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KIWI Arun Panchia (right)
THE Black Sticks Men’s team has been announced for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup which will be played in Ipoh, Malaysia from 24 May to 3 June. It is the last tournament the Black Sticks will compete in before the Olympic team is named in mid June.
Other teams competing are Britain, Pakistan, Korea, Argentina and India as well as host country Malaysia, who are the only team not to have qualified for this year’s Olympics
“This will be a great quality tournament for us and offers an opportunity to test ourselves against teams we’ll be playing against in London. Korea and India are both in our pool at the Olympics, so we are looking forward to playing them,” says captain Dean Couzins, who will likely reach his 250th test cap during the tournament.
The tournament will be played on the same blue turf as the one at the Olympics. To ensure the Black Sticks have the best preparation in their build up, both the men’s and women’s teams have been training on the blue turf at Westlake Girls High School. Furthermore, all their upcoming test matches in Australia and Europe will be played on blue turfs also.
Four notable inclusions in the team, who were not named in the Owen G Glenn Champions Trophy team last year, are Ben Collier (Central), Nick Haig (Canterbury), Arun Panchia (Auckland) and Richard Petherick (Midlands). Blair Hopping (Midlands) was not considered due to the birth of his baby boy recently and Steve Edwards (North Harbour) is recovering from a groin injury.
The Black Sticks leave for Malaysia next Thursday 17 May, playing practice matches against Great Britain and Malaysia prior to the tournament starting.
The side then returns to Auckland where the Olympic team will be announced the week commencing 11 June. They then go to Cairns for a three test series against Australia from 17-26 June, before leaving for Europe in the first week of July where they will play against Belgium and Holland.
http://www.greatbritainhockey.co.uk
The Great Britain men’s hockey squad has been announced ahead of the forthcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia. The seven team invitational tournament will be Great Britain’s last competition ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Jason Lee’s squad contains two changes to the 18 man group that competed at the Visa International Invitational Hockey Tournament – the Olympic Test Event – at the beginning of the month. Captain Barry Middleton is restored alongside Surbiton’s Beijing Olympian Matt Daly, who returns to competitive action after a six month absence through injury.
Old Loughtonians’ Harry Martin and Loughborough Students’ Richard Smith have both been included. The pair have been passed fit after undergoing treatment for facial injuries sustained during the Olympic Test Event.
Matt DalyDaly (right) hasn’t played competitive international hockey since late 2011. The 28 year old played for England at the EuroHockey Nations Championships in Monchengladbach in August, where he was part of the team that won the bronze medal, scoring against Ireland and the Netherlands. He subsequently played in a series of practice matches before sustaining a knee injury prior to the Champions Trophy. The Surbiton forward has an excellent goal scoring record that has seen him find the net 57 times in 142 international appearances.
Speaking about Daly’s selection, Head Coach Jason Lee said, “It is great that Matt is back playing and potentially available for Olympic selection. Someone with his goal scoring ability and history in international hockey should be very competitive if fit and able to come into form over the next couple of months. I’m sure he will be rusty to start with as he has only been back working with a stick and ball for a week after many months out.”
Speaking about the tournament and how it fits into Great Britain’s Olympic preparations Lee continued, “The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an excellent opportunity to practice the type of tournament hockey we will experience at the Olympics and we will be approaching it with the intention of winning it - the same as our approach for the Olympics. The tournament has seven high quality teams, six of which will be at the Olympics, and it includes a number of teams that we rarely get to play.
“The climate of Malaysia will be testing for our athletes, although we will complete a short acclimation programme before we leave, which will hopefully make it easier for the players to cope in the first few games.
“It is likely that the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be used to complete the Olympic selection process, although our focus whilst there will be entirely on the team’s performance and the attempt to win the tournament.”
