The two highest-ranked teams in this tournament clinched the two top spots. India scored no less than 35 goals, much to the delight of their great fans. The home team and South Africa have earned a berth in the FIH Olympic qualifiers. Defeating the USA, Japan took third place. Japan – USA True to the tactical principles they had showcased since the beginning of the tournament, Japan immediately started to put pressure on the USA while the North Americans were defensively well organised and ready to seize every opportunity to move quickly upfront. On one of their first counter-attacks, the USA won a penalty corner which Aki Kaeppeler converted into the first goal of this match for third place. However, Japan reacted quickly and following a drag-flick from a penalty corner by Yoshiki Kirishita, Kazuma Murata found the target one minute later. Japan continued to attack and were close to take the lead after a nice combination inside the circle but the US defence intervened. Halfway through the second quarter, the Asian champions were awarded a penalty stroke. However, Hirotaka Zendana missed the target. The Asian champions did not give up and in the same quarter they got another penalty stroke which, this time, Yoshiki Kirishita converted, therefore giving his side a 2-1 lead. In the meantime, Japan’s goalkeeper Takashi Yoshikawa had denied a further scoring opportunity for the USA with a brilliant save. The second half started with repeated attacks from Japan on USA’s goal. But, despite a plethora of great chances, they were either unable to find the target or were thwarted by US goalkeeper Daniel Wisselink – later elected Man of the Match – who was having an outstanding day. Meanwhile, Rutger Wiese’s team always looked dangerous on the break. The dying moments of the game were just thrilling. With one minute to go, the USA managed to get back into the match with a second goal from Aki Kaeppeler from a penalty corner. A shootout competition was looming … but the team of Captain Mohan Gandhi had hardly celebrated their equaliser when they conceded two goals from Kenta Tanaka before the final whistle! Japan’s Head Coach Siegfried Aikman: “Our team has made big steps in this tournament. In all our matches, we did our passing and our receiving play very well. Against India, we lost our control. But even then, it was a good match. In our finishing, we are poor. In our penalty corners, we are a disaster. Until the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, we will focus on physical strength, finishing and of course penalty corners. But we have time and those are things which you can practice very well.” USA’s captain Mohan Gandhi: “Our performance throughout the tournament has been fantastic. We’re a tough team to beat. Nobody likes playing against us. Slightly disappointed as in the last two minutes of each game we just couldn’t close it out. We showed our inexperience and lack of confidence, I think. But the whole tournament, the whole time we’ve been here, we’ve grown and we’re going to take that into the next tournament.” ******** FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 Result: Japan 4, USA 2 (match for 3rd place) Man of the Match: Daniel Wisselink (USA) Umpires: Dekang Chen (CHN), Ahmed Elsayed (EGY) ******** India – South Africa In front of their home fans, India wanted to live up to their supremacy in the FIH World Rankings. It did not take them very long to take the lead with a goal from Varun Kumar from a penalty corner. The Asian team was playing mostly in South Africa’s half during the first quarter and doubled their lead, with another penalty corner; this time from Harmanpreet Singh. South Africa spared no effort to come back into the match but they struggled to create good chances. And it was India who added another goal to their tally with a penalty stroke from Harmanpreet Singh, therefore becoming the joint top goalscorer of the tournament with Russia’s Semen Matkovskiy (6 goals each) at that moment. Half-time came with a solid 3-0 lead for Graham Reid’s side. At the start of the second half, South Africa missed a good opportunity which, if converted, would have given hope and confidence to the African champions. Instead of that, India took a 4 goals advantage through Vivek Prasad who converted from short distance as a result of an offering from Simranjeet Singh after brilliant dribbling in the circle. South Africa were determined to find the target and they were a step away from doing so on two consecutive attempts from Keenan Horne and Richard Pautz towards the end of the third quarter. The final quarter of this tournament saw the home team continue attacking and Varun Kumar scored his second penalty corner. He too was taking his goal tally in this event to six, therefore