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IBN LIVE Indian hockey will be a strong contender in 2016 Olympics Oltmans

New Delhi: A silver medal in the recent Asia Cup has virtually assured India a place in next year's World Cup and the team's High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans feels the erstwhile champions of the game will be a force to reckon with in the 2016 Olympics.

India lost to defending champions South Korea 2-3 in a hard-fought contest in the final of the Asia Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia recently but despite the defeat, the Sardar Singh-led side has virtually booked its ticket to next year's World Cup.

India will now just have to wait till November for the official confirmation from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) which will come only after the conclusion of the Oceania Cup.

"We will have to wait for New Zealand or Australia to win the Oceania Cup. Normally, one of these two teams win the Oceania Cup. It is very unlikely that a team like Samoa or Papua New Guinea will win beat Australia or New Zealand. So considering that we are happy that we have more or less qualified for the World Cup," Oltmans told PTI in an interview.

"But still we have lot of work to do, we have to match the top teams of the world. Look at Belgium, they are now a rapidly improved side and are beating teams like Germany, Australia and the Netherlands. I feel we will take another couple of years to beat top sides of the world. I feel we will be one of the strong contenders for the 2016 Olympics if not the 2014 World Cup," he said.

"We are getting closer and closer but we will need some more time. We need to play more tough games like the Asia Cup final against South Korea," he added.

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HINDU MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Winning starts by IOB and BPCL

It was a campaign well begun for Indian Overseas Bank and BPCL in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament on Thursday.

IOB registered a 6-3 win against South Central Railway in Pool A, while BPCL, despite some resolute resistance from Steel Authority of India, won 3-0 in Pool B.

The victory margin for IOB against SCR fails to portray the gallant performance of the Railway outfit which fought tooth and nail till the final whistle. That it could not convert a high proportion of the penalty corners — there were 10 against the one by IOB — could be attributed to the poor state of the artificial pitch.

Moreover, SCR had to contend with the in-form P.R. Sreejesh. A few saves by the IOB custodian, declared ‘Outstanding goalkeeper’ in the recent Asia Cup, mirrored his athleticism and agility.

The credit for netting the opening goal of the tournament went to evergreen striker Adam Sinclair. He struck off a cross by Senthil Kumar with a first-timer that carried a touch of class.

He formed a fruitful partnership with Vinod Rayar. The pair, with assistance from Amandeep Ekka, was conspicuous every time it sallied forth. Shanmugam slotted home two in style.

The SCR attack was not found wanting. In fact, it managed to forge more sorties than IOB in the initial part. Poonacha was the livewire with Janardhan Gupta and Niaz Rahim contributing their share. Suresh Toppo was hard working and ended the match with a superb deflection to bemuse the IOB custodian.

Impressive debut

It was an impressive debut for SAIL in the competition and against a glamour outfit like BPCL. Composed mainly of adivasi talent, the Rourkela-based squad caught the eye of one and all with its spirit and skill.

The attack was sharp, swift and skilful, and stretched the BPCL defenders. Led well on the flank by Alsem Lakra, the SAIL frontline carried a lot of punch. Special praise is due to goalkeeper Sunil Toppo, who managed to thwart a few incisive moves by former international Tushar Khandekar who was supported by Ravi Pal, Amar Ayamma and Hari Prasad.

What carried BPCL ahead were the two penalty corner strikes by Gurpreet Singh and a field goal by Amar Ayamma.

SAIL was unlucky not to hit the target even once notwithstanding several attempts.

Goalkeeper Swinder Singh managed to keep the rivals out. But one attempt in the second half by Rajin Kandulna smashed against the pads and hit the cross-piece, denying a moment to rejoice for the SAIL players.

Parry & Co. Managing Director Arun Murugappan inaugurated the tournament.

The results:

Pool A: IOB 6 (Adam Sinclair, V. Shanmugam 2, Vinod Rayar 2, Mudappa) bt South Central Railway 3 (Anamol Minz, Manjeet Kullu, Suresh Toppo).

Pool B: BPCL 3 (Gurpreet Singh 2, Amar Ayamma) v SAIL 0.

Friday’s matches:

IOC v CAG (2.15 p.m.); Air India v Indian Bank (4 p.m.); Army XI v IOB (5.45 p.m.).

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TOI Johor Cup will give us an accurate idea where

NEW DELHI: Out of action for the past three months, Indian hockey colts will finally get to play at competitive level in the upcoming Sultan of Johor Cup, and chief coach Gregg Clark said it will give him an accurate idea about his wards ahead of the Junior World Cup.

The Junior World Cup is to be held here in December. The Indian junior men's hockey team last played competitive matches on their tour of Europe in early June but after that they have been training only in camps under the watchful eyes of Clark and coach Baljit Singh Saini.

