05 Jun, 2024 France and Pakistan joined New Zealand in the semi-finals of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Poland 2023/24 after playing out a 11-goal thriller. Pool B saw Les Bleus finish first, followed by Pakistan. Malaysia finished third after defeating Canada in the first game of the day. Pakistan 5-6 France  France topped Pool B with a third straight win, beating Pakistan 5-6 in a nail-biter. The Olympic hosts turned on the heat from the word go and came prepared to exploit the weaknesses in Pakistan’s backline. It was Victor Charlet who broke the deadlock in the seventh minute. With a minute to go for the first quarter, Eliot Curty found Blaise Rogeau, who sent a rocket that bounced off the bar for their second. There was no coordination at the back as Gaspard Baumgarten made it 0-3 with seven minutes to go in the first half. Two minutes later, Charlet got his second through another penalty corner. For all their defensive frailties, Pakistan has been one of the most exciting teams to watch while attacking. One such attempt in the 26th minute led to a penalty stroke that was converted with ease by Abu Mahmood. Suddenly, the French were not as organised as they were before, allowing Pakistan to get under their skin. A penalty corner in the 29th minute saw Sufyan Khan’s initial shot saved only for Murtaza Yaqoob to score the rebound. The third quarter was all France again as Charlet delivered from the penalty corner yet again with an emphatic finish for his hat-trick in the 39th minute. Pakistan responded in the first minute of the final quarter thanks to Ashraf Rana Waheed who finished a superb ball from Amad Butt, who found him from a long way out. Pakistan continued to threaten Les Bleus and Butt was sensational in the build-up for the fourth, as Rehman Abdul made it 4-5 in the 52nd minute. Pakistan were all over France and a penalty corner in the 56th minute made it 5-5 as Hannan Shahid reacted quickly after Mahmood’s initial shot was saved. Everyone believed the comeback was complete, but Pakistan switched off and Charlet, who started the scoring, finished it with another penalty corner. Victor Charlet of France was full of praise for Pakistan after winning the match and said: “It’s hard to describe this game – lots of goals. Against a huge hockey nation like Pakistan, you have to be good as they have many great players. You have to be focused and defend well as they are skilful. It’s not our best game but we are happy with the win.” Malaysia 4-2 Canada Malaysia got their first win of the Pool phase as they beat Canada 4-2 in Gniezno. They quickly set the tone for the game, scoring a field goal thanks to Fitri Saari smashing one in from the centre of the circle in the second minute. The second goal came four minutes later when Faizal Saari made a good run down the left before squaring it for Abu Kamal Azrai, who lost balance and fell as he fired in. A simple and beautiful penalty corner technique from Syed Cholan gave the Speedy Tigers their third goal in the 22nd minute. Canada started showing their aggressive side in the second half and were rewarded in the 41st minute when Rooopkanwar Dhillon’s powerful penalty corner snuck in. But the celebrations were short-lived as Muhajir Abdu Rauf’s shot was deflected off an unlucky Thomson Harris. For all their efforts, the Malaysians couldn’t keep a cool head and disciplinary issues almost cost them. Maansarovar Sidhu came up with a clever finish in the 51st minute to take advantage as Faris Harizan got a 10-minute yellow card towards the end of the third quarter. In the end,  Malaysians came up with the goods to see off the game. Marhan Jalil of Malaysia won the player of the match and said: “We had good motivation to play today. We started well and only scored one penalty corner. We will study our videos to increase the percentage of our conversion.” To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup, click here. FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup  – 5 June 2024  Hockey Stadium – Gniezno, (POL) Result: Match 13 (M) Malaysia 4-2 Canada Player of the match: Marhan Jalil Umpires: Titus Ngolia (KEN), Tim Bond (NZL), Munashe Mashoko (ZIM-video) Result: Match 14 (M) Pakistan 5-6 France Player of the match: Victor Charlet Umpires: Erik Etsebeth (RSA),  Harry Collinson (ENG), Michael Dutrieux (BEL-video) Source: FIH.hockey

