FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup South Africa 2023: Women’s Pool A Preview

    January 31, 2023 The 12 best men’s and women’s teams from around the world are converging in Pretoria, South Africa as we countdown to the final few days till the start of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup South Africa 2023! Each team comes with the aim of becoming indoor hockey world champions, but only one team can earn the highest honour at the end of the World Cup. The first obstacle for all 12 teams in both men’s and women’s category, come in the form of their pool opponents. The top-4 teams in each pool will qualify for the quarterfinals with the teams finishing in the bottom two spots in their pool getting eliminated from the quest for the title. In today’s preview, meet the teams in Pool A of the women’s competition, and find out the unique playing styles they will bring to the World Cup. Australia Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: 9 Indoor World Cup history: 2003 – 9th, 2007 – 6th, 2011 – 8th, 2015 – 8th, 2018 – 6th.  About the Team: Having competed in every Indoor World Cup played to date, Australia are seasoned performers and always difficult to beat. Their sixth-place finish at the 2018 event in Berlin, Germany was their joint highest placement, matching their previous best at the Vienna 2007 competition. Emma McLeish is the team’s most experienced athlete, with the 34-year old having represented her country at the Poznan 2011, Leipzig 2015 and Berlin 2018 competitions. Goalkeeper Elizabeth Duguid and Madeleine Murphy were also involved at Berlin 2018 and will be determined to make that world level knowhow count in Pretoria. The event will be an extra special one for the family of Caitlin and Erin Burns, sisters who have both gained selection for this event. Austria Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: 8th Indoor World Cup history: 2003 – 7th, 2007 – 7th, 2011 – 7th, 2015 – 4th. About the Team: After missing the Berlin 2018 edition, Austria return to the women’s Indoor World Cup stage and will be setting their sights high. Following seventh place finishes at the Leipzig 2003 and Vienna 2007 competitions, Austria came agonisingly close to a podium finish at Leipzig 2015, holding Czech Republic to a draw before suffering a heart-breaking defeat in the shoot-out. The team selected for Pretoria 2023 contains two players who competed in that painful defeat, with Marianne Pultar and Marta Laginja both aiming to get amongst the medals this time around. In December, Austria finished fourth in the recent EuroHockey Indoor Championship 2022 in Hamburg, Germany, with 20-year-old Johanna Czech top scoring for her team with four goals. Netherlands Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: 2nd Indoor World Cup history: 2003 – 2nd, 2007 – 1st, 2011 – 2nd, 2015 – 1st, 2018 – 2nd.  About the Team: With two gold and three silver medals from the five Indoor World Cups played to date, the Netherlands have a sensational record in this competition and are sure to be one of the favourites for glory here in Pretoria. The Oranje were in imperious form throughout the Berlin 2018 competition, winning seven games in succession before hosts Germany edged them 2-1 in the gold medal match. Four players from the team that competed in Berlin will be in action at the 2023 event, including co-captains Lieke van Wijk and Donja Zwinkels, outstanding goalkeeper Alexandra Heerbart and Noor de Baat all gaining selection. Van Wijk and Zwinkels scored six goals apiece to help The Netherlands win silver at December’s EuroHockey Indoor Championships 2022 in Hamburg, Germany. Is a third Indoor World Cup title on the cards? New Zealand Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: N/A Indoor World Cup history: Debutants  About the Team: New Zealand women will be making their Indoor World Cup debut at the event in Pretoria and will be keen to make a good first impression. Following tireless efforts in New Zealand to re-establish the international indoor teams, it will be fascinating to see how they perform on the greatest indoor stage of all. The team is coached by Gaye Tarrant, who captained Australia to their impressive sixth place finish at the 2007 Indoor World Cup in Vienna, Austria. The team is captained by Pippa Norman, whose younger sister, Beth, has also been selected. Former outdoor star Kirsten Pearce – who played 121 times for the Black Sticks, scoring 32 goals – is arguably the biggest name on their roster and could be a player to watch. South Africa Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: 14 Indoor World Cup history: 2003 – 10th, 2007 – 12th, 2015 – 9th.   About the Team: Returning to the Indoor World Cup stage after missing the Berlin 2018 edition, South Africa will be relishing the chance to take on the very best the world has to offer in front of a partisan home crowd in Pretoria. It is the fourth time that South Africa have competed in the Indoor World Cup, and know that they have a fantastic opportunity to surpass their previous best finish of ninth, which came at Leipzig 2015. The team were runners up in the 2021 Indoor Africa Cup, with Namibia defeating the host nation 2-0 in the competition final in Durban. The silver medal came with a silver lining, with Tegan Fourie – who will compete here in Pretoria – finishing as the competition top scorer with 20 goals to her name. Edith Molikoe is another prolific scorer for South Africa, a team that will be determined to thrill their home fans at this very special event. USA Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: 12th Indoor World Cup history: 2018 – 10th   About the Team: A tenth-place finish at Berlin 2018 was a very respectable Indoor World Cup debut for USA, who will feel that they can achieve even bigger things this time around. They are the reigning Pan American champions, winning a second successive title with a 3-0 triumph over Canada at the 2021 competition on home soil in Spring

