in New Zealand’s hockey history. Even though the Junior Black Sticks lost today 0-2 to Australia they still finished second in their pool behind Australia as Pakistan beat Korea 5-1.
From the hit-off both sides were eager to attack and the game flowed from end to end. Both sides created chances but it was the Australians who scored first from a penalty corner variation. New Zealand forced three penalty corners but could not score from these attempts. Australia then doubled their lead in the final minute of the half to take the score to 2-0 from a turnover.
The second half was an even contest and even though there were scoring chances from both teams there was no change to the score. The New Zealand team was ecstatic to learn that Pakistan had defeated Korea and that they had made the semi-finals.
The semi-finals see New Zealand play The Netherlands and Germany take on Australia on Friday evening.
Hockey New Zealand Media release
New Zealand lose but advance
by Jugjet Singh
NEW Zealand lost but were still in seventh heaven as they advanced to the semi-finals of the Junior World Cup for the first time ever yesterday.
Australia, who had already qualified, didn't take it easy against their neighbours, winning the final Group F match 2-0 at Singapore's Sengkang Stadium but Pakistan whipped South Korea 5-1 to help the Kiwis through.
Australia topped the group and will play Germany in the semi-finals while New Zealand will face the Netherlands.
Germany and Netherlands played to a 1-1 draw in their last Group E match, which was only to decide which team topped the group going into the semi-finals. Both teams are the strong favourites to meet in the final.
Yesterday was the seventh match for Germany and Netherlands and both teams have yet to be beaten in the tournament.
Germany took the lead in the 12th minute when Jan Fleckhaus deflected a pass from the right side of the circle directly into the goal.
The Netherlands won two penalty corners in row in the middle of the second half but both were saved by goalkeeper Niklas Sakowsky.
However, the Dutch defeated Sakowsky three minutes into the second half when Jan-Willem Buissant won possession, went into the circle and shot home.
The fifth-sixth spot will be a battle between former champions Argentina and Pakistan. Yesterday, Pakistan hammered South Korea 5-1, while Argentina beat Spain 4-1.
New Straits Times
Kiwis steal semis spot
by S. RAMAGURU
JOHOR BARU: New Zealand secured their first-ever semi-final appearance in the Junior World Cup series even though they were beaten 0-2 by Australia in their last Group F match at the Sengkang Hockey Stadium in Singapore yesterday.
They advanced to the medal playoffs — thanks to Pakistan, who defeated South Korea 5-1 at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium here.
The Koreans would have pipped the Kiwis to a semi-final berth if they had beaten the Pakistanis by a three-goal margin.
But they were a pale shadow of their earlier form and went down without a fight.
New Zealand will play against Holland on Friday for a place in the final while Australia will take on Germany in the other semi-final.
Holland and Germany drew 1-1 in a Group E match in Sengkang and the Dutch topped the group on better goal difference.
New Zealand needed to beat Australia to be sure of a semi-final berth irrespective of the result of the match between South Korea and Pakistan. But Australia were in no mood to grant them any favour.
Australia scored both the goals in the first half through Joshua Pollard and Aaron Kleinschmidt in the 26th and 33rd minutes respectively.
Pakistan, who lost their earlier two matches, found their form too late and Mohamed Zubair and Haseem Khan scored a brace each against the Koreans while Abbas Haider grabbed the other goal. The Koreans’ consolation goal was scored by Kang Moon-kyu in the last minute.
Pakistan will play against Argentina for fifth spot while South Korean will face Spain for seventh placing. Argentina beat Spain 4-1 in Taman Daya yesterday to take third spot in Group E.
In the match to decide the Group E winners, Germany led Holland with a field goal by Jan Fleckhaus in the 20th minute. But three minutes into the second-half, the Dutch equalised through Jan-Wilem Buissant.
Spain also led Argentina with an eighth-minute goal by Gabriel Dabanch but they ended up losers too, conceding second-half goals to Juan Cruz Aguilero (40th), Nahuel Salis (42nd), Martin Gabriel Gebhardt (49th) and Leandro Tolini (56th).
The Star of Malaysia
Malaysia in playoff against Belgium for 11th place
JOHOR BARU: Malaysia drew 2-2 with Egypt in their final Group H match of the Junior World Cup Finals at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium here last night and will play for 11th place against Belgium on Saturday.
The Malaysians went into the match against Egypt knowing they had lost the chance to top the group and get into the playoff for ninth place. Poland had defeated South Africa 5-4 in the morning to take the top spot. But still the Malaysians needed at least a draw to avoid a lower-place finish in the final standings.
Malaysia were lucky that their top scorer, Faizal Saari, was free to play the match last night. He was given a warning instead of a one-match suspension for his second yellow card in the previous match against South Africa.
Egypt’s Mohamed Mamdoh was not so lucky and had to sit out the match yesterday.
But Faizal was yellow carded again last night and he is unlikely to be let off the hook again for Malaysia’s final classification match against Belgium.
Faizal gave Malaysia the lead over Egypt with a penalty stroke conversion in the 26th minute to take his tally to eight goals. But the Egyptians were back on level terms in the 32nd minute with a penalty corner goal by Mohamed Abdel Hakim.
