News for 21 June 2009
Sunday, 21 June 2009 09:35 | 
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All the news for Sunday 21 June 2009
England snatch first Test
England earned a 3-2 victory over Germany in Russelheim earlier today in a physical game which saw good flowing play from both sides in hot conditions. It was a good day for two of England’s University representatives with Loughborough Students’ Nicola White putting in a strong performance on her debut and the University of Birmingham’s Susie Gilbert scoring her first England goal.
England went into the break with a two goal advantage following a ninth minute penalty corner converted by Leicester’s Chloe Rogers and then a 21st minute reverse stick hit from Bowdon Hightown’s Jo Ellis after some good work down the right involving Alex Danson.
However, the current European champions drew level in the second half with a successful penalty stroke from Fanny Rinne awarded following a bad tackle in the circle, and then a 57th minute broken down penalty corner cleared up by Lydia Haase after the initial shot was saved by Beth Storry.
However, England, who looked dangerous going forward throughout the match, pushed for the winner and were rewarded courtesy of Gilbert with a reverse stick hit from the top of the circle.
Speaking after the match, Head Coach Danny Kerry said that he was “pleased with the chances we generated, but I was disappointed with our conversion rate which would have helped us to control the game. This is an area we will be working on.”
GERMANY 2 (0)
Fanny Rinne 42 (PS)
Lydia Haase 57 (PC)
ENGLAND 3 (2)
Chloe Rogers 9 (PC)
Jo Ellis 21 (F)
Susie Gilbert 63 (F)
Remaining Fixture:
Sunday 21 June, 1100hrs (local), Russelheim, Germany
Name (Club) [Position] Eng Caps/Eng Goals Age
Beth Storry (SCHC) [Goalkeeper] 38/0 31
Kate Walsh (SCHC) (C) [Defender] 140/27 29
Chloe Strong (Pinoke) [Defender] 7/1 25
Sally Walton (Bowdon Hightown) [Defender] 43/6 28
Natalie Seymour (Canterbury) [Defender] 14/0 22
Chloe Rogers (Leicester) [Midfielder] 55/6 24
Ashleigh Ball (Slough) [Midfielder] 6/0 23
Helen Richardson (Den Bosch) [Midfielder] 103/7 27
Alex Danson (Klein Switserland) [Forward] 81/16 24
Nicola White (Loughborough Students) [Forward] 1/0 21
Katie Long (Leicester) [Forward] 7/2 21
Used Substitutes
Gemma Darrington (Leicester) [Defender] 5/0 22
Susie Gilbert (University of Birmingham) [Midfielder] 7/1 20
Rebecca Herbert (Kampong) [Forward] 46/3 22
Jo Ellis (Bowdon Hightown) [Forward] 21/2 25
Kerry Williams (Leicester) [Midfielder/Forward] 21/1 23
Did Not Play
Becky Duggan (Trojans) [Goalkeeper] 25/0 26
Laura Unsworth (Loughborough Students) [Defender] 4/0 21
England Hockey Media release
Reverse stick winner
By Patrick Rowley
A stunning reverse stick strike by 20 year old Birmingham University sudent Susie Gilbert five minutes from time gave England’s women’s team a 3-2 win over European champions Germany in the first of two weekend internationals at Russelsheim.
It was England’s first away win over Germany in 28 years and will give enormous encouragement to the team a month before they compete in Champions Trophy in Sydney.
Despite a very physical encounter, England swept into a two goal lead in the first 22 minutes. Chloe Rogers scored from England’s only corner and then Bowdon’s Jo Ellis with a reverse stick shot after Alex Danson had split the German defence.
The Germans drew level, scoring twice in mid second half through Fanny Rinne (penalty stroke) and Lydia Haase from a rebound.
England continued to press forward and were duly rewarded with the deciding goal, Gilbert’s first for England.
Sunday Express
Black Sticks romp home
The Black Sticks romped to a 7 - 0 over India in Nelson today. Coach Mark Hager had another chance to experiement with combinations and the side responded well.
The first goal came in the seventh minute when Charlotte Harrison finished off a nice right hand movement. She picked up another deflection on the post in the 19th minute. Stacey Michelsen scored the third field goal in the 28th minute and then just before half time Charlotte Harrison put a well placed high ball over the keeper for Forgesson to Krystal Forgesson to deflect, taking the half time score to 4 - 0.
