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| Australia become world champions, beating Germany 2-1 |
NEW DELHI: Australia won the men's field hockey World Cup after a gap of 24 years with a 2-1 victory over defending champions Germany in the final on Saturday.
Luke Doerner scored the winning penalty corner 11 minutes from the end after Edward Ockenden put the Kookaburras ahead in the sixth minute and Moritz Furste drew level for Germany in the 48th.
Doerner's eighth goal in the tournament made him the joint leading scorer with another penalty corner specialist Taeke Taekema of the Netherlands.
Australia, whose previous World Cup title came way back in 1986, had lost the last two finals against Germany in 2002 and 2006.
The Netherlands clinched the bronze with a 4-3 win over England in the play-off for the 3-4 positions earlier on Saturday. |
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| Olympians launch campaign to oust Bajwa |
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KARACHI: Around 86 former Olympians and internationals on Sunday launched a campaign demanding the sacking of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary Asif Bajwa, holding him responsible for the national team’s worst ever performance in the World Cup in New Delhi.
“We demand that the President of the federation Qasim Zia immediately sack Bajwa because he held total powers in the federation and team and had taken on dual roles of secretary and chief coach/manager,” former captain Islahuddin Siddique told a press conference.
The conference was attended by number of former Olympians and internationals including Waseem Feroze, Akhtar-ul-Islam, Qamar Ibrahim, Ayaz Mehmood and Qamar Zia while Islahuddin also displayed a document which had signatures of other former greats including Khalid Mehmood, Khawaja Zakauddin, Mansoor Ahmed and Naved Alam.
“When Bajwa enjoys complete power, he must take complete responsibility for the debacle in the World Cup as well. He is responsible for our worst ever performance at the top level,” Islahuddin said.
Akhtar-ul-Islam a former secretary of the federation said that the movement wanted PHF President Qasim Zia to remove Bajwa in three days time.
“If he does not do that, we will launch a countrywide campaign against Bajwa and the federation and also meet with the President and Prime Minister to inform them of what is happening,” he said.
Qamar Ibrahim also lashed out at Bajwa and said, “No matter what the (coach) Shahid Ali Khan says now everyone saw on television who was the chief coach of the team. Bajwa acted as chief coach despite being the manager of the team,” he said.
Ayaz Mehmood, member of the 1984 Los Angles gold medal winning Olympic team, said if the PHF President didn’t sack Bajwa then they would press the government to appoint an ad-hoc committee to run hockey affairs.
“We cannot allow our national game to fall to such depths. We have had bad performances in the past but never like this. There was no team spirit or management visible in the World Cup,” he said.
The Pakistan hockey squad that returned quietly home last evening was booed at the Lahore airport by the people who also chanted slogans against Qasim Zia and Asif Bajwa.
Sources close to the team said that some players were unhappy with the way Bajwa managed the team.
“We didn’t go to the World Cup to listen to abusive language, nor was they any proper plan for us for such a big competition,” one player said without wanting to be named.
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| Aussies break German wall to win World Cup |
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NEW DELHI: Power-packed Australia proved third time lucky as they won the Hockey World Cup after a 24 year hiatus with a 2-1 win over defending champions Germany on Saturday.
Luke Doerner scored the winning penalty corner 11 minutes from the end after Edward Ockenden had put the Kookaburras ahead in the sixth minute and Moritz Furste drew level for Germany in the 48th.
Doerner’s eighth goal in the tournament made him the joint leading scorer with another penalty corner specialist Taeke Taekema of the Netherlands.
Australia, whose previous World Cup title came way back in 1986, had lost the last two finals against Germany in 2002 and 2006.
The Germans, hoping to become the first team in history to bag a hat-trick of titles to add to the Beijing Olympic gold medal two years ago, were outpaced by the speedy Australians.
Kookaburras’ legendary coach Ric Charlesworth watched the final from the stands behind the goal, rather than on the bench, just as he had done in the semifinal against the Netherlands.
Charlesworth, who was part of Australia’s Cup winning squad in 1986, became only the second man after Dutchman Hans Jorritsma to win the World Cup both as a player and coach.
Jorritsma was a player when the Netherlands won the title in 1973 and then coached the Dutch to victory in 1990, before achieving a similar result with Pakistan in 1994.
The Netherlands, meanwhile, gave veteran goalkeeper Guus Vogels a retirement present by winning the bronze medal with a 4-3 win over England earlier on Saturday.
In a thrilling play-off for the third and fourth place positions, Rogier Hofman scored the winning goal three minutes before the final whistle after the Dutch fought back from 1-3 at half-time.
Vogels, who turns 35 later this month, was named the Dutch captain instead of Teun de Nooijer for the bronze medal match, his last international game after earning 260 caps for his country.
Vogels was part of the Netherlands’ Olympic gold medal-winning teams in 1996 and 2000.
“We wanted to win this one for Guus and I am proud the way we played today,” said de Nooijer. “It was incredible the way we came back in the match.
“Guus has been a great ambassador for Dutch hockey and has enjoyed a glorious career. We will celebrate by throwing a dinner for him here.”
European champions England, hoping for a podium finish for the first time since winning the silver medal in 1986, were swept aside in the second half by a determined Dutch side.
“It is absolutely devastating,” said England captain Barry Middleton. “All the hard work we have done in the tournament has come to nothing because we failed to win a medal.
“We just did not do the little things well in the match. It was our worst game in the tournament.”
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| Disgraced hockey team returns home |
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KARACHI: Pakistan’s hockey team returned home on Saturday after crashing to a catastrophic last-place finish in the Hockey World Cup in Delhi.
On its arrival at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, the national team was welcomed with loud jeers from disgruntled fans who raised slogans against the team’s pathetic showing in the World Cup. Pakistan, record four-time champions, gave their worst ever showing in World Cup history when they finished 12th in the event following defeats at the hands of India, England, South Africa, Australia and minnows Canada.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) reacted to the debacle by sacking the team management and national selection committee.
However, former Olympians are demanding for more action and want PHF president Qasim Zia to sack the federation secretary Asif Bajwa, singling him as the main villain of the disaster in Delhi.
But Shahid Ali Khan, who was sacked as coach after the World Cup humiliation, questioned the intentions of the former greats and urged them to come out positive suggestions instead of engaging themselves in “conspiracies”.
On his return, Shahid said that his team played poorly in the World Cup, adding that as coach he has taken full responsibility for it. “We played badly in the World Cup and for that I feel responsible,” he said. “But I hope that our hockey will bounce back from this disaster. For that all of us will have to play a positive role. I hope that the former Olympians will also come out with constructive suggestions instead of hatching conspiracies which will only do more harm to the national game.”
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| Netherlands beat England to win World Cup bronze |
NEW DELHI: The Netherlands gave veteran goalkeeper Guus Vogels a retirement present by winning the bronze medal in the men's field hockey World Cup with a 4-3 win over England on Saturday.
In a thrilling play-off for the third and fourth place positions, Rogier Hofman scored the winning goal three minutes before the final whistle after the Dutch fought back from 1-3 at half-time.
Vogels, who turns 35 later this month, was named the Dutch captain instead of Teun de Nooijer for the bronze medal match, his last international game after earning 259 caps for his country.
European champions England, hoping for a podium finish for the first time since winning the silver medal in 1986, were swept aside in the second half by a determined Dutch side.
De Nooijer put the Netherlands ahead in the 22nd minute, before two goals from penalty-corner specialist Ashley Jackson and one from Alastair Brogdon helped England snatch a comfortable lead.
Dutch penalty-corner expert Taeke Taekema scored his eighth goal in the tournament to make it 2-3 in the 48th minute, before Klaas Vermeulen equalised six minutes later.
Hofman, who had a goal disallowed by the video umpire in the 13th minute, scored in the 67th minute to seal his team's emphatic win.
The Dutch will take the World Cup podium for the first time since 2002 when they won the bronze medal in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
Defending champions Germany are due to meet strong challengers Australia in the final later on Saturday. |
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| Aussies, Germany WC hockey final today |
NEW DELHI: Two-time defending champions Germany will play Australia in a third straight field hockey World Cup final tomorrow.
Germany outplayed England 4-1 and Australia posted a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the semi-finals yesterday at Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
Germany, champions in 2002 and '06 and bidding to become the first team to win three in a row, avenged a loss to England in last year's European Cup final, thanks to a fast start.
Jan-Marco Montag gave Germany the lead in the sixth minute and Oliver Korn deflected in a cross from the right to make it 2-0 in the 10th.
England halved the deficit through a penalty-corner conversion by Richard Smith in the 18th, but Germany took a 3-1 cushion into half-time, thanks to Martin Haner's 31st-minute goal from another penalty corner.
Linus Butt scored from a penalty corner in the 60th to cap the scoring.
"It was a tough match out there, the scoreboard doesn't quite reflect what happened on the field," Germany coach Markus Weise said. "We were clinical in the execution of our game plan, but a coach is not always pleased."
England coach Jason Lee believed his side's problem was a lack of experience.
"Experience was a huge factor," he said. "This was only our second appearance in the World Cup semi-finals, while Germany's been there 11 times.
England were last in the World Cup semis in 1986, but still has a chance to add to their silver medal from that year. They will meet the Netherlands for the bronze medal before the final.
In the second semi, Luke Doerner converted Australia's first penalty corner to open the scoring in the 27th minute and Glenn Turner's flash strike in open play doubled the lead in the 55th.
The Netherlands finally replied three minutes later with a penalty stroke conversion by Taeke Taekema, but the equaliser remained elusive despite repeated attacks.
The Kookaburras will be seeking to add to their 1986 title in their fourth final. They haven't beaten Germany at the World Cup since the 1994 bronze medal game.
Earlier, four-time champions Pakistan slumped to their lowest finish at a World Cup, coming last after losing 3-2 to Canada in the play-off for the final two positions in the 12-nation tournament. |
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| Amat leads Spain to fifth place |
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NEW DELHI: Pol Amat scored a goal within 18 seconds of the start as Spain beat South Korea 2-0 to finish fifth in the men’s World field hockey World Cup on Friday.
The mercurial Amat followed his lightning strike with another goal three minutes from half-time to lead the Beijing Olympic silver-medallists to an emphatic win over the Asian champions.
Both teams were reduced to fighting for the 5-6 place after making the semifinals of the previous World Cup in Germany in 2006.
The win ensured Spain a place in the elite six-nation Champions Trophy to be held in the German town of Monchengladbach from July 31-August 8.
Meanwhile, Lucas Vila scored two goals as Argentina downed hosts India 4-2 to take seventh place in the 12-nation tournament.
The South Americans, who had not lost a World Cup match to India since 1978, continued their domination of the former champions in the play-off for the 7th-8th positions.
Argentina led 1-0 at half-time through a fourth-minute goal by Tomas Argento, before Sandeep Singh convered a penalty stroke to draw level seven minutes into the second session.
Vila and Facundo Callioni pumped in three goals in four minutes to make it 4-1, a margin that proved beyond India’s reach in spite of a goal from Shivendra Singh. New Zealand clinched the ninth position after defeating valiant South Africa in a high-scoring thriller which ended in a penalty shoot-out.
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| Ex-greats plan move to remove Bajwa as secretary |
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KARACHI: Former Olympians on Friday threatened to kick start a nation-wide campaign for the removal of Asif Bajwa as secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) after the Greenshirts flopped miserably in the Hockey World Cup in Delhi.
“Asif Bajwa is responsible our team’ pathetic show in the World Cup, he should be sacked immediately,” said Olympian Qamar Zia.
“We launched a Go-Jamali-Go campaign two years back and will not hesitate to begin a similar campaign to save Pakistan hockey,” added Qasim, who said that he and fellow Olympians will hold a press conference on Sunday (tomorrow) to announce their plans to save Pakistan hockey.
Back in 2008, former Pakistan greats pushed for the sacking of Zafarullah Khan Jamali, the then PHF president, after finished finished on a poor eighth position in the Olympic Games in Beijing. Jamali was removed and was replaced by Qasim Zia last year.
In spite of repeated calls from former Olympians, Qasim Zia has refused to sack Bajwa as PHF secretary.
Islahuddin, former Pakistan captain, urged Bajwa to resign as PHF secretary.
“Bajwa should resign himself as secretary because he is the biggest culprit of our World Cup disaster,” Islah told this correspondent.
“If Bajwa is not brave enough to quit then PHF president should sack him,” added Islah.
Muhammad Saqlain, another former skipper, said that Bajwa called all the shots as the PHF secretary and Pakistan team manager and should take responsibility for his team’s last-place finish in the World Cup.
“Bajwa is the main culprit, he must go,” said Saqlain.
Muhammad Shafiq, who was sacked along with other national selectors, said that there is no justification for shifting the entire blame on the selectors.
“Holding only selection committee responsible is not justified because it’s the PHF secretary who is responsible for running the hockey affairs,” said Shafiq.
“Bajwa removed talented Shafqat Rasool because of personal grudge, his presence could have made a difference,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Shahid Ali Khan, who was sacked as Pakistan coach after the catastrophic showing in the World Cup, said that the former Olympians were barking up the wrong tree.
“As coach, I am responsible for our team’s defeat in the World Cup,” he told ‘The News’ from New Delhi. “It is totally wrong to single out Asif Bajwa for the team’s poor showing,” said the former Olympian.
Shahid said that Pakistan has suffered a huge blow in Delhi and hoped that better sense will prevail and proper steps will be taken to bounce back from the debacle.
“I believe that what Pakistan hockey needs at the moment are positive and constructive steps so that our team can bounce back from this disaster,” he said. “I hope that the PHF will find good coaches and selectors to put this team back on track.”
Commenting on his players’ decision to retire after finishing 12th in the World Cup, Shahid hoped that the players will change their mind and focus on getting ready for future events like the Asian Games.
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| Spain beat South Korea 2-0 to finish fifth in World Cup |
NEW DELHI: Pol Amat scored a goal within 18 seconds of the start as Spain beat South Korea 2-0 to finish fifth in the men's World field hockey World Cup on Friday.
The mercurial Amat followed his lightning strike with another goal three minutes from half-time to lead the Beijing Olympic silver-medallists to an emphatic win over the Asian champions.
Both teams were reduced to fighting for the 5-6 place after making the semi-finals of the previous World Cup in Germany in 2006.
