Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Lausanne, Switzerland: All 16 qualified teams line-up has been completed for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, India. At the Hero Asia Cup, which is currently taking place in Jakarta, a thrilling match between Japan and Pakistan, which ended 3-2 in Japan’s favour, meant Japan joined Malaysia and Korea as the three teams to qualify for the World Cup. As the host nation, India had already qualified. At the continental showpiece event, India, Japan, Malaysia and Korea have all won through to the top four of the competition, with the Super4s finals taking place over the weekend to decide the overall winner of the event. The other two teams making up the participating nations are the top ranked teams in Oceania, New Zealand and Australia. Full list of participating nations: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, England, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and Wales.

Sports Bulletin Report Jakarta (Indonesia):-Pakistan outclassed hosts Indonesia 13-0 in their second match of the ongoing Asia Hockey Cup here in the capital city of Indonesia on Tuesday. Pakistan and India had locked the horns 1-1 in the opening match on Monday at the same pitch. Pakistan showed excellent play in the second match of the schedule and easily defeated Indonesia by 13-0. Ijaz Ahmed scored the first goal in the second minute while the second field goal was scored by Rana Waheed in the fourth minute. Abdul Manan netted the ball in the sixth minute while the fifth goal was scored by Mubashir Ali with the help of short corner. Rana Abdul Waheed scored the 7th field goal in the 19th minute. Also, Abdul Manan pushed the ball in the goal-post in the 19th minute. Rizwan Ali scored the 9th goal in the 25th minute with the help of short corner, Ghazanfar Ali scored the 10th field goal in the 35th minute. The 11th goal was scored by Rizwan Ali in the 43rd minute with the help of a short corner, the 12th field goal was scored by Moin Shakeel in the 45th minute and the 13th field goal was scored by Ijaz Ahmed in the 49th minute. Rana Waheed was declared the best player of the match. According to the Asia Hockey Cup schedule, the event teams were divided into two pools. Pool A includes India, Japan, Pakistan and Indonesia while Pool B includes Malaysia, Korea, Oman and Bangladesh. Pakistan will play its third match against Japan on May 26.

Sports Bulletin Report Lausanne, Switzerland: After the six-goal thriller the previous day, Spain and France men's side confounded spectators and each other with an equally fast-paced match but with only one goal to show for their efforts. It took until the final moments of the game for Red Sticks' Joaquin Menini to finally find a way past the excellent Arthur Thieffry in the French goal. Argentina women continued winning ways, making it 10 wins from 10 matches after a second 3-1 victory over China. The FIH Pro League leaders were made to work for their win after China took the lead through a Gu Bingfeng penalty corner strike. Spain beat France (men) 1-0 The host nation were the dominant force in this second match between Spain and France but, despite 31 circle entries, 12 shots and six penalty corner attempts, it was a sole, scrambled goal in the dying seconds of the match that finally separated the teams and gave Spain their third win of this season’s Pro League. The opening quarter saw both teams continue at the same high pace they had employed in the previous day’s encounter. While both sides created chances, there was no breakthrough for either team. Spain had the greater share of possession and won a series of four penalty corners but the French defence, led by goalkeeper Arthur Thieffry, stood strong. The second quarter followed much the same traits. There were a lot of fast, direct attacking runs by both teams but these were met by well-structured defensive units. Spain again were the marginally better team but there was really very little to choose between the sides. At the half-time break, Max Caldas called for his team to up the ante, and play faster but simple hockey. His counterpart, the French Head Coach Fred Soyez said he was relatively pleased with the way his team were performing, particularly with the way they were soaking up the pressure from Spain. Despite an even higher playing tempo and a number of penalty corners, particularly in the case of Spain, the goals remained elusive. Arthur Thieffry was in fine form in the French goal but Spain’s lack of variation at penalty corners did make the task somewhat easier. Andreas Rafi almost carved out a solo goal but again Thieffry was there to halt his progress. The match had all the makings of a draw but, as so often happens when Spain are on the pitch, there was late drama. The ball was played into the French circle and despite the best efforts of