Media Release – Second-half scoring showcase lifts Germany over South Africa 

17 February 2022 Despite an outstanding first half of hockey from South Africa, Germany put on a clinical performance in the second half to propel them to a 6-1 win for their second victory in Potchestfstroom. Overcoming a 1-1 score line at half time, the game was a valuable test for the young German side, whose more experienced version lost 4-3 to South Africa in pool play at the 2020 Olympic Games. The win was further highlighted by first international caps for both German goalkeepers Niklas Garst and Anton Brinckman. Despite the loss, South Africa put together one of their best halves of hockey to open the game. Stingy defence in the back and resilient pressure up front, the South Africans made lots of work for Germany, who were uncharacteristically turning the ball over. South Africa seemed to be doing everything right but their lack of detail in the circle haunted them. Germany had their share of early scoring chances including Luis Gill who beat three as he sliced through the South African circle but his off-balanced shot sailed wide of the empty cage. Then, Niklas Wellen thought he had an easy tap in as a pass across the goal beat Gowan Jones but a calm and cool Connor Beauchamp was there to intercept and clear the ball through traffic. After a scoreless opening quarter Germany came out looking to capitalize and it was Constantin Staib’s pass into the South African circle that drew the first penalty corner of the game. Tom Grambusch rippled the mesh with his flick, stick side on Estiaan Kriek for a 1-0 German lead and his third penalty corner goal in two games. Speaking after the game captain Mats Grambusch said of his brother: ‘Tom always does a great job (with his club team). He’s been training hard recently and his corners have been very successful. I hope to see that more coming up. I’m sure he will make coach  Henning happy and also us as a team.’ Never a team to sit back when down, South Africa continued with their strong defence, denying Mats Grambusch in the 23rd minute, while in the other end Nqobile Ntuli just missed a pass at the far post to level the score. It was a sign of what was to come as captain Keenan Horne was there to volley the ball in from next to no angle in the final minute of the half. Mats Grambusch, Player of the Match, commented about Germany’s opening half: “Our first half was not as good as we expected. Yes of course South Africa did a good job defensively and offensively but we didn’t play too well. We didn’t’ have enough ball possession. Second half got a lot better and we got into our playing style and I don’t know if had to be 6-1 but I think it was a deserved win.’ Germany coach Hennig wanted to see better technical skills and less errors after half time and his team did not disappoint. A solid variation in the 34th minute allowed Tom Grambusch to set up Mats at the far post for a penalty corner deflection and the eventual game winner. It was then that the momentum really started to favour the Germans. Fantastic finishes from Luis Gill and Thies Prinz inside a crowded circle elevated the Germans 4-1 by the end of the third quarter. South Africa continued to pressure but what few chances they had did not prove accurate including a diving effort from Mustapha Cassiem. Germany’s clinical passing and technical brilliance in the circle became too much and it was clear where the game was headed. Johannes Große’s pass cut the field in half only to find Wellen at the top of the circle in the 58th minute. Wellen’s size and superb first touch saw him turn and beat two only to rocket a shot into the bottom corner of the net for the 6-1 Germany lead. Germany had two more penalty corners in the final minute of the game but Estiaan Kreak made a glove save and Owen Mvimbi’s stick on the line denied a Tom Grambusch flick. Speaking about South Africa’s historic Olympic win over Germany, South African captain and goal scorer Keenan Horne said: ‘That win last year built the belief, but it shows you have to work through the whole 60 minutes of the game. We did that in 30 minutes of the game but that belief is just belief. You have to back it up on the field.’ More information on the game can be found on the match page. Stay up to date on the men’s FIH Pro League Standings. FIH Pro League games continue this weekend with a full slate of games on February 19 including France vs Germany men in Potchestfstroom, South Africa, while Argentina and England men and women will face off in Buenos Aires, Argentina. FIH Pro League – 17 February 2022 Potchestfstroom, University of North West (RSA) Result: Men’s Match 19 South Africa 1, Germany 6 Player of the Match: Mats Grambusch (GER) Umpires: Annelize Rostron (RSA), Ayden Shrives (RSA), Sean Rapaport (RSA-video) Keep up to date with all the latest news on the FIH Hockey Pro League via the Watch.Hockey app, event website and through FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. #FIHProLeague #HockeyInvites