The win ensured Spain a place in the elite six-nation Champions Trophy to be held in the German town of Monchengladbach from July 31-August 8.
Spain join hosts Germany, the three other semi-finalists at this World Cup -- Australia, England and the Netherlands -- and the winners of the qualifying event, New Zealand, in the tournament.
Defending champions Germany take on Australia in Saturday's final, the third successive title clash between the two teams in the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Lucas Vila scored two goals as Argentina downed hosts India 4-2 to take seventh place in the 12-nation tournament.
The South Americans, who had not lost a World Cup match to India since 1978, continued their domination of the former champions in the play-off for the 7th-8th positions.
Argentina led 1-0 at half-time through a fourth-minute goal by Tomas Argento, before Sandeep Singh convered a penalty stroke to draw level seven minutes into the second session.
Vila and Facundo Callioni pumped in three goals in four minutes to make it 4-1, a margin that proved beyond India's reach despite a goal from Shivendra Singh.
Argentina had finished 10th and India 11th in the previous World Cup.
New Zealand clinched the ninth position after defeating valiant South Africa in a high-scoring thriller which ended in a penalty shoot-out.
The Black Sticks, trailing 3-4 till the final minute of regulation play, equalised in the last second when Andrew Hayward netted his third penalty corner goal of the match.
Both teams failed to break the deadlock in 15 minutes of extra-time and New Zealand won the shoot-out 5-4 with captain Dean Couzins pushing in the crucial ninth stroke.
New Zealand had finished eighth in the last World Cup, while South Africa moved up two places from their 12th position in the same tournament. |
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| Argentina down India to finish seventh |
NEW DELHI: Lucas Vila scored two goals as Argentina downed hosts India 4-2 to take seventh place in the 12-nation men's field hockey World Cup on Friday.
The South Americans, who had not lost a World Cup match to India since 1978, continued their domination of the former champions in the play-off for the 7th-8th positions.
Argentina led 1-0 at half-time through a fourth-minute goal by Tomas Argento, before Sandeep Singh convered a penalty stroke to draw level seven minutes into the second session.
Vila and Facundo Callioni pumped in three goals in four minutes to make it 4-1, a margin that proved beyond India's reach despite a goal from Shivendra Singh.
Argentina had finished 10th and India 11th in the previous World Cup in Germany in 2006.
New Zealand, meanwhile, clinched the ninth position after defeating valiant South Africa in a high-scoring thriller which ended in a penalty shoot-out. |
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| NZ beat South Africa in shootout to take 9th position |
NEW DELHI: New Zealand has defeated South Africa 5-4 on penalties in the playoff for ninth at the field hockey World Cup.
Andrew Hayward's third penalty corner goal with no time left at the end of regulation made it 4-4 and sent Friday's match into extra time, where the teams could not produce another goal.
Then they went to penalty strokes, and both teams missed one early.
At 4-4, Lloyd Madsen missed for South Africa but Dean Couzins caught South Africa goalie Erasmus Pieterse diving the other way to seal the marathon win. |
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| Humiliation at the World Cup |
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KARACHI: In a face-saving measure, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Thursday sacked the national team management and dissolved the selection committee after the Greenshirts slumped to a humiliating last-position finish in the Hockey World Cup under progress in New Delhi.
Qasim Zia, the PHF president, told ‘The News’ that team officials and selectors have been shown the door because the PHF believes they were responsible for the debacle in New Delhi.
“We have decided to dissolve the team management and national selection committee because what happened in the World Cup is unacceptable,” said Qasim, a former Olympian who is an influential leader of the Pakistan People’s Party in Punjab.
Qasim said that the PHF will summon a meeting of its executive board to discuss the national team’s poor showing in the World Cup.
Pakistan gave their worst-ever showing in their hockey history by finishing last in the 12-nation spectacle. After Pool B defeats against old rivals India, England, South Africa and Australia, Pakistan crashed to a shocking 2-3 defeat against minnows Canada in the playoff for the 11th place at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The team’s shockingly poor show has ignited scathing criticism from various quarters with most former greats and critics uniting against Asif Bajwa, the PHF secretary who has also been working as the team manager.
“It’s the PHF secretary who should be sacked if we are to move forward after this humiliating performance,” Akhtar-ul-Islam, a former Olympian, told this correspondent.
Hassan Sardar, who resigned as chief selector before the PHF decided to sack him and other selectors, also echoed Akhtar’s views.
“PHF will have to remove Bajwa as secretary because he is certainly responsible for the disaster,” he said.
However, Qasim threw his weight behind Bajwa, a former Olympian. “Bajwa failed as team manager and has been sacked from that position,” he said. “I don’t think he has failed as PHF secretary which is why there is no need to remove him from that post.”
Qasim said that the PHF made all possible efforts to ensure that the national team gave its best in the World Cup.
“We raised funds for the team to train in the best possible manner. We arranged for international tours. We provided them with the best facilities. We couldn’t have done more,” he stressed.
Qasim said that he was baffled with the way his boys flopped in New Delhi.
“I honestly don’t know what went wrong with our team,” he said. “It’s just that the boys didn’t click.”
Qasim hoped that the PHF executive board will find ways and means to put the team back on track.
“We have dissolved all team officials and selectors and hope to find solutions soon,” he said.
The team officials shown the door are Bajwa (manager) Shahid Ali Khan (coach), Shafqat Malik (assistant coach). The selection committee that has been dissolved included Hassan Sardar (chief selector), Rana Mujahid Ali, Khalid Bashir, Farhat Khan and Muhammad Shafiq.
There have been calls for the setting up of a neutral inquiry committee but Qasim made it clear that the PHF doesn’t need to opt for any such move.
“We have already sacked the people responsible and will now be looking to move ahead with whatever is decided by the executive board. I don’t think there is any need to set up any inquiry committee.”
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| Enough is enough, say former greats |
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KARACHI: Former Olympians on Thursday came out all guns blazing at national hockey officials and players after Pakistan stumbled to a catastrophic last-place finish in the World Cup.
Islahuddin Siddiqui, the former Pakistan captain, told ‘The News’ that “enough is enough” and urged Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani — the chief patron of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) — to help save the national game after the World Cup disaster.
“Pakistan hockey needs to be saved from a complete disaster,” said Islah. “I would appeal to the prime minister to intervene and take steps to lift our national game.”
Islah said that the PHF will need to conduct a major surgery, adding that it won’t be possible if it decides against sacking Asif Bajwa as the federation’s secretary.
“Bajwa has to go otherwise it would be impossible to put our hockey back on track,” he stressed. “He is there for the last two years but has miserably failed to raise a strong team.”
However, PHF chief Qasim Zia has ruled out the removal of Bajwa as PHF secretary.
Islah expressed his surprise at Qasim’s reluctance to get rid of the PHF secretary.
“He (Qasim) should stop shielding his secretary, who is a complete failure,” he said.
Akhtar-ul-Islam, a former Olympian and ex-secretary of the PHF, supported Islah’s views, saying that concrete steps will have to be taken for Pakistan hockey to bounce back from the embarrassment suffered by Pakistan in New Delhi. “Today I’m ashamed to call myself a Pakistan hockey player because of the way we’ve failed in the World Cup,” he said. “The best way to react to this humiliation is by punishing the people responsible for the debacle.”
Samiullah, another former great, was disappointed at the team’s feeble World Cup showing. He underlined the fact that the players seemed to lack the sort of fitness needed to do well in major events like the World Cup.
Hassan Sardar, who resigned as chief selector, said that the team peaked a bit too early. “The boys played well in the series against Holland just before the World Cup but they seemed to be fatigued in New Delhi,” he said.
Hassan was confident that Pakistan will bounce back in future events like this year’s Asian Games. “The team played well below its potential in the World Cup but I’m sure that it will bounce back.”
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| Pakistan hit new low |
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NEW DELHI: Four-time champions Pakistan slumped to an embarrassing 3-2 defeat by Canada on Thursday to finish last for the first time in the Hockey World Cup.
Scott Tupper scored a golden goal two minutes before the end of extra-time in the play-off for the 11-12 positions to hand Canada their first win in the 12-nation tournament.
Pakistan, who won the World Cup in 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994, had finished 11th in the 1986 edition in London. They were sixth in the last tournament in Germany in 2006.
Pakistan return home with five defeats and just one win in the six matches they played at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.
They took the lead through a fourth-minute goal by Rehan Butt, before Connor Grimes drew level for Canada in the 12th.
Akhtar Ali put Pakistan ahead again in the 46th minute, only to see Mark Pearson equalise 12 minutes later.
Pakistan’s penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas missed two chances in extra-time, allowing the Canadians to regroup.
A fuming Pakistan coach Shahid Ali Khan blamed senior players for the debacle and offered to resign.
“It is difficult to describe how I feel just now,” said Khan, a former goalkeeper who was part of the 1982 World Cup winning squad.
“I am ready to quit if our federation wants. But I will first submit a detailed report on our performance in this tournament so that the cause of Pakistan’s decline can be firmly dealt with.
“Senior players like Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi and Sohail Abbas let us down. There were high expectations from them, but they did not perform as expected.”
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| Australia face Germany in Hockey World Cup final |
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NEW DELHI: Australia defeated the Netherlands 2-1 on Thursday to qualify for a third successive final against defending champions Germany in the World Cup.
The Kookaburras recorded their 10th win in a row over the Dutch in major competitions to set up Saturday’s title clash between the top two teams in the sport. Luke Doerner and Glenn Turner scored once in each half, before Taeke Taekema converted a penalty stroke 12 minutes from the end to narrow the margin.
Doerner and Taekema, the two leading penalty corner specialists, head the goal-scorers list in the tournament with seven goals apiece.
Germany won the last two World Cup finals against Australia in 2002 and 2006, before adding the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
The Germans, hoping to become the first team in history to bag a hat-trick of titles, outclassed England 4-1 in the other semifinal to avenge their defeat in the European Cup final last year.
Germany took a 2-0 lead by the 11th minute as Jan-Marco Montag converted a penalty corner and Oliver Korn deflected in a pass from the right.
England, playing their first World Cup semifinal since 1986, made it 1-2 in the 19th minute with their lone penalty corner of the match when Richard Smith scooped the ball into the net.
Martin Haner and Linus Butt scored on either side of the break to seal the emphatic win for the champions.
The Germans, with just three players who helped win the last World Cup at home in Moenchengladbach in 2006, remain the only unbeaten team in the current tournament with four wins and two draws.
“It was a tough match, the scoreboard does not reflect what happened on the field,” said German coach Markus Weise.
“We were clinical, but then a coach is not always pleased. If we had not scored two early goals and England had scored one, it would have been a different game.”
England coach Jason Lee said his team’s lack of experience told in the end.
“Germany has played in 11 World Cup semifinals and this was only our second,” he said. “We lagged in experience, but we will learn from our defeat. Going 2-0 down softly was the turning point. The semifinal did not do justice to the way we played in this tournament.”
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| Hockey team to return tomorrow |
NEW DELHI: After the crushing defeat in Hockey World Cup, the national team will come back home tomorrow, Geo news reported.
Keeping in view the security reasons, the team will return through air route from Indian capital New Delhi.
National hockey team has broken its own past record of standing at 11th position in 1986 world cup by finishing at 12th place this time.
President of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Qasim Zia has terminated Team Management after debacle performance in world cup.
The entire team players, taking responsibility of dismal show in mega event, has announced retirement from international hockey once for all. |
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| Three position matches in hockey WC today |
NEW DELHI: A total of three matches will decide six positions in Hockey World Cup today, Geo news reported.
South Africa will take on New Zealand for 9th position at 4pm in the evening while hosts India will face Argentine for 7th position at 6 pm in the evening.
The last scheduled match of the day will be played between South Korea and Spain hockey teams at 8pm for 5th position.
Two matches will be played tomorrow: first – the final of the mega event will be played between defending champions Germany and Australia while England and Holland will come face to face for the 3rd position in the event. |
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| Australia beat Netherlands to play Germany in final |
NEW DELHI: Australia defeated the Netherlands 2-1 on Thursday to qualify for a third successive final against defending champions Germany in the men's field hockey World Cup.
The Kookaburras recorded their 10th win in a row over the Dutch in major competitions to set up Saturday's title clash between the top two teams in the sport.
Luke Doerner and Glenn Turner scored once in each half, before Taeke Taekema converted a penalty stroke 12 minutes from the end to narrow the margin.
Doerner and Taekema, the two leading penalty corner specialists, head the goal-scorers list in the tournament with seven goals apiece.
Germany won the last two World Cup finals against Australia in 2002 and 2006, before adding the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
The Germans, hoping to become the first team in history to bag a hat-trick of titles, outclassed England 4-1 in the other semi-final to avenge their defeat in the European Cup final last year.
Germany took a 2-0 lead by the 11th minute as Jan-Marco Montag converted a penalty corner and Oliver Korn deflected in a pass from the right.
England, playing their first World Cup semi-final since 1986, made it 1-2 in the 19th minute with their lone penalty corner of the match when Richard Smith scooped the ball into the net.
Martin Haner and Linus Butt scored on either side of the break to seal the emphatic win for the champions.
The Germans, with just three players who helped win the last World Cup at home in Moenchengladbach in 2006, remain the only unbeaten team in the current tournament with four wins and two draws.
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| All Pak team players retire after poor performance |
NEW DELHI: Admitting their poor performance in the FIH World Cup, all players of the national hockey team have announced their retirement from the game here on Thursday.
Captain Zeeshan Ashraf, while talking with Geo News, said that he and his boys apologise with the nation on the team’s dismal performance in the World Cup.
He said that never in the history of Pakistan, such disappointing performance was displayed and the whole team is sad on today’s defeat. This is why all the players have decided in a meeting to quit hockey.
Zeeshan said that the players did not make this decision under any pressure but they did it only due to their poor performance. |
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| Hasan Sardar resigns as chief selector |
LAHORE: Chief Selector Hasan Sardar has tendered resignation after Pakistan’s dismal performance in FIH Hockey World Cup being played in New Delhi.
The four-time world champion Pakistan slumped to its worst performance of world cup history, finishing last in the 12-nation tournament.