The tournament will be played on a blue surface similar to that installed at the Riverbank Arena on London’s Olympic Park. Great Britain’s men are the top ranked side for the 11 day invitational tournament that features New Zealand, Korea, India, Pakistan, Argentina and the hosts Malaysia. New Zealand’s Black Sticks are the Commonwealth Games bronze medallists while Argentina’s men won the 2011 Pan American Games hockey tournament in October 2011. Three of the competing teams, Pakistan, Malaysia and India, filled the three medal spots at the 2010 Asian Games and most recently India won the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Delhi in February. Great Britain twice beat India at the Visa International Invitational Hockey Tournament. At the Champions Trophy in December 2011, Great Britain beat Pakistan 2-1 and Korea 4-3.
Great Britain won the bronze medal at the 2011 tournament, finishing third behind winners Australia and runners-up Pakistan. GB beat New Zealand 4-1 in the bronze medal playoff.
Great Britain Men's Squad for Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
Name (Club) Position [Home Nation] Great Britain Caps/Great Britain Goals - Home Nation Caps/Home Nation Goals - Age
Richard Alexander (Surbiton) Midfielder/Defender [England] 52/6 - 130/13 - 30
Nick Catlin (Reading) Midfielder/Forward [England] 13/3 - 45/3 - 23
Jonty Clarke (Reading) Forward [England] 48/12 - 138/28 - 31
Matt Daly (Surbiton) Forward [England] 43/12 - 95/44 - 28
Adam Dixon (Beeston) Defender/Midfielder [England] 23/0 - 58/2 - 25
James Fair (Cannock) Goalkeeper [England] 31/0 - 87/0 - 31
Dan Fox (Hampstead & Westminster) Defender [England] 11/0 - 23/0 - 29
Ben Hawes (Wimbledon) Defender/Midfielder [England] 82/19 - 125/25 - 31
Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead) Midfielder [England] 55/20 - 71/49 - 24
Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead) Midfielder [England] 62/5 - 145/7 - 29
Iain Lewers (East Grinstead) Defender [England] 21/0 - 15/1 - 28
Iain Mackay (Reading) Midfielder [England] 24/1 - 63/11 - 27
Harry Martin (Old Loughtonians) Midfielder [England] 19/2 - 8/0 - 19
Barry Middleton (East Grinstead) Midfielder/Forward [England] 89/30 - 159/43 - 28
Rob Moore (Surbiton) Midfielder/Forward [England] 75/20 - 148/19 - 30
Richard Smith (Loughborough Students) Defender [England] 13/4 - 64/7 - 24
James Tindall (Surbiton) Forward [England] 59/21 - 126/56 - 29
Ali Wilson (Beeston) Defender [England] 50/0 - 103/6 - 28
MALAYSIAN hockey never had it so good, as not only did the juniors achieve both their targets, but also did it in style to lift the Junior Asia Cup title in Malacca.
Four Asian hockey powerhouses were side-stepped with ease as coach K. Dharmaraj’s charges qualified for the Junior World Cup, and then snatched the gold from the jaws of a snapping Pakistan.
Iran (6-1), Japan (3-1), South Korea (6-3), India (2-0) and Pakistan (2-1) was the impressive wins earned by a team which was formed in 2009.
Since the tournament was incepted in 1987, only three teams had laid their hands on the title -- until Sunday that is.
Pakistan have three under their belts starting with the inaugural in 1987, followed by 1992 and their hat-trick in 1996; then South Korea won one in 2000; while India were the dominant force in 2004 and 2008.
The 7,000-odd fans who thronged the MBM Stadium in Malacca for the final went home singing praises, but there were some who wondered what next?
The voices of joy also went one step further to suggest that instead of the seniors, this team should be fielded for the Azlan Shah Cup on May 25 to June 3 in Ipoh.
The seven-team invitation will have six Olympic teams in India, Pakistan, South Korea, Argentina, Britain and New Zealand.
“This win by the juniors has certainly lifted our standard in Asia and it was made possible with good team-work from the coaching, management, parent body and the National Sports Council.
“Hard work for the past three years has worked wonders to produce talented players, and now I am also looking at a bigger pool of junior trainees for the Azlan Shah Cup,” said seniors coach Tai Beng Hai.
Beng Hai already had five of the players in his Road to London programme which ended with failure at the Dublin Olympic Qualifier.
“I now plan to have a bigger pool of juniors in the Azlan Shah Cup training squad and will consult the junior team management and coaches to see who is available and also injury free.
