Goals continue to flow as top-ranked sides stay perfect in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023

Day 2 of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 continued to thrill packed crowds in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela as New Zealand, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany earned comfortable victories, as Pools B and C got underway. New Zealand took on Chile in the first contest of the day in Rourkela. Early nerves from the Chilean defence allowed the Kiwis to grab the initiative and get 3 first half goals, but Chile were resurgent in the second half and grabbed their first ever goal in the FIH Men’s World Cup with a beautiful counter-attacking move to earn a well-deserved consolation goal. It was the turn of the European giants next as each one of Netherlands, Belgium and Germany faced stiff opposition from Malaysia, Korea and Japan respectively, but stepped up their game in the second halves to register comfortable wins by big margins by full times. Netherlands secured a 4-0 win against Malaysia in the second game in Rourkela. It was then Pool B action in Bhubaneswar where Belgium scored 5 second half goals to win 5-0 against Korea, before Germany repeated the same pattern, scoring 3 goals in the second half against Japan to run away 3-0 winners. Match 1: New Zealand vs Chile 3-1 New Zealand were quick out of the gates applying heavy pressure inside the Chile half. Chile relied on counter attacks, looking for runners on the wings to find space behind the Kiwi backline. Playing in their first ever World Cup game, the Chilean backline played tentatively and paid the price in the first half as Sam Lane and Sam Hiha (twice) capitalised on individual errors to put New Zealand up 3-0 inside 20 minutes. Chile were much more composed in defence in the second half and that allowed them to launch long aerial balls behind the New Zealand defence. One such ball found Ignacio Contardo who weaved into the circle, beating 3 Kiwi defenders, before taking the ball past the keeper and finishing on the reverse to give Chile their first ever goal in the Men’s World Cup! The goal proved to be a consolation but it was a good reward for Chile who shook their early nervousness and gave a great account of themselves in the second half. Chile keeper Adrian Henriquez was particularly terrific for them, pulling multiple saves to keep New Zealand out in the entire second half. Sam Ward who opened the scoring was awarded player of the match and said: “Chile are a tough team to play against. We knew it would be a good game, so it is good to get the first win. Looking forward to the next game here.” Match 2: Netherlands vs Malaysia 4-0  The start to the game looked like it could be a long day for Netherlands as the Malaysian defence frustrated the Dutch attackers, comfortably keeping them out of dangerous positions. But an error in the 20th minute by the defence gave Netherlands a half chance and they showed why they are so dangerous as Thijs van Dam pounced on the loose ball and put it away to open the scoring for Netherlands. The Dutch added a second goal before the half as Jip Janssen who had seen a penalty corner saved earlier in the half, put a penalty stroke away in the 24th minute to double his team’s lead. Netherlands added two more goals through Teun Beins and Jorrit Croon, in the fourth quarter after Malaysia had spent a good part of the third quarter on the attack trying to score a goal that would let them back into the game. The final scoreline reflected a comfortable 4-0 win for Netherlands, but Malaysia had their moments in the game for large portions, primarily in the 1st and 3rd quarters. Jorrit Croon, scorer of the beautiful 4th Dutch goal was awarded player of the match and said: “It is a great feeling playing in this stadium in front of this packed crowd. It’s a good win to start the tournament but we can’t get carried away, its just one game and its a long tournament.” Match 3: Belgium vs Korea 5-0 Belgium vs Korea promised to be a thriller with the Olympic and World Champions going head-to-head against Korea who were in brilliant form during the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup that took place in December 2022. Korea gave a great account of themselves in the first half, going toe to toe with Belgium in attack while also keeping the Belgian attack at bay to go into the half at 0-0. Belgium scored in the first minute of the second half with Alexander Hendrickx burying his third penalty corner attempt of the day. The first goal opened the floodgates for Belgium and they tacked on 4 more goals in the final 16 minutes of the game to earn a comfortable win. Victor Wegnez was awarded the player of the match and said: “It was a great team effort. I collect the player of the match, but it’s a team game and we played really well as a team to get this win, which we are very happy with.” Match 4: Germany vs Japan 3-0  Germany vs Japan followed a similar pattern to the game that preceded it as the first half saw Japan frustrate the 2-time champions and match them step for step, but a drop in intensity in the second half gave the German’s a foot in the door and they made full use of the opportunity to grab the goals and take all 3 points. Gonzalo Peillat was stopped twice in the first half from the penalty corners, so Germany tried an intricate variation in the second half and it unlocked the Japanese defence with captain Mats Grambusch getting the final touch. Germany scored a second on a brilliant counter as a pass by Müller from his own half found Rühr behind the Japanese defence, and he rounded the keeper and put the ball in the back of the