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| Germany thrash England 4-1 to reach World Cup final |
NEW DELHI: Olympic champions Germany thrashed England 4-1 in the semi-finals of the men's hockey World Cup on Thursday to stay on course for a third successive
title.
Germany, who lost to England in the final of the European championship last year, scored through Marco Montag, Oliver Korn, Martin Haner and Linus Butt. Richard Smith replied for England.
Tournament favourites Australia lock horns with Netherlands in the other semi-final later on Thursday.
Earlier, Canada beat former champions Pakistan 3-2 in extra time to finish 11th in the 12-team competition. |
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| Management, selection committee sacked on team’s poor performance |
LAHORE: In the wake of the national team’s worst performance in the World Cup Hockey tournament, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Qasim Zia has sacked the entire team management and the selection committee here on Thursday.
Pakistan were beaten by Canada 2-3 to finish last in the FIH World Cup being played in New Delhi.
The four-time world champions Pakistan slumped to its worst ever performance in the World Cup history, finishing last in the 12-nation tournament.
Speaking to Geo, Qasim Zia said that he has made this decision in the capacity of the PHF president due to team’s dismal performance in the World Cup.
Replying to a question regarding Asif Bajwa, secretary PHF and manager Pakistan hockey team, Qasim Zia’s instance was that he would continue to work as manager.
He said that the Federation’s responsibilities include forming team management and selection committee and Bajwa would continue to render services as manager.
He said that the PHF is focusing on the Olympics and it is working on this target. |
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| Pakistan finish at bottom in World Cup Hockey |
NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s miserable performance continued till their last match in the tournament when they could not beat Canada to win the11th position and finished at bottom here on Thursday.
The match, play-off for 11-12 positions was decided in the extra time after both teams leveled the match 2-2.
This is Pakistan’s worst performance in the history of the World Cup hockey.
Pakistan took the lead in the fourth minute when Rehan Butt made breakthrough on the pass by Shakeel Abbasi.
However, Canada equalled the score in the 12th minute through Connor Grimes and both teams were playing 1-1 when the first half ended.
Akhtar Ali gave Pakistan lead in the 46th minute but Canada levelled again the game when Mark Pearson made a goal just two minutes before the match.
Scott Tupper scored the decisive goal in the 83rd minute during the extra time to take Canada too the 11th position in the tournament. |
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| Pakistan to take on Canada for 11th place |
NEW DELHI: Pakistan and Canada to meet for 11th and 12th position in hockey World Cup here today, Geo news reported.
Also, the semifinal counters to be played today while the matches for other positions in tournament to be played from tomorrow.
Pakistan and Canada hockey teams to play for the last two positions in the mega event in first match of the day.
Pakistan have won a match in tournament defeating Spain by 2-1 but Canada has yet to open its account in the event.
First semifinal match to be played between Germany and English teams today at 6pm in the evening while Australia to take on Holland in other semifinal counter, scheduled to be played at 8pm.
Final and third spot matches will be played on Saturday. |
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| Asia falls flat at Hockey World Cup |
NEW DELHI: Former Olympians and coaches on Wednesday lamented the poor showing by Asian teams at the men’s field hockey World Cup, saying Europe and Australia were now the masters of the game.
None of the three Asian teams in the 12-nation tournament — South Korea, India and Pakistan — qualified for Thursday’s (today’s) semifinals, the first time since 1998 the continent will not be represented.
Defending champions Germany, seeking a hat-trick of titles to add to their Beijing Olympic gold medal, face England, and Australia clash with the Netherlands for a place in the final.
“It is quite deplorabe how Asian standards have fallen,” former India great Balbir Singh, 85, a three-time Olympic gold medallist, told AFP.
“It is going to be a huge challenge to counter the Europeans and Australians and I don’t see that happening in the near future.”
India, a World Cup winner in 1975, won the last of their eight Olympic gold medals in 1980 and failed to qualify for the Beijing Games for the first time.
Pakistan have won an unprecedented four World Cup titles, but have not won a major competition since their last Cup win in 1994 in Sydney.
Pakistan fared the worst among Asian teams in the current tournament, forced into a play-off for the 11th-12th places against lowly Canada after ending the league with four defeats and one win.
India, who qualified for the World Cup only by virtue of being the hosts, will fight for the 7-8 positions with Argentina on Friday, an improvement from their 11th place finish in the last World Cup in 2006.
Asian champions South Korea narrowly failed to qualify for the semifinals after beating the Netherlands 2-1 in their last league match on Tuesday.
Korean coach Shin Seok-Kyo blamed his team’s lack of preparations for failing to finish among the top four, but admitted Asian standards had fallen.
“We prepared in cold weather before coming to India, but that is not an excuse,” said Shin, a former international. “It is difficult to believe no Asian team is in the semifinals.
“We all need to improve, and improve fast.”
Balbir acknowledged that the speedy Koreans were best suited among all Asian teams to match the power of the Europeans and Australians.
“They are as fit as anyone and play excellent hockey,” he said. “Players from India and Pakistan lack fitness, ball control and speed which Euopreans have mastered.”
Akhtar Rasool, who captained Pakistan during their victorious World Cup campaign in 1982, said proper planning was needed to put Asian hockey back on track.
“It’s a huge task to start from scratch, but that is what we need to do,” he said. “We must restore the qualities of ball control that we were once famous for and also improve fitness and speed.”
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| Rivals on edge for semifinals today |
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NEW DELHI: Injury-stricken England hope to build on their amazing resurgence in field hockey when they take on defending champions Germany in the World Cup semifinal on Thursday (today).
Hot favourites Australia take on a shaky Netherlands in the other semifinal the same night, looking to reach their third successive Cup final after a power-packed display in preliminary matches.
England proved their spectacular European Cup win last year ahead of the sport’s powerhouses Germany, the Netherlands and Spain was not a flash in the pan as they finished second in group B behind Australia.
Jason Lee’s men won four of their five matches, including a stunning 3-2 win over Australia, despite losing striker Matt Daly before the tournament and penalty corner specialist Richard Mantell later due to injuries.
Their rivals Germany, seeking an unprecedented hat-trick of titles to add to the Beijing Olympic gold medal, will hope to avenge the 5-3 defeat at England’s hands in the European final.
The Germans, with just three players who helped win the last World Cup at home in Monchengladbach, are the only unbeaten team in the current tournament with three wins and two draws. “There have been a few hits and misses, but it is creditable for this young team to make the semifinals,” said German coach Markus Weise.
Australia, coached by the legendary Ric Charlesworth, overcame the shock defeat to England in their first match to win their next four, including a World Cup record score of 12-0 against South Africa. The Kookaburras charge has been led by penalty corner ace Luke Doerner, whose six goals so far puts him on top of the leading scorers’ list alongside Dutchman Taeke Taekema.
Jamie Dwyer, the International Hockey Federation’s player of the year for 2009, and fellow-striker Glenn Turner have shown their mettle up front with five goals apiece.
Australia came into the tournament by winning the elite six-nation Champions Trophy at home in Melbourne in December by beating Germany in the final 5-3 after trailing 1-3 at half-time.
“I am not looking too far ahead,” said Charlesworth. “The Dutch are never easy to beat, but I am glad the boys are shaping up well.”
Australia defeated the Dutch 4-1 the last time the two sides met in a World Cup semifinal in Malaysia in 2002. The Netherlands, who won the last of their three World Cup titles in 1998, almost missed the semifinals after losing their last league match to South Korea 2-1 on Tuesday.
But Taekema’s penalty corner expertise and the guile of brilliant midfielder Teun de Nooijer give the Dutch hope against one of the most formidable sides in the game.
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| Pakistan to play Canada for 11th position tomorrow |
NEW DEHLI: Pakistan is scheduled to play minnows Canada for 11th-12th places on Thursday in World Cup Hockey.
Pakistan fared the worst among Asian teams in the current tournament, forced into a play-off for the 11th-12th places against lowly Canada after ending the league with four defeats and one win.
Former Olympians and coaches on Wednesday lamented the poor showing by Asian teams at the men's field hockey World Cup, saying Europe and Australia were now the masters of the game.
None of the three Asian teams in the 12-nation tournament - South Korea, India and Pakistan - qualified for Thursday's semi-finals, the first time since 1998 the continent will not be represented.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan have not won a major competition since their last Cup win in 1994 in Sydney.
Akhtar Rasool, who captained Pakistan during their victorious World Cup campaign in 1982, said proper planning was needed to put Asian hockey back on track.
"It's a huge task to start from scratch, but that is what we need to do," he said. "We must restore the qualities of ball control that we were once famous for and also improve fitness and speed."
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| Rivals on edge for World Cup semi-finals |
NEW DELHI: Injury-stricken England hope to build on their amazing resurgence in field hockey when they take on defending champions Germany in the World Cup semi-final on Thursday.
Hot favourites Australia take on a shaky Netherlands in the other semi-final the same night, looking to reach their third successive Cup final after a power-packed display in preliminary matches.
England proved their spectacular European Cup win last year ahead of the sport's powerhouses Germany, the Netherlands and Spain was not a flash in the pan as they finished second in group B behind Australia.
Jason Lee's men won four of their five matches, including a stunning 3-2 win over Australia, despite losing striker Matt Daly before the tournament and penalty corner specialist Richard Mantell later due to injuries.
"It's a revival we have worked hard for," said Lee as England prepared for their first World Cup semi-final since 1986. "But this is the real thing and we can't afford to slip-up."
Their rivals Germany, seeking an unprecedented hat-trick of titles to add to the Beijing Olympic gold medal, will hope to avenge the 5-3 defeat at England's hands in the European final.
The Germans, with just three players who helped win the last World Cup at home in Monchengladbach, are the only unbeaten team in the current tournament with three wins and two draws.
"There have been a few hits and misses, but it is creditable for this young team to make the semi-finals," said German coach Markus Weise.
Australia, coached by the legendary Ric Charlesworth, overcame the shock defeat to England in their first match to win their next four, including a World Cup record score of 12-0 against South Africa.
The Kookaburras charge has been led by penalty corner ace Luke Doerner, whose six goals so far puts him on top of the leading scorers' list alongside Dutchman Taeke Taekema.
Jamie Dwyer, the International Hockey Federation's player of the year for 2009, and fellow-striker Glenn Turner have shown their mettle up front with five goals apiece.
Australia came into the tournament by winning the elite six-nation Champions Trophy at home in Melbourne in December by beating Germany in the final 5-3 after trailing 1-3 at half-time.
"I am not looking too far ahead," said Charlesworth, who played in Australia's only World Cup winning squad in 1986. "The Dutch are never easy to beat, but I am glad the boys are shaping up well."
Australia, who have scored more goals - 23 - in the league than any other team, defeated the Dutch 4-1 the last time the two sides met in a World Cup semi-final in Malaysia in 2002.
The Netherlands, who won the last of their three World Cup titles in 1998, almost missed the semi-finals after losing their last league match to South Korea 2-1 on Tuesday.
If the Asian champions had netted one more goal, they would have levelled the Dutch on goal difference and advanced to the knock-out rounds by virtue of winning their league encounter.
But Taekema's penalty corner expertise and the guile of brilliant midfielder Teun de Nooijer give the Dutch hope against one of the most formidable sides in the game.
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| Argentina beat Canada 4-2 in last league match |
NEW DELHI: Argentina defeated Canada 4-2 to finish fourth in the pool behind South Korea.
Argentina led 3-0, Canada scored twice in the last 10 minutes, but Tomas Argento scored in the last minute to send Argentina into the seventh-eighth playoff against India.
South Korea will meet Spain for fourth-fifth, New Zealand and South Africa for ninth-10th, and Canada and Pakistan for 11th-12th.
Earlier, the Netherlands lost to South Korea 2-1 but joined Germany in the semifinals of the field hockey World Cup on Tuesday.
Two-time defending champion Germany defeated New Zealand 5-2 to top Pool A and set up a semifinal on Thursday against England. |
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| S Korea win but lose semis spot to Netherlands |
NEW DELHI: Asian champions South Korea defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in the men's field hockey World Cup on Wednesday, but still lost out on a semi-final spot to the Dutch.
Both teams finished the league with 10 points each, one behind group A leaders Germany, but the Dutch ousted the Koreans on a superior goal difference of plus-10 against their rivals' plus-eight.
The Netherlands had a better goal difference than South Korea, which will miss its first semifinals in three World Cups.
In Thursday's semi-finals, defending champions Germany will clash with England, while the Dutch will take on group B leaders Australia.
The Koreans, Asia's lone survivors after India and Pakistan crashed out early, fought back after Ronald Brouwer gave the Dutch an early lead in the 25th second of the match.
Brouwer latched on to a pass from Teun de Nooijer, who left the Korean defence stranded with a speedy run down the centre soon after the start.
Both sides were locked 1-1 at half-time as Nam Hyun-Woo equalised for the Koreans with his team's first penalty corner three minutes before the interval.
The Koreans, who had won their last three meetings against the Netherlands, took the lead 10 minutes after resumption through a superb flick by captain Seo Jong-Ho.
The Dutch pressed for the equaliser, but found a penalty stroke awarded to them four minutes from the end disallowed by the video umpire.
The Dutch also earned a last-second penalty corner which Taeke Taekema, the top-scorer in the tournament so far with six goals, shot wide.
The Koreans, who finished third in the group, will clash with Spain on Friday to determine the fifth position in the tournament.
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| Germans outclass Kiwis 5-2, reach semi-finals |
NEW DELHI: Defending champions Germany outclassed New Zealand 5-2 on Tuesday to join England and Australia in the semi-finals of the men's field hockey World Cup.
The Germans led 2-0 at half-time through goals by Christophe Menke in the 15th minute and Florian Fuchs in the 28th.
Philip Witte made it 3-0 soon after the interval, but New Zealand hit back with two goals in four minutes from Shea McAleese and Nicholas Wilson.
The powerful Germans sealed their supremacy over the Black Sticks when Moritz Furste and Matthias Witthaus scored twice in as many minutes, both goals coming from rebounds off penalty corners.
Germany, looking for a hat-trick of World Cup titles to add to the Beijing Olympic gold medal, ended the league stage unbeaten in group A with three wins and two draws.
The second semi-final spot from the group will be decided after the match between the Netherlands and South Korea later on Tuesday.
The Dutch, who have 10 points against Germany's 11, need a draw to advance to the knock-out rounds.