But Clark said the six-nation tournament in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, featuring top teams like Korea, Pakistan, England and Argentina besides India, will provide an "indication" of his wards' progress ahead of the all-important Junior World Cup to be held from December 6-15.

"It's nice to be finally going for a tournament. We have been in training camp for a couple of months now. I am happy with the way things have gone in the camp. But obviously at this point of time we would like to have more competitive matches as part of our preparation (for Junior World Cup). It will give us an accurate indication of where we are from the performance level," he told reporters at the Major Dhyanchand Stadium.

"We haven't played since the beginning of June after the tour of Europe. So, every match is extremely important for us now because you can play as much as you like in the training ground, but what matters is playing against international oppositions," said the South African.

In the Sultan of Johor Cup to be held from September 22 to 29, India will get the services of four players -- captain Manpreet Singh, Kothajit Singh and Mandeep Singh -- who are members of the senior side.

The likes of Malak Singh, SK Uthappa, Gurmail Singh and Ramandeep Singh have been kept as reserves.

Clark said the inclusion of senior team members augurs well for his side ahead of the World Cup.

"It does. I guess we still got two months to integrate them into our team. The next couple of weeks will be a transition for all of us because we haven't had these guys. They will be important players for us in the World Cup," he said.

"But having them understand what we have done in the last couple of months is going to be a little bit difficult. But its great to have these talents at our disposal who have been during regular duty in senior team," said Clark, who coached the South African senior men's team for seven years including the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Clark said he was satisfied with the work he has done so far with the junior side after taking charge in April this year.

"The players have progressed really well. For me there was always lot of talent at disposal to begin with. It's just about polishing some of the rough edges. I think we really have a talented group of players here who will play a lot of hockey for India in the future," he said.

"It was about some technical improvements that I wanted to make which are more relevant to current international hockey," said the South African, who was also the coach inaugural Hockey India League (HIL) winners Ranchi Rhinos.

Meanwhile, India junior men's team captain Manpreet Singh said he is ready to get out of the shadow of seniors like Sardar Singh.

"As a senior there is responsibility. There is plenty of responsibility on me because this is only my second tour with the junior side. The coach is different so there is lot to learn. But I hope I can fulfil my duties," he said.

"As a captain I will like to take all the players along with me. I will put in all efforts to make the team a cohesive unit. I will like to motivate all the players when their chips are down.

"I have learnt a lot from Sardar on how to handle the team on and off the field," said the midfielder.

Manpreet also felt that the upcoming tournament will give him and other senior team members an opportunity to mix up with the junior players before the World Cup.

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The Hindu: Time now for Hockey World League

Time now for Hockey World League Principal Correspondent Close on the heels of the inaugural Hockey India League (HIL), India is ready to host another event, Round 2 of the Hockey World League (HWL), which will serve as a qualifying competition for next year’s World Cup to be held at The Hague, The Netherlands. This new event, floated by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for men and women, will be held over a two-year cycle. For the first cycle, which started in August last and would continue till February 2014, the event would be the qualifier for the World Cup and over the next two-year period it would become the qualifying competition for the Olympics. Several teams, which took part in Round 1, have qualified for the next round, while the sides ranked between ninth and 16th in the world get the chance to directly play in Round 2. Eight teams from four Round 2 events (to be played on single pool round robin format) will be eligible to participate in Round 3 (which will have two pools of four teams each followed by the classification matches). The eight top ranked sides in the world will get a bye to play in the two third round events, which will serve as the semifinals. The best six finishers in the semifinals will make it to the World Cup or the Olympics. The host nation and five continental champions will complete the remaining slots. The top eight teams from the HWL semifinals will be eligible to take part in the final (which will follow the format of Round 3). Some of the teams which have come through Round 1 will be seen in action during the Round 2 competition for men and women to be held here from February 18 to 24. Teams like Ireland, Bangladesh, Oman and Fiji have qualified from the first round of the men’s competition. India, ranked 11th, and China have made it directly. Among the women’s teams, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Fiji have advanced from the opening round. India, ranked 12th, and Japan (9th) are the sides to get a bye. Even as some teams arrived on Tuesday, the Indian women’s side began its preparations under the watchful eyes of coach Neil Hawgood. Hawgood said in an event involving lesser known teams, the host had to focus on improving its own game. “We are moving in the right direction. We can worry about ourselves than others.” Hawgood said the players needed to work on various aspects of their game in order to improve the performance. Meanwhile, Indian men’s team coach Michael Nobbs allowed the players to recover from the fatigue of the gruelling HIL. However, the coach along with two other support staff took time out to put drag-flicker Gurjinder Singh, who was not part of the HIL, through some fitness drills. The visiting teams will start their training here from Wednesday. SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend