DAY OF UPSETS: Malaysia deny India spot in final

MALAYSIA played their hearts out to beat India 1-0 and deny them a place in the final of the Azlan Shah Cup.
  India needed to win the match to join Australia in the final Saturday, but Malaysia handed the spot to Britain instead.
  The solitary goal came off Malaysia's fourth penalty corner when Shahril Saabah drove home the ball in the 50th minute.
  And Japan showed their intentions to claim the Fifth-Sixth playoff against Malaysia when they came back from two goals down to beat Australia 3-2.
  In the group stage, Malaysia were held 1-1 by Japan.
  Australia, who were already in the final, toyed around and paid the price in the fourth quarter.
  Jeremy Edwards (seventh) and Trent Mitton (31st) gave Australia a healthy lead, which is normally enough for them to wrap up the match.
  However, a fightback from Shota Yamada in the 44th minute led to Koji Yamasaki scoring two famous goals in the 56th and 57th minutes for a historical victory.
  Japan coach Takahiko Yamabori celebrated his country's first ever win over Australia by thanking hosts Malaysia.
  "I would like to thank Malaysia for inviting us to this tournament and as the lowest ranked team, we got the opportunity to play against world class sides to improve our game.
  "This chance to play against New Zealand (lost 3-2) and Australia is also important because these teams are with us in Group A in the World League Semifinals in Johannesburg.
  "We hope to carry forward this momentum and beat Australia and New Zealand when we play then again (in Johannesburg on July 8-23)," said Yamabori.
   As for their Fifth-Sixth match against Malaysia, Yamabori said they will challenge the higher ranked team.
  "We came here to challenge teams which are higher ranked than us and that's what we will do against Malaysia in the placing match."
   Malaysia are 14th, Australia No 2 while Japan are 16th in the world.
   RESULTS: Britain 3 New Zealand 2, Australia 2 Japan 3, Malaysia 1 India 1.
  SATURDAY: Final: Australia v Britain (8.35pm); Third-Fourth: New Zealand v India (6.05pm); Fifth-Sixth: Malaysia v Japan (3.40pm)


FINAL STANDINGS

           P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts
AUSTRALIA  5  3  1  1  14 7  10
BRITAIN    5  3  1  1  12 9  10
INDIA      5  2  1  2  10 9  7
N ZEALAND  5  2  1  2  7  9  7
JAPAN      5  1  1  3  12 15 4
MALAYSIA   5  1  1  3  3  9  4

41 days to buck up...

FORTY-One days to the matches of their lives, but the hockey team is still half-baked.
  And the way Malaysia has been playing in the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, they will not qualify for the 2018 World Cup in India, unless there is a major attitude change.
  For, Stephen van Huizen's men blew hot-and-cold when they drew 1-1 with Japan, lost 6-1 to Australia and 1-0 to both Britain and New Zealand.
  Doomed to play in the fifth-sixth placing on Saturday, Malaysia complete their fixtures against India Friday.
  In the World League Semifinals in London from June 15-25, Malaysia are in Group A with Olympic champions and World No 1 Argentina, England, South Korea and China.
  Group B is made up of India, Pakistan, Scotland, Netherlands and Canada.
  In London, Malaysia must finish top-four in the group stage to play in the quarter-finals, and then try and finish in the fifth-sixth bracket to book their spot in the World Cup.
  It looks easy, as they only need to beat China and avoid heavy defeats in the hands of the other teams.
  Van Huizen will have the toughest opener against Argentina (June 16) followed by England (June 17), South Korea (June 19) and the do-or-die against China (June 20),
  In Ipoh, other than the Australian drubbing, Malaysia had higher number of penalty corners and 60 to 70 percent ball possession but bungled at the last pass.
  A classic case was the 1-0 defeat against New Zealand, as Malaysia had five penalty corners and 70 percent possession but failed to score. The Kiwis only had one penalty corner and made it count.
  Penalty corner flickers Razie Rahim, Shahril Saabah, Faizal Shaari and Najmi Jazlan were blunt as a butter knife, and Malaysia only scored two goals in four matches.
  One by Razie and one by Faizal. 
  Least Malaysia forgets, they were held 2-2 by China in the final of the World League Round Two in Dhaka before winning gold in penalty shoot-out.