In the second half, Malaysia piled the pressure on their opponents and got their second goal in the 50th minute. It came off the penalty corner with Mohamed Nor Hafiq Abdul Ghaffar deflecting the ball into goal.
But the Egyptians did not give up and in the 68th minute Hamada Atef scored form the penalty corner. It was the Egyptians third draw in the classification round for places ninth-16th and they will play against Japan for 13th place.
Poland had to work hard for their victory over the winless South Africans at the Sengkang Hockey Stadium in Singapore.
The Polish side scored their goals through Krystian Makowski, Piotr Kozlowski (two), Michal Nowakowski and Syzmon Oszyjczyk. South Africa replied with a goal by Anthony Vervoort and brace by Dalan Phillips.
Poland will play against Group G winners India for ninth place while South Africa will be up against England for 15th spot.
In Group G, India blasted England 9-0 in a lop-sided affair while Belgium earned the playoff match against Malaysia with a 6-2 win over Japan.
The Star of Malaysia
Malaysia looking at 11th placing
By Jugjet Singh
MALAYSIA will meet Belgium in the 11th-12th placing playoff after drawing 2-2 with Egypt in Group H of the Junior World Cup at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru yesterday.
Malaysia's chance of finishing ninth was dealt a blow at 9.30am itself, when Poland edged South Africa 5-4 to top group H, and will play India in the crossover.
Malaysia wasted an early penalty corner and then in the 19th minute, Izwan Firdaus was fed a lovely overhead ball which found him in the middle of the Egyptian semi-circle, but he failed to beat goalkeeper Karem Khodary.
The capacity crowd at the second pitch kept cheering the boys, and in the 26th minute, Harvinder Singh's attempt earned Malaysia a penalty stroke.
Faizal Shaari stepped up and flicked strongly into the net for his eighth goal of the tournament, and Malaysia had the lead they were looking for, but not for long.
The Egyptians pressed hard, and earned their fourth penalty corner in the 32nd minute, and Mohamed Abdelhakim hammered in a rebound for the equaliser.
Three minutes before the half time hooter, Malaysia received another blow when Faizal was sent to the sin-bin for a rough tackle, for his third yellow of the tournament.
The second half was productive for Malaysia as they earned their merit badge in the 50th minute, when Nor Hafiq Ghafar flicked in a penalty corner to re-take the lead.
Egypt tried to make inroads in the last 10 minutes of the match, but goalkeeper Abdul Hakim brought off some super saves to keep Malaysia into the higher playoff bracket.
But they finally drew level in the 68th minute, when Hamada Atef scored a penalty corner, but a draw was enough for Malaysia.
In Group G, another Asian team fell by the wayside when Japan were thrashed 6-2 by Belgium. Belgium ended second in the group.
Meanwhile, India hammered England 9-0 to top Group G and will play Poland, in the ninth-10th bracket.
India were merciless from the start, and took a 5-0 lead going into the breather, and the English never recovered and let in four more in the second half.
The India goals, almost at seven minute-intervals, were led by skipper Diwakar Ram with a hat-trick, followed by Danish Mujtaba with a brace, and one goal each from Karan Jay, Victo Singh, Mandeep Antil and Innocent Kullu.
New Straits Times
India outplays England for a 9-0 win
K. Arumugam
Attacking in waves, India mopped up a whopping nine goals, while conceding nil, against England in the non-medal round of the 9th Junior World Cup, Singpore.
Forwards Pramod Kumar, Mandeep Antil, Victo Singh and Danish Mujtaba kept the raw England side on tender hooks all the 70 minutes, and the goals came in troves.
Mujtaba's first goal was scored within 30 seconds from the start, virtually from the bulley off. This set the tune and tenor of the proceedings to follow.
Indians in fact showed how great goals can be scored from field play. The third goal of Danish Mujtaba needs special mention, as it comes after a gem of a deflection off a diagonal pass from deep inside the midfield from Innocent Kullu.
Jaykaran entered his name in the scorer board with deft forehand shot in the 6th minute before the Mujtaba's great effort.
Diwakarram converted teams first PC in the 22nd minute and then converted a stroke in the 49th minute. Victo singh, inbetween, scored from his patented wing surge in the 30th minute to take India a 5-0 lead at the lemon time.
After Diwakar's stroke goal, Mandeep scored in the 54th minute, then Innocent Kullu off a penalty corner in the 62nd minute before Diwakar converted a short corner through an immaculate grounder in the 67th minute.
England played its first match here in Singapore, and had to face the wrath of the Indians, who defeated them 6-1 at Melbourned early this year at the Youth Olympics.
England came close to scoring midway through the second half when it got three successive penatly corners, but as usual Indian goalie Mrinal Choubey was in his elements.
Mandeep Antil deserved to be named man of the match today, as his speed and acumen in sending crosses were beyond the reach of the English colts.
Stick2Hockey.com
India pound England 9-0, to play for 9th place
SINGAPORE: Skipper Diwakar Ram scored a hat-trick as India pounded England 9-0 on Wednesday to set up a clash with Poland for the ninth position in the Junior World Cup hockey tournament.
In a completely lop-sided match at the Seng Kang Sports Complex, India led 5-0 at half time before returning to pump in four more goals.