05 Jun, 2024 Today’s World Environment Day gives us the opportunity to update all our stakeholders on the steps that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has done towards using water with more care than ever before. With water becoming scarcer and scarcer due to climate change and ever-growing human demand, using it wisely is an obligation we all have if we are to ensure its availability for future generations and protect the environment. FIH has fully recognised its responsibility and is acting. From when hockey started playing on synthetic turf fields in the late 1970s until today, the sport has preferred to play on wet turfs. Watering provides a fast, predictable, and consistent playing surface that allows the players to perform to their best ability. But even though turfs used today are much more water efficient than those used in the past, the volumes of water used are still significant, as are the infrastructure costs associated with irrigating a field. For many, this is increasingly out of step with society’s desire to live in a more sustainable way. This is why FIH launched its Dry Turf Initiative at its Congress in 2018. Today, working with the leading members of the FIH Quality Programme, we are seeing surfaces that have enhanced playing characteristics without the use of water. A year ago, FIH published its innovation standard for Dry (non-irrigated) Hockey Turfs, and today seven companies (see www.fih.hockey/dryturf for details) have developed surfaces that incorporate dry turf technology. As these new Dry Turf surfaces are being installed, FIH is working with the UK’s Loughborough University, the National hockey Associations and the turf manufacturers to collect player feedback on how they perceive these new surfaces to perform. Feedback to date is showing players can, and do, adapt to these new surfaces, but it is also noted that it is important that players have adequate opportunities to train and play on them before they are used at the highest levels of competition. Pleasingly, we are also seeing that the environmental benefits of playing on Dry Turf surfaces is being welcomed by many. We are finding that our strategy complements the sustainability policies of many that invest in hockey. FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “FIH launched a global sustainability strategy for hockey in 2022. This commitment was then reinforced as a key part of the FIH Empowerment and Engagement strategy that we launched a year ago. As a concrete milestone of this strategy, we were proud to initiate a global and ambitious programme called “Give back to forest” consisting in planting thousands of trees all around the world. Reducing water consumption is another commitment of ours. Remarkable progress has been made in this regard in the last decade. For example, the consumption of water between the Rio 2016 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has been reduced by 40%! And a further substantial reduction will take place at the Paris 2024 Olympics where, on top of that, the world’s first carbon-zero hockey turf (Poligras Paris GT Zero) will be used. We will spare no efforts to continue along this path.” Joining us on the journey to a more sustainable future, ball, stick and shoe manufacturers all have a role to play, and we are engaging with key manufacturers in each sector. Together, it is hoped that the transition from always playing top-level hockey on wet fields to using wet or dry surfaces can occur with minimal impact on the way the game is played. Source: FIH.hockey

4 June 2024 Lausanne, Switzerland – The Black Sticks made it four wins from four to end the pool phase in style while Spain outclassed Korea in the women’s tournament in Terrassa. New Zealand’s women’s team was involved in a highly entertaining fixture to take a crucial point against Japan while Chile and Ireland cruised past Canada and Italy, respectively. The other men’s game saw South Africa doing enough to pip Poland. (Women’s) Chile 3-0 Canada Chile got their first set of points in the bag in Spain with a 3-0 win over Canada. After a heartbreaking loss in their opener, the Chileans started the game against Canada with attacking intent, forcing goalkeeper Rowan Harris into action a few times. After three penalty corners, Las Diablas finally found the back of the net in the fourth attempt in the 20th minute. The shot from Josefa Salas found a way in through a crowded circle. To make matters worse, the Canadians gifted their opponents when Anna Mollenhauer failed to control a back pass. Manuela Urroz pounced and produced a cheeky assist for Maria Maldonado to tap in. While Chile