Thieffry to clear it, the final touch came from Joaquin Menini, who scrambled the ball over the line to give his team the lead. Argentina beat China 3-1 (women)   As in the first encounter between these two teams, it was a goalless first quarter. At this point however, all comparison ceases as China played with far more intent and attacking force than the previous day, asking many questions of their higher ranked opposition. At the end of 15 minutes, the two teams had both had penalty corner attempts and the game was expansive, unlike the previous encounter when China had set up a half court press and sat behind it. It was four minutes into the second quarter when China’s attacking ambitions paid dividends. Gu Bingfeng stepped up to send home a fantastic drag flick to give her side the lead. Where the Asian side could have then been forgiven if they had sat back to defend the lead, they instead continued to play attacking hockey that both challenged Argentina and asked more questions of them. The scores were levelled in the third quarter through a neat piece of work from Julieta Jankunas. The striker latched onto a perfectly placed pass from Maria Granatto and the ball flew between the goalkeeper Lui Ping and the post. China nearly took the lead again when a superb aerial pass from midfield was picked up in the Argentina circle but Argentina’s Clara Barbieri was on hand to smother that and save the subsequent penalty corner strike. Argentina finally found their groove and put together some impressive passing patterns to put China on the back foot. In the fourth quarter, Agustina Gorzelany stepped up to send home a penalty corner and then Eugenia Trincihnetti was on hand to touch home a jinking pass from Maria Granatto. Although the 3-1 scoreline is a repeat of the first match between the two sides, new Head Coach Alyson Annan will be pleased by the improvements all over the pitch that China has made from one game to the next.

Sports Bulletin Report Lausanne, Switzerland: Spain and France men played out an exciting and end-to-end match with the win going to the home side after they drew ahead in the final quarter. In the women's match, China took to the field under the guidance of new Head Coach Alyson Annan and for the first time in the FIH Pro League since 1 February. Argentina continued their unstoppable winning streak as Victoria Granatto showed that class is a trait running through the Granatto family. Spain beat France (men) 4-2 The Spanish men’s team took to the field in front of a vocal and enthusiastic crowd in the Estadio Betero in Valencia. Spain took an early lead when Alejandro Alonso fired a penalty corner straight past Arthur Thieffry in the French goal. Aside from that goal, the first 15 minutes was evenly matched with both teams playing expansive, fast-paced hockey. Alejandro Davila had a chance to make it 2-0 but his shot was off-balance and easily saved. In a mirror image of the first quarter, France scored early to bring the goal tally level. Corentin Sellier won the team in blue a penalty corner and Victor Charlet stepped up to fire home an absolute rocket into the top corner of Mario Garin’s goal. Alejandro Davila scored Spain’s second goal in the 22nd minute when he pounced on the ball as it  bobbled temptingly in front of the French goal. The shot was created after a sustained spell of Spanish pressure. It was the first senior goal for a delighted Davila. Seconds later Antonio Sanz almost made it three when he ran into the circle and fired high. Thieffry made the save look relatively easy but the Spanish players were signalling their intent. If Spain had intent, France had resolve and just before half-time, Gaspard Baumgarten fired a shot from the top of the circle. The unexpected nature of the shot, plus the ferocity meant that Garin could only watch it fly past him into the goal to make it 2-2. The third quarter was goalless as both teams sought a way through the opposing defence. While the goals may not have been forthcoming, there was no let up in tempo and both teams created several attacks but both Thieffry and Adrian Rafi in the Spanish goal were up to the challenge. The breakthrough came in the 52nd minute of the fourth quarter. France had been pushing for a goal and Victor Charlet had rattled the Spanish crossbar with another penalty corner strike. This near miss galvanised the Spanish and they raced to the other end of the pitch. Alejandro Alonso’s shot was stopped on the line by a foot and Marc Miralles stepped up to put the penalty stroke home competently. At this set-back, France removed their goalkeeper and went all out for the equaliser. The plan backfired when Marc Recasens was able to break through the French defence and score into an empty net. The Player of the Match award went to Alejandro Davila who scored Spain’s second goal on just his fourth appearance for the senior