08 Jun, 2024 France secured a ticket to the final of FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Poland 2023-24 with a last-minute winner against South Africa in the semi-finals. They will play New Zealand for the top prize after the Black Sticks edged Pakistan. The FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup Spain 2023-24 final will see a rematch of the tournament opener featuring the hosts and Ireland. Spain beat Chile while Ireland got the better of New Zealand in the semi-finals. Classification matches saw both Canadian teams win in shootout. They will be joined by the Korean men’s team and the Japanese women’s team in the fifth-place matches. (Men’s) Austria 1-1 Canada (SO:1-3)  Canada shocked Austria in the shootout to qualify for the fifth-place match after the game finished 1-1 in normal time. After conceding early goals in their previous games, the Canadians started slow, focusing on defence. However, it wasn’t that both teams didn’t create chances. Canada had their best 30 minutes since arriving in Gniezno but the score remained 0-0 after the first half. The Red Caribou opened the scoring in the end as Hudson Loh made a great run into the circle before a spectacular finish in the 38th minute for his first international goal. The Canadians were controlling the game better but with six minutes remaining, a penalty corner saw Florian Hackl equalise. The shootout saw Loh score the all-important goal along with Brendan Guraliuk and Roopkanwar Dhillon. Fabian Unterkircher scored the only goal for the Austrians. Hudson Loh of Canada, who was named player of the match, was pleased with his first goal and said: “First international goal. It is super exciting and we got a good result. It’s good to get a win. To get a win against a team ranked above us is spectacular.” (Men’s) Malaysia 3-4 Korea  Korean captain Jaehyeon Kim stole the show as they beat Malaysia 3-4 in a seven-goal thriller in Gniezno. The first quarter saw plenty of chances as two pacy sides went about their business but the scoreline remained 0-0. Fortunately, that was not a sign of things to come. The second quarter saw four goals starting with the Malaysians. Aiman Rozemi stole the ball from midfield and ran from the left before crossing towards Faizal Saari. The pass was blocked but the rebound fell kindly as the duo combined for Saari to tap in. Sung Yeob Kim made it 1-1 from a penalty corner before the Koreans took the lead through Inwoo Seo, who slid in at the far post to meet a Sunghyun Kim pass. The match became end-to-end as Saari got his and Malaysia’s second in the final minute of the first half. The goals were coming thick fast with Malaysia going ahead as Marhan Jalil squared one for Abu Kamal Azrai to tap in from a penalty corner in the 35th minute. Three minutes later, Dohyun Lim made it 3-3. Junking Rim put the Koreans in front, reacting smartly from a penalty corner in the 47th minute. However, the hero of the day was goalkeeper Jaehyeon Kim, who produced a brilliant penalty stroke save among other brilliant moments. Jaehyeon Kim acknowledged that it was a tough outing after winning player of the match and said: “Our boys had good speed and good performance. The penalty corners had some good finishes. The win is important because of world ranking points. I am so happy.” (Men’s) France 2-1 South Africa  France broke South African hearts at the very end to reach the final of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup in Poland. It took almost until the end of the first quarter to see France in full swing, creating some chances. The second quarter saw them step it up, winning a penalty corner in the 16th minute. However, it did not work in their favour and a quick and devastating counterattack involving Tevin Kok and Nqobile Ntuli ended with the latter scoring at the other end. The Olympic hosts continued to apply pressure but were not able to break a sturdy South African backline. The best chance for Les Bleus came when Timothée Clément took advantage of a rare defensive error from their opponents only to fire inches wide. After many attempts, a goal came out of nowhere when Gaspard Baumgarten deflected a pass that travelled with venom. The momentum from the goal meant that South Africa had to give it all as the French attacked. A flurry of penalty corners in the last minute of the game saw Victor Charlet find the gap in style. Gaspard Xavier from France was awarded player of the match and said: “It was a very good performance from the team. We came back from 1-0 down. It’s a great victory. It’s good preparation for Paris (Olympics). But we have the final before that.