joining Harmanpreet Singh – later chosen Man of the Match – and Semen Matkovskiy at the top of the goalscorer standings. Meanwhile, the African champions also found the target as Richard Pautz was in the right place to hit the ball over the goal-line from a penalty corner. India’s Head Coach Graham Reid: “It was a really interesting tournament. There are always things which we can improve. I think that the areas that we worked on in the last 2-3 months, we’ll be continuing. The boys will now have a couple of weeks off, spend time with their families and recharge their batteries. Then we have a really hard month in July and we go to the Olympic Games’ test event in Tokyo in August. It will be a busy period.” South Africa’s Head Coach Garreth Ewing: “First, we’ll take from this tournament a step to the next round. It was really good for us to spend some time together as a team. The first couple of games were tough but we progressed nicely, then we found our rhythm and we were very competitive and really happy to

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Defeating Japan and the USA respectively in today’s semi-finals, hosts India and South Africa are certain to grab one of the first two spots of the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 which give access to the FIH Olympic qualifiers scheduled in October-November this year. USA – South Africa The first opportunity in this game was created by the African champions with Austin Smith’s drag-flick from a penalty corner heading just centimetres wide of the goalposts. South Africa was enjoying most of the ball possession but, as previously showcased in this tournament, USA was defending very well, leaving very little space for their opponents to capitalise upon. South Africa had a further very good opportunity from a deflected ball after another penalty corner, but USA goalkeeper Jonathan Klages cleared it. On a counter-attack, the USA got a penalty-corner which Aki Kaeppeler converted for the first goal of this semi-final, five seconds before the end of the first quarter. The next fifteen minutes did not provide many scoring chances. A good attempt from Keenan Horne went slightly off target. At half-time, the USA were still leading 1-0. The match continued in the same pattern at the start of the second half. South Africa had to look for the equaliser but they struggled to create opportunities as USA’s defensive organisation was very solid. Additionally, the American side were quick to go on the attack whenever they turned over possession. However, Garreth Ewing’s team found the net towards the end of the third quarter when a penalty corner was fired home by the experienced Austin Smith. South Africa came very close to taking the lead following two consecutive penalty corners right at the start of the final quarter but Jonathan Klages was in fine form and saved well. The USA reacted quickly with Kei Kaeppeler crossing the ball for Alberto Montilla who could not quite get into position to deflect it into the goal. The intensity of the match was increasing, with the ball moving quickly from one half to the other. With just 30 seconds left to play, the fate of this match was decided: following a shot from Nqobile Ntuli, South Africa’s Nicholas Spooner was in the right place to deflect the ball past the goal-line and give his team a place in the Final. South Africa’s Nicholas Spooner: “0-1 behind, then coming back to score and then the 2-1 was 30 seconds to play. It’s incredible. Great performance from the team. We’re fortunate enough to get a win. I was in the right place at the right time and was lucky enough to hit the ball over the line at the end of the day.” USA’s Head Coach Rutger Wiese: “Congratulations to South Africa. What two battles we fought with them this week! Overall, I think our first four games were pretty good.” ******** FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 Result: USA 1, South Africa 2 (semi-final) Man of the Match: Tyson Dlungwana (RSA) Umpires: Zeke Newman (AUS), Eduardo Lizana (ESP) ******** India – Japan This all-Asian encounter started at a high tempo and it took only 90 seconds for Japan to open the scoring after a great pass from Kenta Tanaka was converted into a goal by Kenji Kitazato. India immediately put pressure on Japan’s goal in an attempt to get a quick equaliser. After a great save from Yusuke Takano following a shot from Nilakanta Sharma and a missed opportunity by Gursahibjit Singh, the home team levelled the score with a penalty corner from Harmanpreet Singh, who celebrated his 100th cap in the best possible way. But Japan were determined to give a hard time to the 5th ranked team in the world. First, Kenta Tanaka, at the conclusion of one of his numerous fast runs, put the Indian defence