dominated the game, it took them six more penalty corners to find the third goal. It came from Constanza Palma via a deflected shot in the 52nd minute. Manuela Urroz of Chile was judged player of the match and said: “We are happy with the win. We knew it was a good game. We know about Canada as we play them in America. We need to be tough against Japan next. We will watch our videos to see where we can improve.” (Women’s) Japan 2-2 New Zealand New Zealand came back from two goals down to draw against Japan in a Pool B fixture in Terrassa. It was a cautious start to the game from both sides. New Zealand had more penalty corners, circle entries, and possession in the first half but it was Japan that made their chances count. Four minutes into the second quarter, Kanon Mori squeezed in from a penalty corner. It was a dramatic goal that saw the first two shots from Yu Asai and Hazuki Nagai saved before the finish from Mori. Meanwhile, New Zealand failed to take advantage of a penalty stroke that was fired wide by Megan Hull. For Japan, a goal came out of nowhere in the final minute of the first half when Nagai deflected a long and hard ground ball from Shihori Oikawa. New Zealand wasted no time in restoring some balance to the scoreline by earning a penalty corner two minutes after the restart. It became a penalty stroke when the ball hit Nagai’s foot. Stephanie Dickins’ powerful drive hit the crossbar and went in after hitting the pad of goalkeeper Eika Nakamura. New Zealand continued to apply pressure and finally got the equaliser with six minutes to go. Dickins’ long pass was deflected for Hannah Gravenhall to smash it in. New Zealand’s Rose Tynan won player of the match and said: “It was a dominant performance. We were disappointed to be down at halftime. Props to everyone to keep pushing and get the goals in the second half.” (Women’s) Ireland 3-0 Italy Ireland responded well to the bashing from Spain on the opening day to beat Italy 3-0. They started finely as Hannah McLoughlin drew the defenders towards her before crossing from the right for an unmarked Niamh Carey to tap in in four minutes. The women in green looked organised and disciplined to keep Italy at bay. The second quarter saw them double the advantage with McLoughlin powering one down the middle from a penalty corner in the 17th minute. They looked like a team reborn as McLoughlin got her second and Ireland’s third in the last minute of the first half. It’s not that Italy did not try, but they weren’t able to convert the chances despite getting six penalty corners. The second half finished goalless as Ireland recovered brilliantly from the opening-day defeat to stay alive in the competition. Hannah McLoughlin of Ireland won player of the match and praised her teammates for the performance. She said: “It’s definitely better than our performance yesterday. We worked on our penalty corners and it paid off. But it’s a team win today.” (Women’s) Korea 1-3 Spain Spain came back from a goal down to beat Korea 1-3 to enjoy a great home tournament in Terrassa. Barring a few chances for the hosts, the game was not living up to hype in the first half. But all that changed within a couple of minutes. In the 24th minute, Korea won a penalty corner that was smashed in by Minjeong Kim. Just when it looked like Korea would go into halftime with the lead, a cheap error resulted in a penalty stroke. Lola Riera made it 1-1 with ease to set up an intense 30 more minutes. Within nine minutes of restart, Spain started to find the pockets. A penalty corner in the 38th minute was well-saved by Eunji Kim, but Sara Barrios was given acres of space for a goal a minute later. Spain turned on the heat from then on and added one more thanks to a superb penalty corner from Riera. The excitement of the third quarter faded out in the fourth with both teams just wanting to see out the match as Spain continued to dictate the terms and finish with another crucial win. Lola Riera was awarded player of the match and said: “I think in the beginning it was a bit hard to play against them. I think the final balls are the most important in these types of games and we are happy with the win.” (Men’s) New Zealand 4-2 Korea New Zealand topped Pool A after winning their fourth game 4-2 against Korea to qualify for the semi-finals. The Black Sticks started strongly against Korea, attacking from all sides of the pitch and got their reward within five minutes. It was a