team. He spoke after the match about the incredible work rate his team had shown to secure their second win of the FIH Pro League season. Argentina beat China 3-1 (women) A goalless first half was a clear indication of the way that China were approaching the game. A defensive half-court press meant that Argentina were posed the challenge of how to get past the tight defence and into the circle to create scoring opportunities. Despite two penalty corners and a lot of possession in the opening quarter, Argentina were unable to make inroads and Lui Ping in the China goal was not pressured too much. The second quarter saw China coming out of the half a little more as they set their press further up the pitch and put the Argentina defence under some pressure. However, it was Argentina who took the lead. A foul in the circle on Valentina Costa led to a penalty stroke, which Agustina Gorzelany duly dispatched. The second half saw Argentina extending their lead, not with their usual panache but through sheer hard graft. The second goal came from a passing move that saw Rocio Sanchez pass to Player of the Match Victoria Granatto. She slipped the ball to Agustina Albertarrio, who slotted it home. The third goal came purely from the skill and determination of Victoria Granatto. She picked up the ball and tore through the Chinese defence before pushing it past the ‘keeper. China scored a consolation goal, the first conceded by Las Leonas since they played the USA in April. The scorer was Chen Ling, playing just her fifth game for the national team. Player of the Match was unsurprisingly Victoria Granatto. She said: 'When we start the game, we think of doing everything right and following the plan. Every game we are going step by step. We did a good press and we ran for every ball. Every player just thinks; 'run, run and run.'

Sports Bulletin Report Lausanne, Switzerland:- ‘Hero FIH Hockey5s Lausanne 2022’, the first-ever senior World Hockey5s event organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), will take place in less than one month, on 4 and 5 June 2022, in Lausanne, Switzerland. In addition to a thrilling competition on the field of play with some of the powerhouses of international hockey (Women: Switzerland, India, Poland, South Africa and Uruguay; Men: Switzerland, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Poland), the event also aims at enabling everyone to discover and practice the sport, with an initiation offered to the public throughout both days! Furthermore, a DJ music programme will entertain fans during the whole event. And since hockey is a big family, even the players of the flagship ice hockey club of the Vaud city - the Lausanne Hockey Club (LHC) - will be there and will come to compete for an exhibition match at a local and international selection of (field) hockey players! Hockey5s is played with 5 athletes per team. It is particularly known for its non-stop action, since the ball is in play for about 90% of a match, thanks to perimeter boards placed against the outside of the side-lines and back-lines. There are usually more goals with Hockey5s than with the more traditional 11-a-side format of hockey, since players can score from anywhere in the attacking half. The match duration is shorter, with 2 halves of 10 minutes each. Hockey5s is played on a smaller pitch, which enables to bring hockey to people in new and unexpected venues, sometimes even in the heart of cities. Precisely, ‘Hero FIH Hockey5s Lausanne 2022’ will be staged on the Place de la Navigation, an iconic location near the Lac Léman bordering the Olympic Capital, where a 500-seat stadium will be built specifically for the occasion. FIH Global Supplier Polytan will deliver the first prototype non-watered turf for elite hockey. FIH CEO Thierry Weil stated: “We’re very much looking forward to this really exciting event in the Olympic capital! Beyond the competitive aspect, one major objective of this event is to promote - or even introduce - the intensity, speed, skills and fun of hockey to everyone, not only in the city but also worldwide thanks to Watch.Hockey and our broadcast partners. On behalf of FIH, I’d like to extend our sincerest thanks to all our partners, in particular our title sponsor Hero, as well as the City of Lausanne and the Canton of Vaud, for their great support. And I invite everyone to come and enjoy our sport!” Played in more than 70 countries around the world, Hockey5s was the most attended sport at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with no less than 200’000 spectators! In 2019, in order to further boost the development of hockey globally through Hockey5s, the FIH Executive Board decided to create an FIH Hockey5s World Cup - with the inaugural edition planned in 2024 in Oman - and, in the near future, a Hockey5s World Tour, which will consist of events similar to Lausanne’s.

