World Cup Hockey : India

[Pintu]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100307/jsp/sports/story_12187201.jsp

Pakistan go down vs SA
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Australia’s Butturini Matthew tries
to evade a shot from Spain’s Oliva
Roc, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
(PTI)

New Delhi: Pakistani prestige in the hockey World Cup took a huge hit on Saturday with a 3-4 defeat to lowly South Africa in a sensational match at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium.

The defeat also ended whatever little chances Pakistan had of entering the semi-finals. Of the four matches they have played so far, Pakistan have lost three, the solitary win coming against Spain.

In the day’s first match, favourites Australia defeated Olympic silver medallists Spain 2-0 to take their points tally to nine in Pool B and stay firmly in the race for a place in the semi-finals.

Leading by a Rehan Butt goal at half time, Pakistan conceded four goals in a span of 16 minutes for one of their worst defeats in decades.

In the first match, the Aussies opened the scoring from the first penalty corner, which they earned in the 20th minute. Luke Doerner slammed a grounder that hit the board like a bullet.

Spanish ’keeper Francisco Cortes perhaps could have saved the second goal, scored by Glenn Turner in the 65th minute. Turner, who struck twice against India, was near Cortes when he received the ball from the left. Surprisingly, Cortes did not close the gap and allowed Turner to turn it goalwards.

The win takes Australia to nine points from four matches while Spain are stuck on six.

Interestingly, Australia coach Ric Charlesworth was not at the bench and it was left to Graham Reid to manage the show.

“He was looking to have a different view from a different angle,” said midfielder Robert Hammond.

SUNDAY’S MATCHES

Pool A: South Korea vs Canada (4.35pm); New Zealand vs Argentina (6.35pm); Germany vs The Netherlands (8.35pm)

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...dias-spunk-not-enough/articleshow/5652762.cms

Hockey World Cup: India's spunk not enough
Alok Sinha, TNN, Mar 7, 2010, 12.41am IST

NEW DELHI: As expected, it was a bruising encounter. England wanted to seal the semifinal berth and India wanted to keep their hopes of breaking into the elite six alive. The result at the end said England 3, India 2. England got what they wanted and India were left wondering what could have been.

With the stadium packed with shouting, screaming fans once again, India walked in with purpose, keen to bridge the gap that the Europeans have steadfastly held on to. But what started with hope, turned into a battle for survival for India.

Like in the earlier two games, they conceded an early goal and then played catch-up. Down 0-1 at half time, despite having more of ball possession, they came back fighting in the second, only to see England's Ashley Jackson slot their first penalty corner home to make it 2-0. And soon after, it was 3-0, a melee inside Indian circle giving Jackson the opportunity to slip it past a helpless Adrian D'Souza and a host of Indian defenders.

It was here that a brave fightback happened. The Indians went for broke, diving, tackling, chasing and harassing the nippy Englishmen all over the turf. Those were a maddening 20 minutes. It was hockey at its racy best: with continuous attacks and counter-attacks. With the Indians coming at England's throat with such ferocity, something had to give way. It did.

Gurbaz Singh snatched the ball at the halfline in the 54th minute and raced down the right flank with bounding steps. He unleashed a cracker that went straight to a waiting Gurwinder Singh Chandi. The young sardar slotted it home without fuss. 1-3 and the crowd was going wild.

Soon after, Adrian made two brilliant saves and India moved up again in a counter, changing flanks to confuse the English defenders. It was a superb move that ended with a Shivendra Singh pass to Sarwanjit who flicked it towards Rajpal Singh to do the damage. 2-3. In the 57th minute. England were rattled and the noise inside the stadium was deafening.

After that, India kept up the tempo, looking for that equalizer that would have given the perfect finish to the Saturday night story. However, after a nail-biting 13 minutes of pulsating Indian charge, England managed to walk away with yet another win, their fourth straight here which made them the first team to enter the Hero Honda World Cup semifinals.

So, what emerged in the final analysis? The match showed that India have the heart to fight, they have some players who can match the best but they lack in finishing skills. First, penalty corners: India got two in the first half and both were saved by England, Sandeep Singh and Diwakar Ram failing to make the drag flicks count. England got just one and they converted.