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SA Hockey Women named for Summer Series

The Summer Series was a quintessential part of the South African Summer before the arrival of the covid pandemic. 2023 will see the familiar favorite make its return as UCT plays host. The South African Women will begin their 2023 adventure with a four match test series against India, supplemented by a friendly game against World Champions Netherlands. Morgan de Jager and Cailynn den Bakker will both have the opportunity to earn their first caps for their country while on the other end of the spectrum Quanita Bobbs is comfortably the most experienced with over 100 caps more than all but three players in the team The exciting Ntsopa Mokoena, who scored a hat-trick in her second test match, and Taheera Augousti, along with Kayla Swarts will play on South African soil for the first time in the green and gold. The series also marks the first test match the South African women have played in South Africa since February 2020, almost three years, simultaneously welcoming fans to the stadium. Tickets are available at the door at UCT. They are R40 for an adult and R10 for under 18. For those unable to attend live the games will be live streamed on Supersport Schools website or the app. SA Hockey Women – Summer Series 2023 Name Caps   Name Caps Antoinette Louw 7   Kristen Paton 64 Bianca Wood 27   Marlise van Tonder 24 Cailynn den Bakker 0   Morgan de Jager 0 Charne Maddocks 16   Ntsopa Makoena 7 Erin Christie 84   Ongeziwe Mali 22 Hannah Pearce 37   Onthatile Zulu 35 Hanrie Louw 18   Quanita Bobbs 163 Jean-Leigh du Toit 19   Stephanie Botha 12 Kayla Swarts 7   Taheera Augousti 7 Kirsty Adams 14   Tarryn Lombard 71   [Summer Series] The Summer Series is back. The SA Womens Hockey team will be playing India in a four match test series with a friendly game against the Netherlands. All games are at UCT, if you are in the area come down and show your support! #SummerSeries23 pic.twitter.com/6Bjeh5cKH0 — SA Hockey (@SA_Hockey) January 14, 2023    

12 Elite Women’s Teams Compete for Indoor Hockey World Cup Glory at the FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup

The countdown is on for the 6th FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup, presented by SPAR, as 12 countries gear up to compete for the coveted title on African soil. With Germany opting out of the tournament, the door is open for other teams to step up and take the crown. The tournament will feature one debutant, New Zealand, who will be an unknown quantity for their opponents in Pool A. Hosts SPAR South Africa will also participate in their 4th World Cup, with their best finish being 9th in 2015. The home team will be looking to make a strong showing and secure a spot in the quarter-finals in front of an excited crowd. Two-time winners and tournament favorites Netherlands will be the team to beat, not only in Pool A but in the tournament overall. They recently finished as runners-up in the EuroHockey Indoor Championship. Austria, also returning to the tournament, will be looking to replicate their fourth-place finish in 2015. Rounding out Pool A are ever-present Australia and two-time qualifiers United States. The competition for a place in the Quarter-Finals in Pool A is sure to be fierce and exciting In Pool B, the favorites are the European bronze medalists Ukraine, however, they will face tough competition from the Asian Champions Kazakhstan, African champions Namibia, and European powerhouses the Czech Republic. Namibia is competing in their second consecutive tournament after successfully defending their African title in KwaZulu Natal last year. Kazakhstan, on the other hand, secured their spot by winning the Indoor Asian Championship in 2019, but were not as successful in the 2022 edition and will be looking to improve in Pretoria. The Czech Republic will also be looking to showcase their form that led them to a bronze medal in Europe in 2020 and their status as a formidable team in indoor hockey. Belgium was originally set to host the tournament in Liege in 2022, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were unable to do so. As hosts, they still qualified for the tournament and are determined to prove their worth on the court. The final team in the tournament is Canada, the runners-up in the Pan American Games. They will be making their third World Cup appearance and will aim to make an impact and qualify for the quarter-final stage.  It promises to be an exhilarating tournament with high octane action! Make sure you get your tickets and are part of the history (https://itickets.co.za/events/470639) Source: SAHockey.co.za

Perfect starts for favourites on day 1 of FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023