In the second half India started strongly and Bianca Russell was called on to make some good saves in goal.
Anita Punt set up Sam Harrison six minutes into the half however and the pair repeated their combination minutes later. The last field goal was scored by Forgesson near the final whistle.
Standouts were Sam and Charlotte Harrison and Russell.
The Black Sticks next fixture is against Argentina and China, in New Zealand early next month.
New Zealand 7 India 0
Half time score 4 - 0
Goal scorers - Charlotte Harrison 2, Stacey Michelsen, Krystal Forgesson 2, Sam Harrison 2
Hockey New Zealand Media release
Black Sticks romp past India
New Zealand completed a series rout by winning the third women's hockey international 7-0 over India in Nelson today.
It completed a 3-0 series result for new coach Mark Hager, who has introduced a large number of new players to the Black Sticks.
Hager used today's match to experiment and trial a raft of combinations, and he was not made to wait long before his players responded.
The first goal came in just the seventh minute when Charlotte Harrison finished off a nice right-hand movement.
Harrison scored again when picking up another deflection on the post in the 19th minute before Stacey Michelsen scored the third field goal nine minutes later.
New Zealand went to the halftime break up 4-0 after Harrison put a well placed high ball over the goalkeeper for Krystal Forgesson to deflect home.
India began to assert themselves after the resumption and New Zealand goalkeeper Bianca Russell was called on to make some good saves.
But the tourists were silenced when Anita Punt set up Sam Harrison 6min into the half and the pair then repeated their combination minutes later.
The last field goal was scored by Forgesson near the final whistle.
Standouts for New Zealand were Sam and Charlotte Harrison and Russell.
New Zealand's next assignments are home matches against Argentina and China next month.
New Zealand 7
(Charlotte Harrison 2, Krystal Forgesson 2, Sam Harrison 2, Stacey Michelsen)
India 0.
Halftime: 4-0.
Stuff
FIH Womens Champions Challenge II
Kazan (Russia)
Sunday 21 June
10:00 India v Belgium
12:00 Belarus v Canada
16:00 Ukraine v Malaysia
18:00 Russia v Ireland
Russian campaign begins today for women
THE national women's hockey team have set a semi-final target in the Champions Challenge II and will open their Group A campaign against Ukraine in Kazan, Russia today.
The other Group A teams are Russia and Ireland.
Malaysia, the World No 24, have been preparing for the tournament since last year.
Among the experienced players in the squad are Farah Ayuni Yahya (goalkeeper), captain Nadia Abdul Rahman, Juliani Mohd Din (both midfielders) and Siti Rahmah Othman (forward), who all had month-long attachments with Australian clubs recently.
Farah Ayuni and Nadia played for Fremantle while Juliani and Siti Rahman featured for Curtain in the Australian Division One league last month.
Malaysia Women's Hockey Association (MWHA) secretary S. Shamala said the team are well prepared for at least a semi-final spot in Kazan.
Malaysia, coached by Yahya Atan, are the second lowest ranked team in the tournament. Favourites India, Belgium, Canada and Belarus make up Group A.
Malaysian fixtures: Ukraine (today), Russia (tomorrow), Ireland (Wednesday).
New Straits Times
Standard Charted Bank FIH Men's Junior World Cup
Saturday 20 June
All times local (GMT+8)
13/14 playoff JPN 2 EGY 1
11/12 playoff BEL 3 MAS 2
19/20 playoff USA 1 SIN 3
17/18 playoff 20:00 RUS 3 CHI 5
9/10 playoff 20:00 IND 4 POL 0
FINAL JUNIOR WORLD CUP STANDINGS
1st: Germany/Netherlands
2nd: Germany/Netherlands
3rd: Australia/New Zealand
4th: Australia/New Zealand
5th: Pakistan
6th: Argentina
7th: Korea
8th: Spain
9th: India
10th: Poland
11th: Belgium
12th: Malaysia
13th: Japan
14th: Egypt
15th: South Africa
16th: England
17th: Chile
18th: Russia
19th: Singapore
20th: USA
FIH Men's Junior World Cup Day 12
Singapore and India both won their final matches at the Standard Charted Bank FIH Men's Junior World Cup.