The Koreans, Asia's lone survivor after India and Pakistan crashed out early, need a big win to move to 10 points and better the Dutch on goal difference.
Favourites Australia and European champions England have already qualified for the semi-finals from group B. |
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| Last day for league matches today |
NEW DELHI: Defending champions Germany would look for an outright win against New Zealand in their last pool A match on Tuesday to book a semi-final berth in the hockey World Cup.
Germany played their best game of the World Cup on Sunday against European rivals the Netherlands in their 2-2 drawn match after beginning the tournament with a draw against a plucky South Korea.
The Maximillian Muller-led side made a remarkable comeback after one-goal deficit before veteran Dutch captain Teun de Nooijer denied them a victory which would have booked them a semi-final spot.
On current form, the Germans should not have much problem to beat New Zealand but they can't be complacent against a side, which had beaten South Korea.
With eight points -- from two wins and two draws -- Germany will reach the semi-finals with even a draw against New Zealand (six points) if the Netherlands beat South Korea (seven points).
But they would not want to leave it to the Dutch-Korea match and would want to do it by themselves.
German captain Muller said they would look to maintain their standard against Dutch to qualify for the semi-finals.
"We are looking forward to playing same hockey (as displayed against the Dutch) against New Zealand. We are in a good position to make it to the semi-finals," he said.
German coach Markus Weise said his young team has displayed their best hockey of the World Cup against the Dutch and would go for a win against New Zealand.
"I am very happy with the performance (against the Netherlands). It was our best game of the tournament so far. Our goal is to reach the semi-finals which is not certain. We will have to win against New Zealand," he said.
Three-time champions the Netherlands are almost assured of a semi-final spot after three wins and a draw. With a goal difference of 11, they may be in trouble only in case they lose by five-goal margin against Korea on Tuesday.
Unbeaten so far, the Dutch would like to end their pool engagements on a high with a win though the plucky Koreans would go all out.
The Koreans can also still go through if they beat the Dutch and New Zealand draw with or beat England in the second match of the day.
The last game of the day -- between Canada and Argentina -- would be of just an academic affair. Canada, yet to open their account, are almost certain to end at the bottom of Pool A and play for the wooden spoon classification match even if they beat Argentina (three points) on Tuesday.
Canada have minus 20 goal difference and they have to beat Argentina (goal difference minus four), who had defeated New Zealand on Sunday to record their first win, by 16-goal margin to finish fifth in the six-team pool. |
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| Fate of senior players to be decided next week |
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KARACHI: Pakistan’s hockey chiefs will sit down in Lahore soon after the World Cup to take a decision over the future of their misfiring senior players.
Well-placed sources in the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) told ‘The News’ on Monday that the national hockey think-tank will meet at the PHF headquarters next week to take a long, hard look at the reasons behind their team’s poor showing in the World Cup which is under progress in New Delhi.
Though the PHF chiefs will be deliberating on various issues, the focus is likely to be on the burning question: To retain or not to retain the team’s senior players for Pakistan’s next big hockey assignment — the Asian Games.
Pakistan flopped miserably in the Hockey World Cup as they began with a shock 1-4 defeat against hosts India and then went on to lose against England and minnows South Africa to fall out of contention for the semifinals. They lost their last Pool B game against Australia 2-1 and finished the league stage with just one win — against Spain — from five matches.
While their poor performance ignited scathing criticism from all quarters, the boys who came under the most intense fire were the team’s senior players — Sohail Abbas, captain Zeeshan Ashraf, midfielder Waseem Ahmed, striker Rehan Butt and goalie Salman Akber.
The five of them were supposed to shoulder Pakistan’s campaign in the 12-nation spectacle but failed to live up to expectations. Sohail, the world renowned drag-flicker, began the competition as the international hockey’s most prolific scorer. But he failed to make his presence felt in the competition.
Waseem, an influential midfielder, had to play the role of the team’s playmaker but he has been mostly out of touch. Waseem’s below-par showing is being seen by many as one of the major reasons behind Pakistan’s poor showing in New Delhi.
Skipper Zeeshan Ashraf also failed to come out with the sort of performance that was needed to beef up the brittle Pakistani defence while Rehan Butt was unable to find his golden form in big games like the one against India. Salman Akber has been largely unimpressive and has at times allowed opponents to score goals at will.
“The Pakistan hockey think-tank, which will meet in Lahore soon after the World Cup, will analyze the team’s performance during what is expected to be a marathon meeting,” said a source. “It will be focusing on the performance of the senior players, who’ve failed to do well in the World Cup. There are indications that some of them might be ignored for future assignments,” said a source.
“Whenever our team loses in a major international event, its management is almost always shown the door,” said another source. “But the players, who are equally responsible for the losses, are spared. They always come back and fail again. There are chances that this time the axe will fall on them,” added the source.
However, there could be disagreement on chopping off the senior players from the national team. It’s a pretty busy year for the national team which will be featuring in three international events before competing in the Asian Games in China in November.
Pakistan will take part in the Asian Champions Trophy in Ipoh in April before participating in the Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy also to be staged in the same Malaysian city early this summer. In October, Pakistan will feature in the Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi before the all-important Asian Games.
Some of the PHF officials and coaching staff are unsure over whether they would be able to raise a strong team for these events after axing all of the players who’ve failed to impress much in the World Cup.
“It is true that Pakistan didn’t play well in the World Cup,” said a PHF official who spoke to ‘The News’ on the condition of anonymity. “But the problem is that you can’t just destroy the team by kicking out all the experienced players because there isn’t enough bench strength,” he said.
“It will be wiser if the PHF took one step at a time and rebuild the team over a sufficient time frame instead of rushing things because that could prove to be counter productive,” he said. It remains to be seen whether the meeting, that will be chaired by PHF president Qasim Zia will vote in favour of sweeping changes in the national team for the Asian Games buildup or opt for the “one step at a time approach”.
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| India hold South Africa to 3-3 draw |
NEW DELHI: Hosts India claimed the fourth spot after a thrilling 3-3 draw with South
Africa, who finished fifth and relegated Pakistan to sixth place.
After Lloyd Norris-Jones had put South Africa ahead in the seventh minute, Sarvanjit Singh and Diwakar Ram struck in quick succession to give India a 2-1 lead at the interval.
South Africa, who had beaten Pakistan earlier in the league, made it 3-2 through Justin Reid-Ross and captain Austin Smith, before Shivendra Singh equalised for India four minutes from the end.
India and South Africa both ended with four points, but the hosts had a better goal difference of minus-4 and compared to the Africans' minus-15.
The two semi-final spots from group A will be decided after Tuesday's last round with four teams - the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea and New Zealand - still in the fray. |
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| Hockey: Selectors, team management at loggerheads |
NEW DELHI: Differences developed between the selection committee and the team management in the wake of Pakistan’s dismal performance in the FIH World Cup hockey tournament.
The selection committee sources said that senior players were brought in the team on the insistence of the team management.
A heated debate was also held between chairman selection committee Hasan Sardar and the team management in Indian city of New Delhi.
As per sources, the selection committee chairman said that the team management did not undertake any planning.
The management refused to bring the players in the field, who were recommended by the chief selector.
It is expected that chief selector Hasan Sardar together with selectors will make a strategy for future. |
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| Pakistan beaten again as Australia reach semis |
NEW DELHI: Favourites Australia sweated to a 2-1 win over Pakistan on Monday to join England in the semi-finals from group B in the men's field hockey World Cup.
Veteran penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas put a rejuvenated Pakistan ahead in the 24th minute, before Desmond Abbott scored twice in the second half to clinch victory for the Kookaburras.
European champions England, who had won all four previous matches, crashed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Beijing Olympic silver-medallists Spain in their last match.
Pau Quemada convered a penalty corner in the 35th minute and Eduard Tubau increased the margin six minutes before the end against an English team already assured of a semi-final berth.
Both England and Australia ended the league on 12 points each, but the Kookaburras took top spot in the group by virtue of a superior goal difference of plus-17 against their rivals' plus-5.
Spain finished third in the group with nine points and ensure themselves a top-six finish in the tournament.
Pakistan, with one win and four defeats, were left with three points.
India and South Africa, who also have three points each, clash in the final league match later on Monday.
The two semi-final spots from group A will be decided after Tuesday's last round.
England captain Barry Middleton rued his team's first loss in the tournament.
Sohail Abbas said Pakistan lacked consistency.
"We play well one day, and very bad the next day," he said. "The team lacks co-ordination. There is a lot of hard work ahead for us." |
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| Spain end England's unbeaten run |
NEW DELHI: Spain halted England's victorious run in the men's field hockey World Cup on Monday, but the 2-0 win may have come too late to lift them into the semi-finals.
Pau Quemada convered a penalty corner in the 35th minute and Eduard Tubau increased the margin six minutes before the end against an English team already assured of a semi-final berth from Group B.
England ended the league with four wins from five matches, taking their tally to 12 points.
Spain finished on nine points, the same as Australia, who play Pakistan in their last match later on Monday.
Australia's superior goal difference of plus-16 -- against Spain's plus-4 -- is expected to carry them into the knockout rounds even if they suffer a shock defeat against Pakistan. |
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| Pakistan in its last face-off against Australia today |
NEW DELHI: Four-time champions Pakistan’s World Cup campaign has gone horribly wrong, and call it fate that they have to stand up to the toughest opponents in Pool B — Australia — in their last league encounter on Monday (today).
It appears to be a tough ask for the crestfallen Pakistani team against the title favourites after their shocking loss to South Africa, with the 3-4 scoreline belying the domination of the African side.
In other pool matches, England will take on Olympic silver medallists Spain while India face South Africa. European champions England have already booked a semifinal berth after four victories on the trot.
Out of contention for a top-five finish after three consecutive defeats, India would be desperate to end their losing streak when they take on lowly but spirited South Africa. A win for India will secure their place in the seventh-eighth place play-off match, which would be a considerable improvement from their 11th place finish in the 2006 World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany.
Collecting nine points from four outings, Australia also look more or less certain to make the semis, with a 21-5 goal difference. Theoretically, however, their nearest rivals Spain — on six points — have an outside chance to make the grade if they can spank England by a huge margin and Pakistan beat the Kookaburras.
But even if the Aussies lose, it could be too much to expect a big Spanish victory over England, by far the most consistent performer in the tournament along with the Netherlands.
The mathematical probabilities notwithstanding, all eyes will be again on Pakistan. Pakistan are aware there will be no freebies on offer against Australia.
The two teams had a similar start but followed different courses as the World Cup reached the weekend.
Pakistan will have to show character and not allow Australia steamroll them.
Australia, on the other hand, stung by England in the opening match, bounced back like a champion side, winning against India, South Africa and Spain.
The runners-up of the last two editions Australia, coached by legendary Ric Charlesworth, have been a treat to watch with a free-flowing forward line and an impregnable defence at their disposal.
Pakistan’s penalty corner expert Sohail Abbas has been a pale shadow of his past, their talismanic striker Rehan Butt has looked unimpressive and the lapses in defence glaring.
A dejected Pakistani coach Shahid Ali Khan was at a loss of words to explain Pakistan’s poor show in the tournament.
“This is the worst I have seen Pakistan play, both as player and as coach. I have never faced such defeat (against South Africa) even during my playing days,” said Shahid Ali Khan.
“We were never the tournament favourites. We came here to improve our rankings, but I never expected such a result,” he said.
Pakistan will do well to stop brooding about the past results and take it as an opportunity to redeem themselves and make sure they do not slide from the sixth position they finished in the previous edition.
Today’s matches
Spain vs England at 16:05 (PST)
Australia vs Pakistan at 18:05 (PST)
South Africa vs India at 20:05 (PST) |
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| Downbeat Pakistan in tough Aussie test |
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NEW DELHI: Four-time champions Pakistan’s World Cup campaign has gone horribly wrong, and call it fate that they have to stand up to the toughest opponents in Pool B — Australia — in their last league encounter on Monday (today).
It appears to be a tough ask for the crestfallen Pakistani team against the title favourites after their shocking loss to South Africa, with the 3-4 scoreline belying the domination of the African side.
In other pool matches, England will take on Olympic silver medallists Spain while India face South Africa. European champions England have already booked a semifinal berth after four victories on the trot.
Out of contention for a top-five finish after three consecutive defeats, India would be desperate to end their losing streak when they take on lowly but spirited South Africa. A win for India will secure their place in the seventh-eighth place play-off match, which would be a considerable improvement from their 11th place finish in the 2006 World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany.
Collecting nine points from four outings, Australia also look more or less certain to make the semis, with a 21-5 goal difference. Theoretically, however, their nearest rivals Spain — on six points — have an outside chance to make the grade if they can spank England by a huge margin and Pakistan beat the Kookaburras.
But even if the Aussies lose, it could be too much to expect a big Spanish victory over England, by far the most consistent performer in the tournament along with the Netherlands.
The mathematical probabilities notwithstanding, all eyes will be again on Pakistan. Pakistan are aware there will be no freebies on offer against Australia.
The two teams had a similar start but followed different courses as the World Cup reached the weekend.
Pakistan will have to show character and not allow Australia steamroll them.
Australia, on the other hand, stung by England in the opening match, bounced back like a champion side, winning against India, South Africa and Spain.
The runners-up of the last two editions Australia, coached by legendary Ric Charlesworth, have been a treat to watch with a free-flowing forward line and an impregnable defence at their disposal.
Pakistan’s penalty corner expert Sohail Abbas has been a pale shadow of his past, their talismanic striker Rehan Butt has looked unimpressive and the lapses in defence glaring.
A dejected Pakistani coach Shahid Ali Khan was at a loss of words to explain Pakistan’s poor show in the tournament.
“This is the worst I have seen Pakistan play, both as player and as coach. I have never faced such defeat (against South Africa) even during my playing days,” said Shahid Ali Khan.
“We were never the tournament favourites. We came here to improve our rankings, but I never expected such a result,” he said.
Pakistan will do well to stop brooding about the past results and take it as an opportunity to redeem themselves and make sure they do not slide from the sixth position they finished in the previous edition.
