It was double delight for Austria as they added the Indoor Hockey World Cup title to the EuroHockey Championships gold they won in January. it was the closest of finals as the match was drawn at 3-3 and then went to sudden death shoot-out. The hero of the hour was Austria’s Michael Körper, who scored the winning goal in shoot-out, as well as a crucial equaliser during the final minute of the match. Austria’s goalkeeper Mateusz Szymczyk also performed heroics as he saved two sudden death penalties from Tobias Hauke and Christopher Rühr. It was a bitter sweet day for Rühr. He was voted Best Player and was also top scorer, beating closest rival Körper by 19 goals to 17. Best Goalkeeper went to Sasan Hataminejad of Iran and Rising Player award went to Fabian Unterkircher. In the bronze medal match, Iran made history as they became the first non-European team to win a medal at the Indoor Hockey World Cup. The hugely talented Iranian team beat Australia with a classy display of passing hockey. History continued to be made as the venue, the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin played host to the biggest ever audience for an Indoor Hockey World Cup – 8,000 people passed through the gates to cheer their teams on. And so to the matches. Into a hall that was awash with German flags, Germany and Austria took to the pitch for one last match. The players entered through a tunnel of flames, which was fitting as this was a final that was intense, skilful, dramatic and played at a ferocious pace. It was six minutes before a goal was scored and it was one that delighted the crowds. Germany won two penalty corners in quick succession and, although Christopher Rühr saw his shot well-saved by Mateusz Szymczyk in the Austrian goal, the second penalty corner was dispatched with deadly accuracy by captain Martin Häner. Just a minute later and Martin Zwicker added a second. His goal was the result of fine individual skill as he pulled the ball back and then lifted it past Szymczyk. Austria responded to this in the best way possible, with Dominic Uher rattling home a penalty corner in the ninth minute to bring the score to 2-1. The match settled into a rhythm for much of the remainder of the half but with two minutes remaining in the opening period a quick break by Austria saw Tobias Walter pull off a courageous save as Austria broke through via the nifty stick work of Benjamin Stanzl. Seconds later, Walter’s counterpart Szymczyk did exactly the same at the other end of the field to deny Fabian Pehlke. Five minutes into the second half and Rühr added to the scoreline. He rattled home a penalty corner and as he roared in celebration it was clear just how much was invested emotionally in this match. One thing was always certain, as EuroHockey Champions, Austria were not done yet. It was fitting that Körper should score and he added to his own tally and brought his team back into the game with seven minutes left on the clock. What happened next is as dramatic as sport can get. With a few seconds on the clock Körper scored from a penalty corner and sent the match into shoot-out. Both ‘keepers have been outstanding all tournament and so they continued to perform as they took centre stage. At the end of the first round it stood at 2-2 and sudden death beckoned. After a save apiece, it was Hauke’s turn. His attempt was saved and it was almost a given that Michael Körper would be the player to seal champion status for Austria. In the bronze medal match earlier in the day, Iran made history by becoming the first non-European country to win a medal at the 5th Men’s Indoor Hockey World Cup. They did it by sticking to their own unique style of incisive indoor hockey. The tactic that proved to be the undoing of Australia was the long diagonal pass out of defence that by-passed the Australia press. For Australia, their energy and dynamism was on show but this was not to be their day as they hit the cross-bar and upright at crucial times in the game. The opening minutes of the match were cagey as the two teams tested each other. Both teams played an open, passing game in the mid-court but tight defences at either end meant there was little in the way of goal mouth action. This all changed in the 14th minute as Iran suddenly upped the pace. A blistering run down the right-hand side of the pitch by Reza Norrouzzadeh split the Australian defence and Navid Taherirad was on hand to push the ball smartly into the goal. Seconds later Taherirad nearly made it two as he was again left in acres of space and his shot rasped wide of the post. As the half drew to a close an Australia player was given a green card and Iran made the most of their man advantage. Behdad Beiranvand took the ball wide on the left and slipped to Norrouzzadeh. As Benjamin Rennie attempted to block the shot, the ball bounced cruelly over the Australia keeper and rolled into the goal. After the break Iran continued to turn the screw, moving the ball at pace and not giving Australia a chance to make those all important connections or get any sort of rhythm to their game. When Australia did break, the element of good fortune that is so important in hockey was missing. Jake Sherren skilfully created space of himself only to see his clever shot striking the cross bar and bouncing harmlessly away. Iran put the game further from Australia’s reach when Mohammed Asnaashari sped down the right-hand boards and slipped to Hamid Nooranian, who held his nerve to lift the ball over the head of the advancing Rennie. Two more goals followed as Australia threw everything into attack. Iran