Singapore won their final match of the Standard Chartered Bank FIH Men's Junior World Cup against USA by a 3-1 result, finishing 19th out of 20 teams in the two-week tournament.
Singapore claimed its first victory in front of 1,200 fans at the Sengkang Sports and Recreational Centre in a fiercely-fought contest for 19th place. The hosts got off to a good start in a 28th minute penalty corner after Johnson Sivalingam was found unmarked in the ‘D' and flicked the ball into the goal to put his side ahead. USA had a great chance to equalise two minutes later but goalkeeper Kevin Na was equal to the task and kept the score-line intact up till half-time.
Singapore, who had difficulties keeping its lead throughout the tournament, was determined to hold its one-goal advantage with the resumption of the second-half. After five minutes from the restart, Singapore's captain Muhammad Sabri Yuhari initiated a counter-attack on the break with a fine pass down the right flank into the path of Nagarajan Balukumaran, who crossed unselfishly for Enrico Elifh Marican to score Singapore's second goal. USA was rattled and Singapore increased its lead in the 56th minute through Sivalingam's solo effort from the left wing. USA pulled a consolation goal back from the penalty spot through their captain Jonathan Ginolfi with ten minutes left, and Singapore held on for the rest of the match to record their first win of the tournament.
Said Singapore's coach Lim Chiow Chuan: "We're very happy to finally get a win and obviously at the tail end of the competition the players are extremely fatigued and tired, but they just wanted to play and get the win they longed for and we played well today. These eight invaluable world-class matches have been wonderful and they've improved from match to match. The challenge is to keep these guys going, to continue playing the sport, to train and most importantly to continue being exposed to higher levels of competition."
Said USA's coach Nicholas Conway: "It is a difficult situation for both teams to be playing for the last place, there is no question in my mind that the best team won today. Singapore was close in several matches, and credit to them today, I think they fully deserve the victory. We were really disappointed that we are not able to show better of ourselves and compete with them on a more even basis. But my point to the team is that I much rather have these players come with an experience like this than not being here, using this tournament as a development process and look back on the positives that come out of it."
Meanwhile, India clinched 9th place in the tournament after struggling to break down a stubborn Poland side. A.K. Bansal's team eventually prevailed with a 4-0 decision with goals from Mohammad Amir Khan (18th min), Karan Jay (35th min), Danish Mujtaba (45th min) and Birenda Lakra (58th min).
In the fight for the 13th-14th classification matches tonight, Japan finished ahead of Egypt after a 2-1 victory. Egypt's Hamada Atef scored in the 5th minute, and four minutes later Japan equalised through their caption Ryota Kubo. Japan clinched the victory through a penalty corner in the 66th minute through Kenji Kitazato's winner.
ESPNStar.com
Germany vs Netherlands Preview
Sunday's highly anticipated Standard Charted Bank FIH Men's Junior World Cup final will feature Netherlands against Germany.
Both sides last faced each other in the third edition of the tournament in 1985 when Germany won their second of four consecutive championships.
The Netherlands will aspire to win their first FIH Junior World Cup championship, while Germany aim to add a fifth title in the tournament's history.
Both teams had met earlier in the medal rounds of this competition - drawing 1-1.
Said Netherland's coach Paul van Ass: "We are very familiar with each other, we would be evenly matched in all departments, and it will come down to the little details that will make a difference, and need to come together. But it will also be beyond the tactical side of the game, it will also depend on how the players make a mental adjustment to the game."
Said Germany's ceoach Uli Forstner: "Netherlands and Germany are very evenly matched physically, tactically and technically. It will be an intense game with so much quality between both teams. This would certainly be a different game from the rest of the tournament, it would be a close one, and possibly into extra-time or a penalty."
ESPNStar.com
Germany and Holland out to make history in final
By S. RAMAGURU
JOHOR BARU: An epic Junior World Cup final is on the cards as Germany and Holland lock horns at the Taman Daya Stadium here today.
Whoever emerge champions, history will be created in the first tournament jointly hosted in world hockey.
The Germans are looking for a fifth title in nine editions while the Dutch are aiming for their first-ever crown.
Both teams are unbeaten heading into the final and both play with vastly different styles. Their match is set to be a showcase of the best of the European game which has dominated the world of hockey in recent years.
There is no doubt that the players on show today will be the stars of tomorrow.
