Hockey - Int News
FIH selects 10 players and 10 matches for votes
Lausanne, Switzerland (SB Report):-Despite all the challenges connected with the COVID-19 global health pandemic, 2021 was still an incredible year for the sport of Hockey, a year which deserves to be celebrated like any other.
With some truly extraordinary moments taking place at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, FIH Hockey Pro League and a Men’s Junior World Cup, restricting our categories to just ten nominees for the Best Goal and the Best Match of 2021 was far from simple.
Nominees – Favourite Goal of 2021
1: Nicolas Keenan (ARG). Argentina Men v Japan (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: A stunning run and overhead smash-shot from the top of the circle slams the backboard.
2: Timm Herzbruch (GER). Germany Men v Argentina (Quarter-Final) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: An outrageously intricate penalty corner routine from Die Honamas, bewildering the Argentine defence for Herzbruch to deflect home.
3: Agustina Albertarrio (ARG). Argentina Women v Germany (Quarter-Final) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: A brilliantly worked passing move is finished off by Albertarrio, who touches home from close range.
4: Tim Brand (AUS). Australia Men v Germany (Semi-Final) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Kookaburras superstar Brand volleys home a vicious cross-shot from Ogilvie, who was picked out in the circle by a glorious overhead pass that eliminated the Germany defenders. (3 August)
5: Berta Bonastre (ESP). Spain Women v Great Britain (Quarter-Final) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Pouncing from close range, Bonastre takes two magnificent touches to lift the ball over the head of Maddie Hinch and into the GB goal.
6: Dayaan Cassiem (RSA). South Africa Men v Belgium (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Incredible solo effort against the World and eventual Olympic champions, running half the length of the field in possession before flicking past the shoulder of goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch.
7: Lidewij Welten (NED). Netherlands Women v Germany (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: A fine passing move carves through the Germany team before Welten taps home from close range.
8: Kenta Tanaka (JPN). Japan Men v New Zealand (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Pacey Samurais attacker Tanaka runs three quarters of the lengths of the field in possession before sensationally firing home.
9: Hollie Pearne-Webb (GBR). Great Britain Women v India (Bronze) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: A rare field goal from GB’s captain, smashing home a superb first-time volley to put her team on course for the bronze medal.
10: Stacey Michelsen (NZL) New Zealand Women v Australia - FIH Hockey Pro League: A superb solo goal from the Black Sticks legend, cutting in from the right before crashing a stunning backhand strike inside the right post.
Nominees – Favourite Match of 2021
1: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Men’s Pool B – South Africa 4-3 Germany
2: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Women’s Quarter-Final – Germany 0-3 Argentina
3: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Women’s Quarter-Final – Australia 0-1 India
4: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Men’s Bronze Medal – Germany 4-5 India
5: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Women’s Bronze Medal – Great Britain 4-3 India
6: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Men’s Gold Medal – Australia 1-1 Belgium (2-3 ASO)
7: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Women’s Gold Medal – Netherlands 3-1 Argentina
8: FIH Hockey Pro League: Men – Netherlands 2-4 Germany
9: FIH Hockey Pro League: Women – Argentina 1-3 Germany
10: FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021: Pool phase – France 4-3 India
FIH World Rankings: Netherlands Women & Australia Men on top
Sports Bulletin Report
Lausanne, Switzerland (December 23, 2021):-With the end of 2021 very much in sight, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) can reveal that the Netherlands women and Australia men will finish the year at the top of the FIH World Rankings.
Alyson Annan’s Netherlands team enjoyed another sensational year, powering to the FIH Hockey Pro League and European championship titles before landing their fourth Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, defeating Argentina in the competition final.
The Oranje end 2021 with 3015.35 points, over 600 ranking points ahead of second placed England with 2375.78. Olympic silver medallists Argentina will begin 2022 third in the FIH World Rankings, being just 14 points behind England with 2361.28.
Australia (2334.04) finished the year in fourth place, with Germany (2126.15) and Spain (1959.62) fifth and sixth respectively. Belgium (7th place - 1939.88), New Zealand (8th place – 1821.11), India (9th place – 1810.32) and China (10th place – 1677.96) complete the top ten.
There has been a change at the top of the men’s FIH World Rankings since our last update, with Belgium’s recent FIH Hockey Pro League draw and defeat at the hands the Netherlands being enough to see them lose top spot to Australia, the team they beat to Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020. Australia closed the year with 2642.25 points, just ten points ahead of FIH Hockey Pro League and Olympic champions Belgium, who have 2632.12.
Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists India – recent third place finishers at the Hero Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka, Bangladesh – sit third with 2296.04, with the Netherlands (2234.33) and Germany (2038.71) in fourth and fifth positions respectively.
The top ten is completed by England (6th – 1990.62), Argentina (7th - 1826.11), New Zealand (8th - 1598.24), Spain (9th - 1532.33) and Malaysia (10th - 1427.18).
The aforementioned Hero Asian Champions Trophy saw various exchanges of ranking points between the competing teams, although there was little in terms of movement. Competition winners Korea remain 16th with runners up Japan still in 17th position. Fourth placed finishers Pakistan continue to hold onto 18th place, while fifth placed Bangladesh have dropped two places to 40.
South Korea overcome Japan on penalty Shootouts in the Asian Hockey final
Sports Bulletin Report
Dhaka, Bangladesh (December 22, 2021):-South Korea overcame Japan on penalty shootouts to win the sixth edition of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2021 in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Wednesday. India won the bronze medal after beating Pakistan by 3-4 goals in a thrilling match.
According to the details, Korea and India won on the final day of the Asian Champions Trophy played in Dhaka, Bangladesh under the auspices of the Asian Hockey Federation.
In the bronze medal match, India defeated Pakistan by 4-3 after a thrilling and nerve-wracking contest and claimed the third position in the 5-national regional hockey showpiece. The match started with a fast pace, as the traditional rivals displayed a top quality hockey during the all 60 minutes of play and amused the hockey lovers with great skilled-full contest.
India got the lead 1-0 in the second minutes of the game to put Green Shirts in pressure and in the 10th minute of the game, Afraz from Pakistan scored a goal through a field goal to end India's lead and the score was tied at 1-1.
A goal scorer on a corner gave Pakistan a one-goal lead. For India, their player Sumat ended the lead with a field goal in the 45th minute of the game and the score was tied at 2-2. India's Kumar Vorone scored on a penalty corner to give his team the lead once again. For India, Akash Deep Singh consolidated the lead by scoring on a penalty corner and the score became 4-2. On the counter-attack, striker Ahmed Nadeem reduced the deficit to one goal by scoring on Abdullah's best pass. By the end of the match, the score was 4-3 in the favour of India.
The final of the Asian Champions Trophy was played between Korea and Japan which ended in a 3-3 draw. At the end of the match, Korea defeated Japan in the penalty shootout stage to win the sixth edition of the Asian Champions Trophy.
FIH President Narinder Dhruv Batra says
Islamabad (Sports Desk):-As the current year is coming to an end, I’d like to review the last 12 months of FIH and look at what global hockey has to offer in 2022, which promises to be a very exciting year for our sport!
Of course, with 2021 being an Olympic year due to the postponement of the 32nd Olympiad because of the global impact of the COVID crisis, I’d like to repeat just how much of a success the Tokyo Olympic Games were. It was a true hockey festival for 2 weeks. The Japanese organisers and authorities, as well as the International Olympic Committee and the fantastic volunteers, have done an amazing job to put together a magnificent event, despite unique adverse conditions. My sincerest thanks to all of them!
The FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India, was another highlight of 2021. Thrilling matches played in a refreshingly care-free way by the rising stars of our game provided for an outstanding event, excellently organised by Hockey India. The tournament was brought to the world thanks to our Watch.Hockey app, which, in its second year of existence only, has already made a significant impact when it comes to the promotion of our sport worldwide.
While, like you, I was also eagerly expecting the female Juniors to compete in South Africa, the outbreak of the Omicron variant forced us to take the heartbreaking decision to postpone this event. However, I can assure you that we will do everything in our power to ensure that this event DOES take place. We are fully aware of the competition’s importance for this generation of highly talented young players, who are very much the future of our game.
Even though the FIH Hockey Pro League has also suffered due to the COVID pandemic, the second edition crowned two worthy winners in the Netherlands Women and Belgium Men. I’m also really happy for the development and globalization of hockey that South Africa and Canada will join the Men’s League next year, albeit for one season.
All these events have played a significant role in strengthening the steadily increase of our audiences on our ever-growing FIH social media handles. Indeed, despite the global COVID pandemic, the cumulative number of followers on our Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter handles has increased by 30% in the last 3 years, including a rise of almost 70% for Instagram within this timeframe. Well done, Team FIH!
Development is and will always remain at the core of our mission. With 2021 designated as the #HockeyInvites Year of the Youth, numerous programmes and activities were organised to boost the growth of hockey among the young population. Those came in addition to the 150 online courses organised by FIH throughout the year.
