BHUBANESWAR: India’s silent guns finally found some ammunition to fire as fans in Rourkela put the disappointment of team’s failure to reach the Men’s Hockey World Cup quarterfinals behind them to once again pack the stands at the gigantic Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium. And the Indian team responded in style to hammer the 2018 Asian Games champions Japan 8-0. It was a game of many firsts for the home team that was pushed out of the title race by New Zealand in the crossovers. As it happened: India vs Japan Five of India’s eight goals came off penalty corners (PC), including skipper Harmanpreet Singh’s drag-flick managing to beat a goalkeeper on a PC for the first time in the tournament. India’s PC conversion rate was the best in five matches — 5/11. Abhishek (36th and 44th minute) and Harmanpreet (46th and 59th) pumped in two goals each, while Vivek Sagar Prasad (40th), Manpreet Singh (59th) and Sukhjeet Singh (60th) joined Mandeep to score one goal apiece. The team played like a giant woken up from its sleep, pounding Japan with a flurry of counter-attacks for the majority of 60 minutes, which had all: PCs, variations on PCs, fluid midfield and goals. India finishes it off in style as they beat Japan. Here are some moments from the game. 🇯🇵JPN 0-8 IND🇮🇳#IndiaKaGame #HockeyIndia #HWC2023 #StarsBecomeLegends #HockeyWorldCup #INDvsJAP @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/Vrw4iZrfQj — Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 26, 2023 But the first 30 minutes were goal-less. Mandeep Singh’s off-the-ball running finally returned against the opposition he likes the most to score against. Mandeep’s name was the first on the list of goal-scorers , with his neat deflection on a set-piece in the 33rd minute. It opened the floodgates. The pattern of the game didn’t change thereafter — India attacked, Japan defended. It remained that way till the final whistle. Vivek Sagar Prasad, whose selection straight into a World Cup after a long injury layoff has been questioned, finally managed to add some fluidity to the midfield. He set up Abhishek nicely at the end of a counter-attack, and Abhishek’s reverse-hit deposited in the net for a 2-0 lead. Like Mandeep and Abhishek, Vivek also scored his first goal of this World Cup when a rebound off Harmanpreet’s drag-flick fell onto his stick, and Vivek’s crisp hit sounded the board. By now, the Indian team was having fun and almost had a hitting session in front of the Japanese post. In between, with the game being as open as a hockey match can be, Japan had their chances; but the Indian goalkeepers PR Sreejesh and Krishan Pathak managed to keep them at bay for a clean sheet. Abhishek’s reverse hit in the net then made it 4-0, while Harmanpreet heaved a sigh of relief when finally a drag-flick from his stick beat a goalkeeper. His first and previous PC goal came in the pool stage when the Welsh team had withdrawn their goalkeeper. Japan then replaced their goalkeeper Takashi Yoshikawa, who stood like a wall for 30 minutes before wilting under pressure in the third quarter, with Kisho Kuroda. The dying minutes of the game were played inside Japan’s 23-yard, with India scoring thrice inside two minutes. A field goal by Manpreet Singh, Harmanpreet’s second goal off a PC and Sukhjeet making full use of another rebound off Kuroda’s pads on a PC to find the goal rounded off Japan’s misery. India will now take on South Africa on Saturday in the 9th-12th place playoff.   Source: TIMESOFINDIA.COM | January 26, 2023

The South African Hockey Men, ranked 15th in the world, took on the 10th ranked Malaysians in a match to decide which of the two sides would play in the 9-12th bracket and who would drop to 13-16 pool. The South Africans looked the better team from the start and almost had a lead with an early penalty corner. But they did get the lead their early dominance deserved. Sam Mvimbi received the ball in the circle, waited for the pass, and picked out Brad Sherwood who finished superbly. The South Africans could and probably should have made it 2 before the end of the quarter as they wasted several penalty corner opportunities. They did however make the penalty corner count in the second quarter. The initial shot was saved, in fact the second shot was saved too, but it fell to Guy Morgan, and he fired home for his first International goal for South Africa and doubled the lead. Captain Dayaan Cassiem almost made it 3 with an incredible piece of individual skill. But his shot was incredibly saved on the pad and trickled inches wide of the goal. The South Africans would get their third and deservingly so. The ball was fed inside and a halfhearted clearance from the Malaysians fell to Bli Ntuli who netted his second of the tournament and gave the team a convincing lead at the half time break. Despite the superb showing in the first half the South Africans saw their lead cut down by one as Razie Rahim finished from a penalty corner to re-ignite the Malaysian challenge. The Malaysians were visibly buoyed by their goal and raised their momentum, but the likes of Eustice and Bell were frustrating the attacking attempts regularly. Tevin Kok and Ryan Julius combined sensationally to create an opportunity, but Tevin Koks shot was saved well by Othman on his glove side. Brad Sherwood came incredibly close to double his tally with a snap reverse shot but it went agonizingly wide. The goal felt like it was coming and that’s exactly what happened. Keenan Horne reacted to a great run from Sam Mvimbi and smashed it home. It improved even further for the African champions when Sam Mvimib was taken down and a stroke was awarded. Mustapha Cassiem got his first World Cup goal finishing with a super strike. Malaysia was given a lifeline themselves when they were given a stroke after a clumsy challenge by Lembethe, and Rahim doubled his and Malaysia’s tally. South Africa leading 5-2 with a quarter remaining. Malaysia was pushing in the final quarter, but South Africa held them off before striking a sensational counter attacking goal that saw Brad Sherwood net from a wonderful cross from Dayaan Cassiem. Malaysia immediately pulled a goal back, but the South Africans always looked more likely to add to the scoreline rather than concede. As a result, the South Africans will have the opportunity to finish in the top 10 when they play their final game at the World Cup in two days. This already is the teams highest finish in a 16-team world cup tournament, but they will look to finish in the top 10, a great achievement considering the ranking of 15. Source: SAhockey.co.za