Indian midfield yet again had a good game, with Gurbaz excelling on the right and Sardar Singh and Arjun Halappa giving England enough jitters. However, the forwards, who also fought hard, could have converted a few chances - in both halves. India had five scoring chances in the first half and failed to get a single goal. That made a huge difference.

The heartening bit was the improvement in defence. The Indians did a lot of running, closing down gaps. However, they would have once again realized that no mistake goes unpunished at this stage. India's task was made tougher in the last five minutes when Gurbaz and Sardar Singh were shown yellow cards.

They now have South Africa on the cards. They have to win it to avoid ending up in the 9-12 bracket. Saturday's performance should give them heart for that challenge.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100307/jsp/sports/story_12187828.jsp

Am ready to walk out: Brasa
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi: Chief coach Jose Brasa Saturday said he was satisfied with India’s World Cup performance despite three defeats in four matches so far.

“I am ready to walk out with a smile if I am asked to,” said Brasa. “The team have improved in the last seven months. We have lost to Australia, Spain and England, but I believe we are now among the top teams in the world.”

Lack of match practice, Brasa said, was India’s only problem. “We need to play more official tournaments in order to improve.

In many months, this is the only tournament we got to play. It’s a pity that we are not there in the Champions Trophy. We would have gone far ahead had we played that tournament,” said the Spaniard.

The match against England, Brasa claimed, could have gone either way. “Once again we conceded soft goals. In the second half, we had our chances but couldn’t convert them.

“England have been playing in that style for 30 years, we have started it only six months ago. It would take time. The boys have done very well and I am proud of them,” he commented.

England captain Barry Middleton said his team shouldn’t have conceded the second-half goals. “Actually, we let ourselves down. We wanted to win in a clinical fashion but then conceded goals. We should have scored a couple of goals more.”

 

[ajtr]

Isnt that the role reversal that we play their national game better and we now top it and they play our national game hockey better

 

[Pintu]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j_rz3TSfTB9sxwMHSPUykogezNJA

Germany draw with Dutch to open semis race

By Kuldip Lal (AFP) – 3 hours ago

NEW DELHI — Defending champions Germany played out a thrilling 2-2 draw with the Netherlands on Sunday to throw open the semi-final race in the men's field hockey World Cup.

Dutch skipper Teun de Nooijer scored the equaliser four minutes before the final whistle to help his team share the points in a crucial group A match at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

With the last round of league matches on Tuesday, the Netherlands lead the group with 10 points, followed by Germany on eight, South Korea on seven and New Zealand on six.

The Dutch need a draw against the Koreans to take one of the two semi-final spots from the group. A Korean win could see the Asian champions advance.

Germany must secure full points from New Zealand to confirm their place, while the Black Sticks also need to win and hope the other results go their way.

European champions England have already taken a semi-final place from group B with Australia the favourites to grab the second spot.

The Netherlands led Germany 1-0 at half-time after Wouter Jolie deflected in his team's third penalty corner in the 23rd minute.

The Germans, seeking a hat-trick of World Cup titles to add to their Olympic gold medal won at Beijing, hit back with goals from Oliver Korn in the 43rd minute and Jan-Marco Montag in the 63rd.

As the minutes ticked away, de Nooijer pounced on a pass from the right and pushed the ball in past a stunned German goalkeeper Tim Jessulat.

"Its always good to get one point, rather than lose three," said de Nooijer. "We were lucky to get that chance and took it. But we have to play well against the Koreans to make the semis."

German captain Max Muller said he was disappointed to share points.

"Great game, but wish we had won," he said. "We now have to wait till our last match to see how it goes.

"Australia are still the favourites to win the title. Winning a third time is not on our minds. Its a young team and I am glad we are playing good hockey."

Earlier, Jang Jong-Hyun scored three goals as South Korea routed lowly Canada 9-2 to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

Nam Hyun-Woo and You Hyo-Sik chipped in with two goals apiece for South Korea as the Asian champions ran circles around the hapless Canadian defence in the high-scoring match.

The second half produced nine goals, two of them to Canada's Philip Wright, after the Koreans led 2-0 at the interval.

"We needed this win badly and I am happy it all came together today," said Korean coach Shin Seok-Kyo.

