Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (October 11, 2021):-The Season 3 of the FIH Hockey Pro League will get underway with defending champions and reigning Olympic, World and European title holders the Netherlands taking on Belgium at the Wagener Stadium on the outskirts of Amsterdam on Wednesday. Alyson Annan’s all conquering team were the winners of both the first and second editions of the FIH Hockey Pro League, and will be looking for a hat-trick of titles in Season 3 as they bid to continue their near total dominance of the women’s game. Wednesday’s Netherlands versus Belgium women’s clash will be followed by a women’s and men’s double header in Brussels, with Belgium’s Red Panthers and Red Lions – the latter being the Olympic champions from Tokyo 2020 and reigning FIH Hockey Pro League title holders – welcoming the international teams of Germany on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 October. Coming back to the opening match of this year’s competition, it promises to be a hugely entertaining encounter. The Netherlands have clear superiority in their recent head-to-heads, winning 15 of their 18 matches with Belgium claiming two wins and a draw. The Dutch have won all four of their previous FIH Hockey Pro League matches and were also winners when the two teams met in the EuroHockey Championships semi-finals earlier this year, with the Oranje going on to win the title and Belgium claiming the bronze medal. With very few players having announced their retirement post Tokyo, Annan’s hugely talented squad remains very much intact. Seven of Annan’s gold medal winning team will be involved in the contest against Belgium including captain Eva de Goede and Lidewij Welten, who bring vast experience to a squad containing three uncapped players in the shape of Marente Barentsen (Hurley), Joosje Burg (Den Bosch) and Sabine Plönissen (Amsterdam). With a further eight players each having less than 20 caps, legendary former Australia attacker Annan is making full use of the opportunity to look at the potential stars of the future.  Belgium – coached by revered Dutchman Raoul Ehren, who guided Den Bosch women to unprecedented club success both in the Netherlands and Europe – will come into their contest against the Netherlands keen to make a big impression. The bronze medal achieved at June’s EuroHockey Championships came thanks to a 3-1 victory over Spain, with Barbara Nelen, Abi Raye and Ambre Ballenghien all on target for the Red Panthers. All three have been named in Belgium’s 32 player squad for FIH Hockey Pro League Season 3, with additional experience and quality coming from the likes of Alix Gerniers, Louise Versavel, Emma Puvrez and ace goalkeeper Aisling D’Hooghe. The matches will be available to watch via television or digital streaming thanks to our broadcast partnerships, as well as on the Watch. Hockey app in every country where a rights holding broadcaster is not showing the matches live.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lausanne, Switzerland (October 8, 2021):-The International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced that the Women’s national teams of India and Spain will join the FIH Hockey Pro League – “Hockey at its Best” – for Season 3, which is starting on 13 October with the title holders, World Champions and Olympic Gold Medallists, The Netherlands, taking on Belgium. Both teams will replace – for this season only – Australia and New Zealand, who last month announced that they were no longer able to participate to this season’s FIH Hockey Pro League (as well as the upcoming FIH Hockey Junior World Cups and the FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup) due to COVID-related international travel restrictions put in place by their respective governments. However, Australia and New Zealand will join Pro League again for Season 4. Whenever possible, the female squads of India and Spain will play on the same dates and venues as their male counterparts, who are already part of FIH’s global home-and-away league, which involves most of the best nations in world hockey. With India and Spain, the third edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League welcomes two teams who played brilliantly at the recent Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. India reached the fourth spot of the Olympic tournament, while Spain only narrowly missed the last four (losing to Great Britain in a shoot-out in the ¼ finals). FIH CEO Thierry Weil: “It’s wonderful to welcome such great teams as India and Spain for the next edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League, especially after their brilliant performance in Tokyo. This is great for the athletes and great for the fans! On behalf of FIH, I’d like to extend our sincerest thanks to Hockey India and the Royal Spanish Hockey Federation for having accepted our invitation.” Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam said: "We are absolutely delighted that the Indian Women's Hockey Team will participate in the forthcoming edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League. Their participation will not only give them an opportunity to compete against the best teams of the world, but it will also help us increase the fanbase for the Indian Women's Team. With the Asian Games being held in 2022, getting to play strong teams of the world earlier in the year will certainly be a great platform for our teams to get the right exposure before the all-important Asian Games which is also an Olympic Qualification event." Royal Spanish Hockey Federation President Santiago Deó said: "It is great news for Spanish hockey. The participation of the women's team in the FIH Hockey Pro League will enable our team to play against the best teams in the world. This will also make them better prepare for the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Spain and Netherlands 2022."

