Hockey Tashan

HWL2017: Mighty Kookaburras meet Argentina in final of Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Bhanu Pratap) — Sun, 10 Dec 2017 16:31:00 +0530

Bhubaneswar, India: The final of the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017 will be a mouth-watering clash between the respective world and Olympic champions, with Australia set to meet Rio 2016 gold medallists Argentina in the championship match on Sunday.

Defending champions Australia moved past a depleted German side 3-0 on Saturday to set-up a title clash against Olympic 2016 champions Argentina in the Hockey World League (HWL) Final at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

Dylan Wotherspoon (42nd minute), Jeremy Hayward (48th) and Tom Wickham (60th) scored for the reigning world champions against Germany, who had Christopher, Martin Haner, Julius Meyer, Marco Miltkau and Timur Oruz on the bench due to illness.

Germany, winners of 2008 and 2012 Olympics, will now meet hosts India in the bronze-medal playoff at the Kalinga Stadium on Sunday.

The final day of action takes place on Sunday 10th December with host nation India facing Germany in the bronze medal match at 17:15 Indian Standard Time (UST+5.30). That contest will be followed title match, with reigning world and Hockey World League champions Australia taking on Olympic champions at 1930.

It promises to be a thrilling day’s play that will provide a fitting end to a terrific event in Bhubaneswar, the host city of next year’s Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018.

  
Upcoming fixtures (All times Indian Standard Time - UTC +5.30)

Sunday 10th December 2017
17:15: Bronze medal match - India v Germany
19:30: Final - Argentina v Australia

Hockey World League Final: India face Germany in 3rd place play-off | HWL2017

noreply@blogger.com (Bhanu Pratap) — Sun, 10 Dec 2017 16:08:00 +0530

For Manpreet Singh and Co, this will be the last opportunity to impress a hockey-fanatic crowd at the Kalinga Stadium on Sunday when they take on world No 5 Germany in their bronze-medal match at the Hockey World League Final.

The last competitive match of the year could not have been more important for Sjoerd Marijne’s India in the overall context of team building for next year’s busy calendar. India will be putting in place a ‘three-peak’ strategy for the Commonwealth Games (Gold Coast), Asian Games (Jakarta) and the World Cup in Bhubaneswar.

Marijne’s India team is a work in progress as they stitch together a team capable of beating the top countries in FIH competitions, something they have failed to do consistently in recent times. India have only won bronze in the 2014-15 Hockey World League Final at Raipur and silver in the 2016 Champions Trophy in London, the first few medals after a lengthy drought.

This Indian team is its own enemy. It is capable of traversing from sublime to uninspiring in no time --- sometime in the same match. Interestingly, India’s recent surge on the ranking chart started with their win against Germany in the 2012-13 HWL Final in New Delhi. And, they would love to do so here on Sunday.

At the ongoing HWL Final here, the team got off to a rousing start by holding reigning world and HWL champions Australia to a draw. They slumped to a 1-2 defeat against England before dishing out a forgettable performance against Germany (0-2) to round off their preliminary round engagements at the bottom of the pool.

However, the format allowed them one more chance and they showed tremendous grit, tactical discipline and application in getting the better of Olympic silver medallists Belgium via sudden death shootout 3-3 (3-2) in the quarter-final, although they could have won in regulation time.

In the semi-final against Argentina on Friday, they were undone by a downpour. They were also upended by their initial inability to adapt tactically to the conditions, something the Argentines did manage. The result: Despite a stirring comeback in the last two quarters, Marijne’s boys failed to find the equaliser and lost by a solitary goal.

Thus, the importance of Sunday’s encounter needs to be looked in the overall context of their progress as a team. Winning bronze will leave them in high spirits for next year’s hectic schedule. It will also help them retain the bronze they bagged in Raipur and thus preserve the ranking points.

Time for the boys to at least win it for the fans, who braved heavy rains on Friday to support the team.