  So China, with master coach Kim Sang Ryul as their consultant, will be looking to beat Malaysia as well in London as their ticket to the World Cup.
  Van Huizen knows his team might meet India, if they make the crossover quarter-finals in London.
  "We need to win the next two matches (against India and possibly Japan in the fifth-sixth) because India might just be our quarter-finals opponents in London," reasoned van Huizen.
  And India will be gunning to beat Malaysia for a possible final slot on Saturday in Ipoh.
  Time is against Malaysia, for 41 days, is all they have to change their mindset from losers to World Cup material.

Home and Away League

Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has today announced that 15 National Associations have advanced in the selection process for the forthcoming global Home and Away League, which is due to begin in 2019.

13 National Associations remain part of the selection process for the women’s League, with 12 still in contention for places in the men’s League. With a maximum of nine teams taking part in each League when it commences, the process remains particularly competitive going into the final assessment stage for this ground-breaking competition.

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, India, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain submitted applications for both their men’s and women’s teams. 

   China, Japan and USA for their women’s teams and Malaysia and Pakistan for their men’s teams.

The latest phase of the application process required the National Associations to complete an extensive online questionnaire before the deadline of the 30th April 2017. This provides the FIH Event Portfolio Implementation Panel (EPIP) with in-depth information based on various aspects of their hosting and participation capabilities. This included information about financial sustainability, commercial vision, legal compliance, proposed venues, organisation and personnel, event delivery and presentation, team performance history, marketing strategies, motivation for participation, the proposed legacy impact and any added value they can bring to the competition.

The FIH has also been undertaking extensive discussions with broadcasters regarding exposure and media coverage of hockey within each of the nations as well as working collaboratively with the selected National Associations on all aspects of the application process including, but not limited to, match scheduling, player welfare and commercial terms.

The online questionnaires completed by the 15 National Associations will now be evaluated by the FIH EPIP, who will finalise their recommendations when they meet in Lausanne on 27- 28 May 2017. The Panel consists of Ken Read (Chair); FIH Chief Executive Officer Jason McCracken; FIH Executive Board Members Alberto Budeisky and Marijke Fleuren and FIH Athletes’ Committee Co-Chair Annie Panter. The panel will also be joined by Josh Smith as the selected independent member. A former international hockey player having represented Wales, Josh is currently the Director of Television Services with FIFA and adds extensive experience in media, broadcast and commercial to the panel discussions.

Leading professional services firm, Deloitte LLP, will advise the FIH EPIP on the important aspect of financial sustainability,  one of several experts working on assessing the various elements of the application submissions.

The recommendations of the FIH EPIP will then be submitted to the FIH Executive Board for ratification when they meet in Lausanne on 9-10 June 2017, with the launch event being planned in the months following ratification.

“To have 15 National Associations still in the running at this stage of the assessment process is fantastic news for the Home and Away League, a game-changing competition that is central to our 10-year Hockey Revolution Strategy”, said FIH CEO Jason McCracken. “The depth of information that we required the National Associations to provide was extensive and the quality of submissions received was outstanding. I congratulate and thank the National Associations for their work ahead of what will be a very thorough and competitive assessment process. The FIH continues to work in close collaboration with the National Associations as the sport looks forward to taking advantage of the growing interest, excitement and engagement in this competition from fans, broadcasters and commercial partners.”

More information about the Hockey Revolution, the new Event Portfolio and all other international hockey news and events is available on FIH.ch whilst other updates are posted via FIH Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Malaysia go down yet again...

