#AfricanHockeyRoadToTokyo The quest for a place at the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan began on the African continent as six countries graced the opening match day with great performances and wonderful goals .The Stellenbosch University hockey pitch was the main venue for the 2019 African Olympic qualifiers. Host South Africa managed to brush aside a resilient Namibia side with who gave them a tough one in the early minutes of the game. The holders put all resources together in the third and fourth quarter to score three excellent goals with two coming from a penalty corner courtesy Austin Smith. Their main rivals Egypt had an easy one in their opening game with a 6-0 victory over Zimbabwe. Elganaini took an early lead in the top scorer race with a superb hat trick. The race for the sole qualification slot became tight as third placed team on the continent, Ghana twice came from a goal down to beat Kenya 3-2 in a keenly contested clash. With just one qualification spot up for grabs, the tenacity and intensity of tournament grew as the matches unfolded. Egypt 6-0 Zimbabwe  Egypt (World Ranking: 20) got the tournament underway as they faced Zimbabwe. The Egyptians who are returning from the FIH series finals exhibited class and great experience in the clash. With just five minutes into the game, the Egyptians were 2-0 up. A misplaced pass amongst the Namibia defense fell into the path of Ahmed Elganaini who slotted it home for the opener. He hit his brace 60 seconds later from a well executed team goal. Elganaini  completed his hat trick as he got his name on the scoresheet again in the 34th minute. Three more goals were added in the the final 10 minutes, two coming from Amr Sayed – one from a penalty corner – either side of a strike from Amr Ibrahim, also from a penalty corner. Ghana 3-2 Kenya Ghana’s men hosted Kenya in the second match of the day which produced five goals. Kenya got off to a fine start courtesy a penalty corner from skipper Constant Wakhura. The East African side after soaking an intense pressure from the Ghanaians were awarded a penalty corner few minutes to halftime. Constant with a perfect execution found the top right corner of the post beating goalkeeper Tyche Duisburg. Ghana restored parity in the 37th minute after new sensation Benjamin Kwofie left unmarked in the scoring cirle made it 1-1. Another penalty corner and Kenya were in the lead again – Onyango Festus the goalscorer this time with nine minutes left to play. The West Africans responded quickly 60 seconds later after Akaba Elikem deflected captain Salya Nsalbini’s pass into the goalpost. The Ghanaian skipper then cemented his status as the day’s hero when he grabbed the winner during overtime to give Ghana a 3-2 victory. South Africa 3-1 Namibia The host and holders, South Africa then took to the pitch in the final game of the day as they engaged Namibia a side they beat 11-0 the last time they met. Playing on their own grounds, the top ranked team on the continent were tipped to have an easy one in this but the Namibians had other plans . Thirty minutes gone and the scoreline hadn’t changed. South Africa knew they had to win at all cost and approached the third quarter a much better side. Their effort paid off as Cassiem Dayaan gave them the opener. Austin Smith added two brilliant goals from penalty corners in the 55th and 57th minute to make it 3-0. A consolation was all Namibia could afford in the dying embers of the game courtesy Percy Barthram from a penalty corner . The tournament continues on Tuesday 13th August, 2019 with Egypt hosting Kenya in the first match of the day. Ghana will then play Namibia before South Africa wraps the day with Zimbabwe.

The opening day of the African Hockey Road to Tokyo 2020 got underway at University of Stellenbosch today with six African Hockey nations competing for the continents ticket to the Tokyo Olympic Games. The South African Hockey Men got the tournament off to a good start with a 3-1 win over Namibia. The match was also the 150th cap for long-time goalkeeper Rassie Pieterse and he was presented with a pennant to mark the achievement.   After a goalless first half the South Africans broke the deadlock through the mercurial Dayaan Cassiem. The Western Province local forced an error in defence by the Namibians before he surged into the D and finished expertly past the impressive DJ Strauss in goals for the Namibians. Into the final quarter South Africa made the game safe as Austin Smith, another local in the South African team, earned himself a brace through penalty corners. The first was a low drag flick just over the backboard before the second was a rocket into the top right corner. There was time for a late consolation goal for Namibia that their performance deserved. Percy Barthram got onto the end of a penalty corner variation to finish the game 3-1. Egypt had earlier laid down a marker with a 6-0 win over Zimbabwe. The star of the show was hat-trick king Ahmed Elganaini, while there was a brace from Amr Sayed and Amr Ibrahim completed the scoring to get the Northern Africans off to a fantastic start. Ghana twice came from behind to deny Kenya and steal a big opening day win. The highlight being a last-minute winner that sent the Ghanaian fans into raptures. Constant Wakhura had opened the scoring for the Kenyans before Benjamin Kwofie levelled for Ghana. Festus Onganyo would have sent the fans into raptures giving Kenya a late lead before Ghana produced an outstanding fightback through Elikem Akaba and then skipper Salya Nsalbini to win a superb encounter. The SuperGroup South African Hockey women had a bye on the opening day as the women’s tournament only has five nations competing and were able to get an early look at this opposition. In the opening game of the tournament it was the Ghanaian Women who landed the first strike. They were victorious 3-1 over Zimbabwe. Vivian Narkuor got herself a first quarter brace to give the West Africans an early 2-0 lead. Sophie McDonald gave the Zimbabweans a glimmer of hope with a 21st minute field goal before Roberta Sarfo made the game safe for Ghana. A spirited performance from Namibia was not enough in the second game against Kenya with Grace Makokha scoring the only goal of the game to give the East Africans a winning start against their Southern African opponents. African Hockey Road to Tokyo 2020 Results – 12 August 2019 (W) Ghana 3-1 Zimbabwe (W) Namibia 0-1 Kenya (M) Egypt 6-0 Zimbabwe (M) Ghana 3-2 Kenya (M) South Africa 3-1 Namibia African Hockey Road to Tokyo 2020 Fixtures – 13 August 2019 (W) – 11:00 – Ghana vs. Kenya (M) – 13:00 – Egypt vs. Kenya (M) – 15:00 – Namibia vs. Ghana (W) – 17:00 – South Africa vs. Zimbabwe (M) – 19:00 – South Africa vs. Zimbabwe Pictures – Eunice Visagie Source: SA Hockey