Today’s matches
Spain vs England
16:05 (PST)
Australia vs Pakistan
18:05 (PST)
South Africa vs India
20:05 (PST)
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| Germany draw with Dutch to open semis race |
NEW DELHI: Defending champions Germany played out a thrilling 2-2 draw with the Netherlands on Sunday to throw open the semi-final race in the men's field hockey World Cup.
Dutch skipper Teun de Nooijer scored the equaliser four minutes before the final whistle to help his team share the points in a crucial group A match at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
With the last round of league matches on Tuesday, the Netherlands lead the group with 10 points, followed by Germany on eight, South Korea on seven and New Zealand on six.
The Dutch need a draw against the Koreans to take one of the two semi-final spots from the group. A Korean win could see the Asian champions advance.
Germany must secure full points from New Zealand to confirm their place, while the Black Sticks also need to win and hope the other results go their way.
European champions England have already taken a semi-final place from group B with Australia the favourites to grab the second spot.
The Netherlands led Germany 1-0 at half-time after Wouter Jolie deflected in his team's third penalty corner in the 23rd minute.
The Germans, seeking a hat-trick of World Cup titles to add to their Olympic gold medal won at Beijing, hit back with goals from Oliver Korn in the 43rd minute and Jan-Marco Montag in the 63rd.
As the minutes ticked away, de Nooijer pounced on a pass from the right and pushed the ball in past a stunned German goalkeeper Tim Jessulat.
"Its always good to get one point, rather than lose three," said de Nooijer. "We were lucky to get that chance and took it. But we have to play well against the Koreans to make the semis."
German captain Max Muller said he was disappointed to share points.
"Great game, but wish we had won," he said. "We now have to wait till our last match to see how it goes.
"Australia are still the favourites to win the title. Winning a third time is not on our minds. Its a young team and I am glad we are playing good hockey."
Earlier, Jang Jong-Hyun scored three goals as South Korea routed lowly Canada 9-2 to keep their semi-final hopes alive. Nam Hyun-Woo and You Hyo-Sik chipped in with two goals apiece for South Korea as the Asian champions ran circles around the hapless Canadian defence in the high-scoring match.
The second half produced nine goals, two of them to Canada's Philip Wright, after the Koreans led 2-0 at the interval.
"We needed this win badly and I am happy it all came together today," said Korean coach Shin Seok-Kyo.
"It will take a lot from our side, and also our rivals, to ensure we make it to the semi-finals. We can only control what we do and that is to beat the Dutch."
New Zealand's chances of making the knock-out round suffered a setback when they lost 1-0 to Argentina in another group A match.
New Zealand, who would have moved to nine points had they beaten Argentina, paid dearly for a missed penalty stroke by Ryan Archibald three minutes before the interval.
Argentina, beaten in their three previous games, earned the winner in the 55th minute through Facundo Callioni, who diverted in a pass from the right by Pedro Ibarra.
"Its disappointing to lose such a crucial game," said New Zealand captain Dean Couzins.
"We knew this could be a vital match and that is how it turned out. We tried our best in the end to get the equaliser, but missed a few chances.
"It now all boils down to other games, but we still need to overcome the Germans." |
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| Argentina beat New Zealand 1-0 |
NEW DELHI: A goal from Facundo Callioni gave Argentina a 1-0 victory over New Zealand in Pool A of the men's field hockey World Cup on Sunday.
Callioni struck for Argentina in the 55th minute, capitalizing on Pedro Ibarra's cross from right.
New Zealand was left to rue a missed penalty stroke in the first session, when Ryan Archibald's effort was stopped by Juan Tomas Espinosa in the 32nd minute.
Argentina got its first points after three defeats, while New Zealand has six points from four matches.
Earlier, Asian champion South Korea beat Canada 9-2 to keep alive its chances of making the semifinals from Pool A. |
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| South Korea rout Canada 9-2 |
NEW DELHI: Jang Jong-Hyun scored three goals as South Korea routed lowly Canada 9-2 on Sunday to keep their semi-final hopes alive the men's field hockey World Cup.
Nam Hyun-Woo and You Hyo-Sik chipped in with two goals apiece as the Asian champions ran circles around the hapless Canadian defence in a group A match.
South Korea is the only Asian team which is in contention for a semi-final berth.
South Korea was leading 4-1 at the half time.
The second half produced nine goals, two of them to Canada's Philip Wright, after the Koreans led 2-0 at the interval.
South Korea, who have seven points from four games, may still need to defeat the Netherlands in their last match on Tuesday to ensure a place in the semi-finals.
The Dutch lead the group with nine points, followed by defending champions Germany and South Korea on seven each.
The Netherlands will qualify for the semi-finals if they do not lose to Germany later on Sunday.
New Zealand (six points) play Argentina (zero) in their fourth match, also on Sunday.
Canada have lost all four matches so far, scoring four goals and conceding 24. |
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| Greenshirts stumble again |
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NEW DELHI: Former champions Pakistan suffered an embarrassing 4-3 defeat at the hands of lowly South Africa in a World Cup Group B match here at the Major Dhyan Chand National Hockey Stadium on Saturday.
South Africa, whose three previous defeats in the tournament included a record 12-0 drubbing by Australia, reserved their best hockey against Pakistan, already out of contention for a place in the semifinals.
Rehan Butt’s first-half goal for Pakistan mattered little as the South Africans pumped in four goals in the space of 16 minutes after resumption.
Gareth Carr opened the scoring for the African champions in the 38th minute, before Ian Haley, Taine Paton and Marvin Harper increased the margin.
Pakistan made the scoreline look better than the match suggested by scoring twice in the last four minutes through Muhammad Imran and Waseem Ahmed.
Pakistan and South Africa were left with three points each from four matches.
Favourites Australia defeated Beijing Olympic silver-medallists Spain 2-1 to move closer to a semifinal berth in the World Cup.
The Australians scored once in each half, with Luke Doerner converting a penalty corner in the 20th minute, before Glenn Turner increased the tally 10 minutes before the final whistle.
Doerner’s sixth goal of the tournament helped him draw level with leading goalscorer Taeke Taekema of the Netherlands, while Turner scored his fifth.
The Kookaburras avenged the 3-2 defeat at Spain’s hands in the Olympic semifinal at Beijing and took their points tally to nine from four matches in the group. European champions England, who already have nine points from three games, will become the first team to qualify for the semifinals if they avoid defeat against hosts India later on Saturday.
The Kookaburras will fancy their chances of taking the other semi-final spot from the group with a goal difference of plus-16 ahead of their last league match against Pakistan on Monday.
Spain are almost certainly out of the semifinal race with just six points from four matches.
Australian coach Ric Charlesworth said he was delighted at the win, but slammed the umpires for awarding seven penalty corners to Spain.
“I am very angry at the umpiring today (Saturday),” he said. “Giving them seven penalty corners put a lot of pressure on our players. Some of them were just not warranted.
“Umpiring has been a problem for some years, but one expects better at a World Cup.”
In the last match of the day, England continued their brilliant run in the event with a 3-2 triumph over hosts India. It was their fourth win a row for the European champions, who have confirmed their place in the semifinals.
Points Table
Group B
Country P W D L GF GA Pts
England 4 4 0 0 17 10 12
Australia 4 3 0 1 21 5 9
Spain 4 2 0 2 10 8 6
India 4 1 0 3 10 14 3
Pakistan 4 1 0 3 8 14 3
South Africa 4 1 0 3 10 25 3 |
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| It’s Pakistan hockey’s darkest day, says Islah |
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KARACHI: Islahuddin Siddiqui, the former Pakistan captain, on Saturday said that the national team’s disappointing 3-4 World Cup defeat against South Africa is the darkest chapter in the country’s hockey history.
“It’s the darkest day in our hockey’s history,” Islah told ‘The News’ in an interview. “We have lost against a lowly team which was hammered 12-0 by Australia just a couple of days back. It’s unbelievable,” added Islah, who was captain of the victorious Pakistan team that won the 1978 World Cup.
Pakistan’s title campaign in the World Cup is over following defeats against India, England and South Africa. Their horrible show came after the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) made tall claims that their team will play well in the competition.
Islah blamed Pakistan’s team management for its failure to get the best out of the national players.
“Our coaching staff has failed totally. We didn’t have any strategy for any of the matches we’ve played so far. We won against Spain but it was because they (Spain) played badly in that match,” he said.
“Our boys have been found lacking in all areas. They are short on stamina and physical fitness. Our senior players, on whom we were relying heavily, were exposed.”
Islah questioned the team management’s decision to stick with senior goalie Salman Ahmed in spite of his failure against England who beat Pakistan 5-2.
“Salman was awfully out of form. He conceded four goals against India and five against England. He also let a weak team like South Africa score four more against us. I’m surprised why the team officials decided against trying out (reserve goalie) Nasir Ahmed,” he stressed.
Nasir has plenty of international experience as he is Pakistan’s first-choice goalkeeper whenever Salman is unavailable for national duty.
Describing the defeat as a huge debacle, Islah said that the PHF shouldn’t have made hollow promises.
“The PHF is responsible for this debacle too. It made hollow promises that our team has achieved improvement but the ground reality is that our team stands nowhere when it comes to major events.”
Islah said that the current team management got almost two years to prepare the players but still failed to achieve its targets.
“After almost two years, this management has failed to come out with a proper formation. They have also failed to improve the players’ fitness. It’s pretty visible that it has failed completely in its task to help our team improve.”
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| England enter Hockey World Cup semis after 24 years |
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NEW DELHI: European champions England stormed into the semi-finals of the men's field hockey World Cup after 24 years with a 3-2 win over India on Saturday.
James Tindall, Ashley Jackson and Nick Catlin put England 3-0 ahead by the 47th minute before Gurwinder Chandi and Rajpal Singh scored in a two-minute burst for the hosts late in the match.
England's fourth successive win in group B took them to the knock-out rounds of the sport's premier event for the first time since 1986 when they made the final at home in London.
"We obviously came here to reach the semi-finals, so one of our three goals has been achieved," said English coach Jason Lee.
"Now we must enter the final and then win the World Cup. This is a sort of revival of English hockey. The first big step was beating Germany in the Euro final last year."
Meanwhile, favourites Australia defeated Beijing Olympic silver-medallists Spain 2-1 to put themselves in line for the second semi-final spot from the group behind England.
The Kookaburras, who have nine points and a huge goal difference of plus-16, can only miss the bus if they lose to Pakistan by a big margin and Spain trounce England in the last group B matches on Monday.
Spain are lying third in the group with six points, while India, Pakistan and South Africa have three each.
Former champions Pakistan, already out of contention for the semi-finals, suffered an embarrassing 4-3 defeat at the hands of lowly South Africa.
Australia's win through goals by Luke Doerner and Glenn Turner helped the Kookaburras avenge the 3-2 defeat at Spain's hands in the Olympic semi-final at Beijing in 2008.
Australian coach Ric Charlesworth said he was delighted at the win, but slammed the umpires for awarding seven penalty corners to Spain.
"I am very angry at the umpiring today (Saturday)," he said. "Giving them seven penalty corners put a lot of pressure on our players. Some of them were just not warranted.
"Umpiring has been a problem for some years, but one expects better at a World Cup." South Africa, whose three previous defeats in the tournament included a record 12-0 drubbing by Australia, reserved their best hockey against Pakistan to record their first-ever World Cup win.
Rehan Butt's first-half goal for Pakistan mattered little as the South Africans pumped in four goals in the space of 16 minutes through Gareth Carr, Ian Haley, Taine Paton and Marvin Harper.
Pakistan made the scoreline look better than the match suggested by scoring twice in the last four minutes through Muhammad Imran and Waseem Ahmed.
Pakistan coach Shahid Ali Khan slammed his players after both teams were left with three points each from four matches.
"This is the worst I have seen Pakistan play, both as player and as coach," the former goalkeeper said.
"I take full responsibility for the team's poor performance, but I am not going to resign because I have been given the task till the Asian Games at the end of the year."
South African captain Austin Smith was understandably elated.
"To beat a side like Pakistan is a great achievement," he said. "The team showed a lot of character after the big loss to Australia." |
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| Pakistan’s embarrassing defeat against South Africa |
NEW DELHI: Pakistan were beaten by South Africa 3-4 in their in group B match of the FIH Hockey World Cup here on Saturday.
This was South Africa’s fist victory over Pakistan in the history of international hockey.
South Africa were leading 4-1 in the first half after Pakistan made the first goal of the match in the seventh minute.
Later in the second half Pakistan scored two more goals to reduce the margin in the last seven minutes but could not avoid the defeat which was their third in their four matches in the tournament.
Julian Hykes was declared the man-of-the-match. |
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| Australia beat Spain 2-0, gtetting closer to semis |
NEW DELHI: Title favorite Australia moved closer to the semifinals by defeating Spain 2-0 Saturday in the field hockey World Cup.
It was Australia's third win in four Pool B matches, giving it nine points, while Spain suffered its second defeat in four games and has six points.
England, which plays India later Saturday, leads the pool table with a maximum nine points from three games.
Australia took the lead against Spain through Luke Doerner's penalty corner conversion in the 20th minute. Glenn Turner then deflected in a square-pass from Robert Hammond in the 60th minute to dash Spain's hopes of staging a comeback. |
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| Germany beat Argentina to move closer to semi-final slot |
NEW DELHI: Olympic champions Germany held their nerve to beat Argentina 4-3 in an exciting league match on Friday to move closer to a semi-final spot in their bid
for a third successive World Cup.
Martin Zwicker scored twice to help top-ranked Germany record their second victory in three matches after they rallied to draw 2-2 against South Korea in the opening game.
Former champions Netherlands thumped Canada 6-0 for their third victory in as many matches and New Zealand beat South Korea 2-1 in the other Pool A matches at the Dhyan Chand National Hockey Stadium.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals in the 12-team competition.
Germany took a 3-1 lead before Martin Haner scored another goal. They defended solidly in the final minutes to hold on to their lead after Argentina rallied strongly through goals from Matias Paredes and Pedro Ibarra.
Penalty corner specialist Taeke Taekema and Rogier Hofman scored two goals each in another dominant performance by the Dutch who lead the pool.
New Zealand surprised speedy South Korea 2-1 for their second win to stay in line for a place in the last four.
Netherlands and England, who lead Pool B, are the only teams to have won all their three matches so far in the tournament.