THE National players did everything right, except score as they went down 1-0 to New Zealand in the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh yesterday.
  The defeat will see them play for the fifth-sixth placing.
  Malaysia wasted four penalty coreners by half-time, while the Kiwis only needed one to take the lead. 
  Kane Russel made it count in the 25th minute and Malysia were in trouble again.
  Malaysia played two Test matches against New Zealand a week before the tournament and won 8-3 and drew 3-3.
  But when it mattered most, they lost 1-0.
  Australia virtually booked a spot in the final when they beat Britain 2-1. They only have Japan to play on Friday, and are the raging favourites for three points.
  In the first match of the day, Mandeep Singh saved India the blushes with a hat-trick as the World No 6 came back twice to beat a disciplined Japan 4-3 in a nail-biting match.
   India coach Roelant Oltmans said: "We started off really good and kept on attacking, putting too much pressure and Japan was also quick in the counter attacks. It was a really fast pace game and the two were coming from both ends.
  "In the second half we changed the tactics and had more control of the game but unfortunately we could not score. The fourth quarter was great and that gave us more options in our breakaways. Mandeep and Sardar played exceptionally well.
  "Mandeep is young and very fit. He can score goals from angles you would least expect. Sometimes it is hard to understand him."
  Japan coach Takahiko Yamabori was visibly upset because his charges were leading 3-2 before collapsing.
  "I am most upset with this defeat. We had a good chance to beat India after taking the lead twice. But on the other hand, I am happy with the attitude of my players for giving their best against India.
  "We will continue to build this team for the World League Semi-finals and I believe we are heading right direction. The scores are important but how the teams plays is far more important."
  RESULTS: Japan 3 India 4, Britain 1 Australia 2, Malaysia 0 New Zealand 1.
  THURSDAY: REST DAY
  FRIDAY: Britain v New Zealand (4pm), Australia v Japan (6pm), Malaysia v India (8.35pm).


STANDINGS

           P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts
AUSTRALIA  4  3  1  0  12 4  10
INDIA      4  2  1  1  10 8  7
BRITAIN    4  2  1  1  9  7  7
N ZEALAND  4  2  1  1  5  6  7
JAPAN      4  0  1  3  9  13 1
MALAYSIA   4  0  1  3  2  9  1

Britain use all nine lives to beat Malaysia...

THE NATIONAL players displayed their best game in Ipoh to date but still went down 1-0 to Great Britain in the Azlan Shah Cup yesterday.
  Malaysia started more convincingly than the previous two matches, as there was more commitment and desire in their game.
  But Britain had the lions share in the first quarter, and experienced goalkeeper S. Kumar had to use every trick in his book to keep a clean record in the first quarter.
  The only excitement for the Malaysian fans was when Razie Rahim's penalty corner attempt in the 14th minute was padded away by goalkeeper Harry Gibson.
  Britain defended and only relied on counters in the second quarter and it worked as they won a penalty stroke in the 26th and Alan Forsyth sent Kumar in the wrong direction for the lead.
  And Britain held on to the slim lead going into half-time, even though they were placed under tremendous pressure by a rejuvenated Malaysia.
  Malaysia missed many sitters for the next 30 minutes, and Britain stole the three points on nine lives.
  National coach Stephen van Huizen felt it was a drawn game, as the penalty stroke awarded to Britain was dubious.
  "For those who watches the replays (on TV) would know what I am talking about, but then there was video referral and they felt it was a stroke and that's the end of it.
  "However, we could have done better in attack when we had the numbers on counter, but failed. Overall its a good show from my players against a team which is in the same group with us in the World League (Semi-finals) in London."
   Britain coach Zak Jones counted his blessings.
   "We blew hot and cold while Malaysia really pressed us hard but my players could keep pace with them and now we only have 'a few hours of rest' before playing Australia."
  World No 2 Australia edged closer to a 10th Azlan Shah title when they beat India 3-1.
  India took the lead, but Australia kept the pressure to win comfortably and will play Britain today where a win should see them playing in the final.
  Australia coach Colin Batch said: "We started off slow but regrouped in the second quarter and I think we had a good game overall against India.
  "In this kind of heat it’s always difficult to give a 100 per cent on the field and the same goes to India."
  RESULTS: India 1 Australia 3, New Zealand 3 Japan 2, Malaysia 0 Britain 1.
  WEDNESDAY: Japan v India (4pm), Britain v Australia (6pm), Malaysia v New Zealand (8.30pm).
  THURSDAY: REST DAY


STANDINGS

           P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts
AUSTRALIA  3  2  1  0  10 3  7
BRITAIN    3  2  1  0  8  5  7
INDIA      3  1  1  1  6  5  4
N ZEALAND  3  1  1  1  4  6  4
JAPAN      3  0  1  2  6  9  1
MALAYSIA   3  0  1  2  2  8  1