Sports Bulletin

Lausanne, Switzerland (PR): An exciting official draw ceremony held today at the iconic Wagener Stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands - one of the two venues where the upcoming World Cup will be held, alongside the brand-new Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre, Belgium – has determined the eight Pools of the group stage of the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026:Women:Pool A: Netherlands, Australia, Chile, Japan (playing in the Netherlands)Pool B: Argentina, Germany, USA, Scotland (playing in Belgium)Pool C: Belgium, Spain, New Zealand, Ireland (playing in Belgium)Pool D: China, England, India, South Africa (playing in the Netherlands)Men:Pool A: Netherlands, Argentina, New Zealand, Japan (playing in the Netherlands)Pool B: Belgium, Germany, France, Malaysia (playing in Belgium)Pool C: Australia, Spain, Ireland, South Africa (playing in Belgium)Pool D: England, India, Pakistan, Wales (playing in the Netherlands)The draw was done by international hockey legends Naomie van As, Barbara Neelen and Teun de Nooijer, as well as DJ La Fuente, who was announced as Dutch Ambassador for the World Cup during the ceremony.Today’s milestone event was attended by FIH President Tayyab Ikram, FIH Vice-President and EuroHockey President Marcos Hofman, FIH Executive Board Member Erik Cornelissen, Dutch Hockey Federation President Erik Klein Nagelvoort, Belgian Hockey Federation President Patrick Keusters, the captains from the Netherlands (Renée van Laarhoven, Marijn Veenand, Thierry Brinkman and Lars Balk) and Belgium (Charlotte Englebert, Michelle Struijk, Arthur Van Doren and vice-captain Arthur De Sloover), the head coaches from the Netherlands (Raoul Ehren and Jeroen Delmee) and Belgium (Adam Commens and Shane McLeod), representatives from the local authorities, commercial partners and numerous other guests.FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “Today’s draw marks another major milestone on the road to the most prestigious FIH event, the FIH Hockey World Cup! The upcoming edition, for both women and men, co-hosted by two hockey powerhouses, promises to be a resounding success. We are very grateful to both Belgium and the Netherlands for hosting our top athletes and the global hockey community in less than six months' time.In today’s fractured world, sport—and events such as this in particular—can play a substantial role in bringing people together. It can foster peace at times when our world is torn apart by conflict.I invite all fans around the world to join in, and I already wish all participating athletes an unforgettable experience!”Match scheduleThe FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026 will be held in Amsterdam and Wavre from 15 to 30 August 2026.

Islamabad (Sports Desk): Powered by two second-period goals, Norway kept its playoff hopes alive with a 3-0 win over Hungary on Sunday. Goalie Ena Nystrom shone in recording her first tournament shutout with 45 saves.Winless and goalless through three games, Hungary is in danger of becoming the only team to go through an IIHF Women's World Championship without scoring since Kazakhstan in 2007. The Kazakhs were outscored 26-0 through four games in their first-ever top-division stint in Winnipeg.Asked to explain Hungary's lack of offence, forward Emma Kreisz said: "It's hard to find an answer to that. I really think that we do our best, and for some reason, it just doesn't want to bounce in for us. We are not sure why, but we have to keep going, and we are here to fight tomorrow as well." Each team has one Group B game remaining, and neither matchup is easy. Hungary faces Germany on Monday and Norway takes on Sweden on Tuesday.“Sweden is a tough team," said Nystrom. "They like to have the puck on their sticks, which we're comfortable with that. It's going to be fun. We know them well too. A lot of our girls know them from the SDHL and playing against them for a few years."Sunday's victory was a long time coming for Norway. The last time Norway won a top-division Women’s Worlds game was 7-4 over Switzerland on 16 April 1994 in Lake Placid, New York. The Norwegians now have a total of five wins all-time at this level.Coach Pat Cortina’s squad arguably deserved a better fate after outshooting Norway 11-4 through 20 minutes. Hungary has fired 24 or more shots on net in all three of its games so far, but at times it's been quantity over quality. Generally speaking, the Hungarians have been a bit too deliberate and tentative in their offensive thrusts and have had problems with the pace at this level.Norway drew first blood 56 seconds into the second period. Blueliner Andrine Furulund fired a wrister from the right point that beat Hungarian starter Aniko Nemeth through traffic."It was fun to get the first goal in the game," said Furulund. "We just got more energy and we just fought from there.”Just past the eight-minute mark of the second, Hungary almost connected on a 2-on-1 off a neutral-zone turnover, but Nystrom stuck out her right pad to deny Kinga Jokai-Szilagyi in close. At 9:46, Emma Bergesen doubled the Norwegian lead. In the Hungarian end, a puck ricocheted to the assistant captain, and she skated to the top of the left faceoff circle before shooting it high past Aniko Nemeth on the glove side."I've known her since she was very little, and I've seen her progress," Nystrom said of Bergesen. "She's awesome. She plays hard every night, and she has skill with the puck too. It's nice to have a really good two-way defenceman in front of me, and I trust her, as we all do."Midway through the third period, the ice opened up during a 4-on-4 sequence. But Nystrom barred the door with the likes of Taylor Baker and Reka Hiezl swarming her crease and firing from all angles during the ensuing abbreviated Hungarian power play.Despite the enthusiastic chanting and drumming of Hungary's famous supporters section, there was to be no dramatic late comeback, even with Hungary outshooting Norway 21-4 in the final stanza.Furulund hailed Nystrom's bravura performance: "She was outstanding. She’s a wall back there. If it wasn’t for her, it could be different, but she’s our wall, and that’s important for us."Aniko Nemeth was pulled for the extra attacker with under three minutes left, but Millie Rose Sirum added an empty-netter at 19:15."Obviously it was nice seeing the puck today," Nystrom said. "I think our D played really well too in front of me. Our centres blocked some shots too, and that's important. We know that we allow a decent amount of shots in this group, and we're okay with that. We just want to allow them in the right places and pick up sticks, and I think we did a good job of that today." (Thanks to Lucas Aykroyd) 