Source: HindustanTimes

Hockey World League 2017: India's title hopes end in 0-1 defeat to Argentina in the Semis of HWL2017

noreply@blogger.com (Bhanu Pratap) — Sat, 9 Dec 2017 04:31:00 +0530

There could be reasons to debate whether India lost to conditions or the opposition but there’s no excuse to the missed chances the hosts created in the last five minutes that cost them a 0-1 defeat against Argentina in the semifinals of the Hockey World League at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

Gonzalo Peillat’s 17th-minute penalty-corner conversion separated the two teams on a day when rain ruled Odisha capital and the heavy pitch resulted in a cat-and-mouse game after Argentina scored.

India earned two back-to-back penalty corners in the second quarter but Rupinder Pal Singh couldn’t make use of either.

The Indians were at the receiving end of a tough call and left with 10 men in the last eight minutes before half-time, but they managed to add bricks in the defence to keep it 0-1.

Argentina resorted to 11-man defence everytime the ball was in their half from the third quarter onwards and then deployed aerial balls in the final 15 minutes to keep the Indians at bay.

The Indian forwards went for full press in the final five minutes of the match with a kicking-back, and to their credit, created chances as well, but Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Gurjant Singh couldn’t find the elusive goal that could have taken the game to a shootout.

The hosts will next play for the bronze medal on Sunday against the losing team of the second semifinal between Australia and Germany.

Source: ZeeNews

#HW2017: Argentina and Germany complete semi-final fixtures at Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Bhanu Pratap) — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 14:37:00 +0530

Bhubaneswar, India: The final four of the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final 2017 will see Olympic champions Argentina facing host nation India while Germany and Australia will also go head-to-head following the completion of the event quarter-finals in Bhubaneswar.

Olympic champions Argentina (FIH Hero World Ranking: 1) set up a mouth-watering semi-final meeting with host nation India on Friday (8th December 2017) by battling past England (WR: 7) in a cracking opening match of the day. Argentina attacker Lucas Vila was a hugely influential figure in the contest, marking his 200th senior international appearance with a goal and an assist to help his team into the final four.

Vila produced a poacher's finish in the 21st minute of the match to give the South American giants an early advantage, with Matias Paredes doubling the lead a minute before half time. A stunning volley from David Condon reduced the deficit to a single goal before the end of the half, ensuring that the European bronze medallists were very much in the game ahead of the two quarters that remained.

However, another moment of magic from Vila proved crucial for Argentina’s third goal, weaving has way past England goalkeeper Harry Gibson before being tripped by the shot-stopper, earning his side a penalty stroke. Juan Gilardi - who was later named Man of the Match, presented by Odisha New Opportunities - made no mistake from the spot, restoring Argentina’s two goal lead. A deflected effort from Adam Dixon in the final minute gave England a glimmer of hope at 3-2, but it was not enough time for a comeback.

“It is an honour to be a part of this team and to play 200 games in this shirt, representing Argentina, is like a dream”, said influential attacker Vila after the match, before looking ahead to the semi-final clash against home favourites India. “It is going to be tough. We watched India’s match (against Belgium) yesterday and they go really direct to goal, they want to score every time. We need to be smart to their counters, and we have to use our penalty corner more, which could be the key.”

Pool B winners Germany (WR: 4) defeated European champions the Netherlands (WR: 4) in the last of the quarter-final matches, but needed a shoot-out to do so as the team that finished fourth in Pool A produced their best performance of the competition.

Julius Meyer gave Germany the lead with a thumping strike in the 12th minute, but it was the Netherlands who went into half time thanks to two second quarter goals from Mirco Pruijser and Bjorn Kellerman, the latter being created thanks to a wonderful run and spin from Seve van Ass.

Die Honamas reclaimed the lead thanks to a backhand effort from Constantin Staib, who netted seconds after Netherlands player Tristan Alegra was shown a yellow card. It was a lead Germany held until 25 seconds from the end of the match, with Pruijser scoring a dramatic equaliser from close range to force a shoot-out. Billy Bakker and Robbert Kemperman both failed to convert their chances, and despite an early miss from Florian Fuchs, Germany won the shoot-out 4-3 with Christopher Rühr scoring the decisive goal.

It was really tough, and the Dutch played at the top level”, said Florian Fuchs after the match. “We defended really well in the first half but it slipped away in the second half. It was a great match for the spectators.”