Media Release – Path to 2022 FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup glory laid out

17 February 2022 Terrassa, Spain: The path to glory at this summer’s 2022 FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Spain & Netherlands was laid out as the draw for the group stages took place today in Terrassa at the National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia. The 2022 FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup (1-17 July 2022) will be jointly hosted in Terrassa, Spain and Amsterdam, Netherlands as 16 qualified teams pursue the biggest and most cherished prize in hockey alongside the Olympics. This is where legends are made with the world’s finest players battling it out to become the very best. FIH President Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra welcomed the draw and the event by video message to the ceremony guests as well as the global hockey community. He is joined in supporting the event by several dignitaries including Mr Jordi Ballart, Mayor of Terrassa; Ms Anna Caula, General Secretary for Sport and Physical Activity; Mr Santi Deó, RFEH President; Mr Miguel Ángel Moreno, Organizing Committee President; Mrs Marijke Fleuren, FIH EB Member and EHF President;  and Eric Cornelissen, KNHB President. The draw itself was conducted by FIH CEO Thierry Weil and Spanish legends Berta Bonastre – who will be the Tournament Director – and Santi Freixa who links both venues, growing up in Terrassa and living currently in Amsterdam. Pool A is headed up by world number one side – and reigning champions – The Netherlands (FIH World Ranking: 1) who will meet Ireland (WR: 12) in a repeat of the 2018 World Cup final. They will also be joined in the group by Germany (WR: 5) and Chile (WR: 17); the South American side will be competing in their first ever World Cup campaign. In Pool B, England (WR: 3) are the top seed and they were drawn to face India (WR: 9) with many of the potential players having met each other in the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal match when the former were representing Great Britain. New Zealand (WR: 8) and China (WR: 14) complete their group with both playing in their ninth World Cup. Pool A and B will both be hosted at the Wagener Stadium in the Netherlands. Pool C will feature two-time champions Argentina (WR: 2) at the head of the group. They will come up against Spain (WR: 6) in front of their home Terrassa crowd along with Korea (WR: 11) and Canada (WR: 13), who will play in the World Cup for the first time since 1994. Pool D will also take place in Terrassa. Australia (WR: 4) are the highest ranked side and will be seeking to win their third World Cup title following success in 1994 and 1998. They face Belgium’s rising Red Panthers (WR: 7), Japan (WR: 10) and African champions South Africa (WR: 16). At the draw, the tournament’s mascot was also revealed. This lovely dragon symbolizes the values of women in Hockey: passion, strength, wisdom, change, courage, vitality, protection and majesty. We invite every fan around the world to suggest a name through a contest from February 17th to March 18th. The chosen name will be revealed on March 23rd. The voting platform link is: https://bit.ly/WorldCupMascot Tickets for the competition will go on sale on March 1 via https://www.terrassa2022.com/ and https://wkhockey2022.com/ ** Player reactions – more reaction available on fih.ch shortly Xan de Waard (NED): “It was very exciting – I am really looking forward to playing Chile because I have never played them before. Our preparation is on track and we are improving every day. We had a really good training trip to Valencia for training and now we are in Mannheim so we are looking forward to playing more Pro League games and hopefully we will be ready when the World Cup comes.” Gigi Oliva (ESP): “It’s great, it means we can start preparing for facing Argentina, Korea and Canada. Obviously it will be a really difficult group with very different styles of hockey.” Maria Lopez (ESP): “We have a lot of new players and members of staff. We are very excited to play in the Pro League which gives us a chance to grow as a team before the World Cup.” ** FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup, July 1-17 (Terrassa, Spain & Amsterdam, Netherlands) Pool A: Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Chile Pool B: England, New Zealand, India, China Pool C: Argentina, Spain, Korea, Canada Pool D: Australia, Belgium, Japan, South Africa #HWC2022  #HWCMascot  #HockeyInvites For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website.