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Sell-out 8000 crowd watch host nation defeat Netherlands in Indoor World Cup final Anne Schröder strike gives Germany a third Indoor World Cup title Belarus take bronze with defeat of Ukraine Berlin, Germany: Anne Schröder scored the winning goal as Germany overturned a 1-0 deficit against the Netherlands to win the 5th Women’s Indoor Hockey World Cup 2018 in front of an sell-out, 8000-strong crowd at the Max-Schmeling-Halle. The venue was a cauldron of noise throughout the contest, with the passionate home fans determined to cheer their team to victory. A scoreless first half saw both teams go close, with Die Danas going closest before the Dutch took the lead six minutes after half time when Lieke van Wijk scored from a penalty corner. Three minutes later the Germany fans were given something to cheer about when they were awarded a penalty stroke. The opportunity was dispatched with clinical precision by 20-year-old Nike Lorenz, who showed a level of calmness and composure beyond her years to bring her team back into the match. The winning goal arrived eight minutes from the end of the contest through Anne Schröder, who surged down the right before firing past Dutch shot-stopper Alexandra Heerbaart to spark scenes of sheer jubilation in the stadium. The Dutch pressed hard for an equaliser but Germany held firm to dethrone the title holders claim a third Indoor World Cup success, adding to those earned at the Leipzig 2003 and Poznan 2007 events “I cannot explain how I am feeling right now”, said Germany’s Luisa Steindor after the match. “The noise of the crowd was unbelievable. It was such a tough game but also such an entertaining game. We have had a few challenges in the tournament and this match was no different, but to come back from being a goal behind is the best kind of victory you can have. Asked whether Germany had saved their best performance for the final, Schröder said: “One hundred percent. We had some challenges because we didn’t take some of the early chances we had, but to produce the fightback we did was just wonderful.” Belarus were the winners of the bronze medal game, battling to a 2-1 victory over Ukraine. It is the first time that Belarus have finished on the podium at an Indoor World Cup, going some way to avenging the defeat that they suffered at the hands of Ukraine in the bronze medal game at the Poznan 2011 event. Ukraine – who were defeated by Netherlands in Saturday’s semi-finals – took the lead in the 15th minute thanks to a penalty corner from Oksana Ponomarenko. The Belarusians levelled three minutes later when Yuliya Kurhanskaya fired home, leaving things evenly poised ahead of the second half. Belarus scored their winner seven minutes from the end of the contest, with Maryna Nikitsina’s cool finish proving enough to create a moment of history for a team that has performed brilliantly throughout the event in Berlin. Speaking after the match, Belarus Head Coach Herman Kruis said: “There was a lot of disappointment yesterday evening (after the defeat to Germany), so we spent a lot of time working with the team to make them understand how important it was to go for the bronze medal. They worked so hard to recover from the disappointment of losing the semi-final and I am so happy for them that they achieved a bronze medal in the Indoor World Cup. I’m really proud of the team and we have made big steps forward at this event.” The match schedule and all other official information for the event will be available on FIH.CH, with extended coverage coming via the FIH social media channels. 

Women’s Results – Medal matches Women’s Bronze Medal Match: Belarus 2, Ukraine 1. Women’s Final: Netherlands 1, Germany 2. Awards Best Player: Lisa Altenburg (GER) Best Goalkeeper: Alexandra Heerbaart (NED) Rising Player: Nike Lorenz (GER) Top scorers: Kiana-Che Cormack (NAM) & Yana Vorushylo (UKR) – Both 9 goals Standings 1: Germany 2: Netherlands 3: Belarus 4: Ukraine 5: Switzerland 6: Australia 7: Czech Republic 8: Poland 9: Namibia 10: USA 11: Russia 12: Kazakhstan #IHWC2018