The action continues on Friday 8th December with England and Netherlands taking to the field in the 7-8 classification match at 17:15 Indian Standard Time (UST+5.30). That match will be followed by the first of the semi-finals with Olympic champions Argentina taking on host nation India at 1930.

RESULTS – DAY 7: Quarter-Finals   

England 2-3 Argentina.  

Man of the Match, presented by Odisha New Opportunities: Juan Gilardi (ARG) 

Junior Player of the Match, presented by ONGC: Liam Sanford (ENG)

Germany 3-3 Netherlands. (Germany win 4-3 after Shoot-Out)   

Man of the Match, presented by Odisha New Opportunities: Florian Fuchs (GER)  

Junior Player of the Match, presented by ONGC: Joep de Mol (NED)

Upcoming fixtures (All times Indian Standard Time - UTC +5.30)  

Friday 8th December 2017 :
17:15: 7-8 - England v Netherlands
 19:30: Semi-Final - India v Argentina

 Saturday 9th December 2017
 17:15: 5-6 - Belgium v Spain 
19:30: Semi-Final - Australia v Germany
 
Sunday 10th December 2017 
17:15: Bronze medal match
 19:30: Final

Source: FIH

Pakistan on for World Cup in India, HIL back in 2019 end: Hockey India CEO Elena Norman

noreply@blogger.com (Bhanu Pratap) — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 10:00:00 +0530

Hockey India (HI) is doing everything part of the protocol and has secured approval from two ministries in the government so far to facilitate Pakistan’s participation in the men’s World Cup to be held November-December next year in Bhubaneswar.

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) apparently didn’t apply for their team’s Indian visa in time for the junior men’s hockey World Cup held in Lucknow last year and missed the tournament as a result.

But the Hockey India CEO, Elena Norman, on Wednesday said that they are doing what is required and hopes that the PHF completes all the formalities in time.

“They are welcome here, like any other team. We have got approval from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for conducting the tournament, which will involve 16 teams, including Pakistan.

“There is also Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs. We have got approval from one of them so far. On the top of my mind, I don’t remember which one we have. The other one is expected soon. Then it is up to Pakistan," she told reporters at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, where the men’s Hockey World League Final is being played.

“Pakistan has requirements like submitting the visas within a certain period of time, providing all the details. They need to fulfill those requirements,” Elena added.

The CEO also cleared the air on the future of Hockey India League (HIL), saying that it is tentatively scheduled for a return by the end of 2019 and HI is in talks with the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for a “broad window” to conduct the tournament.

“It is on track and scheduled for 2019 end,” she said.

The 2018 season of the HIL was cancelled by the tournament’s governing council in July this year amid reports that the franchises, especially Delhi Waveriders and Punjab Warriors, were facing financial hurdles to continue their association with the league after five seasons.

“I don’t think they (franchises) were complaining,” Elena said. “Everyone likes to make money, everyone wants to make sure they get the best possible scenario in place. For that, we still have a little bit of time.

“We have already confirmed with our broadcasters for 2019 in terms of Hockey India League. So that’s in place,” she said.

She added that the window for the league in FIH calendar is still being worked out.

“We need to reconfirm the window with FIH, because at the end of 2019, they also have qualification events. So that will happen before the Hockey India League, so that the players are free for HIL.

“We are working with the FIH for a broad window. We haven’t finalised it yet but it will finish on the last Sunday before Christmas (in 2019) so that the players can go home to celebrate (the festival) with their families,” she said.

Source: ZEENEWS

HWL2017 Final: 'Unpredictable' India face Olympic champions Argentina in semi finals

noreply@blogger.com (Bhanu Pratap) — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 08:00:00 +0530

Bhubaneswar: "Unpredictability" has been haunting Indian men's hockey team for quite some time now but that very factor might just act in their favour when the hosts take on Olympic champions and world no.1 Argentina in the semi-finals of the Hockey World League Final, here on 8th December 2017.

For any team in world hockey, predicting India's performance is next to impossible.