"It will take a lot from our side, and also our rivals, to ensure we make it to the semi-finals. We can only control what we do and that is to beat the Dutch."

New Zealand's chances of making the knock-out round suffered a setback when they lost 1-0 to Argentina in another group A match.

New Zealand, who would have moved to nine points had they beaten Argentina, paid dearly for a missed penalty stroke by Ryan Archibald three minutes before the interval.

Argentina, beaten in their three previous games, earned the winner in the 55th minute through Facundo Callioni, who diverted in a pass from the right by Pedro Ibarra.

"Its disappointing to lose such a crucial game," said New Zealand captain Dean Couzins.

"We knew this could be a vital match and that is how it turned out. We tried our best in the end to get the equaliser, but missed a few chances.

"It now all boils down to other games, but we still need to overcome the Germans."

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...flawed-from-the-start/articleshow/5654682.cms

India's World Cup campaign flawed from the start
IANS, Mar 7, 2010, 06.09pm IST

NEW DELHI: It is time to pick up the pieces of Indian hockey even as coach Jose Brasa is humming John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" melody. One suspects that the Spaniard believes that he could be the first before the firing squad, post the Hockey World Cup.

His reported statement "my bags are always packed" is not without significance. The 2-3 defeat to England was probably the last straw for salvation, but India could yet derive some consolation from their ill-fated campaign by finishing fifth like they last did in 1994 at Sydney and qualify for this year's Champions Trophy in Germany.

However, to attain that position, India still need to beat South Africa, flying high after a shock 4-3 defeat of Pakistan, in their concluding league fixture on Monday, and thereafter win their classification match. Should India fail again, then for sure, the knives would be out and the worms will crawl out of the can. Such consequences, though all too familiar, will send Indian hockey back to the Dark Ages.

It is pointless to blame the players or the coaching staff. After all, a team is only as good as the system it functions in and the system is only as good as the persons who govern it. Salvation for Indian hockey lies in a top-to-bottom overhaul and not the other way around. Change always begins at the top and development from the grassroots, but it is a moot point whether the current or future Hockey India officials would take cognizance of this home truth.

Forget talent and potential. The performance yardsticks that matter are the World Cup and the Olympics, and, to a lesser extent, the Champions Trophy.

Brasa's assertion that the players "lacked in experience and exposure" following the loss to England is debatable since a majority of the team has been playing at the international level, be it junior or senior level, for five years and more.

Had Brasa witnessed in person the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, then he would concede that the current India team is hopelessly out of its depth at the highest level, something that is obvious even to the uninitiated. In contrast, Germany, despite fielding only a few players from their successful 2006 World Cup campaign and a bunch of inexperienced youngsters, have performed exceedingly well. Mark it down to their professionally-run set up at home.

The win against Pakistan on the opening night covered up a lot of deficiencies in the Indian team, but was cruelly exposed by better-organised and more disciplined opponents. Against England, it boiled down to motivation and intensity that the Indian team sadly lacked until the players woke up in the latter part of the contest. It was all too little too late.

The harsh reality is that Brasa is saddled with a bunch of players about whom he knows little -- about their playing background, or their personal attributes. Nor he has a support system at his disposal. Worse still, as in Vasudevan Baskaran's 1998 World Cup squad, there are semi-fit players who remained unexposed due to the closed training sessions.

These observations might sound like nit-picking, or growing wiser after the event, but it does not alter the results or performance of the team whose preparations for the World Cup were flawed from the start, and marred by controversy that unfortunately is a by-word in Indian hockey.

Looking ahead to India's three remaining games in the World Cup, one fears the worst. The memories of the 1986 World Cup where India and Pakistan fought for 11th and 12th positions are still vivid, but one hopes history will not repeat itself.

 

[sob]

I was at the stadium when India lost to England and when we drew with the South Africans. Looking at the wonderful support our players got from the crowd and looking at the involvement of even kids during the match I can safely predict that the future of hockey is secure in India. We just need to organise the whole setup, with the local tournaments to be restarted, more overseas tours and in a few years we shall be among the top teams again.

Friends it was a treat watching all the spectators in the stadium joined our players in singing the national anthem at the start of the match. It just made me feel very proud to be an Indian.