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With just one day to go for the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup Spain 2023/24, the players and coaches of all teams have spoken to express their expectations. Canada – Sheldon Rostron, Head Coach “As a team we are excited to face some of the best at the Nations Cup in Terrassa, Spain. We are eager to compete again at a high level event which is important to continue the growth of this team as we start a new cycle. These matches will push us and help us gain valuable insights but also show more of what we can expect from this team going forward. We’re ready for a challenge and looking forward to competing at this event.” Chile – Camila Caram, Captain “The Nations Cup will be an interesting tournament, because all the teams are closely contested in the rankings. Every game will be very tough. This is an important challenge, because last time we were seventh and we want to improve that position. The championship will probably be very emotional, but we are focused on the tournament, tactics and technique. We’ll see about the emotional part later. It’s my last tournament with the Diablas after 18 years with the Chile jersey and I want to enjoy the experience to the fullest. It’s nostalgic, but I’m ready to give it my all on the court.” Ireland – Facundo Quiroga, Head Coach “The girls have put in a lot of work over the last three months to arrive at this tournament in the best possible form. They have challenged each other to grow as individuals and as a team, and we are enjoying the hockey we’re playing. I believe we can go far in this Nations Cup if we play our game and enjoy the tough moments of the competition. We have an exciting challenge ahead of us.” Italy – Andres Mondo, Head Coach  “This FIH Nations Cup edition comes at a very complicated period, for all countries and especially for us, because we have a lot of players still involved in National Championships; for this reason, it was also not possible for us to arrange an ideal training. We expect to grow during the tournament, to be competitive and to put new players and new skills in our group. We are very proud and enthusiastic to know that our players always give their best for Italy.” Japan – Yuri Nagai, Captain “For this Nations Cup, we aim to win and make it a great tournament that leads to the Paris Olympics. Our entire team will work hard together. We will make detailed adjustments and prepare well. Thank you for your support.” Korea – Jungeun Seo, Captain “I’m both excited and a bit worried about participating in this year’s Nations Cup. As a senior, it’s my responsibility to lead the juniors in such a big competition, and I’ll do my best to make it a good experience for them. I also need to perform well myself and show what I can do. Competing against world-class teams is going to be tough, but I believe Team Korea can go far. My goal is to lead the players, value teamwork, and become a united team. No matter the outcome, I know we will learn a lot, grow, and come back stronger. I really hope everyone prepares well, stays injury-free, and returns home safely.” New Zealand – Phil Burrows, Head Coach “The team is feeling energised and excited to be back playing tournament hockey. We are very committed to progressing our game throughout the tournament and beyond. Our expectations are to be in the hunt for the Nations Cup, which means our first focus point is topping our pool.” Spain – María López, Captain “We are very excited to play at home in Terrassa. We hope that the Spanish crowd can enjoy our performance and Spain can play the FIH Hockey Pro League next season.” The 2nd edition of the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup will be played from 3 to 9 June 2024 in Terrassa, Spain. All information about the tournament is available here. Source: FIH.hockey

02 Jun, 2024 Due to bad weather conditions – storm and heavy rain – in Gniezno, the matches initially scheduled for today have been postponed to tomorrow as follows: Pakistan vs Canada: 3 June, 11:30am CEST France vs Malaysia: 3 June, 2pm CEST Consequently, the initial starting time of tomorrow’s last two matches has been amended as follows: Korea vs Austria: 3 June, 4:30pm CEST South Africa vs New Zealand: 7pm CEST The second edition of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup (men) started on 31 May in Gniezno, Poland. The women’s FIH Hockey Nations Cup will start tomorrow in Terrassa, Spain. All information, including standings, teams, match schedule and the latest news about both events is available here.