For them, skipper Diwakar scored thrice (23rd, 48th, 67th minutes) and Danish Mujtaba twice (1st and 20th) while Jay Karan (7th), Victo Singh (32nd), Mandeep Antil (52nd) and Innocent Kullu (63rd min) found the target once each.
India, who had beaten Poland 4-2 in an earlier first round pool match, will face the same opponents again on Saturday.
The Indian colts took the lead in the opening minute as central mid-fielder Vikas Sharma set up Jay Karan on the left flank. The nippy winger dodged past full back Simon Faulkner to set up Danish Mujtaba who beat goalkeeper James Bailey.
India's second goal came six minutes later as left mid-fielder Manjeet Kullu sent a crisp pass into the circle for Jay to deftly push home a reverse.
Buoyed by the early goals, India intensified attack, outplaying England comprehensively with their swift off-the-ball running, short pass and the quick position interchange among the forwards.
And whenever England mounted attacks, it died on the Indian defence. Indian custodian Mrinal Choubey did a good job under the bar, thwarting four penalty corners.
Danish increased the Indian tally in the 20th minute with a faint tickle from a Diwakar push and three minutes later the captain scored the fourth goal from a penalty stroke after Antil was deliberately fouled by Bailey.
Victo Singh continued the rampage for India scoring the fifth goal in the 32nd minute connecting a backhander from Pramod Kumar's set up.
Diwakar flicked a penalty corner upon resumption in the second session to put India six up in the 48th min and four minutes later Antil sounded the board after shaking off his markers.
The rampaging Indians found the target twice more from their fourth and fifth penalty corners in the 63rd and 67th minutes with Innocent Kullu and Diwakar respectively driving them in.
The Times of India
Bad day at the office for England
It was a bad day at the office for the England U21 men in Singapore today as they went down 9-0 to India in the final Pool G, non-medal round, match.
Manager Andy Halliday later admitted that his side had “met India on a very good day for them and a bad day for us” in a game in which India clinically punished England errors.
As happened against Japan on Monday, England were behind from the first minute when Danish Mujtaba punished a defensive mistake to open the scoring and after conceding a second goal to Karan Jay in the seventh minute England found it impossible to gain a foothold in a match that was already running away from them.
More goals followed in the 20th, 23rd and 32nd minutes as India demonstrated their striking potency; displaying speed and individual skill that England struggled to cope with. On the occasions that England got the ball forward they all too often surrendered possession and looked susceptible to the dangerous Indian counter.
Despite the goal count, goalkeeper James Bailey, who plays his club hockey for Old Loughtonians, played very well, making several good saves as wave after wave of Indian pressure probed the English circle.
The second half brought more of the same as India netted a further four times, including captain Diwakar’s second and third goals of his hat-trick.
At the other end, England pair Chris Griffiths and Alex Edmonstone both came close to scoring and Mrinal Choubey in the Indian goal did well to keep out a series of penalty corners to maintain the clean sheet.
Speaking after the game, Halliday spoke realistically about the match: “India played very, very well today. Unfortunately, it was all about punishing our mistakes. Despite the score the team never gave up; they fought right to the end.”
England will now face South Africa, who finished bottom of Pool H, on either Friday or Saturday to determine final classification positions 15 and 16.
INDIA 9 (5)
Danish Mujtaba 1, 20 (F, F)
Karan Jay 7 (F)
Diwakar 23, 48, 67 (PS, PC, PC)
Victo Singh Kshetrimayum 32 (F)
Mandeep Antil 52 (F)
Innocent Kullu 63 (PC)
ENGLAND 0 (0)
SQUAD
Started
Ben Arnold (Beeston)
James Bailey (GK) (Old Loughtonians)
David Beckett (Loughborough Students)
Nick Catlin (Loughborough Students)
David Condon (Loughborough Students)
Richie Dawson-Smith (Bowdon)
Alex Edmonstone (Bowdon)
Marc Edwards (C) (Loughborough Students)
Simon Faulkner (Loughborough Students)
Johnny Kinder (Fareham)
Tom Woods (University of Exeter)
Substitutes Used
Chris Griffiths (Stourport)
Ed Kelleher (Reading)
Sam Middleton (Bournville)
Ben Tibble (Surbiton)
Henry Weir (Loughborough Students)
Did Not Play
Chris Gregg (Loughborough Students)
Ian Scanlon (GK) (Hampstead & Westminster)
England’s classification is as follows:
Date – Competition – Opposition – Time - Location
Friday 19 or Saturday 20 June – JWC Classification Round - South Africa – TBC - TBC
England Hockey Media release
Pakistan down South Korea 5-1
Staff Report
LAHORE: Pakistan thrashed South Korea 5-1 in the last Super 8 round match of the Junior World Cup Hockey Tournament at Johor Bahru in Malaysia on Wednesday.
According to a spokesman for the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), Pakistan were leading by three goals to nil at lemon break.
Abbas Haider opened the account through a field goal in the 4th minute. Muhammad Zubair slammed two goals in the 17th and 45th minutes while Abdul Haseem Khan netted two in 29th and 68th minutes.
The only goal from Korea was scored by Dong Hyun in the 70th minute off a penalty corner.