“ (Men’s) New Zealand 2-1 Pakistan  New Zealand will face France in the final of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup after edging Pakistan 2-1 in the semi-final. New Zealand came into the game with a strategy, and it took only two minutes for the Black Sticks to go in front as Kane Russell fired an unstoppable penalty corner in. The confidence from the early goal meant that New Zealand was dictating the tempo. They got their second with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. Hugo Inglis did brilliantly on the right and found Jake Smith, who provided a sliding finish on the other side. Pakistan’s attacking flair has been a talking point of the tournament. However, they were not able to find that extra gear to score a goal in the first three quarters. Credit to New Zealand’s defenders, who had the discipline to find a solution for every problem that was thrown their way. The Green Shirts, however, managed to find a way as a lovely team move was finished by Ashraf Rana Waheed with five minutes remaining. But it wasn’t meant to be for Pakistan, who will now play in the third-place match

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06 Jun, 2024 Chile showcased exuberant celebrations as they beat Olympic-bound Japan to secure their first semi-final appearance at the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup Spain 2023/24. Joining them in the last four are New Zealand, who got the better of Canada and Ireland, who dominated Korea. Having already qualified, Spain won their final game against Italy to top Pool A. In the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Poland 2023/24, South Africa beat Korea and benefited as Poland lost to Austria. (Women’s) New Zealand 2-0 Canada  New Zealand registered a 2-0 win against Canada in their last Pool B fixture in Terrassa to qualify for the semi-finals. Four minutes is all it took for them to assert their dominance as Megan Hull’s penalty corner hit the stick of Alexis De Armond before sneaking in. The Black Sticks had better possession and control of the game, and it was down to Canadian goalkeeper Rowan Harris and the defenders to maintain the scoreline in the first half. While it was a slower start to the second half, New Zealand got the all-important second goal when Jessie Anderson served it on a plate for Hannah Cotter to finish. Olivia Shannon of New Zealand, who won player of the match, felt they could have scored more and said: “We had to score goals, and we had to go out there and press hard. We are disappointed that we couldn’t get those opportunities in the back of the net. We can charge on and got the semi-finals coming up and move on to the next game.” (Women’s) Chile 2-1 Japan  Chile reached the last four of the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup after a narrow 2-1 win over Japan, improving from their seventh-place finish in the inaugural edition. It was a cautious start to the game from both sides in the first quarter, unlike their usual attacking style. The Chileans stepped it up in the next 15, with Paula Valdivia troubling the Japanese defenders. She won a penalty corner in the 21st minute and the routine resulted in a penalty stroke being awarded. Fernanda Arrieta sent the keeper the wrong way to start the scoring. A minute later, Las Diablas won another penalty corner and an unusual technique saw Denise Rojas Losada’s shot saved but Josefa Salas was the quickest to react for the rebound as Japan failed to clear their line. The second half saw a slight change of pace from Japan, who pegged one back when Kanon Mori dived to finish a pass from Saki Tanaka from the right. A flurry of penalty corners followed in the dying moments but spirited defending from Chile saw them secure a famous win. Domenica Ananias of Chile won player of the match for a sublime performance and said: “I am very proud of the team. It was a good strategy today. We lost against Japan in India. So I think this was a good match to do the things that we wanted to do.” (Women’s) Ireland 4-0 Korea Ireland finished the pool phase in style as they reached the semi-finals with a 4-0 win over Korea. There wasn’t much action early on despite Ireland creating a few chances and winning three penalty corners. The deadlock was finally broken in the 27th minute when Hannah McLoughlin slotted in perfectly from a penalty corner. They upped the tempo and got another penalty corner soon. This time, Elena Neill’s shot was deflected in by Sarah Hawkshaw to end the half. It would be unfair without mentioning Eunji Kim, who produced some spectacular saves for Kora. Ireland finally got their third as a defensive error from Seungae Park fell for Kathryn Mullan to smash it in. The fourth and final goal came courtesy of Roisin Upton’s penalty corner in the final minute. Irelan’s Kathryn Mullan was the player of the match and was full of praise for her teammates. She said: “The character and resilience in this amazing group of women is phenomenal. How we show up every day is how we got the result today. I am so proud of these women.” (Women’s) Spain 3-1 Italy Spain had an easy outing against Italy, beating them 3-1 to top Pool A. As expected, the hosts dominated the match but it took them 18 minutes to find the opener. Constanza Amundson got her first international goal after an interesting penalty corner routine that saw Lola Riera start the move and find Lucia Jimenez, who then passed it for Amundson to score a special goal. Having already qualified for the semi-finals, there wasn’t much pressure on the Spaniards but they weren’t taking it lightly. Five minutes later, Lola Riera made it 2-0 from another penalty corner. Laura Barrios put the result beyond doubt with a third penalty corner goal in the 38th minute.  