SPORTS REPORTER Karachi (October 7, 2021):-Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) announced a training camp for 29 players aiming to prepare the team for the Junior Hockey World Cup. The training camp will be conducted under the supervision of Camp Commandant and Head Coach National Junior Hockey Team Olympian Danish Kaleem, which will be held from October 14 at Abdul Sattar Edhi Hockey Stadium, Karachi. The Junior Hockey World Cup to be held from November 24 to December 5 in Bhubaneswar, India. The Pakistan Hockey Federation has sent letters to the concerned departments and provinces of the players to submit departmental NOC, six month valid passport, passport size photos and other relevant documents to the camp commandant. Name of players: Rana Waheed (Wapda), Moin Shakeel (Wapda), Ghazanfar Ali (Mari Petroleum), Waqar (Goalkeeper, Wapda), Umair Sattar (Mari Petroleum), Aqeel Ahmed (Mari Petroleum), Abdullah Ishtiaq (Goalkeeper, Mari Petroleum), Roman Khan (WAPDA), Mohibullah (WAPDA), Murtaza Yaqub (Mari Petroleum), Hammad Anjum (WAPDA), Hanan Shahid (National Bank), Shahzeb Khan (Sindh), Mohsin Hassan (Punjab), Samiullah Khan (Customs), Arbaaz Ahmed (Mari Petroleum), Rizwan Ali (PAF), Ali Aziz (WAPDA), Adeel Latif (Sui Southern Gas), Abdul Manan (Sui Southern Gas), Ehtesham Aslam (Mari Petroleum), Abuzar ( Punjab), Mohsin Khan (PAF), Amir Danish Shah (Army), Abdul Rehman (Mari Petroleum), Hassan Amin (Punjab), Waqar Ali Mari Petroleum), Shahzeb Khan (Punjab) and Mohammad Bilawal (Punjab) Officials: Olympian Danish Kaleem Head Coach / Camp Commandant (Customs), Coach Mudassar Ali Khan (WAPDA), Coach Zaheer  Ahmed Babar (Sui Southern Gas), Video Analyst Syed Abuzar Amrao (National Bank) Dr. Asad Abbas Shah (Lahore)

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lausanne, Switzerland (October 6, 2021):-As a likely outcome of India Men’s first Olympic medal for 41 years, as well as the outstanding performance of the Indian Women’s team reaching the last four in Tokyo, India’s athletes and coaches dominate the FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2020-21.      Athletes Gurjit Kaur (Best Player, Women), Harmanpreet Singh (Best Player, Men), Savita (Best Goalkeeper, Women), PR Sreejesh (Best Goalkeeper, Men), Sharmila Devi (Best Rising Star, Women) and Vivek Prasad (Best Rising Star, Men) as well as the coaches of India’s women’s team, Sjoerd Marijne (NED) and India’s men’s team, Graham Reid (AUS) grabbed the highest number of votes in their respective categories.  79 National Associations - represented by their respective national captains and coaches – have voted (Africa: 11 out of 25 Member Associations; Asia: 29 out of 33; Europe: 19 out of 42; Oceania: 3 out of 8; Pan America: 17 out of 30). And with a record number of almost 300’000 fans casting their votes, fan participation in the FIH Hockey Stars Awards has been exceptional. Tellingly, all winning athletes have topped the standings in each of the three voting groups (National Associations / Fans and Players / Media). Belgium (Men) and the Netherlands (Women), who were not only crowned Olympic Champions but also won the 2020-21 FIH Hockey Pro League, as well as the GBR/ENG Women’s team, were also given high recognition by the voting groups. Belgium’s Alexander Hendrickx and Arthur van Doren were voted second and third best Players respectively, with Vincent Vanasch named second best Goalkeeper and Shane McLeod (NZL) second best Coach. For the Netherlands, Eva de Goede and Frédérique Matla clinched the respective second and third places in the FIH Player of the Year Award while Alyson Annan (AUS) finished on the second spot of the FIH Coach of the Year Award. For Great Britain / England, Goalkeeper Maddie Hinch, Rising Star Fiona Crackles and Coach Mark Hager (AUS) all reached the third spot of their respective categories. Every continent is represented in the top three of at least one Award, with Belén Succi (ARG) named second best Goalkeeper and Valentina Raposo (ARG) as well as Mustaphaa Cassiem (RSA) clinching the second place of the FIH Rising Star of the Year Award, while Goalkeeper Andrew Charter (AUS), Rising Star Sean Findlay (NZL) and Coach Colin Batch (AUS) all finished on the third spot of their respective categories. With no FIH Hockey Stars Awards in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 global health pandemic on the international calendar, this year’s awards covered the period from January 2020 through to the conclusion of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The voting process started on 23 August and concluded on 15 September 2021. Votes from National Associations - represented by their