Early goals propel France over South Africa in teams’ first FIH Hockey Pro League meeting

15 February 2022 A two-goal opening quarter haunted South Africa as they dropped at 4-1 decision to France in the teams’ first-ever meeting in the FIH Pro League. Gaspard Baumgarten was named Player of the Match as he buried two goals, while teammates Blaise Rogeau and Timothée Clément also tallied in the win. South Africa’s Dayaan Cassiem was unlucky to only tally once as he also hit a cross bar in the final quarter. France’s Baumgarten said after the win: “I’m not too much a striker but happy to score today and even more happy for the win of the team. We are really happy (with their overall performance in South Africa). We played great hockey and tried to play better and better each game which was the purpose for being here.” It was clear from the opening whistle that France was keen to pick up from their second and third games last week that saw them tie the Netherlands and beat the Olympic bronze medalists, India. They wasted little time getting to work as three minutes in and France had a penalty corner. Moments later a flurry of shots put the South Africans under pressure. The final shot by Baumgarten took a touch off South African Nduduzo Lembethe and the ball popped through the legs of keeper Gowan Jones for the opening marker. South Africa’s Nqobile Ntuli had the best chance of the half for the hosts but the back-hand shot pinged off the post in the seventh minute. France doubled their lead in the 11th minute. Eliot Curty charged alone down the right side and his sweeping pass was deflected well by a diving Francois Goyet’s reverse stick. Blaise Rogeau was there at the near post to finish the pretty counterattack play and seal the 2-0 lead for France. Estiaan Kriek subbed into the South African net after the opening break and he punched away a brilliant shot from Baumgarten in the 17th minute to leave the game still 2-0 by half time. France, though clinical in execution, looked to relax their tempo in the third quarter. South Africa forced a number of turnovers and created lots of counter-attack play but failed to find any kind of finish. Despite the casual play of France, they were nonetheless clinical when they entered the South African circle. Matéo Desgouilllons forced a close-range save out of Gowan Jones in the 34th minute. The teams then spent a good seven minutes trading away sloppy turnovers but France were able to find their strides in the 41st. A brilliant deceptive pass from Stanislas Branicki paced the ball out to the right side and the pass came firing in to Baumgarten. The shot needed a deflection from defender Leneal Jackson to give France a 3-0 lead. Dayaan Cassiem had a chance to get South Africa on the board with minutes to go in the third quarter but his blast booked for the top shelf was seen the whole way by the blocker of Arthur Thieffry. The final quarter really sided with South Africa. Nqobile Ntuli and Cassium brothers Dayaan and Mustapha were combining dangerously up, but still without result. Dayaan then put on a show dancing his way with 3D skills past four French defenders only to leave Ryan Julius with a shot at goal but the ball blasted wide left of the net. France found their fourth goal on an aerial ball that allowed a baseline entry for Gaspar Xavier. His pass was sent into traffic for Clément to knock in and France took the lead 4-0. South Africa stayed in it and denied Timothée Clement’s penalty corner with a goalline save from Nicholas Spooner, while Dayaan Cassiem hit a cross-bar moment. It was a sign of what was to come as Mustapha set up his brother Dayaan to break the France shutout with three minutes to go in the game. It was too little, too late and France finished with the 4-1 victory and their second set of three points in their opening tour of the FIH Pro League. South African captain Horne said after the loss: “We had a quite a few chances and it’s a pity they didn’t go in. The French are very clinical and they did well and if you can’t score you can’t win. We will do our analysis after the game. There’s lots to take out of it. We had a lot of soft turnovers but they were just very clinical.” The two teams will dual again on Sunday, February 20 after playing games against Germany who join them in Potchestfstroom. To see the current men’s FIH Pro League Standings, click here. More information on the game can be found by clicking here. The FIH Hockey Pro League Season 3 will be back in action on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 with the France men playing Germany and then South Africa hosting Germany at Potchestfstroom, University of North West, South Africa. To see the complete FIH Hockey Pro League match schedule, please click here. FIH Pro League – 15 February 2021 Potchestfstroom, University of North West (RSA) Result: Men’s Match 17 South Africa 1, France 4 Player of the Match: Gaspard Baumgarten (FRA) Umpires: Ayden Shrives (RSA), Sean Rapaport (RSA), Wanri Venter (RSA-video) Keep up to date with all the latest news on the FIH Hockey Pro League via the Watch.Hockey app, event website and through FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. #FIHProLeague #HockeyInvites