01 Jun, 2024 New Zealand worked on their shortcomings from the first game and settled in at the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Poland 2023/24 with a comfortable 3-0 win over Austria. In the other game of the day, Poland earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory to get their first points in the bag against an unlucky Korean side. New Zealand 3-0 Austria  New Zealand controlled the game in the early stages, closing down and maintaining possession with some good exchanges. Halfway through the first quarter, it reflected on the score line as Isaac Houlbrooke squared an easy ball for Jonty Elmes to give them the lead. A lacklustre 30 seconds towards the end of the first quarter almost cost them, but Austria were not able to replicate their deadly penalty corner form from Friday. The Black Sticks started the second quarter finely and thought they had secured an early penalty corner, only for the video referee to say otherwise. Otherwise, there was not a lot of action near the circle despite New Zealand frustrating the Austrians with the ball. The strategy to sit back and hit on the counter did not prove to be successful for Austria, who started energetically after the first half. They managed to keep the New Zealanders quiet until a deadly 90 seconds changed the fate of the game. Elmes got his second of the day in what was almost a carbon copy of his first, with Hugo Inglis feeding him. The cherry on the cake came courtesy of a young Joseph Morrison, who scored his first international goal like a seasoned pro. Hugo Inglis of New Zealand, who was judged player of the match, said: “We stepped it up a notch today. It was a slow start against Poland yesterday and it was nice to get more rhythm today.” Korea 0-1 Poland  Korea showed intensity from the first minute of the match and deservedly earned a penalty corner in five minutes, but failed to capitalise. The Poles gifted them one more after sloppy defending and this time, it was well-saved. With five minutes to go in the first quarter, the hosts failed to find the back of the net from another penalty corner. The well-matched contest saw Poland showing more assertiveness in the second quarter and almost scored when the Koreans switched off, only for Gracjan Jarzyński to miss the target by a whisker. But they kept knocking on the door and finally broke the deadlock thanks to a lovely finish from Mikołaj Głowacki. A sensational save from Maciej Pacanowski with four minutes to go before half-time helped Poland maintain the slender lead. While both teams were lively going forward, the back line was shaky and resulted in a penalty corner each. Once again, it did not bear fruit. It was one-way traffic in the last quarter as the Koreans had nothing to lose and earned two more penalty corners that were squandered. It was a comedy of errors from both teams in Gniezno in that department as Poland did enough to secure three points. Jacek Kurowski, who won player of the match, said: “We were waiting for so long for this and we can be happy with the effort. We are making a great effort to grow our hockey in Poland. It is very difficult to play 15 minutes without one player. But in the end, we have to create more chances. We have two days off and let’s see how we can play the rest of the games.” To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup, click here. FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup  – 1 June 2024  Hockey Stadium – Gniezno, (POL) Result: Match 5 (M) New Zealand 3-0 Austria Player of the match: Hugo Inglis (NZL) Umpires: Federico Silva (ARG), Haroon Rashid (PAK),Michael Dutrieux (BEL-video) Result: Match 6 (M) Korea 0-1 Poland Player of the match: Jacek Kurowski (POL) Umpires: Munashe Mashoko (ZIM), Paul Van Den Assum (NED), Harry Collinson (ENG-video)

31 May, 2024 Malaysia 4-4 Pakistan    Pakistan came back from three goals down to draw 4-4 against Malaysia as the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Poland 2023/24 began sensationally.  It was a one-sided first quarter in Gniezno, with Malaysia barely giving any time for a nervy Pakistan to settle down. The constant pressure led to the Green Shirts conceding a penalty stroke that was thumped in by Fitri Saari. Soon after, Abu Kamal Azrai made the most of an opportunity after Pakistan lost possession in midfield. Azrai’s delightful skill before a low and powerful finish doubled the advantage. Malaysia’s third came from a penalty corner from Faizal Saari. However, there was a lengthy video referral before the umpire judged in favour of the Speedy Tigers.  