Sports Reporter LAHORE:-The Pakistan Hockey Federation has named the 40 players set-up national hockey training camp to prepare the squad for upcoming Asia Hockey Cup 2022. The camp will start from May 9 at the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore. Federation has instructed the players to report to camp manager Olympian Khawaja Junaid on May 9. It is to be noted that the said National Training Camp is being held in connection with the preparations for Asia Cup Jakarta, Commonwealth Birmingham and Asian Games China.  Names of players: Abdullah Ishtiaq, Goalkeeper (Mari Petroleum), Akmal Hussain, Goalkeeper (WAPDA), Mubashir Ali (WAPDA), Emad Shakeel Butt (National Bank), Abu Bakar Mahmood. (National Bank), Mohammad Abdullah (Mari Petroleum), Mohammad Hammad Anjum (WAPDA), Arbaaz Ahmed (Mari Petroleum), Rizwan Ali (Pakistan Air Force), Abdul Manan (Sui Southern), Umar Bhatta (WAPDA), Rana Abdul Waheed (WAPDA) , Ghazanfar Ali (Mari Hetrolium), Mohammad Salman (WAPDA), Roman Khan (WAPDA), Moin Shakeel (WAPDA), Ali Shan (Sui Southern), Junaid Manzoor (National Bank), Ejaz Ahmed (WAPDA) Abdul Hanan Shahid (WAPDA) , Ahmed Nadeem (Mari Petroleum), Noheez Zahid (National Bank), Rana Sohail Riaz (Sui Southern) and Muneeb-ur-Rehman, Goalkeeper (Sui Southern) Names of officials: Olympian Khawaja Junaid (Camp Manager), Sigfried Ekman (Head Coach), Ajmal Khan Lodhi, Olympian Wasim Ahmed and Olympian Sameer Hussain( Assistant Coaches), Imran Shah and Imran Butt (Goal Keeping Coach), Nadeem Lodhi (Video Analyst), Adeel Akhtar and Mohammad Aslam (Physiotherapist)

Sports Reporter LAHORE:-Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has announced to hold the b Chief of Army Staff Inter-Club District Hockey Championship aiming to develop and promote the national game at the grassroots According to an official of PHF, as per PHF guidelines, all districts should hold the "Chief of Army Staff Inter-Club District Hockey Championship" at their region headquarters from May 15 to May 25. All club department players will be eligible to join the team at the event. Special care will be taken of the age limit of the players. Players up to the age of 30 will be allowed to participate in the event. The club has at least two players aged 16 and 18. All clubs will add a minimum of 14 and a maximum of 18 players to their team. The winning team will participate at regional level event.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has called 15-player to join the training camp aiming to prepare the national squad for forthcoming five-a-side hockey tournament that will be taken place in Switzerland. Tournament will start on June 4, 2022 in Lausanne, Switzerland. According to an official of PHF, all 15 selected players for the training camp have been instructed to report to head coach Olympian Rehan Butt at National Hockey Stadium Lahore by the afternoon of May 8. Olympian Waqas Sharif will be assistant coach. Pakistan team will leave on June 2 for Switzerland. Names of players: Mohammad Waqar (goalkeeper), Haider Manzoor (goalkeeper), Mohibullah Khan, Omar Mustafa, Mohammad Ehtesham, Hassan Amin, Aqeel Ahmed, Tazeem Al Hassan, Abdul Rehman, Murtaza Yaqoob, Mohammad Afraz, Arshad Liaqat,  Abuzar, Shahzeb Khan, Mohsin Hassan

Sports Bulletin Report Lausanne, Switzerland: A super opening goal from German forward Charlotte Stapenhorst signalled her team's intent as Germany put four goals past England to reverse the previous day's results. Later, in the men's match between the two nations, Germany showed their character as they clung onto a 3-2 lead despite spending most of the final quarter with 10 players on the pitch at Sparkassen Park, Mönchengladbach, Germany. Germany beat England (women) 4-1 A fantastically taken goal from Charlotte Stapenhorst in the second minute put England on the back foot in the second encounter between the two teams within 24 hours. Stapenhörst burst into the circle and slammed the ball without preamble past Miriam Pritchard in the England goal. Four minutes later and Germany were on the attack again. Cecile Pieper scrambled the ball towards the goal but it was Nike Lorenz who dragged the ball out of the melee and lifted it into the goal. England came back into the game in the second quarter, creating their own