BHUBANESWAR: Brothers playing for the same national team is not new but siblings scoring goals in the same match is rare. The Grambusch brothers — Mats and Tom — achieved the distinction in the FIH Men’s World Cup quarter-final, helping Germany rally from a 0-2 deficit to take the match against England into penalty shootout. Germany then won the shootout 4-3 to set up a semi-final clash against Australia on Friday. Mats and his younger brother Tom scored a goal each with just two-and-a-half minutes left in the match, sending the capacity crowd at the Kalinga Stadium into a tizzy. Mats scored in the 57th minute and, a minute later, asked Tom to take the penalty stroke after Christopher Ruhr had missed from the spot just a few minutes ago. Tom repaid his elder brother’s trust by scoring the equaliser to take the match into penalty shootout where the ‘Die Honamas’ won 4-3 in a match which England captain described as a “cruel” one. An ecstatic Tom punched the air while Mats and the other team-mates converged to celebrate the sensational comeback. Asked why his elder brother asked him to take the penalty stroke, Tom said there was no favouritism. “Christie (Christopher Ruhr) took the first one and missed. Then we switched because I am the second penalty-stroke taker in the team. So, Mats told me to take it and I did. “Luckily, I scored. My mom must be proud as both of us scored. They were watching on TV,” the 27-year-old six-feet tall defender told PTI. Mats and Tom hail from Monchengladbach, which had hosted the FIH Men’s World Cup in 2006. They have studied in the same college and currently play for the same club, Rot-Weiss Koln, in Cologne. “Tom started his international career in 2016. So, it was in February 2016 when we first played together for the national team and then we played together in the 2016 Rio Olympics,” Mats said. “I started a little bit early (in 2011) as I am a little bit older. We are also playing for the same club now,” said the 30-year-old midfielder. Asked how their parents would react to the feat, Mats said, “They will probably scream first and then one of them will have tears of joy. “Me and Tom scored the goals to take Germany to victory. We have taken the team to the semi-finals. They (parents) would not have been prouder than this. “All said and done, it is a team game and we are happy to have helped our country win the match and enter the semi-finals. That is more important.” The Spanish and Wales sides in this edition of the World Cup too have siblings in their squads. While Spain have the Cunill brothers, Pau and Pepe, Wales have the Furlong siblings, Gareth and Rohdri. Spain lost to Australia 3-4 in the quarter-finals, while Wales were eliminated early, finishing fourth and last in their pool. The Indian gold-winning teams at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics had brothers Dhyan Chand and Roop Chand playing together. Gurbax Singh and Balbir Singh Grewal were part of the same India team that won bronze at the 1968 Olympics. Brothers Harmik Singh and Ajit Singh also won a bronze medal in the 1972 Munich Olympics. Source: TIMESOFINDIA.COM | January 26,2023

India’s unfortunate exit from the title race of the Hockey World Cup was scripted on Sunday at the end of a breathless penalty shootout in the crossover match against New Zealand, who went on to win 5-4 in sudden death. To know what ‘sudden death’ means in a shootout, let’s first understand the format of a penalty shootout and how it is executed. A shootout in hockey is required as a tiebreaker when the teams end up scoring the same number of goals or no goals in a knockout match are scored where a winner needs to be declared in order to progress in the tournament. Unlike football, there is no extra-time period in hockey if the regulation game of 60 minutes ends in a tie. The game straightaway moves to a shootout.   THE SHOOTOUT RULES The teams are asked to select five players each and the order in which they will take turns to take five shootouts. Earlier, the shootout in hockey used to be like a penalty stroke, where the ball was kept at a spot seven yards out from the goal and the player pushed or flicked it, trying to beat the goalkeeper in the post. However, now, as per FIH’s tournament regulations for outdoor competition: a) the goalkeeper/defending player starts on or behind the goal-line between the goal posts b) the ball is placed on the nearest 23-metre line opposite the centre of the goal c) an attacker stands outside the 23-metre area near the ball d) the umpire blows the whistle to start time e) an official at the technical table starts the clock f) the attacker and the goalkeeper/defending player may then move in any direction g) the shoot-out attempt is completed when (1) 8 seconds have elapsed since the starting signal or (2) a goal is scored or (3) the attacker or the goalkeeper commits an unintentional offence inside or outside the circle in which case the shoot-out is re-taken by the same player against the same goalkeeper or (4) the goalkeeper commits an intentional offence inside or outside the circle, in which case a penalty stroke is awarded and taken or (5) the ball goes out of play over the back-line or side-line, which includes the goalkeeper intentionally playing the ball over the back-line. SUDDEN DEATH If the above still fails to decide a winner and the scores remain level after five shootout attempts each, then the game moves to a sudden death shootout. Everything remains the same in sudden death, except that when a team takes a one-goal lead over the other, and the opposition fails to equalize, the game comes to an end. Like in the World Cup crossover match between India and New Zealand on Sunday, Sam Lane scored to put NZ ahead 5-4, but Shamsher Singh failed to level it, and thus New Zealand were declared the winners. Source: TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Jan 23, 2023