Germany and Czech Republic top Pool A with two wins apiece Pool B leaders Austria two points clear of second-placed Iran  Christopher Ruhr leads goal scoring table with eight The opening day of the 5th Men’s Indoor Hockey World Cup saw two impressive winning performances from hosts Germany (FIH Hero Indoor World Ranking:1) as they hit the ground running with a comprehensive 15-0 win over Kazakhstan (WR:16) and a 7-1 goal spree against Australia (WR:11). The result puts the three-time World Cup winners in the driving seat in Pool A. Also going well in Pool A is the Czech Republic (WR:6) who beat Trinidad and Tobago (WR:18) 7-2 before turning the screw on Kazakhstan in their second game. The Czech team turned a close 4-2 half-time scoreline into a 9-3 rout by the time the final whistle sounded. The high scoring Czech team were led from the front by Jakub Lyndl, who scored seven goals – five of them against Kazakhstan. These results leave Czech Republic in second place in the pool behind Germany on goal difference. Despite a surprise 5-3 loss at the hands of Australia, Poland bounced back in some style against Trinidad and Tobago. A match that saw the Pan American team take an early 3-0 lead was turned on its head as Poland brought the score back to 3-2 going into the break. The European team then took control of the game and enjoyed an eight goal scoring fest in the second half to run out 11-5 winners. Trinidad and Tobago were their own worst enemies as they lost two players to yellow cards during the match and thus spent a large amount of the game a player down. The result leaves Poland sitting third in Pool A. Australia enjoyed mixed fortunes on Day One, finishing on equal points with Poland but with an inferior goal difference. The Oceania representatives defied the world rankings to beat Poland (WR: 5) 5-3 – a match that saw Poland play almost 10 minutes with a kicking back as they sought to get back on terms. However, the Australian’s were undone by Germany’s sheer brilliance as they simply couldn’t find their way out of the tight German attacking press. In Pool B, Austria’s (WR:2) opening game was a chance to prove their class as they beat Belgium (WR:16) 7-2 and then emerged as 6-3 winners against South Africa. Second place in the pool currently belongs to Iran (WR:7) who continue to impress at this level as they beat Switzerland 5-1. A second win eluded them as they found Belgium in determined mood not to lose a second consecutive match. Play flowed back and forth with missed chances, courageous defending and great goalkeeping on display throughout. In the end nothing could separate the teams and they played out a 3-3 draw. The result leaves Iran in second place and Belgium fifth, ahead of South Africa who have yet to register a point. Speaking after their opening game, Iran’s team manager Hadi Shariatisaravi, said: “We have worked really hard from the last (Indoor) World Cup in Leipzig, and this was what we wanted. We are going to finish first, second or third. We are going to do it, for sure. As we say, life is hockey and hockey is life, in Iran.” Russia were another team with mixed results. They were clinical as they put five goals past South Africa (WR:12) but they then lost an exciting and closely fought match against Switzerland (WR:8). The match was one of the most tightly contested of the day as the scores stood at 1-1 until the final two minutes of the game. Switzerland scored through Florian Feller and then found an empty net for a third goal as Russia removed their ‘keeper to try to push for an equaliser. A superior goal difference puts Russia in third place in Pool B but Switzerland are snapping closely at their heels. Results – Men’s Indoor World Cup Day 1 Pool A Germany 15, Kazakhstan 0. Czech Republic 7, Trinidad and Tobago 2. Poland 3 Australia 5. Poland 9, Trinidad and Tobago 3. Kazakhstan 3, Czech Republic 9. Germany 7, Australia 1. Pool B Russia 5, South Africa 0. Iran 5, Switzerland 1. Austria 7, Belgium 2. Russia 1, Switzerland 3. Austria 6, South Africa 3. Belgium 3, Iran 3. #IHWC2018 Source: FIH

The Indoor Hockey World Cup brings together the best indoor hockey teams from across the world as they seek to lift the trophy on 11 February. For many of the players and teams competing at the Max Scheming Halle in Berlin, Germany, this is the pinnacle of their indoor hockey careers and for some, this is a moment that has, at times, seemed unlikely. The romantic and headline-grabbing story has to be the presence of Trinidad and Tobago team in the men’s Indoor Hockey World Cup. Against the odds, Trinidad and Tobago won the Indoor Pan Am Cup in 2017, knocking the pre-tournament favourites Canada out in a thrilling 7-5 encounter before defeating Argentina 7-0 in the final. “We’re not here to make up numbers but to prove that Trinidad and Tobago belongs on the world stage.” Douglas Camacho, President of Trinidad and Tobago Hockey  Ranked 18 in the FIH Hero Indoor Hockey World rankings, Head Coach Raphael Govia and Assistant Coach Darren Cowie, will have been plotting their course to further success as they take on Poland (WR:3), Czech Republic (WR:6) not to mention their final match of the pools against the world number one team, Germany. Douglas Camacho, President of Trinidad and Tobago Hockey said: “We’ve been drawn in Pool A to face European teams and Australia, so we hope to bring our exciting brand of hockey to the tournament and show them what we’ve got. We’re not here to make up numbers but to prove that Trinidad and Tobago belongs on the world stage.” Making their debut at the Indoor World Cup will be Kazakhstan. The team that is currently ranked 16th in the world have a baptism of fire as they face Germany in the opening match of the men’s competition. Head Coach Olga Urmanova will be looking for her young team to adapt to the cauldron of international hockey very quickly. European teams dominate the top world rankings in the women’s Indoor