Earlier, the Netherlands and Germany played 1-1 draw and Australia beat New Zealand 2-0.
Netherlands, Germany, Australia and New Zealand have qualified for the semi-finals.
The Daily Times
USA vs. Chile
The USA Field Hockey Men’s Under-21 National Team fell to Chile, 2-1, in the final crossover match of the 2009 Men’s Junior World Cup in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Team captain Jon Ginolfi scored for the Americans.
With the result, the USA will face Singapore in the 19/20 classification match. The match will be contested either on Friday, June 19 or Saturday, June 20. The USA finished crossover play in Pool I with two victories and one loss.
Three teams in Pool I have two victories and six points – Russia sits atop with +2 goal differential. With both teams +1 in goal differential, Chile edged out the USA for second place based on head-to-head play. Russia and Chile will contest the 17/18 classification match.
The USA had the opportunity to play into the 17/18 game with a win or tie over Chile. But Chile’s Sven Richter opened the scoring in the 11th minute putting Chile ahead, 1-0 at the USA back on their heels.
“We played too timidly to start,” said Head Coach Nick Conway. “We needed to push for the win, but psychologically it wasn’t there.”
Chile added a second goal before the half from Martin Rodriguez, heading to the locker room with a 2-0 lead.
“We allowed two soft goals,” said Conway.
The USA began the second half with greater intensity, and, at times, had a personnel advantage as Chile collected three yellow cards.
Team captain Jon Ginolfi got the USA on the scoreboard in the 63rd minute, with a backhand goal through the goalkeeper’s legs at the top of the circle. But the USA could not pull even, and Chile took the contest, 2-1.
“We need to shift the psychology of the group,” said Conway. “We’re pretty devastated to have missed the opportunity for the 17/18 game. So we’ve got to regroup and consciously work to get everyone focused.”
Conway has taken notice of the level of play of his young American squad against some of the world’s top junior national teams.
“Our ball-handling ability is definitely below the level required to perform in this tournament. That’s been glaringly obvious. The reality for us is our basic skills need to get better if we want to contest at this level.”
The Americans now set their sights on the 19/20 against Singapore, a squad that has gone winless so far in the tournament, but forced a close game against the USA in earlier Pool I play.
“The challenge against Singapore is to outlet the ball,” said Conway. “Last time we played, they had the ball two-thirds of the time. We’re going to be required to build and pass, and if we can do that effectively we can get a good result. If we can’t, it’s going another close game against Singapore.”
The match against Singapore will be the final one for the USA at the 2009 Men’s Junior World Cup.
“We’re going to try desperately to finish on a high note and win the game,” said Conway.
USFHA media release
SA U21 Hockey Team facing the wooden spoon
In the 8.30h match the leader of Pool H (Poland) clashed the last of the Pool (South Africa). Through the 5:4-victory Poland will play for the final rank 9 and 10 versus the winner of Pool G. South Africa is definitely last in Pool H and compete for the final ranking 15 to 16.
Poland started ideally into the game. The first attack in the second minute brought the first goal, scored by Krystian Makowski. South Africa needed a bit of time to get themselves organised. In the 15th minute they gained two penalty corners in row, the second one ended up in an awarded penalty stroke. It was taken by Antony Vervoort who equalized. Afterwards Poland missed a couple of good opportunities while South Africa’s Vervoort converted a penalty corner to 1:2. It seemed already like South Africa will start to dominate the match now. However, in the 31st minute Poland made an equal score again through a penalty corner goal. They were also able to win the lead back. Just two minutes before the halftime whistle Piotr Kozlowski scored his second penalty corner goal in that game.
The 3:3-equalizer followed in the second half when South Africa’s Dalan Phillips converted a nice pass from his team-mate. Both teams battled on equal levels, it was hard to see who is leader and who is last of Pool H.
Poland took the lead in the middle of the second half again but South Africa’s answer followed immediately. Phillips made his second goal in the game. The slugfest was not finished yet. Poland scored the game winning goal through Szymon Oszyjczyk just a few minutes after the equalizer. But this time the Polish were clever enough to save the victory.
South Africa v Poland 4:5 (2:3)
0:1 Krystian Makowski (FG), 1:1 Antony VERVOORT (PS), 2:1 Antony VERPOORT (PC), 2:2 Piotr KOZLOWSKI (PC), 2:3 Piotr KOZLOWSKI (PC), 3:3 Dalan Phillips (FG), 3:4 Michal NOWAKOWSKI (PC), 4:4 Dalan Phillips (PC), 4:5 Szymon OSZYJCZYK (PC)
SA Hockey World
SA U21 hockey team done in by Kamikaze defence
GRAHAM BENNETTS gives us the Junior Hockey World Cup low-down
My apologies for the lack of reports but we are getting to the business end of the tournament and travelling to Johore is not making it any easier. Our match vs Egypt was the usual affair of physicality over skills.
Unfortunately both umpires let the Egyptians, especially one player, get away with murder and by the time they tried to reign both teams in it was too late. In hindsight both teams were very unhappy with the umps.