However, a clean sheet continued to evade them as the Italians pulled one back through Maria Lunghi in the final minute. Laura Barrios won player of the match and said they are under no pressure as favourites. “Our objective was the semi-finals and we are happy that we did it with three wins.” (Men’s) South Africa 2-0 Korea  South Africa won 2-0 against Korea after a goalless first half in their final pool game in Poland. With Poland losing to Austria, they secured semi-finals thanks to better goal difference. Neither team had produced a meaningful attack halfway through the first quarter and the trend continued until the 15 minutes concluded. It looked like South Africa and Korea were prioritising defence, with the game desperate for something special to get going. Despite high stakes on offer for both sides, chances were few and far between as the first half concluded. However, two well-taken field goals in the third quarter helped South Africa take all three points. At first, it was captain Keenan Horne firing one in style to the top right corner in the 38th minute while Ryan Julius got the second with a bottom-left corner finish. South African

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05 Jun, 2024 France and Pakistan joined New Zealand in the semi-finals of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Poland 2023/24 after playing out a 11-goal thriller. Pool B saw Les Bleus finish first, followed by Pakistan. Malaysia finished third after defeating Canada in the first game of the day. Pakistan 5-6 France  France topped Pool B with a third straight win, beating Pakistan 5-6 in a nail-biter. The Olympic hosts turned on the heat from the word go and came prepared to exploit the weaknesses in Pakistan’s backline. It was Victor Charlet who broke the deadlock in the seventh minute. With a minute to go for the first quarter, Eliot Curty found Blaise Rogeau, who sent a rocket that bounced off the bar for their second. There was no coordination at the back as Gaspard Baumgarten made it 0-3 with seven minutes to go in the first half. Two minutes later, Charlet got his second through another penalty corner. For all their defensive frailties, Pakistan has been one of the most exciting teams to watch while attacking. One such attempt in the 26th minute led to a penalty stroke that was converted with ease by Abu Mahmood. Suddenly, the French were not as organised as they were before, allowing Pakistan to get under their skin. A penalty corner in the 29th minute saw Sufyan Khan’s initial shot saved only for Murtaza Yaqoob to score the rebound. The third quarter was all France again as Charlet delivered from the penalty corner yet again with an emphatic finish for his hat-trick in the 39th minute. Pakistan responded in the first minute of the final quarter thanks to Ashraf Rana Waheed who finished a superb ball from Amad Butt, who found him from a long way out. Pakistan continued to threaten Les Bleus and Butt was sensational in the build-up for the fourth, as Rehman Abdul made it 4-5 in the 52nd minute. Pakistan were all over France and a penalty corner in the 56th minute made it 5-5 as Hannan Shahid reacted quickly after Mahmood’s initial shot was saved. Everyone believed the comeback was complete, but Pakistan switched off and Charlet, who started the scoring, finished it with another penalty corner. Victor Charlet of France was full of praise for Pakistan after winning the match and said: “It’s hard to describe this game – lots of goals. Against a huge hockey nation like Pakistan, you have to be good as they have many great players. You have to be focused and defend well as they are skilful. It’s not our best game but we are happy with the win.” Malaysia 4-2 Canada Malaysia got their first win of the Pool phase as they beat Canada 4-2 in Gniezno. They quickly set the tone for the game, scoring a field goal thanks to Fitri Saari smashing one in from the centre of the circle in the second minute. The second goal came four minutes later when Faizal Saari made a good run down the left before squaring it for Abu Kamal Azrai, who lost balance and fell as he fired in. A simple and beautiful penalty corner technique from Syed Cholan gave the Speedy Tigers their third goal in the 22nd minute. Canada