The Germans, as usual, are very solid in defence and lightning quick in attack.
Germany coach Uli Forstner admitted that their game was built around their defence.
“But the Dutch have good penalty corner takers and it could make a difference. We will just have to be better at defending the corners in the final,” he said.
Dutch topscorer Mink ven der Weerden has scored 12 goals – all from penalty corners.
But the one the Germans need to worry about is nippy forward Jan-Wilem Buissant, who has scored some crucial goals for the Dutch.
Holland coach Paul von Ass believes the right strategy will prove crucial in the final.
“They (Germans) are just as good but I feel we have an edge this time,” he said.
Statistically, the Germans do have the edge. Both teams met in the 1985 final in Vancouver and the Germans won 4-1.
Both coaches agreed that the team who handle the pressure best would come out triumphant.
“For me, the one who can come up with something special will have the edge. It will always be the small things that will make or break a team in the final,” said Forstner, who will be in charge of his last match for Germany.
He has led the German team since the 2001 Finals and is set to retire after the game.
He took the team to third placing in 2001 and sixth spot in Rotterdam.
This time, he will be looking to take them all the way to the top.
The Star of Malaysia
India tip Germany to be champions
By Eugene YS Han
India coach AK Bansal has predicted Germany to beat the Netherlands in the Standard Chartered Bank FIH Men's Junior World Cup final.
In what would be a tight game at the Johor Bahru Hockey Stadium in Taman Daya, Bansal believes the team with the most mental strength will lift the trophy at the end.
"I think Germany should win as Germany is a better thinker than Holland," he told espnstar.com.
Perhaps the India coach is still unhappy with the Dutch for drawing with New Zealand in the preliminary stages - a result that left India in third place and out of the final eight. The Netherlands coach Paul Van Ass had earlier said he would have preferred facing an Asian team in the last four. But Bansal disagreed.
"Because of that (the result), we were out," he said.
"That's why he is saying so many things. And that in the press conference he was saying, "I don't want to meet India again. They only had to beat New Zealand - they played several of their secondary players."
While New Zealand and Australia fight it out for third place, India will now have to reflect on another lost opportunity to be among the top four at junior level.
They beat Poland 4-0 on Saturday in Singapore to secure ninth spot in the tournament.
India had blasted in 20 goals in their last three games so Bansal thought his team was capable of scoring more goals against the Poles.
"We were capable of scoring more goals. But from the very beginning Poland slowed down the game. After the two-goal margin and in the second half especially, our boys were also playing easy. You knew from their body language that they were not playing well," he said.
India will prepare to return home after two weeks of intense tournament and Bansal knows the team has a few things to iron out.
"Lots of improvement is required now. Because now the junior section is over, they have to play for development teams and for senior teams. And before that they need lots of improvement," said Bansal.
"All areas need work we could not play the semi-finals which was our target. You could say bad luck, we played very well but if not for one match only we could have gotten through to the semi-finals."
ESPNStar.com
India beat Poland to finish ninth in Jr World Cup
SINGAPORE: India went on a goal-scoring spree to trounce Poland 4-0 and finish a lowly ninth in the FIH Men's Junior World Cup on Saturday.
The Indian colts scored twice in each half through Mohammad Amir Khan (18th minute), Jay Karan (35th), Danish Mujtaba (46th) and Birendra Lakra (58th) to finish their campaign on a winning note at the Seng Kang Sports Complex here.
Interestingly, contrary to their ninth place finish in the quadrennial event, India ended their campaign with six convincing wins, one draw and one loss.
The Indians also scored the maximum number of goals (42) by any team in the tournament while conceded just nine.
In the ninth-10th position play off match, on Saturday, India began with flair and caught the Polish defence off-guard on numerous occasions with their midfielders and forwards moving in tandem.
India, who had earlier defeated Poland 4-2 in a preliminary pool match, missed two chances from Mujtaba and medio Vikas Sharma before they opened their account.
Central midfielder Belsajar Horo sent a well measured tap to left winger Amir Khan whose reverse shot past Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Mis gave India the lead in the 18th minute.
India then made continuous forays into the Polish circle from both the flanks which earned them four penalty corners in the opening half.
The Indians doubled their scoreline at the stroke of half time when Karan fired home from the rebound off captain Diwakar Ram's dragflick.