Ironically, when they did try to stamp their authority, it was Owen Mvimbi, who had made a rather innocuous tackle, who was given a yellow card. The match ended two-all with the Egyptians converting a short corner after full time. After the vast majority of possession the SA team made some naive decisions in the last five minutes of the game that have come back to haunt them in the second round of the JWC.
The next night we travelled to Johore again, this time for a 7:30 fixture against the hosts and a huge crowd with a penchant for vocal support. Our ten or so parents tried their best to compete. Ja.... Teams had complained about the Malaysians running down the barrel but for whatever reason this plea had been ignored on more than one occasion. With the SA team counting on their very effective short corner team this would prove to be a major problem in this match. SA went up first through an Antony Vervoort Penalty Stroke. Malaysia responded three minutes later with a PC. The SA boys enjoyed the lion's share of possession and attacked repeatedly but failed to convert the ball provided by their midfield and defence. Despite many PC opportunities the South Africans were unable to convert, mainly due to the Malaysian first wave repeatedly employing his tactic of negative running.
Protestations from the bench fell on deaf ears. Frustration crept in and, with the deafening roar from the crowd, the Malaysians earned two PCs that they converted to win 3 - 1.
Both games in Johore had been entirely unpleasant affairs and although seldom critical of umpires, these four men were poor in the execution of their duties at this level. I had a word with the TD post the Malaysian match and he promised that the umpire's coach would have noticed any wrong doings. My point was that the USA, amongst other teams, had spoken to the umpires before the games but they had let the negative tactics persist. The goalkeepers of both teams had "kit malfunctions" at vital parts of the matches. We had been promised at the coach's meeting that this would be monitored closely. Clearly not closely enough!
Tomorrow (Wed) at 2:30am SA time, we take on Poland. We need to beat them by
4 goals and Malaysia and Egypt need to draw to ensure us a 9/10 finish.
Beyond that the permutations are manifold.
SA Hockey World
The Terry Walsh story
By S.S. Dhaliwal
Terry Walsh was a terror on the pitch during his days when playing for Australia. Having coached over the last two decades, Walsh is in a position to provide insights on the state of hockey at present. I caught up with Walsh during his stay in Johor Bahru for the Junior World Cup.
Question: Having seen some of the matches, what is your opinion on the quality of play in the JWC?
Terry Walsh: Due to the 2 venue format I have not seen all the teams play but as expected there is a significant variation in the level of play teams are exhibiting. For me the cultural variations exhibited by teams is more pronounced at the U/21 age group level than at senior level. The top level teams are producing performance levels which are impressive.
Question: Do you agree on the increased number of teams and the format of play?
Terry Walsh: There is no doubt that the overall growth of the game improves with 20 teams. However the complexities involved would seem to increase with 2 separate venues, naturally. The exposure for the teams outside the top 8 is a key issue for the development of our game globally. As we move forward the ability to see how a 2 pitch venue can handle this number of teams, or even more, is interesting to contemplate. Obviously the format for this tournament was driven significantly by climate parameters.
Question: The autoplay rule is to help speed up play, so does it really help?
Terry Walsh: This rule requires umpires to have a significant feel for the game as interpretation of appropriate usage is diverse. The physiological implications of this rule will gradually unfold but my sense is that this will become a key tactic in creating major tempo changes in matches. Ultimately this could lead us beyond the present physiological preparations for a tournament as teams endeavour to take a further advantage in the physiological edge. It is clearly an addition to the power options available to teams.
Question: What rule changes will you suggest to make the sport more spectator friendly?
Terry Walsh: Playing the ball above the shoulder is confounding. Why not permit danger to be the key factor in the receiving or playing of high balls? Conjecture as to the ball being above shoulder height at the point of reception in field play compared to legally saving a high ball from a goal shot seems unnecessarily confusing. My view is that our rules have moved away from black and white – indeed many are extremely ‘grey’. Creating ambiguity is confusing not just to spectators but also to players and I sense also for the umpires.
For the very top level I think we need to have a semi professional circuit of umpires.
Question: Having coached in Malaysia, and having kept abreast with its developments, where would you place Malaysian hockey 15 years after you left?
Terry Walsh: My sense is that Malaysia is now further from the top level of International performance. This is not enhanced with a disjointed approach to development. Quite frankly there needs some very tough administrative decisions made if there is to be success. There is a lot to be said for planning and implementing effective processes...but it won’t happen overnight. One wonders where the coaching development programs implemented in the early 90’s are today.
Question: Who do you pick to win the JWC or your pick for the last four?
Terry Walsh: Somehow I sense the New Zealand group will make it through. In the end I think they will join Holland , Australia and Germany. From there my reading of it would be that Australia’s exhibited power will be difficult to maintain in the end against Holland. Having said that the finals will bring something special. One thing is for sure, it will be very tight.
Question: What is your role in Fieldhockey USA?
Terry Walsh: My role is ‘USAFH Technical Director of High Performance’. My responsibilities are primarily to the direction and guidance of the International Programs at senior, junior and development level for both the women’s and men’s programs. USA hosts the Junior World Cup for Women in Boston during August this year while our senior National Teams vie for positions at the World Cups next year. We are pleased with our progress but the road in front of us is a very long one. However I see that USA can be a major contributor in the International scene, especially in the women’s program. We have plenty of numbers on the women’s side but it is clear our numbers must build on the men’s side as we only really have less than 30 players to choose from for the present Junior World Cup challenge.