England suffered a major setback when experienced defender Richard Mantell was ruled out for the rest of the tournament with a fractured ankle, according to a statement on the
tournament website (www.worldhockey.org).
Mantell was injured during Thursday's 5-2 victory over Pakistan. |
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| Pakistan to play SAfrica in crucial match today |
KARACHI: At least three matches are scheduled today in hockey World Cup, as Pakistan will have to win with huge margin its today’s match to stay in the event, Geo News reported Saturday.
The mega event’s first face-off would be staged between Australia and Spain of Pool-B. It should be mentioned that Australia is second in world ranking and Spain on the third position.
Pakistan to play South Africa at 6pm. The South Africa were defeated by Australia 12-0. Today’s last match would be played between the event hosts India and the most successful England at 8pm.
Australia and Spain are on second and third positions respectively with 6 points each.
Holland tops Pool-A with 9 points, followed by Germany with 7 points and New Zealand on third with 6 points.
Their World Cup campaign may be in tatters following defeats against India and England but Pakistan remain upbeat about their chances in the remaining Group B games.
Pakistan have just three points from three matches and seem highly unlikely to advance to the semifinals. But the Greenshirts are still focused on winning their last two games, including a tough one against Australia, to keep their hopes alive.
“It looks really difficult,” Shahid said regarding Pakistan’s chances of reaching the last-four. “But anything can happen. We want to stay in the hunt for the semifinals by winning our last two matches. If we fail (in reaching the last-four) then we would go all out to at least finish fifth in the World Cup,” he said.
Pakistan take on Group B minnows South Africa on Saturday (today) before finishing their league matches with a clash against Australia.
On current form, Pakistan should beat South Africa but they will start as the underdogs against the Aussies.
“At the moment we are focussing on the match against South Africa,” he said. “We have to win it and then we will give our best to beat Australia.”
Commenting on his team’s disappointing 2-5 defeat against England on Thursday, Shahid said that his team lost the plot after coming back from two goals down to level scores 2-2. “At that time we were in a very position but our defence faltered and our goalie made too many mistakes.” |
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| Pakistan upbeat in spite of England loss |
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KARACHI: Their World Cup campaign may be in tatters following defeats against India and England but Pakistan remain upbeat about their chances in the remaining Group B games.
Pakistan have just three points from three matches and seem highly unlikely to advance to the semifinals. But the Greenshirts are still focused on winning their last two games, including a tough one against Australia, to keep their hopes alive.
“It looks really difficult,” Shahid told the ‘The News’ regarding Pakistan’s chances of reaching the last-four. “But anything can happen. We want to stay in the hunt for the semifinals by winning our last two matches. If we fail (in reaching the last-four) then we would go all out to at least finish fifth in the World Cup,” he said. Pakistan take on Group B minnows South Africa on Saturday (today) before finishing their league matches with a clash against Australia.
On current form, Pakistan should beat South Africa but they will start as the underdogs against the Aussies.
“At the moment we are focussing on the match against South Africa,” he said. “We have to win it and then we will give our best to beat Australia.”
Commenting on his team’s disappointing 2-5 defeat against England on Thursday, Shahid said that his team lost the plot after coming back from two goals down to level scores 2-2. “At that time we were in a very position but our defence faltered and our goalie made too many mistakes.”
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| Dutch, Germans close in on World Cup semifinals |
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NEW DELHI: Defending champions Germany and the Netherlands stayed on course for the semifinals of the men’s field hockey World Cup with contrasting wins on Friday.
Germany, the reigning Olympic champions who are looking to win a third consecutive World Cup title, sweated to a 4-3 victory over a fighting Argentina at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
The Dutch hammered lowly Canada 6-0 in another group A match with Rogier Hofman and Taeke Taekema scoring two goals apiece.
Ronald Brouwer and Rob Reckers were the other scorers as the Netherlands, a three-time winner, hit top gear in the second session after the first had ended 0-0. With two rounds of league matches remaining, the Netherlands lead the group with nine full points from three games, followed by Germany with seven and New Zealand with six.
New Zealand stayed in contention for their first-ever appearance in the semifinals with a 2-1 win over South Korea.
The Netherlands must win one of their two remaining games against world champions Germany on Sunday and South Korea on Tuesday to qualify for the semifinals. Dutch captain Teun de Nooijer said the three wins so far had given his team confidence ahead of the match against Germany.
“The rivalry between Germany and the Netherlands is intense, just like the one between India and Pakistan,” the veteran midfielder said.
“We have to be at our best because we know what the Germans are capable of. But the good record so far means we will be ready for them on Sunday.”
Argentina, who had lost both their previous matches, fought all the way against the Germans in an exciting late night match.
Martin Zwicker slammed two goals as Germany took a 3-1 lead, before Matias Paredes scored for Argentina just before half-time.
Martin Haner put Germany 4-2 ahead in the 51st minute and Pedro Ibarra made it 3-4 four minutes later, but Argentina failed to get the equaliser in the last quarter.
“We knew Argentina will be tough because we play a similar game,” said German captain Max Muller. “We should have had a two-goal advantage, but could not score a fifth goal.
“The group is wide open. We will of course need to get the better of the Dutch. It won’t be easy.”
New Zealand scored both their goals against South Korea in the first half as Andrew Hayward converted a penalty corner in the fifth minute, before captain Dean Couzins pushed in a penalty stroke in the 22nd.
South Korea reduced the margin in the final minute through a stroke by Lee Nam Yong.
New Zealand, who have not finished higher than seventh in the World Cup, must win their last two games against Argentina on Sunday and Germany on Tuesday to book a semi-final spot.
South Korea, the Asian champions, are virtually out of the race with just four points in the bag.
Korean coach Shin Seok-Kyo blamed his team’s poor display in the tournament so far on the lack of proper preparation.
“We should have trained better for the World Cup, but the cold weather at home did not help,” he said. “It is not a good feeling now because we are almost out of it.”
New Zealand’s Couzins said the 3-1 win over the Koreans in the Beijing Olympics boosted his team’s confidence.
“We have a good record against them and that helped,” he said. “We are still in the fight for the semifinals because we have played quite well.”
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| ‘Greenshirts can’t finish among top-six’ |
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ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan captain Shahbaz Ahmed believes Pakistan have no chance of finishing among the top-six in the Hockey World Cup, saying when you aim low, you always get the worst.
Commenting on Pakistan’s disappointing show against England the other day, Shahbaz said he was shocked the way defence allowed opponents to penetrate and deflect the ball. “Sadly it was the management that set meek standards to begin with. At the time of departure, manager Asif Bajwa was quoted to have said that they would be playing for the sixth spot in the World Cup. If you aim low, glory hardly welcomes you. The honours and respect only awaits those who aim high and make them capable of beating the best.”
Shahbaz, who led the team to its last World Cup glory in Sydney in 1994, stressed that such irresponsible statements at the start of a mega event always leave bad impact on the players’ morale. He also sees little hope for Pakistan to finish among the top six.
“There is hardly any chance for Pakistan to finish among the top six. We have already lost two out of the three matches. We would probably win one more against South Africa. The way our team is playing I do not think we would have any chance of beating Australia. In all likelihood Pakistan would finish fourth or fifth in the pool, meaning the team would play for the last six positions.”
Shahbaz said if the team lacked mental toughness that was more due to irresponsible statements by the managements and team officials. Shahbaz said that in the match against England, there was no coordination whatsoever and the defence was set open for the English attacks. “Pakistan had recently engaged in a friendly series and the management had failed to chalk up a winning plan against them. Instead it was England who used that series as picking up the weaknesses of Pakistan team. England exploited our flaws perfectly and won the day. On the other hand, despite having goalkeeper as your head coach, it was the goalkeeping area that let you down against England.”
Shahbaz, who is now the PHF Governing Board member, predicted that the defeated Pakistan team management on its return would make lame excuses including that they had taken the opportunity to prepare for the Asian Games. “The government has given you million of rupees over the last one and half year with a promise that national team would go on to perform well in the World Cup. Eighteen months are good enough time to prepare a strong unit provided you are sincere and want to concentrate on players training. However, if the people concerned have got different interests, team preparation always gets second priority.”
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| Pakistan want action against foul play |
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NEW DELHI: Pakistan captain Zeeshan Ashraf demanded action against some English players who, he alleged, resorted to intentional foul play in the Pool B match of the hockey World Cup on Thursday.
Zeeshan said one England player intentionally fouled Irfan Muhammad in the second half but he went scot-free.
“Irfan was hit by an England player and it was intentional. Just like Shivendra Singh was banned, the tournament director should see the match video footage and he (the English player) should be suspended,” said Zeeshan after his side lost 2-5 in their third Pool B match.
Zeeshan, however, did not say that Pakistan would lodge a complaint to the tournament director.
Striker Rehan Butt also said that the England players committed some intentional fouls and the tournament directors should take note of that.
“The tournament director should take action as there was intentional fouls (by England players) after seeing the video footage just like had been done in case of Shivendra,” the star striker said.
Zeeshan conceded that some individual mistakes also cost the team dear besides the two yellow cards they got in the second session after they restored parity from 0-2 down at the breather.
“England played well in the first half. We came back strongly in the second half by scoring two goals but the two yellow cards slowed down the tempo of our comeback
“Moreover we made mistakes in the second session. Though it will be difficult to make it to the semifinals but it is not over for us. We would look to win the last two matches and see what happens,” he said.
Asked about poor performance of star drag-flicker Sohail Abbas and striker Rehan Butt, Zeeshan said, “Sohail could not score from two penalty corners and we think England goalkeeper had come prepared. Rehan though was off-colour today.”
Rehan Butt agreed that the third goal by England was due to the mistake of goalkeeper Salman Akbar.
“We had some individual mistakes and that contributed to our loss. Salman had a mistake and that led to the third goal. But it is part of the game,” said Rehan. |
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| England lament Mantell loss |
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NEW DELHI: England won their third consecutive match at the World Cup on Thursday, but the game was overshadowed by a horrific ankle injury to captain Richard Mantell.
The Reading defender will return home in the next couple of days and he will undergo surgery on his ankle on Monday, the Telegraph reports.
England coach Jason Lee said: “Richard’s our key player and we’re going to miss him. He’s very good in long distribution of the ball.”
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| Netherlands overpower Canada 6-0 |
NEW DELHI: Rogier Hofman and Taeke Taekema scored two goals apiece as the Netherlands routed lowly Canada 6-0 for their third successive win in the men's field hockey World Cup on Friday.
Ronald Brouwer and Rob Reckers were the other scorers as the three-time champions hit top gear in the second session, after the first had ended 0-0 at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
The Netherlands, who lead group A with nine full points, must win one of their two remaining games against world champions Germany on Sunday and South Korea on Tuesday to qualify for the semi-finals.
New Zealand have six points, while Germany will move to seven if they beat Argentina later on Friday.
Meanwhile, New Zealand stayed in contention for their first-ever appearance in the semi-finals with a 2-1 win over South Korea.
Both goals for the Black Sticks came in the first half as Andrew Hayward converted a penalty corner in the fifth minute, before captain Dean Couzins pushed in a penalty stroke in the 22nd.
South Korea reduced the margin in the final minute through a stroke by Lee Nam Yong.
New Zealand, who have not finished higher than seventh in the World Cup, must win their last two games against Argentina on Sunday and Germany on Tuesday to book a semi-final spot.
South Korea, the Asian champions, are virtually out of the race with just four points in the bag. |
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| New Zealand douse South Korea's hopes |
NEW DELHI: New Zealand stayed in contention for their first-ever appearance in the semi-finals of the men's field hockey World Cup with a 2-1 win over South Korea on Friday.
Both goals for the Black Sticks came in the first half as Andrew Hayward converted a penalty corner in the fifth minute, before captain Dean Couzins pushed in a penalty stroke in the 22nd.
South Korea reduced the margin in the final minute through a stroke by Lee Nam Yong.
It was New Zealand's second win in three matches, giving them six points in group A.
The Netherlands (six points) and defending champions Germany (four) play their third round of matches later on Friday.
New Zealand, who have not finished higher than seventh in the World Cup, must win their last two games against Argentina on Sunday and Germany on Tuesday to book a semi-final spot.
South Korea, the Asian champions, are virtually out of the race with just three points in the bag. |
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| Record win for Aussies as India, Pakistan stumble |
NEW DELHI: Favourites Australia thrashed South Africa 12-0 on Thursday to record the biggest win in World Cup history as former field hockey giants India and Pakistan took a tumble.
Australia's penalty corner ace Luke Doerner slammed four goals, Jamie Dwyer three and Glenn Turner two as the Kookaburras surpassed Pakistan's 12-3 romp over New Zealand in the 1982 edition in Mumbai.
European champions England continued their unbeaten run with a 5-2 demolition of Pakistan, with Jonty Clarke and captain Barry Middleton scoring two goals apiece.
England, who top group B with nine full points from three matches, need to win one of their two remaining games against India and Spain to qualify for their first World Cup semi-final since 1986.
Beijing Olympic silver-medallists Spain made light of the absence of injured strikers Santi Freixa and Eduard Tubau to silence a boisterous crowd of 19,000 with a 5-2 win over hosts India.
Pau Quemada converted two penalty corners, while Albert Sala, captain Pol Amat and David Alegre chipped in with goals in the key match.
India, who trailed 2-0 at half-time, earned consolation goals from Sandeep Singh and Gurwinder Chandi.
With two rounds of league matches still to be played, Australia and Spain were lying second in the group behind England with six points each.
India and Pakistan trail with three points apiece and need big wins in the remaining games to stay in contention for a place in the semi-finals.
South Africa, the other team in the group, have lost all three matches so far, scoring six goals and conceding 22.
England led Pakistan 2-0 at half-time, but the four-time champions hit back after the resumption to draw level with goals from Shakeel Abbasi and Rehan Butt.
Middleton put his side 3-2 ahead in the 53rd minute, before Clarke and Middleton scored twice in three minutes to put the game out of Pakistan's reach.
England, however, suffered a blow as defender Richard Mantell was ruled out of the rest of the tournament after he dislocated an ankle in the second half. |
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| Three matches in hockey World Cup today |
NEW DELHI: There will be played three matches of Poll ‘A’ in Hockey World Cup today, Geo news reported.
South Korea will face New Zealand, Holland will play against Canada while Germany will take on Argentina.