Hockey World Cup, with the Netherlands top of the list at number one. However, they suffered a defeat at the hands of Germany (WR:2) in the recent EuroHockey Indoor Championship. At the other end of the scale, USA are ranked 20th and they come to the competition as tournament debutants. Ali Campbell, who was voted best player at the Pan American Indoor Hockey Cup, will be hoping to continue her fine form in front of goal, but a pool that comprises Netherlands, Poland and Belarus will prove a stern testing ground for the USA team. For USA Head Coach Jun Kentwell, team selection (12 players from a group of 24) for the event has been tough: “The selection of the squad to travel to the Indoor World Cup has been the most difficult decision I have ever had to face,” Kentwell said in a statement released by USA Field Hockey, “I have never worked with a group of players who shown so much commitment and determination.” Another side who sit low in the women’s rankings are the African champions, Namibia. Ranked 14th in the world, Namibia have a habit of overturning the form book. They beat red hot favourites South Africa in the race to the Indoor Hockey World Cup thanks to a pulsatingly exciting final in the African Indoor Cup and, according to Netherlands Coach Marieke Dijkstra, whose team played them in a friendly, they are: “A very physical and skilled team.” In Dijkstra’s words: “When it gets to quarter-final stage, anything can happen.” The action starts on 7 February. Fans can follow all the matches from the main hall via a free live-stream on FIH YouTube. #IHWC2018 Source: FIH

Several things struck me when John Wright announced his retirement as an international hockey umpire a few months back. The announcement signalled the retirement of one of the finest hockey umpires of all time – certainly the best male hockey umpire South Africa has produced and, in fact the most celebrated umpire or referee in any sport in South Africa. There is no South African official and few international ones who have umpired 3 World Cup finals (the last 3), 2 Olympic Finals (Athens and Rio), whilst also umpiring in 3 other Olympic Games. He also umpired numerous finals in Continental Championships in Europe, Oceania, Asia and Pan America, as well as Champions Trophy finals – a staggering career achievement and a CV beyond compare. But it is more than that because other than the final in Rio (which I watched on TV) I was present for all the major finals he umpired. You have to be in the stadium to really absorb the reality of it. The tension and pressure on an umpire in the red-hot cauldron of a final with a packed stadium and worldwide audience of millions is unbelievable. One mistake can change the direction of the game, the fate of the Gold Medal, the ultimate prize for any hockey player or athlete. The umpires are subjected to verbal abuse from the spectators, the players and the coaches including on-going “sledging” or verbal barbs. I have witnessed one of the world’s top hockey coaches running down the side-line verbally abusing John. This against the back drop of the fact that hockey is one of the fastest ball games in the world with high levels of player congestion at times. A deflection, a subtle stick tap, or any other infringement can happen so fast, and an umpire focussing on the ball is also expected to pick up things happening off the ball! Yet the calmness and quiet authority exhibited by John in the “heat of battle” was remarkable especially with the stakes so high. He managed this with dignity and aplomb. After crucial games and handshakes all round, most players and coaches would acknowledge the excellent job he had done in that “cauldron”. A further hallmark of a great hockey umpire is the ability to work together with his fellow umpire on field and this teamwork is vital to ensure the best possible handling of the game. John was always able to ensure that he worked superbly well with his co-umpires. South Africa’s great women’s umpire Marelize de Klerk conducted herself similarly and with great distinction also umpiring numerous gold medal matches. I am sure John and Marelize fed off each other’s success and helped pave the way for many other South African umpires to follow suit eg Gary Simmonds, Deon Nel and now Michelle Joubert, with John’s brother Peter also emerging as a top umpire. The mentoring role they played and involvement in South African hockey’s umpire development is notable. I remember asking John after the World Cup final in The Hague if he had enjoyed the experience. He told me the tension and fear of making a crucial error was so big that it is difficult to enjoy these occasions in the fullest sense but the sense of satisfaction of a job well done is the dominant feeling. The enjoyment probably seeps in when one knows that you have done a job par excellence. John Wright, I pay tribute to you for an unparalleled career in hockey umpiring – all done as a volunteer with no remuneration – which makes the achievement even more remarkable given the preparation and training required. You can rightly feel tremendously proud and you have been a role model for young umpires at home and abroad, as well as South African and World Hockey.