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    South African Women Fired up to compete at FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup

      Following a lengthy period of intense preparation, SPAR South African women’s indoor hockey coach Lennie Botha is confident that the team are ready to compete against the best in the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Pretoria next month. The international event, presented by SPAR, will take place outside of Europe for the first time in its history when it is hosted at the Heartfelt Arena from February 5 to 11. South Africa are one of 12 teams in the women’s tournament and even though they have been drawn in what Botha called the “pool of death”, he is confident that the home side will be competitive.  “Success in indoor hockey is about the team making the least mistakes and then being able to take your chances,” he said. “And we all know that at a tournament anything can happen. “But the exciting thing for us is that although there is a mixture of young and old, most of the girls have played against the top countries and we have done well, so I believe we are good enough to compete.” Acknowledging that all the matches would be tough, Botha said the games against European powerhouses Netherlands, twice world champions, and Austria, fourth in 2015, would be, particularly testing. “But the goal for me is to complete the pool phases by finishing in the top eight so it would mean we have to win at least two matches,” Botha added.  “Once you get into the top eight, anything can happen and, given the tough nature of our pool, we could conceivably have a slightly easier game if we make the cross-pool playoffs.” In their other fixtures, SA will be up against Australia, New Zealand, and the US, none of whom could be taken lightly, Botha said. The team went into their final training camp in Durban on Thursday after having played a series of internationals against Namibia and Ireland in the past few months. “The one thing about a coach is that you are never completely comfortable with your preparations, but we have done everything we can, given the Covid disruptions in the last few years, to prepare as thoroughly as possible,” Botha said. “The players have been working extremely hard and I’m excited about the opportunity, not only to show what we can do, but also to showcase the sport of indoor hockey to the wider SA public.” He said he could not stress how important it was for the game to host events of this nature. “It’s great that SA Hockey has taken the bull by the horns and run with it to become the first country outside of Europe to host the World Cup “I believe it will create unbelievable exposure for the sport and this event is going to take it to another level. “For example, against Ireland in Cape Town we played in front of crowds of up 1000 people, but in Pretoria that could reach 3000, so we are extremely excited about this opportunity.” Botha also paid tribute to the role played by SPAR as the major sponsors of the World Cup and the women’s team. “Without them this would not have happened and over seven yours of sponsoring the women’s team, they have been extremely supportive. “If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be where we are now.”

