CT2012 bronze-medalist Pakistan jump to 5th in FIH World Rankings

FIH Press Release

MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 11, 2012: The International Hockey Federation announced latest edition of its FIH Men’s World Rankings on Tuesday after the Champions Trophy 2012 came to its conclusion on Sunday.

While the top four positions in the FIH Men’s World Rankings remained unchanged, it was Pakistan who made the most promising run in the top ten as it jumped from ninth to fifth position.

The London 2012 Olympic Gold medallists Germany are still holding the number 1 spot followed by Champions Trophy winners Australia (2nd), Olympic and Champions Trophy Silver medallists The Netherlands (3rd) and England (4th) are occupying the top four positions.

Success in the Champions Trophy for the Kookaburras has seen them slightly narrow the gap between themselves and Germany, while recent strong performances from the Dutch have seen them increase their advantage over England.

Thanks to their brilliant Bronze medal at the Champions Trophy, Pakistan are the most improved nation in the top ten having leapt from 9th place to 5th.

New Zealand continue to hold 6th place ahead of Spain (7th), Champions Challenge finalists Korea (8th), Belgium (9th) and Champions Challenge winners Argentina (10th).

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Champions Trophy Hockey Semi-Final Line-Up Completed

By Nadene Smith

MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 6, 2012: Pakistan stunned Olympic champions Germany by two goals to one to storm their way into semi-final of the Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament on Thursday.

Two goals by Shakeel Abbasi set Pakistan against Netherlands, who defeated New Zealand by 2-0, in semi-final.

India will take on Australia in the second semi-final after beating Belgium by 1-0. Australia defeated England 2-0 in the last quarterfinal.

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Champions Trophy Hockey: Pakistan stun Germany to enter last-4

By Jamie Pierce

MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 6, 2012: A controversial goal helped Pakistan defeat the Olympic champions Germany by two goals to one to book them a place in the semifinals stage of the 2012 Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament in Melbourne on Thursday.

Shakeel Abbasi scored both of Pakistani goals while Germany’s only goal was scored by their skipper Mo Fuerste in the first half.

Pakistan has dominated most of the teams in the current edition of the Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament but lacked the execution on most occasions and the same problem continued pegging them back in the first half of their quarterfinal match against Germany as they missed numerous chances which helped German cause.

Germany went up by a goal only in the ninth minute when skipper Mo Fuerste delivered a back flick from on top of the D-area as Pakistani goalkeeper, who has been a revelation in the tournament, couldn’t stop it passing by him into the goal.

Germany entered the halfway stage with a goal advantage and Pakistan were left ruing a number of chances going begging in the first 35 minutes.

Pakistan continued to dominate the possession in the second half and kept attacking the German goal which soon translated into their first goal with Shakeel Abbasi finally managing to sneak one past the German goalkeeper who stood like a rock in the goal for the best part.

With game equalized, it was Germans who came under severe pressure as their forwards wasted various chances due to nervous energy in the business area around Pakistani goal which made the job easy for Pakistani defenders and goalkeepers in many ways.

On the other side, Pakistani forwards upped the tempo and put German defence line under tremendous pressure and soon they got a penalty corner. German goalkeeper was able to stop the direct hit by Pakistani striker but rebound came slowly to another Pakistani striker whose back-stick hit the ball (which is a foul as per hockey rules) and his touch led the ball to another Pakistani striker who passed the ball to Shakeel Abbasi whose back-flick beat the goalkeeper into the net.

German players challenged the goal but the television referee maintained the decision made by the onfield umpire on the basis of the assumption that the ball after hitting the backside of Pakistani striker’s stick didn’t deviate and changed its pace so as to help Pakistan in anyway.

German officials didn’t like the ruling and approached the match officials but couldn’t do more than registering their protest as Pakistan acquired a one goal advantage over the Olympic champions.

 

Pakistan continued enjoying the possession thereafter and German strikers failed to force the issue until the final couple of minutes when two unnecessary fouls by Pakistani players cut them down to nine men on the field as two of their players including the goal-scorer Shakeel Abbasi were showed yellow cards.

The unnecessary fouls gave Germans the lift they required and they achieved a penalty corner in the final minute of the match but they failed to exhibit their professionalism and lost the opportunity to equalize the game and take it into the extra time.

With this victory, Pakistan entered the semi-finals stage of the Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament for the first time in eight years and this triumph has also ensured them qualification into the next edition of the tournament.

The victory for Pakistan also bettered their bilateral record against Germany as now they have defeated the Germans on 10 occasions as against 12 defeats while six matches between the two sides ended in a stalemate.

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Argentina beat Korea 5-0 to win Champions Challenge 1

By Luther Jefferson

QUILMES, Argentina (TheSportsNEXT) December 3, 2012: Argentina qualified for the next edition of Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament on Sunday when they outclassed Korea by 5-0 in final of the Champions Challenge 1 in Quilmes.

It was a truly brilliant performance from the South Americans, who totally dominated the world number 7 to seal a place in the next edition of the FIH Champions Trophy.

Agustin Mazzilli, Gonzalo Peillat, Pedro Ibarra, Guillermo Schickendantz and Manuel Brunet were the scorers for Argentina, delighting a huge partisan crowd in Quilmes.

Argentina were hugely impressive in the first half of the final, and snatched an early lead when Agustin Mazzilli pounced on a loose ball in the Korean circle to score and send the home fans into raptures.

Gonzalo Peillat added a second goal two minutes from the end of the half with a blistering penalty corner, rattling the backboard with a perfectly executed low effort.