chances. A series of penalty corners saw England captain Hollie Pearne-Webb attempting to slap the ball past Julia Sonntag in the German goal but at the end of the quarter it was still Germany who held a 2-0 lead. The England penalty corner routine finally found the mark in the fourth quarter when Grace Balsdon's shot was deflected into the goal by Hannah Martin. This raised the tension on the pitch as England looked to build on the momentum provided by the goal. Germany's answer however, was two goals in the final quarter. First Hannah Gablac was on hand when a German penalty corner broke down. The initial shot by Leena Micheel was scuffed but the loose ball fell kindly for Gablac, who fired home. The match was put beyond any doubt when Pia Maertens picked up the ball on the edge of the England circle and drove into the danger area before attempting to unleash a shot. The fact she scuffed the top of the ball meant the speed fooled the defence and Maertens had the grace to smile wryly at the outcome. Player of the Match Sonja Zimmermann (GER) said: 'That was a really good game by us today, we had the right focus and the right mentality. We tried to do what the coach asked us and it worked.' The results from these two matches mean that Germnay move to fourth in the FIH Pro League, two points behind Argentina, while England are in fifth, eight points behind Germany but having played four fewer matches. Germany beat England (men) 3 -2 England took the lead in the opening minutes of this match when David Condon was on hand to tip the ball past Niklas Garst in the German goal after a super ball into the circle from Will Calnan. That lead lasted until the 18th minute but a series of penalty corners to Germany asked plenty of questions of the England defence. On the third attempt, Malte Hellwig was on hand to deflect Tom Grambusch's penalty corner strike into the goal past James Mazarelo. The next 20 minutes of action saw both teams working to take control of the game. The momentum swung as first Germany and then England put together some patient build-up play to try and work a way into the opposing circle. It was Germany who got the breakthrough when Tom Grambusch made another penalty corner count. His shot squeezed past England captain Tom Sorsby and snuck into the corner of the goal. England drew back level when Sam Ward was able to steer a penalty corner shot past Jean Danneberg who was now in the German goal. Seconds later Germany answered in emphatic style when Gonzalo Peillat sent a rocket of a shot high into the England goal to give his side a 3-2 lead. The atmosphere ramped up in the final 18 minutes of the game. Christopher Ruhr was given a 10 minute yellow card and England withdrew their 'keeper to gain a two player advantage on the pitch. Both sides were now bursting with the effort of scoring the all-important next goal. For England, it was the need for an equaliser; for Germany it was to cushion their lead, particularly as they were a player down. Ruhr returned to the pitch but first Johannes Grosse received a green card and then Michel Struthoff received a yellow, meanng Germany comntinued to player with fewer men on the pitch. Jean Danneberg pulled off a tremendous save from a shot by Ward and then James Albery stepped in to prevent an almost certain goal from Grambusch. Despite the best endeavours of both teams, there were no more goals but viewers and spectators could be forgiven for feeling breathless at the end of this encounter. Player of the Match Martin Zwicket of Germany said: 'I am happy because we won that tough game. I don't know why I got the award because it was a team performance. We keep looking forward and we have to improve a lot of things as we have Argentina and Netherlands next.'

Sports Bulletin Report BARCELONA (Spain):-Spain defeated Pakistan 5-3 in the last fixture of the Europe tour of the Green Shirts and leveled the two-match series 1-1, as Pakistan had won the first match 4-1 that played at Barcelona, Spain. In the first half, Spain were leading 1-0. Later in the second half of the game, Mubashir Ali and Mohammad Rizwan scored one goal each with the help of a short corner for Pakistan while Rana Waheed scored a field goal. The Spanish team scored two more goals and defeated Pakistan by five goals to three.