respective national captains and coaches - counted for 50% of the overall result, while fans and players (25%) as well as media (25%) made the other half of the votes. RESULTS – WOMEN (Weighted scores) FIH Player of the Year: 1. Gurjit Kaur (IND) – Score: 46,63 points (35,48% of the National Associations votes, 50,67% of the Media votes, 64,89% of the Fans/Players votes) 2. Eva de Goede (NED) – Score: 19,80 pts (25,35% of the National Associations votes, 25,33% of the Media votes, 3,18% of the Fans/Players votes) 3. Frédérique Matla (NED) – Score: 13,49 pts (15,67% of the National Associations votes, 20% of the Media votes, 2,64% of the Fans/Players votes) 4. Agustina Albertarrio (ARG) – Score: 12,79 pts (14,75% of the National Associations votes, 1,33% of the Media votes, 20,31% of the Fans/Players votes) 5. Agustina Gorzelany (ARG) – Score: 4,71 pts (5,07% of the National Associations votes, 1,33% of the Media votes, 7,35% of the Fans/Players votes) 6. Maria Verschoor (NED) – Score: 2,58 pts (3,69% of the National Associations votes, 1,33% of the Media votes, 1,63% of the Fans/Players votes) FIH Goalkeeper of the Year: 1. Savita (IND) – Score: 58.75 (51,38% of the National Associations votes, 63,16% of the Media votes, 69,08% of the Fans/Players votes) 2. Belén Succi (ARG) – Score: 22 pts (24,31% of the National Associations votes, 13,16% of the Media votes, 26,22% of the Fans/Players votes) 3. Maddie Hinch (GBR/ENG) – Score: 19,25 pts (24,31% of the National Associations votes, 23,68% of the Media votes, 4,70% of the Fans/Players votes)      FIH Rising Star of the Year: 1. Sharmila Devi (IND) – Score: 55,51 pts (48,39% of the National Associations votes, 58,67% of the Media votes, 66,60% of the Fans/Players votes) 2. Valentina Raposo (ARG) – Score: 29,83 pts (36,41% of the National Associations votes, 17,33% of the Media votes, 29,19% of the Fans/Players votes) 3. Fiona Crackles (GBR/ENG) – Score: 14,66 pts (15,21% of the National Associations votes, 24% of the Media votes, 4,21% of the Fans/Players votes) FIH Coach of the Year: 1. Sjoerd Marijne (NED – Team IND) – Score: 56,33 pts (39,73% of the National Associations votes, 66,22% of the Media votes, 79,66% of the Fans/Players votes) 2. Alyson Annan (AUS – Team NED) – Score: 35,37 pts (49,32% of the National Associations votes, 27,03% of the Media votes, 15,82% of the Fans/Players votes) 3. Mark Hager (AUS – Team GBR/ENG) – Score: 8,30 pts (10,96% of the National Associations votes, 6,76% of the Media votes, 4,52% of the Fans/Players votes) RESULTS – MEN (Weighted scores) FIH Player of the Year: 1. Harmanpreet Singh (IND) – Score: 52,11 pts (42,66% of the National Associations votes, 44% of the Media votes, 79,12% of the Fans/Players votes) 2. Alexander Hendrickx (BEL) – Score: 24,88 pts (25,69% of the National Associations votes, 40% of the Media votes, 8,15% of the Fans/Players votes) 3. Arthur van Doren (BEL) – Score: 12,84 pts (17,43% of the National Associations votes, 12% of the Media votes, 4,51% of the Fans/Players votes) 4. Aran Zalewski (AUS) - Score: 4,46 pts (6,88% of the National Associations votes, 1,33% of the Media votes, 2,76% of the Fans/Players votes) 5. Tim Brand (AUS) - Score: 4,04 pts (5,05% of the National Associations votes, 2,67% of the Media votes, 3,40% of the Fans/Players votes) 6. Jake Whetton (AUS) - Score: 1,66 pts (2,29% of the National Associations votes, 0% of the Media votes, 2,07% of the Fans/Players votes) FIH Goalkeeper of the Year: 1. PR Sreejesh (IND) – Score: 58,34 pts (47% of the National Associations votes, 59,46% of the Media votes, 79,90% of the Fans/Players votes) 2. Vincent Vanasch (BEL) – Score: 34,40 pts (42,40% of the National Associations votes, 39,19% of the Media votes, 13,60% of the Fans/Players votes) 3. Andrew Charter (AUS) – Score: 7,26 pts (10,60% of the National Associations votes, 1,35% of the Media votes, 6,50% of the Fans/Players votes) FIH Rising Star of the Year: 1. Vivek Prasad (IND) – Score: 66,78 pts (57,80% of the National Associations votes, 68.49% of the Media votes, 83,03% of the Fans/Players votes) 2. Mustaphaa Cassiem (RSA) – Score: 23,10 pts (31,65% of the National Associations votes, 20,55% of the Media votes, 8,56% of the Fans/Players votes) 3. Sean Findlay (NZL) – Score: 10,12 pts (10,55% of the National Associations votes, 10,96% of the Media votes, 8,41% of the Fans/Players votes) FIH Coach of the Year: 1. Graham Reid (AUS – Team IND) – Score: 50,93 pts (36,07% of the National Associations votes, 50% of the Media votes, 81,57% of the Fans/Players votes) 2. Shane McLeod (NZL – Team BEL) – Score: 40,74 pts (52,51% of the National Associations votes, 45,83% of the Media votes, 12,10% of the Fans/Players votes) 3. Colin Batch (AUS) – Score: 8,33pts (11,42% of the National Associations votes, 4,17% of the Media votes, 6,33% of the Fans/Players votes)