 

[Vinod2070]

^^ Mate, there is a lot of support for hockey among the people. However, the administration and the players have disappointed us for decades. You say:

We just need to organise the whole setup, with the local tournaments to be restarted, more overseas tours and in a few years we shall be among the top teams again.

We have failed to do that for decades. Incompetence, mediocrity and nepotism rules and there is no sign it is changing any time soon. There is no accountability only pathetic power games. Hockey has been getting the worst administrators for the last several decades and there is no one to clean up the mess.

 

[sob]

Vinod2070 we are to blame for this mess. Just for example compare the coverage of the electronic and the print media for the Hockey world cup and for the IPL 2010.

For IPL whole shows are being organised, pages are being devoted in the National newspapers, while there is practically zero coverge for the hockey world cup.

 

[Vinod2070]

I think this time there was decent coverage given to hockey world cup. Both in the print media and electronic media.

For any more coverage and money, let them deserve it by winning. They can't expect treatment on par with cricket without putting their house in order first.

 

[Vinod2070]

What's with the hell let loose on the Pakistan hockey! Their whole team has resigned!

I think this is an overreaction and won't help in building a team for the future. One needs to have a mixture of the youth and experience. Building a completely new national team is not going to take them forward.

A typical knee jerk reaction.

 

[Rage]

ROTFLMAO. I'm still reeling from the Pakistani team's resignation en mass following their disastrous performance in New Delhi. As one article put it, the "resignation capped a bizarre 24 hours in Asian sport, which saw the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) slap bans on three former captains and Bangladesh batsman Raqibul Hasan announce his retirement from international cricket at the age of 22 !"

So this leaves them hi-and-dry for the Commonwealth Games... Well, I suppose, better a no-show than the ignominy of defeat, which the Pakistani teams have all but gotten accustomed to.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gG9l2lWR6EBkTUBrr6EhVVy1aDPQ

Australia win men's field hockey World Cup

By Kuldip Lal (AFP) – 13 hours ago

NEW DELHI — Power-packed Australia proved third time lucky as they won the men's field hockey World Cup after a 24-year hiatus with a 2-1 win over defending champions Germany on Saturday.

Luke Doerner scored the winning penalty corner 11 minutes from the end after Edward Ockenden had put the Kookaburras ahead in the sixth minute and Moritz Furste drew level for Germany in the 48th.

Doerner's eighth goal in the tournament made him the joint leading scorer with another penalty corner specialist Taeke Taekema of the Netherlands.

Australia, whose previous World Cup title came way back in 1986, had lost the last two finals against Germany in 2002 and 2006.

The Germans, hoping to become the first team in history to bag a hat-trick of titles to add to the Beijing Olympic gold medal two years ago, were outpaced by the speedy Australians.

Kookaburras' legendary coach Ric Charlesworth watched the final from the stands behind the goal, rather than on the bench, just as he had done in the semi-final against the Netherlands.

Charlesworth, who was part of Australia's Cup winning squad in 1986, achieved the distinction of winning the World Cup both as a player and coach.

"I am too noisy and too excited on the bench, so I preferred to be calm in the stands," said Charlesworth. "There was nothing superstitious about it.

"I am very, very pleased. We played a good game with a lot of control and authority. Scoring that early goal was very helpful.

"I am pleased to win both as player and captain. In 1986, the scoreline was the same, but the opponents (England) were different.

"The next goal now is the London Olympics."

German captain Max Muller said the penalty corners proved decisive.

"We too got one in the end, but could not score," he said. "We are a young side and maybe got overawed by the occasion.

"Today we are disappointed, but when we think of it tomorrow morning, we will be pleased we reached the final."

The Netherlands, meanwhile, gave veteran goalkeeper Guus Vogels a retirement present by winning the bronze medal with a 4-3 win over England earlier on Saturday.

In a thrilling play-off for the third and fourth place positions, Rogier Hofman scored the winning goal three minutes before the final whistle after the Dutch fought back from 1-3 at half-time.

Vogels, who turns 35 later this month, was named the Dutch captain instead of Teun de Nooijer for the bronze medal match, his last international game after earning 260 caps for his country.

Vogels was part of the Netherlands' Olympic gold medal-winning teams in 1996 and 2000.

"We wanted to win this one for Guus and I am proud the way we played today," said de Nooijer. "It was incredible the way we came back in the match.