Holland have bagged six points having won two matches. Canada have yet to open their account in the tournament while Germany and South Korea have also secured four points. |
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| England sink hapless Pakistan |
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NEW DELHI: Favourites Australia thrashed South Africa 12-0 on Thursday to record the biggest win in World Cup history as former field hockey giants India and Pakistan took a tumble.
Australia’s penalty corner ace Luke Doerner slammed four goals, Jamie Dwyer three and Glenn Turner two as the Kookaburras surpassed Pakistan’s 12-3 romp over New Zealand in the 1982 edition in Mumbai.
European champions England continued their unbeaten run with a 5-2 demolition of Pakistan, with Jonty Clarke and captain Barry Middleton scoring two goals apiece.
England, who top group B with nine full points from three matches, need to win one of their two remaining games against India and Spain to qualify for their first World Cup semi-final since 1986.
Beijing Olympic silver-medallists Spain made light of the absence of injured strikers Santi Freixa and Eduard Tubau to silence a boisterous crowd of 19,000 with a 5-2 win over hosts India.
Pau Quemada converted two penalty corners, while Albert Sala, captain Pol Amat and David Alegre chipped in with goals in the key match.
India, who trailed 2-0 at half-time, earned consolation goals from Sandeep Singh and Gurwinder Chandi.
With two rounds of league matches still to be played, Australia and Spain were lying second in the group behind England with six points each.
India and Pakistan trail with three points apiece and need big wins in the remaining games to stay in contention for a place in the semifinals.
South Africa, the other team in the group, have lost all three matches so far, scoring six goals and conceding 22.
Australian coach Ric Charlesworth was delighted at his team’s big win.
“I did not know it was a record, but it is not everyday that we score 12 goals in a match,” he said.
“I liked the way we played throughout the match. We were relentless. I am also very pleased with our penalty corner conversions.”
England led Pakistan 2-0 at half-time, but the four-time champions hit back after the resumption to draw level with goals from Shakeel Abbasi and Rehan Butt.
Middleton put his side 3-2 ahead in the 53rd minute, before Clarke and Middleton scored twice in three minutes to put the game out of Pakistan’s reach.
England, however, suffered a blow as defender Richard Mantell was ruled out of the rest of the tournament after he dislocated an ankle in the second half.
Middleton said it was his side’s best match in the tournament so far.
“We showed how good we are and played like the European champions we are,” the skipper said. “The boys displayed a lot of character to take the game away from Pakistan.”
India’s Spanish coach Jose Brasa conceded the hosts were virtually out of the semifinals, but wanted his team to finish among the top six.
“It’s very disappointing to lose a crucial match, but we committed childish mistakes in the defence and up front,” said Brasa.
“The game turned Spain’s way when we conceded the second goal with just seconds to go for half-time.”
Spain’s goal-scorer Sala was confident his team can advance to the knock-out rounds.
“We have a very good chance now,” he said. “We are finding form at the right time.” |
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| Germans, Dutch should have it easy |
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NEW DELHI: On current form, defending champions Germany and group leaders The Netherlands should find Argentina and Canada easy in their run-up to gain semifinal berths in the Hockey World Cup on Friday (today).
With gamemaker and captain Teun de Nooijer in fine fettle and lethal penalty-corner specialist Taeke Taekema on a song, The Netherlands were fluid in their movements while winning both their Pool A matches to garner six points.
After blanking Argentina 3-0, thanks to a Taekema hat-trick, and getting the better of New Zealand 3-1, the Dutch look favourites to log full points against Canada, which has suffered two losses on the trot at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
The two sides have met only once earlier in the 1998 World Cup, and the Netherlands won 3-1 and then went on to claim their third and last title.
The Dutch are being considered strong contenders for the crown, but coach Michel van den Huevel has said he is taking one match at a time.
“I am not thinking beyond our next match against Canada Friday. We have improved from our first match. But we still have a long way to go,” said Huevel.
“It was good to see that we got some nice field goals (against New Zealand) and our boys are also performing well with every match,” he said.
Germany, who finished with a 2-2 draw against Korea, have signalled a return to form with a 6-0 decimation of Canada on Wednesday.
Placed second in the Pool with four points from two outings, the Germans would be up against the physical game of the Latin American nation, but the European power-house’s professional approach and clinical display put them much ahead of their rivals.
Like Canada, the Argentineans are yet to earn any point, having lost both their matches, but have a flair for attacks as Korea found on Wednesday.
The Germans, winners of the last two World Cups, have come with a young side, but have been well served by the 18-year-old Florian Fuchs, who has already slotted three goals in the first two games.
After being found miserably wanting in the penalty corner department against Korea, the Germans improved by converting three of the set-pieces against Canada, and team coach Markus Weise would be looking forward to a repeat performance.
“I am happy we had a good conversion rate on Wednesday. We got eight penalty corners and converted three. So, in this match we have made use of the opportunities. We will keep it going,” Weise said.
Korea also have four points, but are third in the Pool on goal difference. New Zealand are a point and a rung behind the Koreans, and the contest between the two could be absorbing as both need to win to keep themselves in the race for a slot in the pre-summit round.
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| Pakistan beaten by England 2-5 |
NEW DELHI: England defeated Pakistan in an important Pool B match of the World Cup hockey tournament here on Thursday.
Jonty Clarks made the first goal for England on a pass from James Tendal while the second goal was scored by Ashley Jackson.
Pakistan got two penalty corners but the national team could not take any advantage.
However, Shakeel Abbasi reduced England’s lead scoring a goal in the 45th minute during second half and a few minutes alter Rehan Butt equaled the score by making a goal on rebound when Pakistan got their third penalty corner.
On this occasion, English player Richard Mantele was injured and forced to go out of ground.
Later on the 53rd minute, Middleton got England lead and then Robert Moore and barry Middleton made two consecutive goals to take England score to 5- which continued till the end of the match.
England is on top with nine points going undefeated in the pool B. |
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| Australia trounce S Africa 12-0 to clinch biggest World Cup win |
NEW DELHI: Title favourites Australia swept aside South Africa 12-0 on Thursday to record the biggest victory in the history of the men's field hockey World Cup.
Penalty corner specialist Luke Doerner slammed in five goals, and Glenn Turner and Jamie Dwyer picked two each, as the Australians gave the South Africans a hockey lesson in their first Cup meeting.
Desmond Abbott, Fergus Kavanagh and Matthew Butturini were the other scorers in a spectacular goal spree at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the Indian capital.
The Kookaburras, who led 5-0 at half-time, surpassed Pakistan's 12-3 romp over New Zealand in the 1982 edition in Mumbai, which was the previous highest victory margin in the World Cup.
Australia, who lost their opening match against England, bounced back in style to defeat hosts India 5-2 and have now taken their Group B tally to six points from three matches.
European champions England, who have six points from two games, take on Pakistan later on Thursday.
India and Spain, with three points each, clash in the evening's last match.
South Africa have lost all three matches so far, scoring six goals and conceding 22. |
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| Pakistan, England to clash in crucial match today |
KARACHI: With two impressive victories in a row including one against top title contenders Australia, England have emerged as one of the most destructively attacking sides of the 2010 Hockey World Cup, writes Khalid Hussain.
But Pakistan will go all out on Thursday (today) to beat the English at their own game in a bid to stay alive in the race for the semifinals.
“England are a very attacking side, something they’ve proved in the matches against Australia and South Africa,” Shahid Ali Khan, the Pakistan coach, said in an interview from New Delhi on Wednesday.
“They attack in waves and also have two very good short corner specialists. They’ve won two high-scoring matches and seem to be in good form. But I’m confident that we can beat them (England) at their own game,” stressed Shahid whose team bounced back with a 2-1 triumph against Spain on Tuesday after suffering from a morale-shattering 1-4 defeat against old rivals India last Sunday.
In spite of the much-needed win against Spain, Pakistan are trailing at the fifth spot in Pool B behind England, Australia, Spain and India and need to win today’s encounter to remain in the hunt for a record fifth world title.
“Once again it’s a must-win game for us,” said Shahid, a former Olympian. “But the pressure has been released with a win against Spain and our confidence is back.”
When Pakistan last faced England, they beat them 2-0 in a Test series in England last summer and Shahid believes that his boys can do it again.
“We have beaten England in a Test series last year. It’s the same England team which is why I’m confident that we can beat them again.”
Pakistan spent a couple of hours watching footage of England matches and their coach is fully aware that a rampaging English attack will be tough to contain.
“There is no doubt that our defence will be under extra pressure tomorrow,” he said. “We will also need a lot of improvement in the midfield,” added the coach who is hoping that playmaker Waseem Ahmed will regain his lost form against England.
“Waseem is our key player but unfortunately he has been out of form. But he is very experienced and we are hoping that he will regain his form and strengthen our midfield.
Another cause for concern for the Pakistani management is that their main strikers Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi have been unable to make their presence felt in the first two matches.
“To continue winning the coming matches we will need all out players to play their role, especially the senior ones,” said Shahid.
“So far, our forwards have been unable to play their best game but I’m sure that players like Butt and Abbasi will click soon.”
The coach is hoping that his boys will stick to the game plan like the way they did against Spain. “We decided to cramp the midfield against Spain and it worked. Against England, we will devise a game plan and I hope that the boys with stick to it.”
Today’s matches
Australia vs South Africa 16:05 (PST)
Pakistan vs England 18:05 (PST)
India vs Spain 20:05 (PST) |
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| Germany thrash Canada 6-0 |
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NEW DELHI: Defending champions Germany toyed with lowly Canada 6-0 on Wednesday to record their first win in the men’s field hockey World Cup.
Asia’s number one South Korea also earned their maiden victory, a 2-1 verdict against Argentina with Nam Hyun-Woo scoring the winning penalty corner in the last minute.
The Germans, looking to become the first team to win a hat-trick of World Cup titles, came back strongly after being held to an embarrassing 2-2 draw by the Koreans in their first group A match.
The reigning Olympic champions pumped in four goals in the first half, three of them with penalty corners after Benjamin Wess had put them ahead in the 3rd minute with a field goal.
Jan-Marco Montag, Max Muller and Martin Haner fired in set-piece goals, before man-of-the-match Florian Fuchs sealed the emphatic win by striking twice in the second session.
Germany, who won the last two World Cups in 2002 and 2006 before underlining their supremacy with a gold at the Beijing Olympics two years ago, now have four points from two matches.
The 11th-ranked Canada, who lost to New Zealand in their first match, remain without a point.
“We analysed our first game to draw up a things-to-do list,” said German coach Markus Weise. “I am glad some of those negatives have been ticked off.
“We you are not playing a top side, you look to score five to six goals, and we were able to achieve that today.”
South Korea and Argentina produced a barren first half as both sides wasted scoring opportunities, including two penalty corners by the Asian team.
Argentina took the lead in the 53rd minute through Facundo Callioni after the Koreans were reduced to 10 men following a green card to Kyung Min-Jun.
Lee Nam Yong drew level eight minutes later and Nam Hyun-Woo slammed the last-minute winner when South Korea were awarded a penalty corner by the video umpire.
The Asian champions have four points, while Argentina have lost both matches so far.
Meanwhile, The Netherlands took a clear lead in the Group with a 3-1 win over New Zealand in the last match of the day.
All four goals came in the first half after New Zealand captain Phillip Burrows had put his team ahead in the opening minute of the game.
Ronald Brouwer drew level immediately in the second minute, Taeke Taekema scored a penalty corner in the seventh, before Jeroen Hertzberger completed the tally in the 27th.
Points Table
Group A
Country P W D L GF GA Pts
Netherlands 2 2 0 0 6 1 6
Germany 2 1 1 0 8 2 4
South Korea 2 1 1 0 4 3 4
New Zealand 2 1 0 1 4 5 3
Argentina 2 0 0 2 1 5 0
Canada 2 0 0 2 2 9 0
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| Pakistan eye England scalp in crucial clash |
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KARACHI: With two impressive victories in a row including one against top title contenders Australia, England have emerged as one of the most destructively attacking sides of the 2010 Hockey World Cup, writes Khalid Hussain.
But Pakistan will go all out on Thursday (today) to beat the English at their own game in a bid to stay alive in the race for the semifinals.
“England are a very attacking side, something they’ve proved in the matches against Australia and South Africa,” Shahid Ali Khan, the Pakistan coach, told ‘The News’ in an interview from New Delhi on Wednesday.
“They attack in waves and also have two very good short corner specialists. They’ve won two high-scoring matches and seem to be in good form. But I’m confident that we can beat them (England) at their own game,” stressed Shahid whose team bounced back with a 2-1 triumph against Spain on Tuesday after suffering from a morale-shattering 1-4 defeat against old rivals India last Sunday.
In spite of the much-needed win against Spain, Pakistan are trailing at the fifth spot in Pool B behind England, Australia, Spain and India and need to win today’s encounter to remain in the hunt for a record fifth world title.
“Once again it’s a must-win game for us,” said Shahid, a former Olympian. “But the pressure has been released with a win against Spain and our confidence is back.”
When Pakistan last faced England, they beat them 2-0 in a Test series in England last summer and Shahid believes that his boys can do it again.
“We have beaten England in a Test series last year. It’s the same England team which is why I’m confident that we can beat them again.”
Pakistan spent a couple of hours watching footage of England matches and their coach is fully aware that a rampaging English attack will be tough to contain.
“There is no doubt that our defence will be under extra pressure tomorrow,” he said. “We will also need a lot of improvement in the midfield,” added the coach who is hoping that playmaker Waseem Ahmed will regain his lost form against England.
“Waseem is our key player but unfortunately he has been out of form. But he is very experienced and we are hoping that he will regain his form and strengthen our midfield.
Another cause for concern for the Pakistani management is that their main strikers Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi have been unable to make their presence felt in the first two matches.
“To continue winning the coming matches we will need all out players to play their role, especially the senior ones,” said Shahid.
“So far, our forwards have been unable to play their best game but I’m sure that players like Butt and Abbasi will click soon.”
The coach is hoping that his boys will stick to the game plan like the way they did against Spain. “We decided to cramp the midfield against Spain and it worked. Against England, we will devise a game plan and I hope that the boys with stick to it.”