India continued their attacking game after the change of ends and in the 46th minute Mujtaba made it 3-0, deflecting home a cross from winger Mandeep Antil.
The Polish defence caved in again twelve minutes later as an unmarked right half Birendra Lakra sent the ball crashing past goalkeeper Mis from the edge of the circle.
The Times of India
Malaysia late show not good enough
MALAYSIA paid a heavy price for their inconsistency as they lost 3-2 to Belgium at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru yesterday to finish 12th in the Junior World Cup.
Needing a win to please their fans, who still turned out in droves, Malaysia were guilty of sleeping in the first half and only playing hockey in the remaining 35 minutes.
The first half was pathetic, as Malaysia failed to even make one dangerous penetration into the Belgium semi-circle, and goalkeeper Jeremy Gucassoff had a nice time watching the match from a distance.
But at the other end, Malaysian goalkeeper Abdul Hakim was mercilessly pounded and after bringing out several superb saves, finally let in the first goal in the 26th minute, tucked in by Felix Denayar.
The absence of suspended top-scorer Faizal Shari was sorely felt and just before the halftime hooter, Simon Gougnard made it 2-0.
Malaysia remained as a punching bag at the re-start, and Amaury Keusters made it 3-0 with a field goal in the 40th minute.
Izwan Firdaus narrowed the gap with a 43rd minute field goal, and R. Nadesh made it 2-3 with a 69th minute field goal as Malaysia's campaign came to an end.
New Straits Times
Malaysia settle for 12th place
Malaysia missed their top scorer Faizal Saari and had to settle for a poor 12th place.
It was a far cry from a high top four target set by the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) before the start of the ninth edition of the Standard Chartered Bank FIH Men's Junior World Cup Finals.
And it was also a drop of two places from the last tournament in Rotterdam in 2005 where Malaysia finished 10th after losing the playoff to England.
In the play off for 11th place, Malaysia fell to a 2-3 defeat to Belgium on Pitch 1 at the Johor Bahru Hockey Stadium in Taman Daya. The win meant Belgium did not finish worse than their previous best which was achieved in a 16-team tournament compared to this year's 20-team tournament.
Coach K. Rajan who admitted that it was disappointing to finish 12th in the tournament said: "At the same time we showed that we can play top class hockey but were never able to maintain... top class one day and mediocre performance the next day.
"I must admit that the team looked lost without Faizal. We missed Faizal's speed. This was evident in the first half. But we showed patches of brilliance when we came back strong in the second-half."
Malaysia fell 0-2 behind in the first-half due to some sloppy defending. Belgium struck in the 26th minute with Olympian Felix Denayer dribbling past two markers before whipping in a powerful shot past a rooted Malaysian goalkeeper Abdul Hakim Adnan.
And just before the break, Malaysia conceded a soft goal when an unmarked Simon Gougnard to deflect the ball into the goal.
All looked lost for Malaysia when Belgium increased their lead to 3-0 with a field goal by Amaury Keustens sounded the board with a reverse flick.
That was when Malaysia woke and tightened their game and in the 43rd minute Izwan Firdaus Ahmad Tajuddin was on target before R. Nadesh made the score look more respectable with Malaysia's second in the dying seconds.
Belgium coach Pascal Kina said: "We simply lost focus to allow Malaysia score twice after leading 3-0. Apart from this I am more than pleased with the team's performance.
"We had targeted a top eight finish but things did not go our way...and we blame ourselves for not getting into the medal round. We lost by a single goal to Argentina.
"At the end of the day we did what we could do. Our next target is the European Championships in Poland where we will still have the services of seven or eight players. Belgium will also the four or five players from the present team for the World Cup."
ESPNStar.com
Chile celebrate 17th place finish
Chile have reason to smile even though they finished 17th in the Standard Chartered Bank FIH Men's Junior Hockey World Cup.
Thanks to their 5-3 win over Russia at the Johor Bahru Hockey stadium on Saturday, they have gained an improvement from the 15th placing achieved at the previous edition in Rotterdam two years ago.
"At the previous Junior World Cup we finished 15th out of the 16 teams which took part. That means we were second last. But now we are 17th out of 20 teams. So we have improved," said Chile's team manager Alfredo Castro.
The Chileans together with Argentina are South America's representative to the tournament and by their own admission, they are still a long way from matching hockey's superpower.