Pakistan turned on the style in the third quarter, and pulled one back as Rana Waheed Ashraf’s mazy run and deflected shot was tapped in by Abdul Rehman. They looked like a rejuvenated side after the first half, but an error in the 42nd minute led to a penalty stroke for Malaysia. Fitri Saari made no mistake and scored his second of the game. It was end-to-end as Sufyan Khan sent a rocket down the middle from a penalty corner to gain momentum back. With nine minutes to go, Pakistan scored their third after a scramble near the box as Hannan Shahid was the quickest to react. The silver medallists of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup earlier this year drew the game level in cinematic style with less than a minute to go. Desperate defending from Malaysia resulted in a penalty stroke that was converted with ease by Abu Mahmood.  Malaysian goalkeeper Zaimi Mat Deris was named player of the match and stressed on the need to be more concrete at the back. He said: “We need more discipline. We need to improve in the next game. Our players have more potential andwe need more game time to showcase that.”  France 4-0 Canada Olympic hosts France began their journey in Poland with a comfortable win over Canada despite a slow start to the game. Both teams started on the front foot and earned a penalty corner each early in the first quarter, but failed to convert. It was a recurring theme throughout the match with France unable to find the back of the net from nine penalty corners.  The first goal came in the 25th minute as Les Bleus stepped on the pedal. The Canadian defenders were frustrating the French, but the deadlock was finally broken with a cheeky finish from Gaspard Baumgarten. The next three of their goals came in the final quarter, but the match provided plenty of drama as both sides missed penalty strokes. The miss from Canada was painful for the team as Brendan Guraliuk powered through the midfield, showcasing excellent dribbling skills before being brought down, only to be outsmarted by Edgar Reynaud from the spot.    The final quarter saw France apply pressure early on and it proved crucial as Baumgarten sent a pile driver from the left. His deflected shot was tapped in by Eliot Curty. In the 53rd minute, another penalty stroke favoured the French and thistime, Victor Charlet made no mistake. A minute later, Curty did the hard work to set up Blaise Rogeau to seal the deal as the Canadians ran out of steam.  Francois Goyet of France was awarded player of the match and his teammate Baumgarten spoke about the importance of the win. He said: “We feel great because it’s the first game of the tournament. It was an important and a good win even though we took time to score the first goal and the other ones. But we didn’t have a goal against us. I am pretty happy with the first game.”  South Africa 3-4 Austria  Penalty corners were the name of the game as Austria joined the comebacks bandwagon against South Africa in an entertaining game. The start saw the higher-ranked South Africa show their class, going up only after four minutes. The lovely team goal started from the midfield as Nqobile Ntuli provided the final touch, falling backwards. They looked the better-organised side in the beginning and underlined that with a well-taken penalty corner by Mathew Guise-Brown.  What initially looked like a one-sided game switched almost instantly when a brisk counter-attack from Josef Winkler earned a penalty corner for Austria, emphatically converted by Julian Kaiser. The speed of play from the Austrians troubled their opponents, who looked like world-beaters in the first five minutes, and another penalty corner in the 20th minute saw them level the scores thanks to Fülöp Losonci. Four minutes before the half-time, Maximilian Scholz gave the Austrians the lead.  The confidence from taking the lead meant that they controlled the game soon after the restart. Drag flickers were giving South Africa a tough time and Scholz got his second of the game to put them in a comfortable position. While South Africa showed that they too could excel at penalty corners with yet another sublime finish from Guise-Brown, Austria did enough to hold on for a crucial win.      Austria’s Xaver Hasun, who was judged player of the match, said: “We went 2-0 down to one of the favourites, and we are a young team. A game like this is incredible and motivating. I am proud of the boys. I am delighted, to be honest. It is great to play with these guys. I haven’t played a lot with most of them. And they have done us proud.” New Zealand 4-2 Poland  The hosts almost gave New Zealand a run for their money as they went down 4-2 in the last match of the day. It would be unfair to say that the home crowd didn’t play their part, but in the end, it was a small difference in quality that made all the difference for the Black Sticks.  Brad Read read the game well and finished off a neat team move to give New

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