AfHF Media Release

PRESS RELEASE – AfHF 23rd Ordinary Congress Meeting

The 23rd Ordinary Congress session of the AfHF took place in Accra, Ghana on 22 January 2022 during the same week of the Africa Cup of Nations [ACN] 2022 (M/W) 17-23 Jan. 2022. This Congress session was long awaited since it was postponed from August 2021 due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

MEDIA RELEASE: World rankings prevail as India, Netherlands and Belgium men enjoy convincing wins, Gorzelany triple lifts Leonas over Red Panthers

13 February 2022 Results sided with World rankings down in Potchestfstroom, South Africa with convincing victories for the Netherlands and India. Harmanpreet Singh buried four goals from specialty plays to lift India 10-2 over the hosts, despite a gutsy opening half where South Africa only trailed 3-1. The Dutch were also kept at bay in their match up against the recently impressive French side and it wasn’t until the third quarter that their scoring cylinders started firing. Captain Thierry Brinkman’s composure in the circle put two goals to his name in the 5-1 victory, while teammates Jorrit Croon and Joep de Mol both celebrated their 100th internationals. To see the current men’s FIH Pro League Standings, click here. Back at the Cenard in Buenos Aires, the Leonas looked even more potent today as Agustina Gorzelany found her strides at the top of the penalty corner battery with all three Argentina goals for a the 3-1 victory and a weekend sweep of Belgium. To see the current women’s FIH Pro League Standings, click here. For the men, the weekend was split as Belgium really displayed their craft to earn a 2-0 redemption win over Argentina. Penalty corner aces Alexander Hendrickx and Loïck Luypeart each converted. South Africa v India (men) – Potchestfstroom, University of North West (RSA) Four second-half goals from Harmanpreet Singh helped India put away South Africa 10-2, an identical score line to their match up on Feb. 9. Daniel Bell and Connor Beauchamp notched goals for South Africa. It was a game of two halves in Potchefstroom when South Africa took on India for the second time. For the first 30 minutes, South Africa were hugely competitive, and it was only a less than clinical performance in front of goal – including a saved penalty stroke – that prevented them being on equal terms. South Africa drew first as the Cassiem brothers, Mustapha and Dayaan, combined for a penalty corner that Bell converted home past keeper Bahadur. Before the end of the quarter Surender Kumar tallied while Matt d’Souza was taking a rest with a green card. A great build up in the second quarter allowed Manpreet Singh to create space for Shilanand Lakra and he scored his first goal for India to give his side a 2-1 advantage. India enjoyed a third goal on a counterattack after a broken-down South African penalty corner. Brilliant work by Dilpreet Singh sets up Mandeep Singh for India’s third. As it was, at half-time it was 3-1 and could have gone either way. But, ahead of the game, Head Coach Graham Reid had asked for his team to ‘execute’ in front of goal and in the second half his players responded unequivocally. Pick of the crop was four-goal Player of the Match Harmanpreet Singh. His shots rifled in past Gowan Jones in the South Africa goal– it was a masterclass in power and precision. To start the third quarter South Africa was awarded a penalty stroke as Dayaan Cassiem was pushed on route to goal by Jarmanpreet Singh. Jethro Eustice’s stroke was saved well by Bahadur.  South Africa had more chances as they hit the bar in the 33rd minute and it was after this that India started to turn things on. Harmanpreet buried a penalty corner and Sumit tallied before the end of the third. From there, India continued with goals coming late in each of the third and fourth including three more for Harmanpreet. Speaking after the game, Harmanpreet said: ‘We are always talking about the team and that was a team effort. We needed to get back after the France game [India lost 5-2] and think what we could learn and improve upon.’ France v Netherlands (men) – Potchestfstroom, University of North West (RSA)  The Netherlands found their scoring strides in the third quarter to win 5-1 over France. The day was also marked special for both Jorrit Croon and Joep de Mol, both celebrating their 100th international game. Icing on the cake for Croon who also notched a brilliant goal in the fourth quarter. Thierry Brinkman also tallied twice, while the younger Brinkman, Jasper, scored the opener. While the two teams tied 2-2 just days earlier, there was no question who the better side was today. After the game, Captain Brinkman was named Player of the Match and said: ‘It was a really good game today. We played good, strong, clean hockey. We were well prepared for today against France. During our time in South Africa we have trained hard and played some great hockey. Now we are looking forward to some Pro League in the Netherlands.’ The Netherlands did as they always do, patiently building and it was in the final minute of the first quarter that the Dutch were able to break the French defence. Jasper Brinkman’s penalty corner flick rocketed into the bottom corner of the French goal, booming past a diving stick of keeper Corentin Saunier. A sloppy tackle from Timothée Clément in the 21st minute left France short-handed at a critical time. It paid dividends as Thierry Brinkman was there to tap in at the far post to double the Dutch lead. An errant clear by the French defence then gave the Netherlands back-to-back penalty corner opportunities but Saunier’s left glove denied both attempts. Some clever work from Etienne Tynevez into the Dutch circle gave youngster Antonin Igau a hopping blast at goal but the ball went just wide of the net in the 30th minute. The French pair combined seconds later with a baseline run that gave Igau an open look at goal but he couldn’t finish to leave the French still trailing 2-0 at half time. The third quarter piled on the goals, starting with the Dutch. Pieters curled and beat two French defenders and then an unmarked Thierry Brinkman calmly tapped in his second of the game. The very same Brinkman bravely saved a rocket of a drag flick off the stick of Victor Charlet in the 33rd