SPORTS REPORTER LAHORE (October 1, 2021):- Director General, Sports Board Punjab (SBP) Adnan Arshad Aulakh has said that hockey is our national game and Sports Board Punjab is ready to take every possible measure for its growth and revival; he said this while talking to Secretary Education South Punjab Dr Ehtisham Anwar, who called on him at National Hockey Stadium here on Friday. Director Sports Hafeez Bhatti, Head Coach of national hockey team Khawaja Junaid and other officials were also present on this occasion. During the meeting Secretary Education South Punjab Dr Ehtisham Anwar sought help from Sports Board Punjab to train hockey coaches of South Punjab. Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh on this occasion assured Secretary Education South Punjab Dr Ehtisham Anwar of his full support for the training of hockey coaches of South Punjab. Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh said qualified coaches in the collaboration with Sports Board Punjab will impart modern training to 50 hockey coaches from top schools and colleges of South Punjab under the supervision of head coach of national hockey team Khawaja Junaid.

SPORTS REPORTER LAHORE (October 1, 2021):- Director General, Sports Punjab (SBP) Adnan Arshad Aulakh on Friday said that First Chief Minister Punjab five-a-Side National Women’s Hockey Championship 2021 would be comennced from October 15 to 20, 2021 at National Hockey Stadium, Lahore. Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh, in a statement on Friday said as many as 14 teams would participate in the First Chief Minister Punjab 5-a-Side National Women Hockey Championship. “Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will field two teams each in the tournament while Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan, Islamabad, Azad Kashmir, Army, Higher Education Commission (HEC), Wapda and Railways will send one team each for the grand hockey event”.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Karachi (September 27, 2021):-Defending Champions, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and WAPDA have qualified for the finals of the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) All Pakistan Hockey Tournament beating their opponents in the semifinals at the Abdul Sattar Edhi Hockey Stadium at Karachi on Monday. Final will be played on Tuesday at same venue. In the first semifinal, Pakistan WAPDA defeated hosts Pakistan Navy 0-3 and qualified for the final. Aleem Usman, Mubashir Ali and Atiq Arshad scored for the winning team in the 16th, 26th and 59th minutes respectively. By the end of the three quarters, Pakistan WAPDA had a two-goal lead. The third goal of the match was scored in the last quarter. Mubashir Ali was declared the best player of the match for his excellent performance. Former Olympian Mohammad Khalid gave the Man of the Match award to Mubashir Ali. In the second semi-final, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) outplayed Mari Petroleum by two goals. Captain Abu Bakar Mahmood scored both goals for the winning team on a penalty corners. National Bank goalkeeper Mazhar Abbas was declared the best player of the match for his excellent performance. Chief of the Naval Staff Amjad Khan Niazi will be the chief guest of the final. The third and fourth position match will be played between Pakistan Navy and Mari Petroleum at 10 am. The players who receive the Man of the Match award for each match of the 3rd Chief of the Naval Staff All Pakistan will get the sports watch worth Rs 12,000. The winner of the Best Goalkeeper award will get a Honda 125cc motorcycle worth Rs. 152,000. A Honda 125cc motorcycle worth Rs. 152,000 has been allotted for the top scorer of the event. For the best player of the event, for the first time in the history of national domestic events, a valuable plot of Rs. 3 million will be given by the Pakistan Navy for the best player of the event. The winning team will be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1.7 million with a trophy, the runner-up team will be entitled to Rs. 1.3 million with a trophy, and the third place team will be awarded a cash award of Rs. 1.0 million with a trophy. Semi-finals and third place man-of-the-match players will be entitled to a cash prize of Rs 20,000 and a sports watch, while the players of the final teams will also be given gift hampers worth Rs 250,000.