under pressure. Then, in the 20th minute of the game, Kota Watanabe managed to hit the ball into the goal, making it 2-2. But once again, India reacted with no delay. First Ramandeep Singh from a penalty corner and then Hardik Singh doubled their team’s tally within two minutes (4-2). In the second half, India won numerous penalty corners and it was Ramandeep Singh – later elected Man of the Match – who converted, scoring his second goal of the night. He was soon copied by his teammate Gursahibjit Singh, increasing the score to 6-2 at the end of the third quarter. The final quarter gave the opportunity to India’s youngest player Vivek Prasad to put his name on the scoresheet, much to the delight of the home crowd. Despite several penalty corners, Japan could not find the net in this second half. India’s captain Manpreet Singh: “Japan played very well. They were attacking and did not give us easy chances in the first two quarters. But after that our players played very well, they got good chances and we converted penalty corners. We’re really happy because we’re qualified for the Final and for the FIH Olympic qualifiers. Tomorrow is a really important game for us because South Africa is doing very well. We hope we’ll play as we played today.” ******** FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 Result: India 7, Japan 2 (semi-final) Man of the Match: Ramandeep Singh (India) Umpires: Sébastien Duterme (BEL), Xavier Fenaert (FRA) ******** The action continues tomorrow (15 June) with the tournament’s last two games: 17:00 (IST) Japan – USA (match for 3rd place) 19:15 (IST) India – South Africa (Final) #FIHSeriesFinals #RoadToTokyo

With a win over Poland today, Japan will play India in an all-Asian semi-final. The other semi-final will see South Africa, who qualified after defeating Russia today, take on USA. Both European teams will play the match for the 5th place. All games are scheduled on 14 June. Japan – Poland As has happened so often in this event, Japan did not wait long to set up camp in their opponents’ half. But on a counter-attack, Joseph Hillyer managed to find his teammate Mikolaj Gumny in an ideal position in front of the goal. Gumny had no hesitation in converting this golden opportunity into the first goal of the match. The ball possession remained mostly with the Asian champions but Poland was defending well. On a penalty corner however, Shota Yamada drag-flicked the ball into the net, giving his side a deserved equaliser. Japan then missed a huge opportunity with Koji Yamasaki deflecting the ball onto the goalpost. But on the subsequent penalty corner, Hirotaka Zendana made no mistake as he put his team ahead. Another counter-attack from the determined Poles saw Michal Poltaszewski sending a clever pass to Maciej Janiszewski who, in turn, delivered a precise cross to his team’s leading goalscorer Mateusz Hulboj. The striker needed no invitation to score from short distance. Early in the second half, Poland’s goalkeeper Maciej Pacanowski cleared a penalty corner but the ball came back to Kenta Tanaka, who found the target making it 3-2. Just two minutes later, Japan made the most of the Polish defence’s inability to clear the ball from their own circle to add another goal to their tally. This time the scorer was Koji Yamasaki. In the final quarter of the game, Poland gave all they could in an attempt to reach the semi-finals. Despite their efforts, it was Japan who increased their lead with two further goals from Kenji Kitazato and Koji Yamasaki – his second of the night. Japan’s Head Coach Siegfried Aikman: “If you win, it makes you happy. But I was unhappy in the previous games with the way we conceded goals and today was similar: we dominate, our opponents get one chance and it’s a goal. So, then we make it very hard for ourselves. We need to work harder. The inconsistency in our play is troubling me. It’s fantastic to play the home nation. It will a be an exciting match. India play good hockey, they’re skillful, they’re fast, they have everything which should be in a hockey match. For us, it’s a challenge because they are the number one in Asia. We envy them, we want to get that position. So, we accept the challenge with a lot of joy.” Poland’s Maciej Janiszewski: “I think we just lost energy in the second half. In the first half, we kept our tactic and our positions. At 2-2, we were thinking we could make it. But we lost energy and could not come back when Japan scored again.” ******** FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 Result: Japan 6, Poland 2 (cross-over) Man of the Match: Kazuma Murata (JPN) Umpires: Gus Soteriades (USA), David Sweetman (SCO) ******** Russia – South Africa There were high expectations before this encounter between the second highest-ranked