"But we are a determined side, eager to learn and never willing to give up. That's our success story against Russia tonight," said Castro.
But it was Russia who took the lead in the 27th min through Sergey Bolshakov's field goal before Chile equalised in the 33rd min via a Pablo Thermann goal.
The Russians took the lead again in the 44th minute off a Ilya Larikov goal before Chile forced the equaliser in the Pablo Siebert in the 48th minute.
Two quick goals from Chile scored by Siebert again in the 50th minute and Martin Rodriguez in the 59th minute made it 4-2 in the South Americans favour.
Russia pulled one back to make it 3-4 in the very next minute through Alexey Podznakov but only to see Rodriguez put the match beyond doubt with Chile's fifth goal in the 68th minute.
ESPNStar.com
S'pore record first win; Claim 19th spot
By Eugene YS Han
It took them eight games but Singapore finally claimed their first victory in the Standard Charted Bank FIH Men's Junior World Cup.
They defeated United States 3-1 at the Sengkang Sports and Recreational Centre on Saturday.
It was a fiercely-fought contest for 19th place which saw three players yellow carded - two for USA and one for Singapore - and it was Singapore who got off to a good start in the 28th minute.
Johnson Sivalingam found himself unmarked in the D and he flicked the ball into the goal after a penalty corner. USA had a great chance to equalise two minutes later but goalkeeper Kevin Na were equal to the task and he helped to keep the scoreline intact at half-time.
Singapore have had difficulties keeping their lead in this tournament, and with the resumption of the second-half, they were determined to hold their one-goal lead and attack on the break. After just five minutes from the restart, Singapore did just that. Captain Muhammad Sabri Yuhari hit a fine ball down the right flank and into the path of Nagarajan Balukumaran who crossed unselfishly for Enrico Elifh Marican to score Singapore's second goal.
USA were rattled and Singapore increased their lead in the 56th minute through Sivalingam's solo effort - which again came from attacking USA's left defence. It was easily the best goal of the match.
And with ten minutes left, USA pulled a consolation goal back from the penalty spot through captain Jonathan Ginolfi. By then it was too little too late as Singapore held on to record their first win of the tournament.
ESPNStar.com
Singapore beat USA and turn 19th
The USA Field Hockey Men's Under-21 National Team fell to Singapore, 3-1, in their final match at the 2009 Men's Junior World Cup in Malaysia. Jon Ginolfi had the American goal. The USA finishes the tournament in 20th place.
Singapore celebrated their first victory in their last game. With a convincing performance they defeated the USA 3:1. The game for the 19th rank was a very close one. Both teams got their opportunities and bothered to score. In the 29th minute Singapore took the lead through a penalty corner goal. US-goalkeeper Kevin Segeren was able to save two attempts but could not do anything about the third one. Johnson Sivalingam waited at the left post and converted.
Closer to the halftime whistle the sky turned dark and lightning and thunder overcame the Sengkang stadium. But the thunder-storm did not start and the match finished.
Just five minutes were played in the second half when Enrico Elifh Marican increased Singapore’s lead out of a crowded circle. USA fought to get back into the game and tried to put the hosts early under pressure. While USA concentrated on attacking Singapore got always dangerous through counter-attacks. The 3:0 scored by Johnson Sivalingam again was a counter-attack goal. US-team captain Jonathan Ginolfi brought some hopes back when he converted a penalty stroke in minute 60.
To sum up the Singaporeans played more clever than they did in their last match versus the USA which they lost just two seconds before the final whistle. It seemed that Singapore had learned from the fault they made last time. Today they kept attention till the final whistle went and earned the victory which means rank 19.
USA v Singapore 1:3 (0:1)
0:1 Johnson SIVALINGAM (PC), 0:2 Enrico Elifh MARICAN (FG), 0:3 Johnson SIVALINGAM (FG), 1:3 Jonathan GINOLFI (PS)
USFHA media release
Singapore Sojourn: Tit Bits Here and there - Part III
K. Arumugam
It’s tough task for media managers here to get journalists for media briefing. Often one can see three people -- two coaches and an anchor on the dais -- to answer question of a single journo. On one occasion, the lone journalist was requested to join coaches of Chile and South Africa across the eating table. So, the discussion went on with all of them enjoying cup of tea. Not a bad idea, madam.