Question: Will you consider a coaching position if approached for the 2012 Olympics?
Terry Walsh: My focus is now not in coaching a specific National Team. My role with USAFH is all encompassing and extremely challenging. Assisting to bring USAFH to the Olympic arena as a regular and consistent competitor in both the Women’s and Men’s programs is challenging and somewhat daunting. Our progression to date has been encouraging. I do understand this is a long term project but 2016 should see us be able to realistically assess our development. But in the end this project will continue to evolve.
S.S.Dhaliwal Blogspot
Special training for goalies
Harpreet Kaur Lamba
Pune, June 17: The advent of technology in sport has seen India lag far behind the pack, especially in hockey. As the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De India revealed, there is still a very long way to go and India’s new coach, Spaniard Jose Brasa, is determined to bring down the barriers that have kept India’s hockey players from deriving the best of what a modern approach can provide.
As a start, Brasa is looking to break up the traditional patterns of practice and training the Indian squad have become used to, and there are a few more novelties the Spaniard is planning to unleash on his wards at the Balewadi Sports Complex camp that began here on Monday.
Special machines have been ordered from Spain to train the goalkeepers. Brasa had an interesting explanation for this, "Eyes never tell you the truth. They create an illusion, and tell lies to the brain.
"This machine will be like a long table which will restrict a goalkeeper’s view while he attempts to stop a shot. He will be able to see the attacker and his movement only till the time the ball is released. As the ball travels, his view is blocked. So this way we are not allowing the eye to see, and hence lie to the brain.
Another thing Brasa is determined to do away with is practice matches during training. "Never in my life have I allowed my team to play a normal match while training. You can say I am mad, but for me a match is an exam. It is not possible to pass an exam by giving another exam."
GPS (global positioning systems), heart-rate monitors, instruments to test players while lifting weights, special machines to keep track of a player’s movements at every stage — training, running, foot movement, body weight, etc. — have been ordered and will be part of day-to-day activities soon.
The Asian Age
Revington Reveals Champions Challenge II Line Up
Dublin is where some of the world's biggest hockey nations will descend this summer for the inaugural Champions Challenge II Tournament from the 6th - 12th July at the national hockey stadium. Hosts Ireland (18th) will square up to Japan (11th); Poland (20th) and Chile (27th) while Pool B pits Malaysia (15th); France (17th); Austria (22nd) and Russia (25th) against each other to see who rise to the top for Saturday's crossovers followed by the finals on Sunday.
Revington who took hold of the Irish Men's reigns in early January has announced a squad of just seventeen so far with the eighteenth spot to be announced post the Celtic Cup which takes place just seven days prior to the Champions Challenge II. The selected seventeen have an average age of 24 and 56 caps, the most experienced of these players coming in the form of marksman Stephen Butler who has amassed a total of 143 caps and 73 goals over a ten year career so far. The side which will be led out by Ronan Gormley with the support of David Hobbs and Graham Shaw, head into this tournament on the back of two recent wins against Wales early this month.
Commenting on the impending tournament Revington said "The creation of this level of FIH event is a great incentive for our Irish Team to perform well and improve our world ranking. The quality of teams attending this event will also provide our Team with a great test of how well we have progressed since January as individuals and as a team collectively."
Ireland as a nation has produced a mixed bag of results against the varying countries over the years. Ireland last met their first pool opponents Chile a year and a half ago in Santiago where they secured a convincing six nil win, but Ireland's most recent results against their remaining pool opponents were not as favorable, in 2006 Ireland lost narrowly to Japan 2-1 at the WCQ in Changzhou City however over their six ever meetings little separates these two sides which has so far resulted in two wins, two losses and two draws. Ireland has more experience against their final pool opponents, Poland with 22 meetings in all (8 wins; 4 draws; 10 losses) the last of which was in 2006 where Poland secured a 4-2 victory.
The Champions Challenge II which will be played under the new autopass rule will however give Ireland the opportunity to perform in front of a home crowd as they continue preparations for the EuroHockey Nations Trophy taking place in Wrexham this August "This event comes at a great time for the Irish team and it will be exciting to see the progress that the team have made under Paul. A home competitive tournament at this stage of the preparation towards the Europeans gives opportunity to assess the progress made, whilst leaving time for adjustments before Wrexham. The diversity in playing styles of the opposition teams, playing under the new autopass rule will provide an interesting tournament." Commented Director of High Performance, Dave Passmore.
IRELAND MEN - Champions Challenge II Squad.