'Inconsistent' is the perfect word to sum up India. If one day the Indians are brilliant, the very next day they might give a lacklustre performance.

The same topsy-turvy curve is continuing at the ongoing HWL Final also. After a not-so-impressive pool campaign, India not only stunned world no.3 Belgium but all and sundry at the stadium with their spirited show in the quarterfinals.

And this unpredictably about India is something that is troubling the Argentines ahead of tomorrow's last-four duel.

"India are a tough team to beat. You can't predict how they will come out in a game and that was visible against Belgium yesterday. They beat the most impressive team of the tournament," Argentina's drag-flick specialist Gonzalo Peillat said after the Los Leones beat England 3-2 in their quarterfinal match at the Kalinga Stadium today.

Argentina's drag-flick specialist Gonzalo Peillat

"India are good in counter-attack. So, we have to be very careful," he added.

Argentina, who finished third in Pool A with just one point, scored through field strikes from Lucas Villa (21st minute) and skipper Mattias Paredes (29th), and a penalty stroke conversion by Juan Gillardi (34th) to eke out their first win of the tournament.

For England, David Condon (29th) and Adam Dixon (60th) found the net but that was not enough to make it to the semis.

Argentina might be the reigning Olympic champions and world's numero uno team at present, but the Indians have better head-to-head record against them.

India and Argentina have so far played 46 games against each other, out of which India have won 26, lost 16 and four ended in a tie.

In fact, India were the only team that defeated Argentina to their way to gold medal triumph in 2016 Olympics. In Rio, the Indians defeated the Los Leones 2-1 in the pool stages.

The Indians witnessed a woeful pool campaign here. After an impressive 1-1 draw against Australia in their tournament opener, the hosts went from bad to worse, losing 2-3 and 0-2 against England and Germany, respectively.

But the much-talked about all-play-quarterfinal format came to India's rescue and the hosts dished out their best hockey when it mattered the most and ended Olympic silver medallists Belgium's winning run.

The Indians played attacking, fast-paced hockey and ticked all boxes against Belgium, stunning them 3-2 in the shoot-out after both were locked at 3-3 at the end of the regulation time.

If their pool campaign was lucklustre, the Indians displayed much-improved show in all departments of the game last night.

But it is not as if India didn't create chances in the pool matches, but they lacked in finishing.

Even though they fared better against Belgium, the Indian strikers, especially SV Sunil and Mandeep Singh, still need to do plenty of work in their finishing skills.

S.V. Sunil

Sunil, in particular, missed two golden opportunities against Belgium and he would be cursing himself for letting the chances slip.

The Indian midfield led by talismanic Manpreet Singh had a good tournament so far, as it held the team together.

Manpreet Singh

The defence too fared well if not better. But the backline at times fumbled under pressure and conceded some soft goals and gave away easy penalty corners.

They cannot afford to commit the same mistakes against an attacking Argentine side, who would be eagerly waiting to pounce on the errors.

Statistically, the Indians had more ball possession and better chances in all their matches so far but stats hardly have significance if the results don't turn up in favour.

India's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said his wards will have to dish out a similar performance as against Belgium if not better, if they hope to tame Argentina in the semis.

Indian Hockey chief coach Sjoerd Marijne

"(Against Belgium) our defending was better. We created chances and scored off our penalty corners. Against Germany (in pool match) we had same shots at goal and more penalty corners, also against England and Australia. But if you don't score, things look bad.We knew we have to score. We got four penalty corners against Belgium and scored. When we had the ball we were calmer," Marijne said on the eve of their semi-final.

"We have improved in structured defending. We left small spaces in defence and made it difficult for teams to enter our circle," he added.

However, it remains to be seen how the Indians handle the big match pressure against Argentina, which too had a relatively poor pool campaign before they registered their first win here in the quarterfinal today, just like India did.

Having finished third in the last edition of the tournament in 2015 in Raipur, the Indians also have a chance to go one step up with a win in the semis.