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Media Release – FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup: 50 days to go!

10 February 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) can now confirm the 16 teams that will participate in the upcoming FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup taking place from 1 to 12 April 2022 at the North-West University (NWU) of Potchefstroom, South Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe (Africa) India, Korea, Malaysia (Asia) England, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, Wales (Europe) Argentina, Canada, United States, Uruguay (Pan Americas) The four pools of four teams each are available here. The event was scheduled to be played in December 2021 but had to be postponed due to the Omicron outbreak. Japan, Belgium and Spain had qualified for this tournament but have decided not to take part in the rescheduled event. They’ve been replaced by Malaysia, Ukraine and Wales. Australia, New Zealand and China had withdrawn already last year due to COVID-related reasons and were replaced by Argentina, Ireland and Korea. In order to support all teams, FIH has decided to extend the number of players to 20 per team. However, only 18 players will be allowed on the start list of any match. Furthermore, the event will start and finish one day earlier than initially planned. This move will help players getting back earlier to their respective clubs and therefore being available for domestic fixtures. FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: “The FIH Hockey Junior World Cup is such an important milestone in international players’ careers that we’re really happy to be able to stage the upcoming edition, in South Africa, after we were left with no other option than postponing it last year. We’re looking forward to seeing so many of hockey’s rising stars in action in just a few weeks time!” It will be the ninth edition of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup. Argentina won the last edition in 2016 in Santiago, Chile. In the final, they overcame the Netherlands, who won three FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cups – a record to date – in 1997, 2009 and 2013. The North-West University (NWU) of Potchefstroom is currently hosting matches of the FIH Hockey Pro League for the very first time. For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website. 