started showing their aggressive side in the second half and were rewarded in the 41st minute when Rooopkanwar Dhillon’s powerful penalty corner snuck in. But the celebrations were short-lived as Muhajir Abdu Rauf’s shot was deflected off an unlucky Thomson Harris. For all their efforts, the Malaysians couldn’t keep a cool head and disciplinary issues almost cost them. Maansarovar Sidhu came up with a clever finish in the 51st minute to take advantage as Faris Harizan got a 10-minute yellow card towards the end of the third quarter. In the end,  Malaysians came up with the goods to see off the game. Marhan Jalil of Malaysia won the player of the match and said: “We had good motivation to play today. We started well and only scored one penalty corner. We will study our videos to increase the percentage of our conversion.” To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup, click here. FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup  – 5 June 2024  Hockey Stadium – Gniezno, (POL) Result: Match 13 (M) Malaysia 4-2 Canada Player of the match: Marhan Jalil Umpires: Titus Ngolia (KEN), Tim Bond (NZL), Munashe Mashoko (ZIM-video) Result: Match 14 (M) Pakistan 5-6 France Player of the match: Victor Charlet Umpires: Erik Etsebeth (RSA),  Harry Collinson (ENG), Michael Dutrieux (BEL-video) Source: FIH.hockey

05 Jun, 2024 Today’s World Environment Day gives us the opportunity to update all our stakeholders on the steps that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has done towards using water with more care than ever before. With water becoming scarcer and scarcer due to climate change and ever-growing human demand, using it wisely is an obligation we all have if we are to ensure its availability for future generations and protect the environment. FIH has fully recognised its responsibility and is acting. From when hockey started playing on synthetic turf fields in the late 1970s until today, the sport has preferred to play on wet turfs. Watering provides a fast, predictable, and consistent playing surface that allows the players to perform to their best ability. But even though turfs used today are much more water efficient than those used in the past, the volumes of water used are still significant, as are the infrastructure costs associated with irrigating a field. For many, this is increasingly out of step with society’s desire to live in a more sustainable way. This is why FIH launched its Dry Turf Initiative at its Congress in 2018. Today, working with the leading members of the FIH Quality Programme, we are seeing surfaces that have enhanced playing characteristics without the use of water. A year ago, FIH published its innovation standard for Dry (non-irrigated) Hockey Turfs, and today seven companies (see www.fih.hockey/dryturf for details) have developed surfaces that incorporate dry turf technology. As these new Dry Turf surfaces are being installed, FIH is working with the UK’s Loughborough University, the National hockey Associations and the turf manufacturers to collect player feedback on how they perceive these new surfaces to perform. Feedback to date is showing players can, and do, adapt to these new surfaces, but it is also noted that it is important that players have adequate opportunities to train and play on them before they are used at the highest levels of competition. Pleasingly, we are also seeing that the environmental benefits of playing on Dry Turf surfaces is being welcomed by many. We are finding that our strategy complements the sustainability policies of many that invest in hockey. FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “FIH launched a global sustainability strategy for hockey in 2022. This commitment was then reinforced as a key part of the FIH Empowerment and Engagement strategy that we launched a year ago. As a concrete milestone of this strategy, we were proud to initiate a global and ambitious programme called “Give back to forest” consisting in planting thousands of trees all around the world. Reducing water consumption is another commitment of ours. Remarkable progress has been made in this regard in the last decade. For example, the consumption of water between the Rio 2016 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has been reduced by 40%! And a further substantial reduction will take place at the Paris 2024 Olympics where, on top of that, the world’s first carbon-zero hockey turf (Poligras Paris GT Zero) will be used. We will spare no efforts to continue along this path.” Joining us on the journey to a more sustainable future, ball, stick and shoe manufacturers all have a role to play, and we are engaging with key manufacturers in each sector. Together, it is hoped that the transition from always playing top-level hockey on wet fields to using wet or dry surfaces can occur with minimal impact on the way the game is played. Source: FIH.hockey