I was very pleased to see at our Congress in May that the number of National Associations having introduced Hockey ID – also known as parahockey – had more than doubled in the last two years. Diversity and inclusion are two fundamental principles in hockey. Everyone is welcome and we all have a duty and responsibility to contribute to this!
Gender equality is one of our strongest values and principles, and I’m very proud of the numerous webinars that FIH has held in this regard. The fact that researchers from the University of Lausanne have chosen FIH to conduct a study related to women’s participation in decision-making in sport is a truly positive sign.
Asian Champions Trophy: Korea and Japan reach in the final
Sports Bulletin Report
Dhaka, Bangladesh (December 21, 2021):- South Korea and Japan have reached in the final of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2021 after beating Pakistan 6-5 and India 5-3 respectively in the semifinals in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Tuesday. Final will be played on Wednesday at the same venue.
Pakistan will meet India for the bronze medal match on Wednesday before the final match of Asian Hockey Champions Trophy. It is important to mention here that Japan and South Korea will play first time gold medal match in the top regional hockey showpiece.
The Korean team, which is in a better position in the world rankings, got two penalty strokes against Pakistan on which they scored successfully while scoring three goals on penalty corners and solitary field goal.
Pakistan scored a field goal with the help of captain Umar Bhatta. Korea responded with a penalty stroke in the 11th minute of the game, which their player Cheng scored to make it 1-1. In the 12th minute of the game Korea got another penalty stroke which Cheng scored to make the match 2-1. In the 22nd minute of the game Junaid Manzoor of Pakistan scored a goal to level the match 2-2.
Korea in the 25th minute of the game with the help of Cheng, they took the lead by scoring a goal in the penalty corner. By scoring a goal, they gave their team the lead. Korea strengthened its lead by scoring again in the 44th minute of the game. Equalized the decisive goal of the match was scored by Korea in the 57th minute of the game. In the second semi-final of the event, Japan defeated India 5-3 in a hard-fought match to advance to the final.
The final of the Asian Champions Trophy will be played between Japan and Korea on December 22, while the third position match between Pakistan and India will be played tomorrow at 2:30 PM Pakistan time. The final will be played at 5:00 pm Pakistan time.
Green Shirts take on Korea on December 21 at 2:30 pm in Asian Hockey
Islamabad (Sports Desk):-Pakistan will take on South Korea in the first semifinal of the 6th Asian Hockey Champions Trophy (AHCT) 2021 in Dhaka, Bangladesh: the match will start at 2:30 pm according to Pakistan Standard Times.
The second semi-final will be played between India and Japan. The semi-finals of the sixth edition of the Asian Champions Trophy under the auspices of the Asian Hockey Federation will be played on December 21 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The first semi-final will be played between Pakistan and Korea at 2:30 pm (Pakistan time) while the second semi-final will be played between India and Japan at 5:00 pm Pakistan time. The teams of Pakistan and India are the defending champions of this mega event and both the teams have won the title of three times.
Asian Hockey: Pakistan outclass Bangladesh 6-2 to reach in semifinal
Special Report
Dhaka (December 19, 2021):-Pakistan Outclassed hosts Bangladesh 6-2 in their last league match of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2021 to ensure their place in top-four stage in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Sunday.
According to the details, Pakistan made it to the semi-finals in the sixth edition of the Asian Champions Trophy held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In the last match of the Robin Round matches, Pakistan defeated Bangladesh 2-6 to improve their pole position and move to third position. In the points table, India is first with 10 points, Korea is second with 6 points, Pakistan are third with five points with better goal average while Japan is fourth with 5 points.
In the 13th minute of the first quarter of the match, Bangladesh took the lead by scoring a field goal with the help of Arshad Hussain. In the 14th minute of the match, Ahmed Nadeem of Pakistan scored a goal through a field goal. Ejaz Ahmed scored a field goal for Pakistan in the 18th minute of the game to give Pakistan the lead. Ahmed Nadeem scored the fourth goal for Pakistan in the 26th minute of the match. Salman Razzaq scored for Pakistan in the 34th minute of the match through penalty corner.
In the 35th minute of the match Bangladesh scored Arshad Hussain tried to reduce the deficit by scoring a goal while Pakistani striker Ijaz Ahmed scored a goal in the 38th minute of the game to seal the victory for Pakistan to reach the semi-finals and the man of the match. Pakistan got a better goal average and moved up to the third position in the points table in the event.
The semi-finals of the Asian Champions Trophy will be played on December 21 after a one-day break. Pakistan will take on Korea in the semi-final at 2:30 pm Pakistan time while the match between India and Japan will be played at 5:00 pm Pakistan time.