France to join Men’s FIH Hockey Pro League

25 January 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is pleased to announce that France will join the third edition of the Men’s FIH Hockey Pro League. After Canada eventually pulled out due to COVID-related issues, FIH had contacted the next best teams, according to the FIH World Rankings, to invite one of them to replace Canada. France have accepted the invitation and, as the highest-ranked team having done so, will join the global home-and-away league – ‘Hockey at its Best’ – for this season. As communicated earlier, France’s participation in the FIH Hockey Pro League is planned for this third edition only. Indeed, Australia and New Zealand, who are not playing the current season due to COVID-related international travel constraints, are expected to come back for the fourth edition (2022-2023). The French team will play their first match on 8 February against India, in Potchefstroom (South Africa). The full match schedule of the third edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League is available here. France have qualified for the next FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup, which will be played in January 2023 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela (India). The French Men’s Junior team recently claimed the bronze medal at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021, with France captain Timothée Clément crowned Best Player of the Tournament. France will also host the Paris 2024 Olympic events in 2 years’ time. “It is great news that France are joining the FIH Hockey Pro League for the current season. As hosts of the next Olympic Games, being part of such a top-flight competition involving the best teams in the world can only be a positive move for the French team as well as for the growth of hockey in the country”, FIH CEO Thierry Weil commented. The first FIH Hockey Pro League matches of the year will involve the Women’s teams of China and India. They will take place on 31 January and 1 February in Muscat, Oman, where both teams are currently playing the Women’s Asia Cup 2022. Keep up to date with all the latest news on the FIH Hockey Pro League via the Watch.Hockey app, event website and through FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. #FIHProLeague #HockeyInvites

Asia Women’s Cup: Quartet seal qualification for FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup, Spain and Netherlands

4 January 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: As the 2022 Asia Women’s Cup reaches the half-way stage in Muscat, Oman, four teams have secured their places at the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Spain and Netherlands 2022. By finishing in the top two positions in their respective pools, Japan (FIH World Ranking: 13), India (WR:9), China (WR:12) and Korea (WR:10) will now meet in the semi-finals of the competition and have also secured the four automatic qualification spots available from this continental qualifier. It is currently Japan and Korea who are flying high. Both teams are undefeated so far, with Japan putting in the most striking performance when they defeated reigning champions India 2-0 in a pool A match. Korea’s 4-0 demolition of China was also an impressive performance, which left Korea top of Pool B. In the final day of pool action, China defeated Indonesia (WR:7-0; Korea beat Thailand (WR:29) 6-0; Japan were 8-0 victors against Malaysia (WR:20); and India put nine goals past Singapore (WR:41), to win 9-1. At this stage of the competition, Korea’s Cheon Eunbi is topping the goal scorers’ table with five goals; Japan’s Shihori Oikawa is currently one goal behind. The semi-finals will take place on Wednesday 26 January, with Korea facing India and Japan taking on China. Earlier on the same day in the fifth to eighth place matches, Malaysia will face Indonesia and Thailand will play Singapore. India’s captain Savita was in an ebullient mood after her team’s victory over Singapore: ’Our first match wasn’t very good and I think the second match, against Japan, we played better. ‘Today it was an okay performance. We know we can do better but we have qualified [for the World Cup] so now we have to focus on the semi-finals. ‘Qualifying in tournaments for events is always good. We did that for the 2016 Olympic Games and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games This is my fourth Asia Cup and my first as captain. It is always a great honour for me and my team to play for our country, whether it is the Asia Cup, the Commonwealth Games or the World Cup. ‘I was more happy for our coach., We really worked hard and our coach Janneke [Schopman] really inspires us.’ Asia Women’s Cup 2022 match schedule for Wednesday 26 January: (All times are India Standard Time) 5-8th place 11:30: Thailand v Singapore 14:00: Malaysia v Indonesia Semi-finals 16:30 Korea v India 19:00 Japan v China #WAC2022 #WomensAsiaCup For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website. #HWC2022 #HockeyInvites