Today’s matches
Australia vs South Africa 16:05 (PST)
Pakistan vs England 18:05 (PST)
India vs Spain 20:05 (PST)
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| Germany, S Korea, Netherlands winners of 4th day |
NEW DELHI: The Netherlands took a clear lead in Group A of the men's field hockey World Cup with a 3-1 win over New Zealand on Wednesday.
All four goals came in the first half after New Zealand captain Phillip Burrows had put his team ahead in the opening minute of the game.
Ronald Brouwer drew level immediately in the second minute, Taeke Taekema scored a penalty corner in the seventh, before Jeroen Hertzberger completed the tally in the 27th.
The Dutch moved to six points from two matches as defending champions Germany and Asia's number one South Korea went to second place with four points each following their first wins in the tournament.
New Zealand, who had defeated Canada in their opening match, are on three points.
The Germans, seeking a hat-trick of World Cup titles, came back strongly after a 2-2 draw against the Koreans to trounce Canada 6-0.
It was their biggest World Cup win since the 7-0 romp over India in the 1978 edition in Argentina while playing as the West German team.
South Korea clinched a 2-1 win over Argentina with Nam Hyun-Woo converting a last-minute penalty corner.
Germany, the reigning Olympic champions, pumped in four goals in the first half, three of them with penalty corners after Benjamin Wess had put them ahead in the 3rd minute with a field goal.
Jan-Marco Montag, Max Muller and Martin Haner fired in set-piece goals, before man-of-the-match Florian Fuchs sealed the emphatic win by striking twice in the second session.
Germany won the last two World Cups in 2002 and 2006 before underlining their supremacy with a gold at the Beijing Olympics two years ago.
The 11th-ranked Canada remain without a point.
"We analysed our first game to draw up a things-to-do list," said German coach Markus Weise. "I am glad some of those negatives have been ticked off.
"We you are not playing a top side, you look to score five to six goals, and we were able to achieve that today."
South Korea and Argentina produced a barren first half as both sides wasted scoring opportunities, including two penalty corners by the Asian team.
Argentina took the lead in the 53rd minute through Facundo Callioni after the Koreans were reduced to 10 men following a green card to Kyung Min-Jun.
Lee Nam Yong drew level eight minutes later and Nam Hyun-Woo slammed the last-minute winner when South Korea were awarded a penalty corner by the video umpire.
Argentina have lost both matches so far.
Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel said the win over New Zealand was satisfying.
"We are on the right path," he said. "We played better than in the last game and it was nice to see the boys fighting back after the early goal.
"The whole team is taking turns to make a mark and that augurs well for the rest of the tournament."
In the next round of group A matches on Friday, South Korea take on New Zealand, the Netherlands meet Canada and Germany clashes with Argentina. |
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| Netherlands down NZ with 3-1 in FIH World Cup |
NEW DELHI: The Netherlands took a clear lead in Group A of the men's field hockey World Cup with a 3-1 win over New Zealand on Wednesday.
All four goals came in the first half after New Zealand captain Phillip Burrows had put his team ahead in the opening minute of the game.
Ronald Brouwer drew level immediately in the second minute, Taeke Taekema scored a penalty corner in the seventh, before Jeroen Hertzberger completed the tally in the 27th.
The Dutch moved to six points from two matches as defending champions Germany and Asia's number one South Korea went to second place with four points each following their first wins in the tournament.
New Zealand, who had defeated Canada in their opening match, are on three points.
The Germans, seeking a hat-trick of World Cup titles, came back strongly after a 2-2 draw against the Koreans to trounce Canada 6-0.
It was their biggest World Cup win since the 7-0 romp over India in the 1978 edition in Argentina while playing as the West German team.
South Korea clinched a 2-1 win over Argentina with Nam Hyun-Woo converting a last-minute penalty corner.
Germany, the reigning Olympic champions, pumped in four goals in the first half, three of them with penalty corners after Benjamin Wess had put them ahead in the 3rd minute with a field goal.
Jan-Marco Montag, Max Muller and Martin Haner fired in set-piece goals, before man-of-the-match Florian Fuchs sealed the emphatic win by striking twice in the second session.
Germany won the last two World Cups in 2002 and 2006 before underlining their supremacy with a gold at the Beijing Olympics two years ago.
The 11th-ranked Canada remain without a point.
"We analysed our first game to draw up a things-to-do list," said German coach Markus Weise. "I am glad some of those negatives have been ticked off.
"We you are not playing a top side, you look to score five to six goals, and we were able to achieve that today."
South Korea and Argentina produced a barren first half as both sides wasted scoring opportunities, including two penalty corners by the Asian team.
Argentina took the lead in the 53rd minute through Facundo Callioni after the Koreans were reduced to 10 men following a green card to Kyung Min-Jun.
Lee Nam Yong drew level eight minutes later and Nam Hyun-Woo slammed the last-minute winner when South Korea were awarded a penalty corner by the video umpire.
Argentina have lost both matches so far.
Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel said the win over New Zealand was satisfying. "We are on the right path," he said. "We played better than in the last game and it was nice to see the boys fighting back after the early goal.
"The whole team is taking turns to make a mark and that augurs well for the rest of the tournament."
In the next round of group A matches on Friday, South Korea take on New Zealand, the Netherlands meet Canada and Germany clashes with Argentina. |
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| Hockey WC: 3 matches scheduled today |
NEW DELHI: Three matches would be played in Hockey World Cup today, Geo News reported Wednesday.
The first match would be played between Canada and Germany. And Argentine and South Korea will take on each other in the second face-off and Holland and New Zealand will play today’s last match.
The defending champion Germany opened the tournament on low note; however, they can make their comeback possible in the tournament by putting in excellent show against Canada today.
Both the team would hit the ground at 4am PST. The match between Argentine and South Korea will begin at 6am PST.
Korea played a drawn first match against Germany; however, they may trace their steps back into the event with good performance this time.
Former champions Holland are playing today’s most important match against New Zealand, as this match will decide the team settling on the Pool A roost.
Pool A has New Zealand and Holland are on the first and second position respectively with England leading Pool B bagging six points.
Australia, Spain, India and Pakistan are on second, third, fourth and fifth position respectively. |
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| England, Pakistan, Australia win in FIH World Cup |
NEW DELHI: England recorded their second successive win in the men's field hockey World Cup on Tuesday as Australia and Pakistan joined the race for semi-final berths from group B.
England defeated South Africa 6-4 in a high-scoring thriller, while Australia and Pakistan bagged their first points in the tournament after losing their opening matches.
Abdul Haseem scored once in each half as Pakistan, stung by the 1-4 defeat to arch-rivals India on Sunday, recovered to beat Olympic silver-medallists Spain 2-1.
Pre-tournament favourites Australia brushed aside the 2-3 loss to England as they swept aside India 5-2 in front of a sell-out crowd of 19,000 at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
The Kookaburras, watched from the stands by visiting Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith, ran up a 3-0 lead by the 26th minute and pumped in two more goals despite Jamie Dwyer missing a penalty stroke.
England emerged group B leaders with six points from two matches, while Australia, India, Pakistan and Spain were lying in second spot with three points each.
Two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
European champions England edged past the South Africans in a game where both sides suffered defensive lapses.
Richard Mantell scored two penalty corners, while Rob Moore, Ashley Jackson, Nick Catlin and Iain Mackay chipped in with a goal each for England.
Marvin Harper scored twice for South Africa, and Lloyd Norris-Jones and Thornton McDade netted one each.
It was the first time in World Cup history that England pumped in six goals in a single match. They had scored five against Pakistan in 1998, but still lost the match as their rivals netted seven. |
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| Pakistan beat Spain 2-1 in World Cup |
NEW DELHI: Pakistan defeated Spain 2-1in their second match in the FIH hockey World Cup here on Tuesday.
After being beaten by India in their first match, Pakistan showed good spirit this time despite a tense contest between the two countries.
Rehan Butt got Pakistan lead in the 30th minute and Pakistan were leading 1-0 when the first half ended.
However, Spain equalled the score in the second half when David Alegre netted in the 65th minute but just two minutes before the end, young Abdu Haseem Khan deflected the penalty-corner hit by Sohail Abbas and Pakistan emerged victorious in the end.
Pakistan will play their next match on Thursday against England who have so far won their both matches – against Australia and South Africa. |
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| England down S Africa in goal spree |
NEW DELHI: England recorded their second successive win in the men's field hockey World Cup with a 6-4 thriller against South Africa on Tuesday.
The European champions, who had stunned hot favourites Australia in their first match, edged past the South Africans in a game where both sides suffered defensive lapses.
Richard Mantell scored two penalty corners, while Rob Moore, Ashley Jackson, Nick Catlin and Iain Mackay chipped in with a goal each for England.
Marvin Harper scored twice for South Africa, and Lloyd Norris-Jones and Thornton McDade netted one each.
The first 25 minutes produced four goals as South Africa and England took turns to take the lead, before the two sides took the break deadlocked at 2-2.
England scored thrice in quick succession when play resumed to make it 5-2, before Harper reduced the margin for the Africans. Two more goals ensued - one from either side -- before the final whistle.
It was the first time in World Cup history that England pumped in six goals in a single match. They had scored five against Pakistan in 1998, but still lost the match as their rivals netted seven.
"Scoring six goals means a lot and I am happy with the win, but we were not consistent enough," said England captain Barry Middleton.
"We should have played well throughout the 70 minutes, but we did not do that against the South Africans. Our defence was not up to the mark.
"We have a tough game against Pakistan on Thursday and really need to work on our game," he said.
South African captain Austin Smith said his team made the same mistakes as they did in the 2-4 loss against Spain.
"We competed well in the first half and I was delighted with the 2-2 scoreline," said Smith. "But we let ourselves down in the second half.
"England were very good after the break and scored too many goals. We were left chasing the equaliser which was not easy against a quality team like England." |
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| Pakistan to take on Spain today in WC Hockey |
NEW DELHI: Three matches of the Group B will be played in the men’s field hockey World Cup on Tuesday.
Pakistan will clash with Spain in the second game.
Pakistan had to suffer a 4-1 defeat against India in the opening game of the World Cup being played in New Delhi.
The match between Pakistan and Spain will begin on 6:30 in the evening.
Besides, winner of the opening match India will face England and South Africa will take on South Africa in other two matches. |
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| India's Shivendra, Pakistan's Irfan suspended |
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NEW DELHI: India striker Shivendra Singh was on Monday banned for three matches and Pakistan's Irfan Muhammad for one game for different violations in the men's field hockey World Cup.
Shivendra was handed the suspension by tournament director Ken Read for hitting Pakistan's Fareed Ahmed above the eye in Sunday's league clash between the Asian rivals.
Read penalised Irfan for wearing an unapproved glove and knee pad to defend the first penalty corner in the same match, a statement from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said.
Shivendra will miss India's key group B matches against Australia, Spain and England, but will be available for the last game against South Africa.
Irfan will sit out of Pakistan's match against Spain on Tuesday.
Shivendra, who scored a goal in India's emphatic 4-1 win on Monday, was charged under a level 2 offence of FIH's code of conduct which deals with physical assault without causing serious injury.
Read said he handed the three-match suspension after video replays suggested that Shivendra had hit Fareed deliberately, even though the on-field umpires did not penalise the player during the match.
Pakistan's Irfan was suspended following manager Asif Bajwa's admission that the offending glove and knee pad were not taken to the technical committee for approval before the tournament.
The 12-nation tournament in the Indian capital ends on March 13. |
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| India hammer Pakistan 4-1 |
Sandeep bangs two goals to help hosts record first win in four matches against Greenshirts
NEW DELHI: India outplayed arch-rivals Pakistan 4-1 in the men’s field hockey World Cup on Sunday as England stunned hot favourites Australia 3-2 on a dramatic opening day.
Sandeep Singh banged in two penalty corners to help India record their first win in the last four matches against Pakistan before some 19,000 delirious home fans at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
Shivendra Singh and Prabjot Singh chipped in with a goal each as India wiped off memories of a 1-7 humiliation at Pakistan’s hands in the Asian Games final at the same venue in New Delhi in 1982.
India led 4-0 before Sohail Abbas, the world’s only player to score more than 300 international goals, narrowed the margin for Pakistan by converting just one of his six penalty corners.
“We must not fly high and keep our feet on the ground because the next match is against Australia on Tuesday,” said India’s Spanish coach Jose Brasa.
“We dominated the first half, but were lucky to score two more goals in the second session. I think we did not allow the Pakistanis to settle.”
Pakistan’s coach Shahid Ali Khan conceded India were the better side.
“It was difficult to come back after being down 3-0,” he said. “The Indians played really well. The players are obviously very disappointed, but we must not lose heart.
“We can still do well in the tournament. It’s not all over yet.”
England upset Australia
England’s win in another group B match, highlighted by two goals from James Tindall, was their first over Australia in a World Cup match since the 3-1 scoreline in the 1975 edition in Malaysia.
Australian captain Jamie Dwyer scored twice, including a penalty stroke, but Jason Lee’s European champions played outstanding hockey to rattle their fancied opponents.
Dwyer’s stroke in the 23rd minute put Australia ahead, but England drew level two minutes later through a penalty corner by Ashley Jackson.
Tindall then scored on either side of the break as England led 3-1 till four minutes before the final whistle when Dwyer narrowed the margin with a field goal.
Australia’s Glenn Turner wasted two good chances near the end, while England’s protest against a penalty corner being awarded to the Kookaburras in the last minute was upheld by the video umpire.
Australia paid dearly for converting just one of their 13 penalty corners in the match.
“Records are meant to be broken, so doing it after 35 years was pleasing, but not any different because we are also one of the top sides in the game,” said England captain Barry Middleton.
Australian coach Ric Charlesworth said he was disappointed to lose the first match in the tournament.
“We had enough chances, I think we had at least 28 shots at the goal and if we did not take them, the blame is on us,” he said.
In the day’s first match, Olympic silver-medallists Spain came back from a 0-1 deficit to defeat a fighting South Africa 4-2.
All six teams that featured on the opening day are drawn in group B from where the top two advance to the semifinals.
Group A comprises defending champions Germany, the Netherlands, Argentina, Canada, South Korea and New Zealand.
The 12-nation tournament began amid heavy security in the Indian capital, with some 19,000 security personnel and 200 commandos on guard inside and outside the venue.
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