      Indoor Hockey: The rules of the game

        January 29, 2023 Indoor hockey started in Europe as an alternate way to practice hockey in the months of winter when it was too cold to play the sport outdoors. Over the years, the game has developed and evolved into the fast, skillful and action-packed version of hockey that it is today, with countries all over the world playing the sport throughout the year. With the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup South Africa 2023 starting in less than a week, find out about the rules of the sport that make it so unique and popular with hockey fans all over the world.   Pitch The indoor hockey pitch is rectangular in shape, with any indoor sports hall flooring appropriate to play on. The dimensions of the World Cup pitch will be 40 meters long and 20 meters wide, and a blue, hockey specific flooring will be used to provide the best performance for the athletes and television appearance. Contrasting, yellow colored balls will be used to stand out from the colour of the pitch.. There are boards placed on the side perimeters of the pitch (but not the backline) that keep the ball in play. The scoring circle has a 9 meter radius from the center of the goal-line and the penalty spot is marked 7 meters from the center of the goal-line. Goals The size of the goals in indoor hockey are smaller compared to outdoor hockey. The width of the goal is exactly 3 meters and it has a height of 2 meters. Goal-sideboards and goal-backboards are not necessary in indoor hockey. Teams Each team in indoor hockey consists of 6 players that includes 5 outfield players and 1 goalkeeper. Teams can choose to play with 6 outfield players by not playing a goalkeeper. The total size of a squad in indoor hockey is 12 players and rolling substitutions are permitted. Length of a match An indoor hockey match is played over a course of 40 minutes, split in 4 quarters of 10 minutes each. In league matches, 3 points are awarded to the winning team, and if the result is a draw, then each team receives 1 point. During the classification stages of the Indoor World Cup, shoot-outs will be used to decide the winner. Style of play Indoor hockey requires players to possess some very similar skills to outdoor hockey, and some that are unique to the indoor format of the game. These include the ability to use the side boards to make passes and beat players, which is a crucial skill given that lifting the ball to dribble past players (the 3D skills commonly used in the outdoor game) are not permitted in indoor hockey. Lifting the ball is only permitted when a player attempts to score a goal from inside the scoring circle, by the use of a flicking motion. The flicking motion is defined as: raising the ball off the ground by placing the head of the stick under the ball and using a lifting movement. Hitting, striking or slap hitting the ball, using a swinging movement of the stick towards the ball, is not permitted anywhere on the pitch. Apart from flicking to score, the only allowed motion is pushing which is defined as moving the ball along the ground using a pushing movement of the stick after the stick has been placed close to the ball. When a push is made, both the ball and the head of the stick are in contact with the ground. The complete rules of Indoor Hockey can be found here. The sixth edition of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup will start on 5 February, in Pretoria. To see the complete match schedule, please click here.

        FIH President and CEO press conference in Bhubaneswar – Excerpts

          FIH President Tayyab Ikram and FIH CEO Thierry Weil addressed the media at a press conference today at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Both answered questions relating to the overall development of hockey and the 2023 FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup. “I congratulate all stakeholders involved in making this Hockey World Cup a grand success. The global hockey family is delighted that the World Cup was organised in Odisha. Our sincere gratitude to Hon’ble Chief Minister Sri Naveen Patnaik and his dynamic team as they put in one of the best platforms for our athletes to perform”, said the FIH President in his opening remarks. “We are in touch with the Odisha government to hold more tournaments here. The investment that has been done here is simply outstanding and we will make sure that we have the proper use of it,” he added. Here are some of the excerpts from the media interaction: India holding most of the FIH events: FIH President: “We are not only focusing on India. As you know, the next World Cup will be held in Belgium and the Netherlands. But India is a big market and we’re fortunate that some of our events have been held here.” Making the sport financially sustainable: FIH CEO: “Hockey hasn’t got the needed commercial value yet. Once we get it, our sport will become financially sustainable. Media and marketing play a key role to promote our sport at the highest level. We are trying hard with broadcasters and other stakeholders to make our sport reach out to a global audience.” Teams ranked on the same position (for example, two teams ranked 9th): FIH President: “We are happy with how the ranking or classification system is right now. For us, the most important thing is the players’ well-being and mental health. Also, we need to make the sport cost-effective for all teams.” Injuries: FIH President: “As per my knowledge, injuries mostly happen when a player has a very short reaction time. Therefore, it’s more about making the game safer for all and we at FIH are working on that.” India’s matches not being telecast on television: FIH CEO: “We have been working hard on how to get more viewership on television. Also, as you all know, we have launched our Watch.Hockey app where all the matches are streamed live, but it’s not available in India because of some contractual obligations. Our efforts have always been to make hockey accessible to all and probably in the next few months you won’t miss a single match where your country plays.” On new surfaces coming into play: FIH CEO: “We want to thank our partners and suppliers, who have worked hard to develop a surface where we can play hockey without water. We used it for our Hockey5s event in Lausanne last year. In the future, pitches won’t need water. For sustainability, it’s very important to save water.”