team of the tournament, South Africa, and a Russian side clearly on the rise after their challenging start against hosts India. Both teams lived up to the expectations as they set a high tempo right from the start of this intensely contested game. The ball circulated quickly from one camp to the next throughout the first half with both teams creating good chances and defending well at the same time. Only goals were missing in this exciting game. The second half followed the same pattern. The African champions and the European representatives multiplied the attempts on goal but both goalkeepers Marat Gafarov and Rassie Pietersee seemed invincible and their defences were performing well. Halfway through the third quarter however, Nqobile Ntuli found the target following a penalty corner. But at the beginning of the next quarter, Russia equalised on a penalty corner by Georgii Arusiia. Was the fate of this game to be decided on penalty shootouts for the first time in this tournament? The answer eventually came from South African Ryan Julius who gave to his team a definitive lead. Russia tried hard to come back, but to no avail. South Africa’s Nicholas Spooner: “We’re feeling pretty good. We didn’t play our best hockey tonight but we’re the winners at the end of the day against a good Russian side, so in these conditions we’re happy to get to the semi-finals. We didn’t have the best start against the USA in this tournament. It’s always hard from a South African point of view as we don’t have a lot of time together. We’ll be looking to put pressure on them and hopefully get a win there.” Russia’s Pavel Golubev: “I’m really disappointed about our loss because we came here to win as usual and we had a lot of great opportunities to score. This game was even but I think we had more chances to score and we didn’t manage to do this. It’s our main problem nowadays. So, we’ll work to make it better.” ******** FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 Result: Russia 1, South Africa 2 (cross-over) Man of the Match: Austin Smith (RSA) Umpires: Eduardo Lizana (ESP), Sébastien Duterme (BEL) ******** The action continues on 14 June with the following programme: 08:00* (IST) Russia – Poland (match for 5th place) 17:00 (IST) USA – South Africa (semi-final) 19:15 (IST) India – Japan (semi-final) * In order to adjust to the current high temperatures affecting Bhubaneswar and considering that the welfare of athletes, fans, volunteers, officials and everyone involved in an FIH event is paramount, FIH has decided that the game will start at 8am (IST), instead of 8:45am (IST) as initially planned. #FIHSeriesFinals #RoadToTokyo

The South African Hockey Association has today announced the SA Men’s side that will take part in the FIH Hockey Series Final in Bhubaneswar from the 6-15 June 2019. The tournament will be the first under the stewardship of Garreth Ewing with the goal of trying to finish in the top 2 to qualify for the FIH Olympic Qualifiers. South Africa will be in Pool B alongside USA, Mexico and Japan. With India, Poland, Russia and Uzbekistan competing in Pool A. The top team from each pool progresses to the Semi-Finals directly while the teams in 2ndand 3rd play a crossover Quarter Final. Ewing has taken the opportunity to call up a few players who missed out on the 2018 FIH World Cup at the same venue. Siya Nolutshungu returns to the line-up alongside Ryan Julius, Alex Stewart and Matt de Sousa. Matt Brown, who is lethal at penalty corner time, will get the opportunity to earn his first cap for his country. With Rhett Halkett and Julian Hykes having announced their retirement from the International game, there is an opportunity for others to cement their spots in the squad. Tim Drummond will continue to lead the team as captain. “Selection was a tough series of decisions because there were a lot of conversations between the selection panel and me regarding player availability. I am sure that some guys will be thrilled, and some will be disappointed.” Shared Ewing, “I’m happy with the balance of the team and our depth in terms of penalty corner attack. Some players will be in slightly different positional roles which I believe will be mentally stimulating for them. I’m very positive about this group both in terms of its talent and the balance between experience and youthful energy. I believe we will compete well and take a positive step in the team’s process.” South African Men’s Hockey Squad *Caps per FIH Tournament Management System at 08 May 2019, Province is most recently represented province. Fixtures – Hockey Series Final 06 June – South Africa vs. USA 08 June – South Africa vs. Japan 10 June – South Africa vs. Mexico 12 June – Crossovers 14 June – Semi-Finals 15 June – Final Source: Sports24Seven