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What do the Indian team do for relaxing? Ice bath, an idea by the team’s physio Shrikant Iyenkar.
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After Australia defeated South Korea 3-1, even as the Australian team was warming down on the turf, the goody Australian supporters started ‘Happy Birthday to you’ tune. It’s 18th birthday for Jacob Whetton. The 17-year old was so shy that he almost blushed, did not respond initially. It was long before another player prompted him to make a return gesture that he obliged. Whetton is a good centre-forward.
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After Netherlands and German match, an enthusiastic journalist asked Paul Ass, the Dutch coach as to whom would he like to play in the final. Paul replied, “Singapore”, after the laughter subsided, he reasoned, “because I love this country.” Netherlands and Germany by then had already qualified for the semis.
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Initially, Indian team did not relish the food served at the official Royal hotel. On the request of Indian team management, the hotel sourced food from a Bangladesh caterer, which also turned out to be not so good. Finally, Indian management cornered on a Indian restaurant which supplied food daily. Manager Ghulati says, “Our food is so popular that even other teams made a habit of joining us on the table”.
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An Indian player whom I met in a shopping centre was so downcast that he was almost on tears. “We could not sleep for two days, not ate full stomach for 4, 5 days, actually don’ feel like eating at all”. When I tried to console that it happens in sports, he said ruefully, “We can’t have another Jr World Cup na sir”. As far as my information goes, the team is still unable to come to terms with the fact that they are good enough only for minor placing.
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The Organizing Committee Chairman Kuldeep Singh is a tall, 50 plus, sardarji. He is Director, Custodial Department of Singapore Police Force. He is also vice-president of Singapore Hockey Association. During a party given to the team staff, he was seen signing bills in numbers.
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On 18th night, there was a party. Indian team physio Shrikant Iyenkar turned out to be a good dancer, giving a run for a dancing pro. He really captivated the audience with his steps for kajra re Kajra re of 'Bunty aur Bubbly' fame. Russian and Chilean team managers are other popular performers of the evening.
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On one gathering, Indian team manager Ghulati presented souvenirs to Singapore Hockey officials, the restaurant people who catered Indian team, Royal Hotel Chef and others. No other teams did so. Good gesture, winning hearts out side turf too is important PR tool.
Stick2Hockey.com
2009 Women's national championship
Held in conjunction with the National Futures Championship, the USA Field Hockey Women’s National Championship is a round-robin tournament featuring the top athletes from USA Field Hockey’s six regional High Performance Centers.
Beginning in the early spring, High Performance Centers serving the New England, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Midwest, South and California regions conduct open trials for college-age and older athletes. Once selected to a High Performance Center, athletes receive elite-level training from some of the nation’s top coaches over the course of the spring.
At the conclusion of the program, each High Performance Center selects a team to represent its region at the National Championships. Athletes competing in the tournament have the opportunity for selection to the U.S. National Squad. The Pennsylvania / California HPC is the defending champion after defeating the Midwest in last year’s championship final.
Rosters at the Championship include current U.S. National Team stars as well as recent college All-America selections.
Game One: New Jersey 1, PA/CA 0 - Juila Reinprecht scored the only goal off a deflection from Rachel Dawson in the 28th minute.
Game Two: Mid-Atlantic 3, Midwest 2 - After a frantic first half that saw Midwest jump out to a two goal lead, Mia Link scored the game-winning goal in 61st minute for Mid-Atlantic.
Scoring:
MW: Kayla Bashore (PS), 10'
MW: Caroline Blaum (FG), 16'
MA:Traci Ragukas (FG), 20'
MA: Caroline Nichols (PC), 24'
MA: Mia Link (FG), 61'
Game Three: South 5, New England 3 - A 2-2 first half stalemate was broken with a three goal flurry in seven minutes from the South for the victory. Five different players scored for the South.
Scoring:
NE: Melissa Gonzalez (FG), 7'
SO: Elizaeth Stephens (FG), 8'
SO: Jesse Gey (PC), 27'
NE: Nellie Puolin (FG), 34'
NE: Tiffany Huisman (FG), 42'
SO: Kim Romansky (PC), 59'
SO: Melanie Brill (PC), 63'
SO: Michelle Kasold (FG), 66'
USFHA media release