It was a venue and crowed befitting a World Cup final as 20 000 fans packed into Rourkela to watch South Africa and India play for a top 10 spot at the global showpiece. The game marked the 200th game for Mandeep Singh, a remarkable achievement. The African Champions will be disappointed by their slow start to the game and found themselves trailing five minutes in. Abishek received the ball at the top of the circle, created space with his first touch and fired a blistering strike into the backboard. The crowd were superb in supporting every foray forward by the host nation and their players were clearly buoyed by the support. They continued to furrow forward and found themselves a penalty corner which was smashed home by Harmanpreet Singh. South Africa settled into the game and were unlucky not to pull a goal back when Bili Ntuli hit the outside of the goal post. South Africa consistently broke up play and tried their best to get a goal back, while Gowan Jones was on form whenever he was called on. South Africa had three penalty corners as they pushed the Indian defense and continued to ask questions. But despite the circle entries, the clear-cut chances were limited outside of the penalty corners as the game trudged its way to the end of the third quarter. But just before the hooter ending the third quarter Shamsher Singh peeled off the back of the defenders and tapped in unmarked on the back post. They made it 4-0 with an instinctive finish by Akashdeep Singh early in the fourth quarter before the outstanding goal of the game arrived. It was however from the stick of the South Africans. An overhead ball to Samkelo Mvimbi was brought down brilliantly and he roofed the ball superbly. South Africa continued to search for a second, but India scored on the counterattack. South Africa would have the opportunity for a last laugh as Mustapha Cassiem stood up and finished a sensational stroke. That would be that and the game would end 5-2 to the Indians who ended a disappointing World cup on a high. For the South Africans and 11th place finish, above their ranking of 14th shows the continued progress being made.   Source: SAHockey.co.za | January 28, 2023

The final day of classification matches of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 were played in the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela as Argentina and India registered wins to end their campaigns in the 9th position, while Malaysia and France finished on wins as well, ending their campaigns in the 13th position. Losses for Wales and South Africa, saw them finish 11th, while Japan and Wales ended their campaigns in 15th place. Match 1: Malaysia vs Japan 3-2 Malaysia struck early in the battle of the two Asian teams as a penalty corner won by Ashari was scored by Shello Silverius with Malaysia opting for a variation as Razie Rahim pushed the ball wide for a deflection that beat the post defender and goalkeeper. Both keepers were immense in the first quarter saving attempts that looked like they were destined to find the goal. Malaysia captain Marhan Jalil was shown a yellow card in the second half as the team had 12 players on the field and Japan took advantage earning 2 penalty corners and scoring from the resulting side out after the Malaysian rusher had chased down the second penalty corner. Japan and Malaysia traded goals early in the 32nd minute with Seren Tanaka scoring for Japan, and Shello Silverius scoring his second of the game for Malaysia, to keep the teams on level terms. Two minutes later Malaysia were back in the lead as Faiz Jali found Irfan all alone in the circle on the left and his flat snuck under the Japanese keeper. Japan had a good spell of pressure to end the third quarter but couldn’t make it count, not finding the mark from 3 penalty corners. Japan tried to find an equaliser in the final quarter and received a boost when Malaysia were reduced to 10 players with Najmi Jazlan receiving a yellow card, but the experienced pair of Razie Rahim and Marhan Jalil kept Japan out brilliantly as Malaysia edged them for a narrow win. Shello Silverius was awarded player of the match and said: “We wanted to finish higher than this overall but for today we wanted to end this tournament on a high and we dedicate this win to our supporters back in Malaysia.” Match 2: Chile vs France 2-4 Chile were coming into the game on the back of two big losses, but showed a lot of heart early in the contest to take the game to France. They created circle entries but the French deep defence held strong to stop the Chilean attackers from getting their shots away. France primarily looked to capitalise on counter attacks with Chile leaving plenty of space behind their last line of defence. France opened the scoring on one such counter through Eliot Curty and added two more in quick succession through Victor Charlet to stun Chile. Chile kept coming at France and pulled a goal back from a penalty corner of their own, with Franco Beccera getting on the scoresheet to go into the half-time break down 1-3. The third quarter followed a similar pattern to the first as Chile pressed high in search of a goal while France defended deep and looked for counter attacking opportunities. France scored first in the second half as a cross by Xavier Gaspard deflected off the keeper’s boot and snuck into the goal. Chile scored one of their own as a long cross from the left found Andres Pizzaro completely unmarked in the back post and he tapped the ball into an empty goal. Chile’s push for another goal went until the final whistle, but while they created plenty of circle entries, they lacked the final shots at the end of it and the game finished at 4-2. Victor Charlet was awarded player of the match and said: “It’s always good to finish with a win. Our target was making quarterfinals and we didn’t make that, but at least we ended the tournament with a good performance.” Match 3: Argentina vs Wales 6-0 Before the game Wales coach Daniel Newcombe said that playing in the 9th/11th place game was a great achievement for the team in their debut campaign but they wouldn’t be happy with just that and wanted to end the campaign with a win. The Welsh team answered their coach’s call and started the game with a lot of attacking intent. Argentina were stifled for the first quarter as Wales dominated possession in the Argentine half, but they couldn’t find the goal to cap off a great quarter. Argentina were much improved in the second quarter and scored early through Lucas Toscani. They added a second when Martin Ferreiro’s cross from the left side of the circle was inadvertently deflected into his own goal by Joan Wall, to give Argentina a 2-goal lead going into the break. Argentina set the tone early in the third quarter with Agustin Bugallo scoring an absolute ripper on the reverse from the top of the circle. And soon they added a fourth from a penalty corner as Santiago Tarazona pounced on the rebound from the initial save and tapped the ball into the goal. Welsh shoulders started to drop, as despite the competitive nature of the game, Argentina had played the big moments well and put the game beyond the European debutants. Maico Casella, who has been Argentina’s best player in the World Cup added a 5th goal for the Leones and Ferreiro scored his second to make it 6 in the final quarter. Martin Ferreiro was awarded player of the match and said: “It’s a great feeling to win two games back to back, even though we didn’t meet our targets overall. You take two big wins on the trot to wrap up a World Cup.” Match 4: South Africa vs India 2-5 India took on South Africa in their final game of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023, in front of yet another packed crowd in the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium

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On 16 January 2023, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced that Krzysztof Glodowski (Poland) and Saurabh Vinayak (India) were the lucky winners of the contest organised by FIH and its Global Partner Odisha, where all fans around the world were invited to try their luck, through a simple draw, and win a trip – for two people – to Odisha during the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela. The contest winners Krzysztof Glodowski and Saurabh Vinayak arrived in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on 23 January, along with their guests, Krzysztof’s wife Stefania Glodowska and Saurabh’s mother Rakhi Vinayak, and have been thoroughly enjoying the immersive sporting and cultural experience in the eastern state of India. The sporting experience has been unparalleled, watching the best teams in the world play their FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 matches at the Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneswar. The group were in the stands as Australia, Belgium, Germany and Netherlands played pulsating hockey, and qualified for the World Cup semi-finals, and as Belgium and Germany won their respective semi-finals and qualified for the finals. During the non-match days in Bhubaneswar, the group has also stayed busy, experiencing the delights that the decked-up city of Bhubaneswar has to offer. Starting with Olly Land that has been a huge hit with local as well as travelling hockey fans, the quartet visited many local attractions, including the international food festival and Ekamra Haat, with visits planned to local temples including the Lingaraj temple on 28 January. On 26 January the group also travelled to Konark and Puri, two popular tourist destinations 70 kilometres south of Bhubaneswar. In Konark they visited the Sun Temple, which is a Hindu worship site of the Sun God “Surya”. The temple which has stood the test of time, was built in the year 1250 CE, is recognised as a UNESCO heritage site and remains a major pilgrimage site for Hindus, who gather there every year for the “Chandrabhaga Mela” around the month of February. Following the visit to Konark the group travelled to Puri, a coastal city hugely popular with tourists from all over the world. The city is known for its pristine beaches, along the shores of the Bay of Bengal sea. After a stroll across the Puri beach the group then visited the Jagannath temple in Puri. The Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu – one of the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism. The present temple was rebuilt from the tenth century onwards, making it one of the oldest temples in India. Apart from further culturally immersive experiences in Odisha, the group of lucky winners will also watch the finals of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023, before they depart on 30 January, with a lifetime of memories. FIH would like to thank Odisha state for their hospitality and for their help in making this trip a unique and extremely memorable experience for our lucky winners.

BHUBANESWAR: India’s campaign in the Men’s Hockey World Cup ended with a second consecutive win in the placement playoffs at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Saturday. Fans in Odisha once again took every available seat in the 20,000-capacity stadium to stand with the home team in what has been an otherwise sorry campaign for India, who beat South Africa 5-2 to end in joint-9th position along with Argentina. It’s the worst ever finish by a host nation in a men’s World Cup. India broke its own record of an 8th-place finish in Delhi 2010, which it held jointly with Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur 2002) and Argentina (Buenos Aires 1978). As it happened: India vs South Africa Like against Japan, India dominated the South Africans as well. But while Japan’s open play allowed the Indians more turnovers and chances to score, the Africans looked focused on their defensive structure, until Samkelo Mvimbi scored the first of SA’s two consolation goals in the 49th minute, followed by Mustaphaa Cassiem converting a penalty stroke in the 60th. India’s opening goal came off the stick of last-match hero Abhishek. After his two goals against Japan, Abhishek put the hosts ahead as early as the fifth minute. Here's a glimpse of how team India ends the FIH Odisha Men's Hockey World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela journey in style. ❤️ 🇿🇦RSA 2-5 IND🇮🇳#HockeyIndia #HWC2023 #HockeyWorldCup2023 #StarsBecomeLegends #RSAvsIND @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @SA_Hockey pic.twitter.com/cFjEngroRC — Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 28, 2023 Skipper Harmanpreet Singh’s return to form on drag-flicks saw him providing India a cushion in the 12th minute.  The scoreline remained 2-0 for the next 33 minutes, which painted a story of hits and misses, with the number of India’s circle entries increasing but not the number of goals.  It was in the 45th minute that Shamsher Singh made it 3-0. India's valiant efforts pay off as they secure a win over South Africa in the final showdown. 🇿🇦RSA 2-5 IND🇮🇳#HockeyIndia #HWC2023 #HockeyWorldCup2023 #StarsBecomeLegends #RSAvsIND @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @SA_Hockey pic.twitter.com/M63dTt9a65 — Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 28, 2023 The last 15 minutes were the most entertaining of the four quarters. It saw four goals, starting with two in the 49th minute, when Akashdeep Singh made it 4-0 and Samkelo then cut that down to 4-1 for South Africa. Sukhjeet Singh restored the four-goal lead with India’s fifth strike in the 59th minute, but a strong challenge by goalkeeper PR Sreejesh in the circle saw the visitors being awarded a penalty stroke in the last minute, which Cassiem converted to end the game at 5-2. Source: TIMESOFINDIA.COM | January 28, 2023