Saturday, November 9, 2013

DIRE STRAITS: Money for nothin and chicks ....


By Mihir Vasavda

http://www.indianexpress.com


Despite the many hiccups in the build-up to the 2010 Hockey World Cup, International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre had said he would have no hesitation in returning to the subcontinent with another major tournament.     
    "There may be a few issues here and there, but we can deal with them. We will return to India with more events. Why? Because the money is here," he had said.
    As it turns out, the veteran Spanish administrator has kept his word. The FIH announced its 2015-2018 tournament cycle on Friday and India has been awarded four major tournaments: the 2015 World League final, 2016 junior World Cup, 2017 World League final and 2018 senior World Cup.
That effectively means that apart from the Champions Trophy and women's events, India will be playing host to all FIH events in the next five years. It must be mentioned that the country is also hosting the junior World Cup next month, the inaugural World League final in January along with the Champions Trophy next year.
    Hardly will you see the distribution of major tournaments so inclined towards one nation in any other sport. The FIH says by awarding India these tournaments, they want to revive the sport in the country. However, after closely observing the financial success of the Hockey India League (HIL) as well as the successful hosting of other major tournaments in the last few years, the FIH seems to have realised that the Indian 'market' has much more potential than they imagined.
The international body has bent several rules to accommodate India at its major tournaments: expanding the field for Champions Trophy from six to eight, awarding Olympic qualifiers last year and January's World League final are a few examples. One can understand where FIH's generosity stems from. Only Holland comes close to matching India's ability to generate huge sponsorship and telecast revenue while rest of the hockey world — be it Australia or Germany — continues to bleed dry.

Nasihin's Angels create 'herstory'...

 FILE PIC --- Rabiatul Adawiyah challenges Jordyn Holzberger of the Jillaroos during day one of the 2012 International Super Series at Perth Hockey Stadium.

THE Malaysian women’s hockey team created ‘herstory’ when they beat China 3-1 to claim bronze in their inaugural outing in the Third Asian Champions Trophy in Kakamigahara, Japan, yesterday.
   It was sweet victory, as coach Nasihin Nubli’s men had also beaten China 1-0 in the pool match.
    Yesterday, China took the lead in the 25th minute off a penalty corner attempt, but the Malaysian women put up a brave fight and Rabiatul Adawiyah scored a 28th minute field goal to equalise.
    Rabiatul then nailed the lead off a penalty corner attempt in the 42nd minute, and Hasliza Ali made sure with a 67th minute penalty corner goal.
    Japan beat India 1-0 for the gold medal.
    “It was a monumental win for my players as they never gave up even after China took the lead. In fact, the defenders built a ‘titanium’ wall after China scored and it made the task of the strikers easier to move forward and look for the winning goals,” said Nasihin.
    Today, the Malaysian men will face China for the bronze medal. For the record, Malaysia won bronze medals in both the previous editions.
    Pakistan and hosts Japan will pay for gold, while India and Oman for fifth-sixth placing.

Malaysia's RM14 million not enough...

MALAYSIA offered RM14 million for three tournaments,  but the International Hockey Federation (FIH) received a  better offer from India, who were selected to host the 2018  men’s World Cup.
    And the women’s 2018 World Cup will be held in Eng land.
    In Malaysia’s bid paper, 4 million Swiss  Francs (RM14  million) was offered to the FIH for the 2018 World Cup, the  2017 Junior World Cup and the World League Semi-finals,  but India had more money in the coffers.
    And it is understood that India have also been given the  mandate to host the 2017 Junior World Cup as well as one of  the World League Semi-finals.
    For the record, India last hosted the men’s World Cup in  2010, and will host the Junior World Cup from Dec 6-15.
    “It was an eye opener, as we had prepared a strong bid for  the World Cup, but did not win it,” said Malaysian Hockey  Confederation (MHC) vice-president Manjit Majid Abdullah  who is in Lausanne, Switzerland.
    Manjit also said: “MHC president Tengku Abdullah (Sultan  Ahmad Shah) was also present in Switzerland when the  winning bid was announced, and he was not disappointed or  upset, as we gave a good offer to the FIH.”
    It is believed that India’s major sponsors are Starsports  India.
     The announcements were made by FIH President Leandro  Negre at a special ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland  yesterday.
     “I wish to offer my sincere congratulations to England  Hockey and Hockey India on their successful bids to host the  Hockey World Cups 2018”, said Negre.
   “The quality of both bids was truly extraordinary, and the  FIH is greatly looking forward to bringing its top properties to  England and India.
   “I would also like to congratulate all of the National  Associations that submitted bids for these events. The stan dard was exceptionally high, making the decision extremely  hard for the FIH Executive Board.”
     Both the Men's and Women's Hockey World Cups 2018 will  feature an increased 16-nation field. Next year's World Cup,  in The Hague, Netherlands,  will see twelve men's and twelve  women's teams
     Malaysia qualified for the Hague by finishing fifth in the  World League Semi-finals in Johor Baru.

FIH give Lion's share to India, Argentina..

Allocated events for 2015
Event Month Location
Hockey World League Semi Final 1 – Men June Argentina
Hockey World League Semi Final 2 – Men June Belgium
Hockey World League Semi Final 2 – Women June Belgium
Hockey World League Final – Women November Argentina
Hockey World League Final – Men December India
Allocated events for 2016
Champions Trophy – Men June Argentina
Champions Trophy – Women June England
Junior World Cup – Men December India
Allocated events for 2017
Hockey World League Semi Final 1 – Women June-July Belgium
Hockey World League Semi Final 1 – Men July Argentina
Hockey World League Semi Final 2 – Men July England
Hockey World League Semi Final 2 – Women July-August Argentina
Hockey World League Final – Men December India
Allocated events for 2018
Champions Trophy – Women January Argentina
Indoor World Cup – Men & Women February Argentina
Hockey World Cup – Women 7-21 July England
Hockey World Cup – Men 1-16 December India