Player Club Caps
David Harte (GK) Pembroke W 32
Iain Walker (GK) YMCA 15
Ronan Gormley (C) Pembroke W 75
Tim Lewis Pembroke W 41
Joe Brennan Glenanne 17
Conor Harte Pembroke W 19
John Jackson Loughborough 17
Graham Shaw (V/C) Glenanne 129
Stephen Butler Glenanne 143
John Jermyn Cork C of I 92
David Hobbs (V/C) Cork C of I 128
Geoffrey McCabe Banbridge 40
Andy McConnell Three Rock Rovers 7
Eugene Magee Banbridge 81
Timmy Cockram Lisnagarvey 74
Mitch Darling Three Rock Rovers 20
Alan Sothern Pembroke W 16
Management
Paul Revington (Coach); Peter Jackson (Manager); Craig Fulton (Asst. Coach); Arul Anthoni (Asst. Coach); Nigel Henderson (GK Coach); Stephen Barry (S&C) Sinead Murphy (Physio); Tristan Seaton-Stednam (Video)
Irish Hockey Association media release
Ireland A Annouced For Senior Celtic Cup (Women's Hockey)
Ireland this year will be sending an 'A' team to the Senior Celtic Cup which takes place over three days, 26th - 28th June, in Edinburgh, during the same period that the Senior Women's Team will be competing at the Champions Challenge II in Kazan, Russia.
Coach Garret today annouced a squad of 16 commenting "We have been working hard and withour final training camp this coming weekend I feel that we are ready for the challenge that lies ahead. We have shown that we have become a much more cohesive unit over the past then months."
Ireland A will take on France, Wales and then hosts Scotland who have won the Celtic Cup for the last two years.
SQUAD
Hannah Bowe Slough HC
Aisling Campion Loreto HC
Miriam Crowley UCC HC
Nicci Daly Glenanne HC
Nicola Evans Hermes HC
Vicki Green (GK) Clifton HC
Kate McConnell Pegasus HC
Liz McInerney UCD
Rachel Mulligan Armagh
Anna O'Flanagan Hermes
Audrey O'Flynn UCC
Stephanie Quinn Armagh HC
Cliodhan Sargent Cork Harlequins HC
Katherine Steenson Armagh
Helen Stevenson (GK) Railway Union
Emma Thornbury Armagh
Unavailable for selection: Zara Delaney / Grace Watters
Match Schedule:
Friday 26th June
Ireland A V France (12.00)
Saturday 27th June
Ireland A V Wales (10.00am)
Sunday 28th June
Ireland A V Scotland (2.00pm)
Irish Hockey Association media release
Roy and Bose raise objection
NEW DELHI: The President of the Bengal Hockey Association, J.B. Roy, and the Secretary of the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation, Ms. Amrit Bose, have objected to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) move to give recognition to Hockey India.
Support claimed
In a letter to the FIH President, Leandro Negre, Mr. Roy and Ms. Bose — claiming the support of 22 men and 20 women State associations — on Wednesday said, “…it has been reported in the Indian press today that Mr. Peter Cohen the FIH Secretary-General) has issued a letter recognising Hockey India. If that is true, then there seems to be a communication gap between you and Mr. Peter Cohen (the FIH Secretary-General) as you had clearly indicated to us that the mechanism to be adopted will be completely democratic and this purported letter (if true) would be seen as support to a completely undemocratic manner of functioning.”
“We would request you to advise Mr. Cohen not to act in haste, which may lead to subversion of the democratic process in India,” they said.
Mr. Roy and Ms. Bose are slated to meet Mr. Negre during the FIH President’s visit to India on June 25 and 26.
The Hindu
Roy wants FIH to reconsider recognition to Hockey India
NEW DELHI: The JB Roy led faction Wednesday appealed to International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre to reconsider the decision to recognise the newly-formed Hockey India (HI), "formed undemocratically" with "members not associated with hockey".
In a joint letter, Bengal Hockey Association (BHA) president JB Roy and Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF) secretary Amrit Bose told FIH their outfits represented 22 men's and 20 women's associations, constituting two-thirds of the majority of 70 state-level associations in the country.
"The joint body unanimously objected to the manner Hockey India was formed and was fully in favour of a democratic unified body for men and women. As apprised to you earlier, ideally the Indian Olympic Association should have called a joint meeting of both men's and women's state units and then formed the unified body," the letter stated.
The meeting held at Amby Valley Sunday has authorised Roy and Bose to talk to the FIH for a proper appreciation of the situation.
"We appreciate your consistent stance that apart from the basic pre-condition of the unified body, it has to be democratically formed. There is evidence to show that Hockey India was formed undemocratically and with members who were never associated with hockey."
The letter has expressed concern over media reports that FIH secretary general Peter Cohen has issued a letter "recognising Hockey India" and said "if that is true then there seems to be a communication gap between you and Mr. Cohen as you had clearly indicated to us that the mechanism to be adopted will be completely democratic. But the purported letter, if it is true would be seen as support to a completely undemocratic manner of functioning."
Roy and Bose also submitted a copy of resolutions passed in the meeting signed by 42 members.
They sought a meeting with the FIH chief when he is in India next week.
The Times of India
Four-month deadline for hockey units
V Narayan Swamy, TNN
BANGALORE: The recognition from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has strengthened Hockey India's arms enough for it to not merely set a deadline for state associations to merge with it but to implement its directive with authority.
The merger process is already on, according to Hockey India, with around 24 units ready to join its fold.
"How can the state associations continue to enjoy recognition if they haven't joined us?" asked Hockey India secretary Mohd Aslam Khan.