Source:ZeeNews

Hockey World League Final: Argentina beat England 3-2; set up semi-final date with India | HWL2017

noreply@blogger.com (Bhanu Pratap) — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 04:01:00 +0530

BHUBANESWAR: Argentina held off late England charge to record a 3-2 win in the Hockey World League Final on Thursday and booked a semi-final date with host India on Friday. Lucas Vila (21'), Matias Pardes (29') and Juan Gilardi (34') scored for the Olympic champions while David Condon (29') and Adam Dixon (60') scored for England in the quarter-finals.

England were the more aggressive of the two teams after the match began and made more circle entries but Argentina had their defence sorted and did not allow any opening. There was hardly any space. When England ventured inside with promising moves, the defenders were ready. Even England were decent at the back end. The first quarter ended goalless.

But Argentina made it count when Lucas Vila got deflection of a free hit in England's circle to get the ball in and put his team ahead. Juan Lopez took the free-hit and Adam Dixon lifted his left leg to allow that ball to pass through and Vila, playing in his 200th match, pounced on the chance.

England immediately responded with Sam Ward's cross from the left flank but the attackers found it hard to get through the defenders. Then captain Matias Pardes received a high ball near the England circle after it was deflected off Barry Middleton. He beat Liam Sanford and then from an acute angle, reverse hit the ball through the legs of George Pinner to double the lead.

Middleton then shot one inside the Argentine D and the ball this time fell to David Condon after being deflected off Pardes. Condon controlled the ball, turned around and thumped the ball past Juan Vivaldi to cut down the lead to just one goal. Argentina did refer the goal but it was unsuccessful.

Four minutes into the second half, England conceded a penalty stroke which Argentina happily converted to make it 3-1. Vilas was brought down by Harry Gibson who replaced Pinner at the goalmouth for England and the umpire awarded a penalty stroke. Juan Gilardi flicked the ball to the right of the goalie as the Englishman moved the wrong way. Credit to Agustin Mazzillli whose stunning move set Vilas free as he went past the goalkeeper before getting the penalty stroke.

England pressed hard towards the end. They were not playing with a goalkeeper in the final few minutes. Got five penalty corners - two of them back to back, unfortunately converted none. But with 16 seconds to go, Lucas Rossi deflected a cross from Dixon into his own goal to make it 3-2. And with the hooter going off, England unsuccessfully referred for a penalty corner to exit medal contention.

Source: TimesOfIndia

HWL2017: Incredible India stun Belgium in Quarter-Finals at Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Bhanu Pratap) — Thu, 7 Dec 2017 16:48:00 +0530

Bhubaneswar, India: Host nation India caused a massive upset on the first of two days of quarter-final action at the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017, while title holders Australia also claimed a place in the competition final four at the Kalinga Stadium.   

India, who finished fourth in Pool B, claimed a stunning shoot-out victory over Belgium’s Red Lions, a team that came into the contest on the back of three straight victories. Earlier in the day, Australia’s Kookaburras proved too strong for Spain to keep alive their hopes of defending the Hockey World League title that they won two years ago in Raipur.

Australia will face a semi-final meeting against either Germany or Netherlands, two sides that meet in the quarter-finals on Thursday 7th December. India’s semi-final opponents will come from the winner of Thursday’s quarter-final clash between England and Olympic champions Argentina.

The opening match of the day saw Spain (FIH World Ranking: 9), who finished second in Pool A thanks to a victories over European champions the Netherlands and Olympic champions Argentina, looking to continue their excellent form by defeating the reigning world and Hockey World League title holders Australia (WR: 2), whose third place finish in Pool B disguised the fact that they did not lose any of their opening three matches here in Bhubaneswar.

A goal-less first quarter was followed by a second period that was certainly not short of action. Australia had a goal ruled out when Spain made good use of a referral to the video umpire, with the Spanish taking a 1-0 lead moments later when Marc Garcia got a crucial touch on crashed ball into the circle to find the target. Jeremy Hayward restored parity two minutes ahead of half time with a low and powerful penalty corner effort, leaving the match finely balanced ahead of the two remaining quarters.