Tampere (Finland): The United States of America (USA) became the first team to qualify for the semifinals at the 2024 Euro Women’s Hockey Tour on Thursday, thanks to a 6-2 win over Switzerland. Team USA moved to 2-0 and clinched first place in Group A of the six-team tournament.Abbey Murphy was once again a force for the winners, with a goal and an assist that gives her five points in two games. Cassandra Hall, Sloane Matthews, Tessa Janecke, Casey O’Brien and Ella Huber also scored for the Americans, with Amanda Thiele getting the win in goal. The game was tied 1-1 after the first period but Team USA took over with three second-period goals and led 4-1 heading into the final frame.Nicole Vallario and Lena Marie Lutz scored for the Swiss, who will now prepare for a huge game against host Finland on Friday. With both the Swiss and Finns at 0-1, the winner of Friday’s tilt will move on to Saturday’s semifinals, while the loser will play in the fifth-place game.The event in Finland is the third of four events on the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour for 2024-25. Czechia won the first event in August, held in Kloten, Switzerland, when it won two games and lost one in overtime for seven total points, one more than second-place Sweden.Canada beat Czechia (3-0): In the other game on Thursday, Canada outshot Czechia 40-17 en route to a comfortable victory. Hannah Murphy stopped all 17 shots she faced for the shutout.Anne Cherkowski scored the lone goal of the first period and then Canada got insurance markers from Sarah Paul and Maya Labad in the second. With the win, Canada concluded its round-robin with a 2-0 record and, like the United States, has clinched a spot in Saturday’s semifinals.“It felt great (to get the shutout),” said Murphy. “It was an awesome team win for us and to kill some big penalties in the third period was a really good momentum boost for our team. We keep getting better every period; it is really awesome playing behind such talented athletes. If we keep doing what we are doing, we will continue building throughout the tournament.”Czechia will face Sweden on Friday, with the winner moving onto the semis and the loser having to play in the consolation game. (Thanks to Chris Jurewicz).