In a parallel move, the IOA has sent an advisory to the state Olympic associations to work towards giving official recognition to a "single hockey association which will look after the game's activities... before setting the merger process with Hockey India in motion." The time frame is 120 days, according to Aslam, after which state hockey associations unyielding in their stand will find themselves in the wilderness.
The Times of India
Checkers, Malvern in Women's Big 4 tonight
Maritime Harvard Checkers take on Stag Malvern as the Trinidad and Tobago Hockey Board (T&THB) Toyota Big Four men's and women's competitions continue tonight at the National Hockey Centre, Tacarigua.
The tournament began last night and is being contested among the top four finishers in both the men's and women's divisions.
Carib Magnolia, the 2009 women's league winners, Maritime Harvard Checkers, Stag Malvern and Defence Force are contesting honours among the females, while Stag Malvern, Defence Force, Notre Dame and Petrotrin will clash in the men's Big Four tournament.
T&T BIG FOUR MATCHES:
Today
7 p.m.--Maritime Harvard Checkers vs Stag Malvern (Women)
8.30 p.m.--Defence Force vs Notre Dame (Men)
Saturday
2 p.m.--Carib Magnolia vs Stag Malvern (Women)
3.45 p.m.--Stag Malvern vs Notre Dame (Men)
5.30 p.m.--Maritime Harvard Checkers vs Defence Force (Women)
7.15 p.m.--Defence Force vs Petrotrin (Men)
Sunday
1 p.m.--Defence Force vs Stag Malvern (Women)
2.45 p.m.--Notre Dame vs Petrotrin (Men)
4.30 p.m.--Carib Magnolia vs Maritime Harvard Checkers (Women)
6.15 p.m.--Stag Malvern vs Defence Force (Men)
The Trinidad & Tobago Express
Taskmaster Beng Hai gets critical reviews
Jonathan Fernandez
THERE’S unrest in the national hockey team. Several players, it seems, do not have faith in coach Tai Beng Hai. Beng Hai took the job in January.
“We are underachieving. It has been six months but there hasn’t been significant improvement in the team’s performance. Things were fine initially but now we are forced to rethink. We don't think he’s the right man for the job. I think Sarjit (Singh) was better,” said one player who declined to be named for obvious reasons.
The basis: Under Sarjit, the team finished second in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (lost the final to Australia) and third in Asia Cup in Chennai. With Beng Hai at the helm, the result was second in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (lost final to India) and fourth in Asia Cup, Kuantan.
“If you compare our results then and of late, it is evident we are sliding. We even lost to China to finish fourth in the Asia Cup played at home,” added another player.
“In the Azlan Shah tournament, we lost to India in the final. Before that we lost to Australia who are higherranked than the Indians.”
However, a couple of former internationals have come forward in support of Beng Hai. Their argument is that Beng Hai can only do so much as a coach. It is the attitude of the players that leaves much to be desired. Last week, four players were caught entering the hostel in the wee hours of the morning on the CCTV.
Allegedly, the players came back intoxicated.
“You cannot rely on the coach alone. Hockey is a team game. Ultimately what happens on the field is up to the players. Players must be dedicated. They must be able to make decisions for themselves,” said former national captain Mirnawan Nawawi.
“Beng Hai cannot come running onto the field and score a goal for them.” Logan Raj concurred. He reckons Beng Hai is the right man for the job and should be given more time to switch the fortunes of the national team.
“I have played under a number of coaches and Beng Hai has my utmost respect. We have seen so many come and go during the last years. Stephen (Van Huizen), Paul (Lissek), Sarjit and now Beng Hai. They all are different coaches but have a good head for hockey,” said Logan, 28, who quit the national team two years ago.
“Beng Hai is a workaholic and has the burning passion to push the team to greater heights.”
However, there is also the opinion that players who are complaining now are those from whom Beng Hai brooks no nonsense. The previous regime has often been accused of compromising on discipline. Beng Hai, on the other hand, is a tough taskmaster and hence, the complaints.
Malay Mail
Lissek leaves NSC to join Hockey Australia
By S. RAMAGURU
JOHOR BARU: German Paul Lissek is leaving his job as the National Sports Council (NSC) development coach to join Hockey Australia.
The 61-year-old Lissek has signed a one-year contract as consultant for the Australian national team and he will begin work on July 1. The job requires him to work closely with the Australian coach, Richard Charlesworth.
However, Lissek said yesterday that he was not leaving Malaysian hockey for good.
“This is a short-term appointment and I hope to be back after the 2010 World Cup. My current employers, the NSC, have agreed to my release,” he said.
“I have also spoken at length with the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) president (Tengku Abdulah Sultan Ahmad Shah) and he has given me the blessings as well.”
Lissek is now with the national juniors as the consultant for their campaign in the Junior World Cup Finals.
Previously, Lissek was the consultant for the national senior side for the 1998 Commonwealth Games before he took full charge of the team in 2001.
He quit in 2004 after Malaysia failed to qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympics.
But the NSC hired him as development coach and he also acted as consultant to the senior and junior teams whenever requested.
“I have no regrets working in Malaysia. There are some plans being worked out and I could be back next year for a specific job function. It will be development work,” said Lissek, who also holds the credentials of having led Germanay to three consecutive Junior World Cup triumphs from 1982.
The Star of Malaysia