A yellow card shown to Daniel Beale resulted in Australia needing to absorb huge amounts of Spanish pressure, but the Red Sticks could not get the breakthrough before the Kookaburras returned to full strength. It proved to be telling, as three penalty corner goals in three minutes early in the fourth quarter killed the contest, with Aaron Kleinschmidt and a double for Blake Govers - who was named Junior Player of the Match, presented by ONGC - putting the defending champions into the semi-finals.

“The push-out, trap and flick was really good today”, said Australia captain Mark Knowles, referring to his side’s ruthlessness from penalty corner situations. “You cannot have a world class flicker if someone cannot push it out flat, and it was very pleasing to the coaching staff.”

The Kalinga Stadium was a cauldron of deafening noise for a belting match between Pool A winners Belgium (WR: 3) and host nation India (WR: 6), who finished fourth in Pool B but produced a stunning performance against their higher-ranked opponents. The lively SV Sunil twice came close to opening the scoring for India in the first half, with the Red Lions having a goal ruled out by the video umpire due to a back stick.

One minute into the second half, the mammoth crowd erupted with joy when Gurjant Singh forced home from close range to give India a shock lead against the pre-match favourites, an advantage that was doubled four minutes later thanks to a ferocious penalty corner flick from Harmanpreet Singh.

The Red Lions were stunned, but regained their composure to score twice either side of the third quarter break. Both goals were penalty corners that came from the stick of Loick Luypaert, who took his competition tally to a remarkable eight in four matches.

India hit back almost immediately when Rupinder Pal Singh scored a penalty corner, but a deflected goal from Belgium's Amaury Keusters took the score to 3-3 and forced the match into the most entertaining and dramatic of shoot-outs.

India lead the shoot-out 2-0 after three efforts each, but Belgium forced sudden-death by scoring both of their two remaining efforts while India failed to convert. Harmanpreet Singh scored what proved to be the winner while Arthur van Doren was unable to beat India shot-stopper Akash Chikte, sparking scenes of utter jubilation both in the stands and on the field from the home favourites.

“It was a really exciting game, I’d describe it as nail-biting”, said India’s Rupinder Pal Singh after the match. “The crowd were amazing today, they were helped us play a really good game.”

The two remaining quarter-final matches will be played on Thursday 7th December, with England (2nd Pool B) taking on Argentina (3rd Pool A) at 1715 before Germany (1st Pool B) play the Netherlands (4th Pool A) at 1930.  

RESULTS – DAY 6: Quarter-Finals   

Spain 1, Australia 4.
  Man of the Match, presented by Odisha New Opportunities: Matthew Dawson (AUS) 
Junior Player of the Match, presented by ONGC: Blake Govers (AUS) 

 Belgium 3, India 3. (India win 2-3 after Shoot-Out)  
Man of the Match, presented by Odisha New Opportunities: Loick Luypaert (BEL) 
Junior Player of the Match, presented by ONGC: Sumit (IND)
 
Remaining Quarter-Final fixtures (All times Indian Standard Time - UTC +5.30)

  Thursday 7th December 2017 
17:15: England v Argentina 
19:30: Germany v Netherlands 

Source: FIH

SAI orders investigation over mistreatment of Indian girl’s hockey team in Australia

noreply@blogger.com (Bhanu Pratap) — Tue, 5 Dec 2017 17:00:00 +0530

After a video showing girl's hockey team from India protesting against lack of facilities and support from the Indian government officials in Australia during the Pacific School Games surfaced on social media, the Sports Authority of India clarified that no sanction/approval for travel has been accorded to the team and coach, Pradeep Kumar, featured in the video.

Neither has The Hockey India approved or sanctioned the tour and sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore has ordered an investigation over the matter.

The video, posted yesterday morning showed a number of girls representing India at the Games, expressing displeasure over the negligence of the 'Indian Officials'. One of the girls goes on to say that they were not made aware of the schedule of their matches that led to them to missing a game. Also, they were not provided with any transportation and had to book cabs on their own to reach the venue.

Later in the evening, The Hockey India tweeted that they have not sent any team nor has the Sports Authority of India involved in the matter. However, FIA, Forum for Indian Australian - a community group that focuses on social issues specific to the Indian-Australian community, reached out to the coach and it was learnt that the girls are in Australia for a sports meet of school kids (Pacific School Games).

No Govt. Of #India sanction/approval for travel has been accorded to the team and coach featured in the video circulating on social media. Neither has @TheHockeyIndia approved or sanctioned the tour. 1/2 @Ra_THORe @SushmaSwaraj @HCICanberra @AusHCIndia
— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) December 4, 2017

Taking serious note of this, Hon. Sports Minister Col @Ra_THORe has ordered investigation and action into this matter, which has caused inconvenience and embarrassment to the girls and has brought disrepute to the nation. 2/2 @TheHockeyIndia @SushmaSwaraj @HCICanberra @AusHCIndia
— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) December 4, 2017

The team in question comprises school girls from different schools of India playing matches against Australian school teams. Such games meets between different schools, including this one are facilitated by the School Games Federation Of India (SFGI). The SGFI is an independently registered body which is only "recognised" by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India and affiliated with the ISF (International School Sport Federation).

The coach later said that though there was some initial miscommunication which led to some confusion, the situation is under control now. He also went on to clarify that they do not seek any help from anyone at any level at all as everything is now under control.

Source: Forum for Indian Australianshttps://t.co/YL3SAksVpS pic.twitter.com/437wAVAFI6
— India in Sydney (@cgisydney) December 5, 2017

Watch the video here:

Source: TimesOfIndia

Indian Officials In Australia Denied Facilities To Indian Girl’s Hockey Team. Is Cricket Everything?

noreply@blogger.com (Bhanu Pratap) — Tue, 5 Dec 2017 15:02:00 +0530

There is no doubt that Indian sportspersons other than cricketers have not got the facilities that they actually deserve but blaming the government every time something wrong happens is also not correct.

A video is going viral on the Internet which shows the girl’s hockey team from India slamming the Indian officials in Australia for not providing proper facilities to them.

The players claimed that they are not even told about the schedule of the matches. Moreover, they are not provided transportation and they have come to play in Adelaide, Australia, on their own expenses. The team has already missed 2 matches due to the mismanagement. The coach Pradeep Kumar also said that they neither got any transportation facility nor food.

Watch The Video:

Click here to watch this video directly on Facebook

Later on, the Sports Authority of India came into action and clarified that no team or coach has been given sanction to travel by the government of India or Hockey India. The sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has ordered an investigation into the matter.

Representational Image

In a couple of tweets, SAI tweeted,

“No Govt. Of #India sanction/approval for travel has been accorded to the team and coach featured in the video circulating on social media. Neither has @TheHockeyIndia approved or sanctioned the tour. Taking serious note of this, Hon. Sports Minister Col @Ra_THORe has ordered investigation and action into this matter, which has caused inconvenience and embarrassment to the girls and has brought disrepute to the nation. @TheHockeyIndia @SushmaSwaraj @HCICanberra @AusHCIndia”

No Govt. Of #India sanction/approval for travel has been accorded to the team and coach featured in the video circulating on social media. Neither has @TheHockeyIndia approved or sanctioned the tour. 1/2 @Ra_THORe @SushmaSwaraj @HCICanberra @AusHCIndia
— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) December 4, 2017

Taking serious note of this, Hon. Sports Minister Col @Ra_THORe has ordered investigation and action into this matter, which has caused inconvenience and embarrassment to the girls and has brought disrepute to the nation. 2/2 @TheHockeyIndia @SushmaSwaraj @HCICanberra @AusHCIndia
— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) December 4, 2017

When this team and coach were contacted by Forum of Indian Australian (FIA), it was revealed that these girls are in Australia for participating in a tournament of school kids named Pacific School Games. FIA deals with the issues related to Indian-Australian community.

This team consists of girl students from various schools and they are in Australia for playing matches against Australian school teams. Such tournaments are taken care by School Games Federation Of India (SFGI) which is affiliated with ISF (International School Sport Federation) and recognized only by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.

Later on, the coach Pradeep Kumar said that there was some miscommunication and everything is under control now. In fact, he denied the need of help from anyone at the moment.

What is your take on this matter? Do let us know.

Share Your Views In Comments Below!

Source: RVCJ