The home side won a succession of penalty corners at the end of the first half, but their failure to convert their chances left Korea very much in the game for the second half.

However, Argentina added a third goal at the very start of the second period, with Pedro Ibarra taking on the flicking duties with another brilliant penalty corner effort.

Korea went in search of a much needed goal, but an error in their own circle cost them another penalty corner.

Again, there was a different player taking the flick, with Guillermo Schickendantz sending a high shot into the roof of the net for his fifth goal of a remarkable debut tournament.

The fifth and final goal was a beautiful move from Argentina, passing their way through the Korean defence before Manuel Brunet tapped in from close range to seal an epic victory.

The competition final brought to an end a hugely entertaining event, with all of the matches being played in a great spirit under glorious sunshine.

Argentina forward Lucas Vila was named as the Player of the Tournament thanks to some outstanding displays for his team, while the Goalkeeper of the Tournament Award went to Ireland’s David Harte.

Korea’s Jong Hyun Jang finished as the tournament’s top goal scorer thanks to eight penalty corner strikes, while Japan were given the Fair Play award for receiving the lowest number of disciplinary cards.

The bronze medal went the way of Ireland, who defeated Malaysia 4-3 thanks to a golden goal from Peter Caruth.

It was a remarkable achievement for a team playing in their first ever Champions Challenge 1, and one that their players will never forget.

Earlier in the day, Japan took fifth place with a 4-2 win over Canada, while South Africa took seventh place by beating Poland 4-1. Reports for both of these matches can be found by clicking here.

Final Standings at Champions Challenge 1

1: Argentina (Promoted to the Champions Trophy)

2: Korea

3: Ireland

4: Malaysia

5: Japan

6: Canada

7: South Africa

8: Poland

Awards:

Player of the Tournament: Lucas Vila (ARG)

Goalkeeper of the Tournament: David Harte (IRL)

Top Goal-scorer: Jang Jong Hyun (KOR) – 8 goals.

Fair Play Award: Japan

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Pakistan beat Belgium 2-0 to revive Champions Trophy chances

By Nadene Smith

MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 2, 2012: Pakistan opened their account in the Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament 2012 on Sunday when they defeated Belgium by two goals to nil in Melbourne.

Haseem Khan and Shafqat Rasool scored the goals for Pakistan.

In other matches, England defeated Germany for the first time in Champions Trophy as they won the match by 4-1 while the match between Australia and Netherlands ended in a goalless draw.

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Lanco Super Series Hockey: Australia, England enjoy authority

By Nadene Smith

SYDNEY, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) November 22, 2012: The arch-rivals Pakistan and India started their nine-a-side Lanco International Super Series hockey campaign off to a poor start on Thursday.

The two South Asian teams were rocked by Australia and England who looked far more professional and agile in the box.

In the inaugural match of the nine-a-side Lanco International Super Series Hockey, Australia defeated Pakistan by four goals to two at the Perth Hockey Stadium in Bentley.

Aussies were leading the match by 3-1 at halfway stage and with both teams scoring another goal in the second half it was the home side which recorded a rather comfortable victory.

Veteran Aussie hockey player Jamie Dwyer was once again amongst the goals as he scored twice while Liam de Young and Beale Daniel also provided one goal apiece as Australia completely looked a better side on the field. For Pakistan, Abdul Haseem Khan and Muhammad Rizwan Senior scored one goal each but that proved insufficient to challenge Australia on their home soil.

In the other match of the opening day, England came from behind to stun the Indians by two goals to one in Perth.

Gurvinder Singh Chandi gave India the important lead but Indian defence-line failed to cope up with the mounted pressure by the English hockey players as they bounced their way back into contention when Daniel Fox equalized and then sealed the deal when David Condon gave the Englishmen the winning lead.

India will be up against Australia on Friday before the bitter rivals Pakistan and India heat up the tournament Saturday.

The nine-a-side format, also known as Hockey 9s, has the only tournament named the Lanco International Super Series played every year in Australia. This year’ edition of the Lanco International Super Series being played in Perth will be followed by the highly-esteemed FIH Champions Trophy 2012 in Melbourne from December 1-9, 2012 at the State Netball Hockey Center.

The hosts Australia, Olympic champions Germany, Australia, England, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium, India and Pakistan will battle it out in Melbourne for the Champions Trophy Hockey 2012 title.

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PHF announces probables for Champions Trophy Hockey

By Babar Malik

Is this the end of Sohail Abbas' international hockey career?

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) October 26, 2012: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), on Thursday, named 27-man probables for the 34^th Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament to be played in Melbourne from December 1-9, 2012.

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The PHF selectors have excluded veterans Rehan Butt and Sohail Abbas but Mohammad Imran, Wasim Ahmed, and Imran Shah managed to find a place in the squad.

The training camp will commence from October 31 in Johar Town Hockey Stadium in Lahore.

Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy Hockey 2012 includes Mohammad Salman Hussain, Waqas Liaqat Butt, Imran Junior, Ahmed Zubair, Usman Rafiq, Ali Hassan, Talal Khalid, Kashif Ali, Sibtain Naqvi, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Rizwan Junior, Ali Shan, Mohammad Ateeq, Mohammad Nawaz, Waseem Ahmed, Mohammad Tauseeq, Fareed Ahmed, Mohammad Waqas, Shafqat Rasool, Umar Bhutta, Imran Shah, Imran Butt, Irfan Senior, Kashif Shah, Mohammad Imran senior and Mohammad Rizwan senior.

Pakistan is participating in the Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament 2012 after International Hockey Federation (FIH) invited them to be part of the competition after finishing seventh at the Hockey even of the London 2012.

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