Pakistan and South Korea play 3-3 draw in Asian Champions Trophy
SP Report
Dhaka, Bangladesh (December 18, 2021):-The match between Pakistan and Korea ended 3-3 draw in the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2021, which is going on here in the capital city of Bangladesh. Pakistani striker Afraz got the man of the match award. Japan defeated hosts Bangladesh 5-0.
On Saturday, two more matches have been played in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The first match was played between Pakistan and Korea which ended in a 3-3 draw after a brilliant and lively contest. In the 14th minute of the first quarter of the game Kim scored a field goal to give Korea the lead. In the 24th minute of the game, Afraz ended Korea's lead by scoring a goal through a field goal. In the 33rd minute of the game, Pakistan's Rana Waheed strengthened his lead by scoring a goal on a penalty corner. In the 42nd minute of the game, Korean player Ji Wu scored a field goal to end Pakistan's lead and the match score became 2-2.
In the 56th minute of the game, Korea got a penalty stroke which was taken advantage of by Korean player Jing who scored a goal to establish Korea's lead. In the 57th minute of the game, Pakistan's Rana Waheed scored a goal on a penalty corner to end Korea's lead and make the match score 3-3 which remained till the end of the game.
Pakistan's goalkeeper Mazhar Abbas, defenders Emad Shakeel Butt, Mohammad Abdullah and Abu Bakar Mahmood showed excellent game. Pakistan's player Afraz was declared man of the match. In the eighth match of the event, Japan strengthened its position in the pool by defeating the host team Bangladesh by 5-0 goals in a one-sided contest. In the series of Robin Round matches, the match between India and Japan will be played on December 19 at 2:30 pm according to Pakistan time while Pakistan and the host team Bangladesh will play at 5:00 pm.
Asian Championship 2021: India beat Pakistan 3-1
Sports Desk
ISLAMABAD (December 17, 2021):-India beat Pakistan 3-1 in the 6th Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2021 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Pakistan and India also have the honor of being the most frequent champions in the Asian Champions Trophy. India won the first Asian Champions Trophy in China in 2011 and Pakistan won the Asian Champions Trophy in Doha, Qatar in 2012. In 2013, Pakistan once again defended its title in Japan and won the Asian Champions Trophy. In 2016, India managed to win the Asian Champions Trophy once again in Malaysia.
On the penalty corner in the first quarter for Indian Harman Preet Singh scored a goal through a fast drag flick while India took the lead. India's center striker Akash Deb Singh consolidated the lead by scoring the second goal. In the fourth quarter of the game, Junaid Manzoor from Pakistan guided the ball to the Indian goal post on the pass of teammate Rana Waheed and scored a field goal for Pakistan.
The last goal of the match was scored by Indian drag ski specialist Herman Preet Singh through a penalty corner. For Pakistan, goalkeeper Mazhar Abbas, defenders Mubashir Ali, Abu Bakar Mahmood, Emad Shakeel Butt and Mohammad Abdullah played confidently. Harman Preet Singh was declared Man of the Match for his outstanding performance. CEO of Asian Hockey Federation, Tayyab Ikram Chaudhry along with the Vice President of Asian Hockey Federation distributed the awards.
In the Asian Champions Trophy to be held in Oman in 2018, Pakistan and India were declared joint champions when heavy weather and heavy rain in the final prevented Astroturf from playing. In the sixth edition of the Asian Champions Trophy is being played in Dhaka, Bangladesh from December 14 to 22.
Goalkeepers get Bangladesh Visas
Islamabad (Sports Report):-The senior goalkeepers of Pakistan national hockey team got visas of Bangladesh to join the national squad, which will participate in the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy, scheduled to start from December 14, 2021 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
According to an official of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), the both goalkeepers Amjad Ali and Mazhar Abbas have left for Dhaka via Qatar. Before the flight, national hockey goalkeeper Mazhar Abbas said that Green Shirts would try their best to deliver up to mark in the 5-nation international competitions. “We request to whole nation to prayer for the team. Also, special thanks to the PHF and the Ministry of Sports Bangladesh for their diligent efforts in obtaining visas on an emergency basis, “he added.
Goalkeeper Amjad Ali said that he hopes to be part of the national team in the first match of Pakistan. He said that he would do his best for the best performance. The Asian Champions Trophy is being played in Dhaka from December 14 to 22. Pakistan will play its first match against Japan on December 14 at 5:00 pm (Pakistan Time). Pakistan and India are joint defending champions of the Asian Champions Trophy title
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