“I have a handful of injured players as well as those who can’t get leave from their studies, and if the juniors can fit into their positions, it would be good for hockey in the country on the long run for them to play against Olympic sides,” said Beng Hai.
Malaysia also grabbed the lion’s share in honours as Kavin Kartik was named as Man of the Final, the top-scorers award was shared by Korea’s yang Jihun and Faizal Saari on six goals.
Malaysian goalkeeper Hazrul Faiz was the Best Goal keeper, as well as Player-of-the-Tournament.
Hazrul’s double is a rarity as goalkeepers are rarely honoured with the best players award.
However, the downside of this team is that six of them including both the penalty corner flickers Faizal and skipper Nor Faez Ibrahim as well as Izat Sumantri, Amir Farid, Mohamed Ramadan and Dedi Aryandi will be overage for the Junior World Cup in New Delhi in November.
And replacements should have been scouted from the 2017 side yesterday, as tomorrow would be too late if we want to make an impact on the junior world stage next.
Beng Hai should also at least field eight from the junior squad for the Azlan Shah Cup, as exposure is all that it will offer for Malaysia while the other six teams warm-up for Olympic honours.
Faizal Saari celebrates his goal against Pakistan in the second minute of the match.
MALAYSIAN juniors created history when they beat
Pakistan 2-1 for the Junior Asia Cup gold medal at the MBM Stadium in
Malacca yesterday.
It was the first gold medal in the tournament,
which was incepted in 1987, and the Malacca crowd went wild after the
final whistle by running onto the picth and even the strong presence of
the Police was unable to control the thousands who invaded the pith at
will.
"This is a very proud moment for Malaysian hockey as we
finally won gold after 25 years in this tournament. Full credit goes to
my players and coaching as well as management staff, as this journey was
started way back in 2009 and ended at the top of the podium today,"
said Malaysian coach K. Dharmaraj.
The MBM Stadium was already
packed at 5pm, and by the time Malaysia entered the pitch three hours
later, there was a full-blown carnival atmosphere.
About 7,000 fans
circled the stadium, which only had seating capacity around the
grandstand, while the rest stood on the hillocks around the stadium
standing 50-deep but not the least frustrated.
And Faizal Saari did
not disappoint the fans, as off the first minute attack, Malaysia won a
penalty corner, and he duly converted with a sizzler which almost tore
the netting.
That set the tempo for the match, and Pakistan were
all but beaten by the 18th minute, when Syamim Yusof taps in a cross
which again sent the crowd into wild celebrations.
The only danger
of the half from Pakistan was in the 34th minute, when they won their
only penalty corner, but Mohamed Tousiq blows it over the top.
However, the second half saw a jaded Malaysian side as they kept making
mistakes after mistakes, while Pakistan started to get more adventures
in their attack.
And in the 42nd minute, a poor clearance saw Irfan Mohamed scoring from close range to reduce the deficit for Pakistan.
After that, Malaysia defended by numbers while Pakistan took control of the match for long periods.
Malaysia had waited for this moment for 20 years, but the last 20
minutes of the match were agonising, as Pakistan went looking for the
equaliser, and Malaysia were beaten at every turn except the goalkeeping
department.
And with three minutes remaining, Syamim was kicked in
his groin, and fell down like a sack of brick. The incident almost
sparked a free-for-all, and Pakistan's Mohamed Khalid and Syamim were
sent to the sin-bin for five minutes, and the match was over for both of
them.
Malaysia then lost Izzat Sumantri to a yellow, but even with nine-man, they still held on to history.
Meanwhile, India claimed the bronze in extra-time sudden death when
their skipper Akashdeep Singh score in the 79th minute, after the match
ended 1-1 in regulation time.
RESULTS: Final: Malaysia 2 Pakistan 1; Third-Fourth: India 1 South Korea 1 (India win on sudden-death goal).
An Akashdeep Singh golden goal in the 79th minute saw India beat South Korea to the bronze in the Junior Asia Cup in Malacca.
Malaysia v Pakistan Final at 8pm Malaysian time...