Sports DeskISLAMABAD: Slovenia took high-flying Lithuania back to earth to move to the top of the standings at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship Division I Group B in Tallinn, Estonia. France blanked Italy and Estonia edged Korea.Going into the final day of action, any kind of Slovenian victory against France in the first game on Saturday guarantees a top finish and promotion. Third-placed Estonia plays Lithuania in second, while Italy will battle it out with Korea in the relegation decider.Djian Robinson opened and closed the scoring for France and netminder Kirill Dorofeev enjoyed a memorable World Championship debut stopping all 26 shots. Skating at the top level in 2018, France then became a mainstay in Division 1A before suffering relegation last year. Following a disappointing start with two defeats in three games in Tallinn, they went ahead versus Italy after just 23 seconds.Mathis Dufour flew down the left boards to set up Robinson scoring after two attempts in the slot past Italy´s Filippo Matonti in his first start of the tournament. France tallied a second with just over five minutes left of the period when Matteo Bertrand converted his first of the tournament on a wraparound. The most recent meeting between this pair goes back to 2014 when France prevailed 5-3. A decade later in Tallinn, France stamped its authority in the middle frame and raced into a three-goal lead. Nathan Riu first won a draw at the right face off circle to Paulin Hostein who whipped a wrister into the top corner on Matonti´s catcher side at 26:14. Winning the shots 17-6 in the middle frame, France´s Tom Vidal was sitting out a tripping minor when Nathan Riu scored France´s fourth goal being one man short. France piled on the misery for Italy adding another couple of goals in the third frame. On a rush 15-year-old Alexandre Monarque opted to go for glory himself to bury his shot low past Matonti. Robinson closed the scoring with his second of the afternoon when tipping home a Dufour pass from the slot for 6-0.Slovenia beat Lithuania (5-2): Newcomers Lithuania stepped out on the ice knowing that a regulation win on day four would mean back-to-back gold medals. But the Slovenians had other plans. In a spirited first period, Slovenia drew first blood when Erazem Por scored for Slovenia on a feed by Gaber Zupan Skrlj just ahead of the three-minute mark. Lithuania, backed by a vocal contingent of fans throughout the tournament had even more reasons to cheer when Titas Krakauskas potted his first of the tournament to level the score at 6:43. Silver medalists last year, Slovenia got back in front courtesy of the tournament´s top scorer, 16-year-old debutant Aljaz Hrobat Plemelj finishing an audacious move for 2-1 at 11:28.The most recent match-up between these two at the U18 Worlds dates back to April 2015 when Slovenia pulverized Lithuania 10-1 on home ice in Maribor. Nine years on, Slovenia imposed their authority in the middle frame with Azbe Glavic scoring 3-1. In their previous game, Lithuania valiantly rallied back from a two-goal deficit to victory against Korea. Versus Slovenia, there was no way back for the Balts as Nik Christian Petrovic ended a flying move by converting 4-1 at 29:20. Allowing only four goals in three games ahead of his one, the Lithuanians shipped their fifth against Slovenia when Gal Sodja Zalokar slotted home 5-1. Lithuania tallied a consolation empty netter 38 seconds before the end from Simas Ignatavicius.Lithuania now pins their hopes for gold on a French win versus Slovenia and then winning their final game against Estonia.Estonia beat Korea (4-2): Korea opened the scoring after 8:39 when a Junsu Kwak pass from the left face off circle carved the Estonian defence wide open with Ryul Kwon scoring at the far post. But as the period progressed Estonia soon was rewarded two-fold. At 13:42 and on the powerplay Artjom Abeljanov snapped a wrister from the top of the left face off circle past netminder Taeyi Koh who got his second start for Korea.Estonia then went ahead with 3:36 left of the first period. Pinning Korea in their zone, Timofejev had first forced two saves from Koh before Burkov got the 2-1 goal over the line. Two years have passed since Tondiraba Ice Hall last staged the U18 Worlds. Back then Korea finished first with Estonia second as both teams celebrated promotion to Division IB.This time around, Estonia finished on top. Two minutes into the second period and with Estonia on the powerplay, Burkov did all the hard work before serving Timofejev at the back post for 3-1. Just over four minutes later and once again working on a one-man advantage, Timofejev boomed home his second of the night to stretch the lead to 4-1.With Estonia seemingly taking the foot off the gas, Mookyung Kang scored Korea´s second goal and his fourth goal of the tournament at 48:31. Junseo Lee cut Estonia´s lead to one on the powerplay with 4:12 left of the third period.

Abdul Jabbar FaisalISLAMABAD: Holland's Ambassador in Islamabad Henny de Vries hosted a reception to honor the Dutch team of Oldenzaal Hockey Club (OHC) aiming to highlight the pivotal role of sports diplomacy in fostering international relations and building bridges between nations.Henny de Vries said on this occasion: “Hockey holds a special place in the hearts of both the Dutch and Pakistani people, and it this week is a testament to the power of sports in bridging cultures and fostering understanding. The matches played in Lahore, and the upcoming match in Islamabad, have not only showcased the skill and ability of our athletes but have also provided an opportunity for cultural exchange and mutual appreciation.”The Ambassador expressed her gratitude to Khawaja Junaid Hockey Academy for extending the invitation to the club and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for their invaluable support. The presence of such influential voices from the media, sports, and diplomatic community underscored the collective commitment to leveraging sports as a vehicle for strengthening international relations.Through initiatives such as these, the Dutch Ambassador emphasized the willingness to continue leveraging the power of sports to foster mutual understanding and friendship between the Netherlands and Pakistan.Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC assured of HEC support in the revival of Hockey through the generating national and international opportunities for aspiring players. He also thanked the Dutch embassy for coming forward for a noble cause of promoting sports and cultural exchange excursions in Pakistan. Also, Incharge Sports & Co-curricular Activities Division HEC, Javed Ali Memon, sports personalities, and diplomats attended the ceremony.