Pool A and Pool D got underway on day 1 of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 as the action began in Bhubaneswar and finished in Rourkela. In Bhubaneswar, Argentina were the first to get on the board, registering a close 1-0 win against South Africa. Australia then went top of Pool A with a dominant 8-0 win against France, who played well despite the unflattering scoreline. Action then shifted to Rourkela where England got the better of neighbours Wales, winning 5-0. It was then home team India’s turn against a tricky Spanish team that has caused them some trouble over the past year in the FIH Hockey Pro League. But after overcoming early nerves, the Indian attack dominated and claimed a 2-0 win to get 3 crucial points in the Pool D encounter. Match 1: Argentina vs South Africa 1-0 Both Argentina and South Africa set a fast tone for the World Cup playing all-out attacking hockey in the first quarter. Both goalkeepers had to be on constant alert as the ball entered the circle multiple times for both teams, but neither team could produce a real threat on the goal. Argentina came out in attack in the second quarter however, earning 3 quick penalty corners, but Gowan Jones stepped up in the South African goal and kept the scores tied. Two yellow cards for Keenan and Catan in the 2nd quarter arrested Argentina’s momentum and the teams went into the break on level terms. Argentina started the second half brighter but couldn’t open the scoring despite earning their 5th and 6th penalty corners early in the half. Argentina did finally manage to break the deadlock in the 43rd minute through a field goal as Maico Casella got in front of Gowan Jones and a slight deflection on a shot by Toscani unsighted the in-form keeper. Argentina held on to the slender lead, as the South African attack lacked penetration, till the very end and took all 3 points. Maico Casella was awarded the player of the match and said: “Good to win the first match, we played well enough. I think the positive we take is the number of penalty corners we won, and we will start converting more going forward.” Match 2: Australia vs France 8-0  Australia were quick off the blocks showing why they are the early tournament favourites. They got the first goal of the game thanks to a brilliant run by Tom Craig as he split the defence, passed to Tim Brand and got a deflection on Craig’s shot to cap off the fantastic move. France were much better in the second quarter but failed to capitalise on their chances and Australia made them pay with 3 goals in the final 4 minutes. Australia had all the momentum going into the half and were quick to get going in the second half as a beautiful team move saw 4 players touch the ball in the circle before it was tapped home by Tom Craig. Jeremy Hayward then scored his third penalty corner goal to complete a smashing hattrick. Tom Brand added a third as well in the 45th minute to become the second Australian to grab a hattrick in the same game! Australia cruised through the final quarter adding one more goal through Tom Wickham to cap off a great 8-0 win and take all 3 points. Hattrick hero Tom Craig was awarded player of the match and said: “Good to get the goals but better feeling winning. We haven’t played tournament hockey since July last year, but we prepared well for this and hopefully we get even better going forward.” Match 3: England vs Wales 5-0 England made a fantastic start to the game as Nicholas Park scored within the first 20 seconds to stun Wales and grab an early lead. But Wales were quick to get up to speed and the remainder of the half was an even contest with both teams trading attacks. England scored at the perfect time again, doubling their lead through a Liam Ansell penalty corner goal with just 2 minutes left in the half, leaving Wales to try and chase the game in the 2nd half. England scored twice in the 3rd quarter to gain total control of the game. Liam Ansel scored his second goal of the game in the 38th minute from a penalty corner, and Phil Roper opened his account with a field goal in the 42nd minute to put the game beyond Wales’ reach. Wales committed heavily to the attack in the final quarter trying to claw a goal back, but England stood firm and scored a 5th goal through Nicholas Bandurak in the 57th minute to seal a perfect win and 3 points for England. Sam Ward was awarded player of the match and said: “Could not have asked for a better start to the tournament. Just want to keep the momentum going from here on out and into the next game against India.” Match 4: India vs Spain 2-0  The Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela was packed to the rafters as home team India took on rivals Spain in a big Pool D encounter to close day 1 of the World Cup. The game was also attended by Shri Naveen Patnaik, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Prem Singh Tamang, Hon’ble Chief minister of Sikkim, Shri Tayyab Ikram, President – International Hockey Federation, Padma Shri Dr. Dilip Tirkey, President – Hockey India, accompanied by Cdr RK Srivastava, Executive Director, Hockey India. Spain started the game on the front foot causing India some nervy moments, but India settled down soon and were in front by the end of first quarter as Amit Rohidas capitalised on a blocked drag flick by Harmanpreet to bury a shot in the goal, which was India’s 200th goal in the competition! India struck again before the half through a goal by Hardik to take a solid 2-0 lead into the half. India had

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