          Germany crowned World Champions at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023

            29 January, 2023 The final day of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 was played in the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar as Germany were crowned the champions of the world, defeating the defending champions Belgium in a thrilling finals, where they went down by 2 goals early in the first quarter but fought their way back again and took the game into a shoot-out, where they held their nerves in the sudden deaths, winning 5-4. With the win Germany also claimed the top spot in the FIH Men’s World Outdoor Rankings. Earlier in the day Netherlands and Australia went head-to-head in the bronze medal match, where Jeremy Hayward gave them an early lead, but an incredible 3-goal burst in 8 minutes in the third quarter, with captain Thierry Brinkman scoring twice, gave Netherlands the lead that they would take to the end and win the bronze medal. With the win, followed by Belgium’s loss in the finals, Netherlands move up to the second position in the FIH Men’s World Outdoor Rankings, followed by silver medalists Belgium who are now ranked third ahead of Australia, who end the tournament ranked fourth. Bronze Medal Match: Australia vs Netherlands 1-3 Netherlands started the game on the front foot, with Theijs van Dam getting a powerful shot into the circle looking for a Dutch deflection, but Hoedemakers couldn’t get on the end of the cross and Australia survived an early scare. Australia started settling into the game midway through the first quarter and a pass into the circle by Jeremy Hayward found captain Zalewski open on the right of the goal, but his shot/cross went wide off the mark with Blake Govers missing a deflection from point blank range. Australia scored the opening goal of the game through Jeremy Hayward who scored his 100th goal in his 200th appearance for Australia. It was a double blow for the Dutch who had referred the penalty corner and lost their review early in the first quarter. Netherlands won their first penalty corner of the game in the 20th minute but Jip Janssen’s powerful flick went straight as an arrow and Charter managed to pull off a comfortable save to deny Netherlands from their first big chance since the opening minute. Both teams traded opportunities to close the opening half, with big chances falling to Koen Bijen for the Dutch and Blake Govers for the Kookaburras, but both star forwards were off targets with their running shots and the teams headed into the break with Australia holding a slender one-goal advantage against Netherlands. Netherlands started the second half with a high press, which was a tactic that worked quite well for Germany in the semi-finals. The ploy seemed to work well for Netherlands as well as they earned three quick penalty corners inside the first two minutes of the second half, and with the third attempt, Jip Janssen opened his account in the game with a powerful drag to the right of Charter to bring the teams level. Two minutes later, Netherlands were in the lead as a clearance attempt by Tim Howard was blocked by Wortelboer in the circle and the resulting loose ball was put into the goal by Dutch captain Thierry Brinkman. Australia started to press higher in search for an equaliser, but it was Netherlands again who capitalised with a quick counter as van Dam’s run from the half line produced a cross that found Brinkman unmarked at the back post and he made no mistake in doubling Netherlands lead. Australia entered the final 15 minutes needing to score at least 2 goals to keep their hopes of winning a medal at the World Cup alive. Their high press gave Netherlands a lot to do in defence, but Jorrit Croon, along with Blok and Jansen, were stellar in the Dutch defensive circle, stopping waves of Australian crosses into the circle. Netherlands believed they had scored the 4th goal of the game midway through the quarter with Koen Bijen knocking the ball into the goal on the back post, but a foul in the build up reversed the goal as Australia breathed a sigh of relief. But Netherlands continued their excellent defence and as time ran out, they ran out winners, earning their third bronze medal at the men’s World Cups. Captain Thierry Brinkman was awarded player of the match and said: “We were playing quite well in the first half but couldn’t convert our chances. We didn’t change anything in the second half, we were just better at converting our opportunities and the way we have played today and through the tournament, we deserve this bronze medal.” Gold Medal Match: Germany vs Belgium 3-3 (SO: 5-4) Germany took on Belgium in the finals hoping to win their 3rd gold medal at the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cups to go level with Australia and Netherlands and one behind Pakistan who have won the event 4 times; while Belgium aimed to become just the 4th team, after Pakistan, Germany & Australia, to defend their title successfully. Belgium started the game on the front foot, creating an early circle entry, but Tom Grambusch was alert to the chance and intercepted a cross right in front of the goal and cleared the danger. Germany won a penalty corner in the 6th minute, referring the original decision which had gone against them. The resulting penalty corner was well defended by first rusher Cosyns who blocked Gonzalo Peillat’s attempted flick. Belgium opened the scoring in the 10th minute as a long corner deflected high off a German stick and fell to Florent van Aubel at the top of the circle and he took the shot on in his stride and smashed the ball into the goal before Stadler could react! Less than a minute later Belgium had doubled their lead as a cross from the left deflected off a German stick and fell to Simon Gougnard who had to get the slightest of touches to put

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