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lausanne, Switzerland (September 24, 2021):-Hockey Australia and Hockey New Zealand will no longer be able to participate to the FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup South Africa 2021 due to COVID-related international travel restrictions put in place by their respective governments, both teams have been replaced by Argentina and Ireland. The Junior representatives of the Tokyo 2020 silver medallists and of the 2018 FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup finalists have been selected as they currently are the next best ranked nations – according to the FIH World Rankings for senior teams – among those not having qualified. Argentina – Las Leoncitas - won the last edition of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup staged in 2016 in Chile. FIH’s flagship event for Women’s Juniors will take place at the North-West University (NWU) of the academic city of Potchefstroom - situated approx. 120 km west-southwest of Johannesburg – from 5 to 16 December 2021. It will involve 16 teams from all around the world.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lausanne, Switzerland (September 23, 2021):-After an announcement by Hockey Australia and Hockey New Zealand that they will no longer be able to participate to the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021 due to COVID-related international travel restrictions put in place by their respective governments, both teams have been replaced by the USA and Canada. Since the qualification process for the event stipulates that the Pan American Hockey Federation has the quota of the first reserve, the USA – who finished third of the recent Junior Pan Am Championships - have been selected. The second reserve spot was attributed to the best team in the FIH World Rankings (Seniors) not yet qualified, namely Canada. As announced by Hockey India earlier today, the event (24 November – 5 December) will take place in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, the outstanding venue which will also host the next FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup in 2023.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lausanne, Switzerland (September 17, 2021)International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced the match schedule of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Belgium 2022, which will be held in the Country Hall of Liège on 2-6 February next year. Today’s event was attended by FIH CEO Thierry Weil, Wallonia Brussels Federation Sports Minister Valérie Glatigny, Liège Province Vice-President Katty Firquet, Wallonia Brussels Federation Sports Administration General Manager Alain Laitat and Royal Belgian Hockey Association President Patrick Keusters, amongst others. Following the announcement by Hockey Australia and Hockey New Zealand that they will unfortunately no longer be able to participate due to COVID-related international travel restrictions put in place by their respective governments, the Oceania representatives have been replaced by Namibia and USA (Men) as well as Canada and South Africa (Women). These four teams have been invited by FIH based on each being the runners up in the recently held African and Pan American Indoor Championships, with a view to maintaining a balance between the number of participating teams per continent. The Women’s national teams of Czech Republic and Kazakhstan will open the show on 2 February, whilst the Men’s and Women’s Finals will be played on 6 February. FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: “With no less than 80 international matches played in 5 days, the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup provides a particularly intense and exciting spectacle! On behalf of FIH, I’d like to wholeheartedly thank the local authorities as well as the Royal Belgian Hockey Association for all their efforts to put together an event which undoubtedly will offer a wonderful experience to athletes and fans alike!” Hockey Belgium CEO Serge Pilet said: “We are extremely happy that we can kick off this organisation at last, after very difficult months. Being able to announce a world class event like the Indoor Hockey World Cup in Belgium, is really an important milestone for us. And with our Olympic gold medal still fresh in the memories of the Belgian sports fans, we are convinced we will be able to attract new spectators to discover our beautiful sport in its indoor version. See you all in February in Liège!” This will be the sixth edition of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup. Indoor hockey’s flagship event will see 12 teams compete in the men's and women's competitions respectively. Germany women and Austria men won the last edition, which took place in 2018 in Berlin, Germany.