"Guus has been a great ambassador for Dutch hockey and has enjoyed a glorious career. We will celebrate by throwing a dinner for him here."

European champions England, hoping for a podium finish for the first time since winning the silver medal in 1986, were swept aside in the second half by a determined Dutch side.

"It is absolutely devastating," said England captain Barry Middleton. "All the hard work we have done in the tournament has come to nothing because we failed to win a medal.

"We just did not do the little things well in the match. It was our worst game in the tournament."

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-hockey-is-bright-Lee/articleshow/5680626.cms

Future of English hockey is bright: Lee
IANS, Mar 13, 2010, 09.03pm IST

NEW DELHI: England head coach Jason Lee feels the fourth-place finish in the Hockey World Cup, their second best result in the quadrennial event, should augur well for the country's hockey.

"I think we are a quality team now. We are optimistic about the team's future," Lee said after his boys lost 3-4 to the Netherlands in a thrilling play-off for third place.

England's best came in the 1986, when they were the losing finalists.

Leading 3-1 till the 47th minute, England conceded three goals in the next 21 minutes to see their hopes of a medal end in despair. "We had a brilliant first half. But they (the Dutch) played a very good second half and put us under pressure."

Lee praised the Dutch captain Teun de Nooijer for his sparkling display, especially in the later session. "He was the key player. It was very difficult to control him. Towards the end he titled the balance."

Lee said missing a medal by a whisker has pained his boys. "They are hurt. They should feel the pain. When we won four back-to-back matches they had the feeling of victory. Now we have lost the last three games and now they know how it feels to lose."

England, who upset favourites Australia in the tournament opener, got the better of Pakistan, India and South Africa before going down to Spain in their last Pool A game on their way the semi-finals as the second team from Pool B. In the semis they lost to Germany.

Lee said his team missed three key players owing to injury and that affected the side's prospects in penalty-corners. "Our penalty-corner specialist Richard Mantell is a world class player and any team will be handicapped losing somebody like him.

Mantell's World Cup campaign ended when he dislocated his ankle in the Pool B outing against Pakistan. Earlier, Mantell's brother Richard and Matt Dalley -- both strikers -- had to withdraw from the squad because of injuries.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jmWC2L8YhhCuXOWA4FNJtGRxMb2w

Dutch beat England for hockey World Cup bronze

(AFP) – 15 hours ago

NEW DELHI — The Netherlands gave veteran goalkeeper Guus Vogels a retirement present by winning the bronze medal in the men's field hockey World Cup with a 4-3 win over England on Saturday.

In a thrilling play-off for the third and fourth place positions, Rogier Hofman scored the winning goal three minutes before the final whistle after the Dutch fought back from 1-3 at half-time.

Vogels, who turns 35 later this month, was named the Dutch captain instead of Teun de Nooijer for the bronze medal match, his last international game after earning 259 caps for his country.

The entire team rushed to embrace Vogels after the match and lifted him on their shoulders as they came off the pitch.

"We wanted to win this one for Guus and I am proud the way we played today," said de Nooijer. "It was incredible the way we came back in the match.

"Guus has been a great ambassador for Dutch hockey and has enjoyed a glorious career. We will celebrate by throwing a dinner for him here."

European champions England, hoping for a podium finish for the first time since winning the silver medal in 1986, were swept aside in the second half by a determined Dutch side.

"It is absolutely devastating," said England captain Barry Middleton. "All the hard work we have done in the tournament has come to nothing because we failed to win a medal.

"We just did not do the little things well in the match. It was our worst game in the tournament."

De Nooijer put the Netherlands ahead in the 22nd minute, before two goals from penalty-corner specialist Ashley Jackson and one from Alastair Brogdon helped England snatch a comfortable lead.

Dutch penalty-corner expert Taeke Taekema scored his eighth goal in the tournament to make it 2-3 in the 48th minute, before Klaas Vermeulen equalised six minutes later.

Hofman, who had a goal disallowed by the video umpire in the 13th minute, scored in the 67th minute to seal his team's emphatic win.

The Dutch will take the World Cup podium for the first time since 2002 when they won the bronze medal in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Defending champions Germany are due to meet strong challengers Australia in the final later on Saturday.