South Africa’s World Cup adventures underway after success in Accra

23 January 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: The Africa Cup of Nations saw a week of exciting hockey action culminate in a double victory for South Africa, giving the top ranked teams in both the men’s and women’s competition automatic qualification for the respective FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar and Rourkela and the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup, Spain and Netherlands 2022. The seven days of action took place at the Theodosia Okoh Stadium in Accra, Ghana, with seven men’s and eight women’s teams competing for the continental crown as well as a coveted qualification spot at the FIH blue riband events. Although South Africa men’s and women’s hockey teams continue their dominance at this event, both finals were tough contests. The women went behind to a well-organised and hard-working Ghana team before rallying and winning 3-1. The men were held to a 1-1 scoreline by a resilient and skilful Egypt, but held their nerve to win the shoot-out by a 3-1 scoreline. In the women’s final, the host nation was hoping that home advantage would serve the players well as they faced South Africa in the final. This was the fifth consecutive final in which the two teams had faced each other, with South Africa emerging the victor on each of the previous occasions. Both teams had shown good form going into the final: South Africa were unbeaten and had conceded no goals to that point. Ghana had drawn with Nigeria and won their other two matches with ease. An early goal from Elizabeth Opoku – following the award of a penalty stroke against South Africa – gave Ghana the lead in the sixth minute. The noise levels among the spectators rose as they sensed the opportunity for an upset. However, South Africa responded well and were 2-1 ahead at half-time, courtesy of goals from Charne Maddocks and Kristen Paton. The match was put beyond doubt in the final quarter when Lillian du Plessis scored a penalty stroke to give her side a 3-1 lead. Tarryn Glasby of South Africa was the competition’s overall top scorer with nine goals. Speaking after the match, she said: ‘It is nice to get a win in Ghana. As a striker you are supposed to score goals, so I am happy to be the top scorer. Looking forward to the World Cup, it is all about trusting our processes.’ The captain of Ghana women, Nafisatu Umara, said: ’We are impressed with our performance. We took the lead in the first quarter, which shows how much we have really improved. We now have the courage to carry the ball, so we are happy with our performance. The last time we played South Africa we lost 6-0, so this was a big improvement. We will look at what happened today, we will do our homework and next time we will beat them.’ South Africa’s Head Coach Inky Zondy said: ‘I am really excited and really happy with the game. It was a tough game, so thank you to Ghana. We have really enjoyed our week here. We are a team that has changed, so we have to learn from what has happened this week and represent Africa well at the World Cup.’ In the men’s final, it was a repeat of the previous five editions, with reigning champions South Africa facing Egypt. Any hope Egypt had of hitting South Africa hard in the early stages was dashed when Matt Guise-Brown stepped up to fire home a penalty corner in the 12th minute. South Africa looked comfortably in control of the game for much of the first half but they failed to capitalise on a number of chances. With seven minutes of the half remaining, Egypt’s Ziad Adel took the opportunity to even the scores with a well-taken goal that eluded Siyavuya Nolutshungu in the South African goal. The teams continued to probe and seek a breakthrough throughout the third quarter but neither team could find the goal. With 15 minutes left, South Africa turned up the pressure a notch. An early penalty corner attempt flew wide and a devastating run from Nqobile Ntuli ended with a tame shot. Egypt continued to dig deep defensively and the team’s resilience paid off as the final whistle blew and the match went to shoot-out for the first time since 2005 [when South Africa beat Egypt 3-2 on penalty strokes]. Clinical finishing by the South African attackers and some great goalkeeping by Nolutshungu saw the higher ranked team finally break down their Egyptian rivals as South Africa won the shoot-out 3-1. Speaking after the match, South Africa’s Head Coach Gareth Ewing said: ’I’m shattered. That was too close for comfort. Ghana is such a great host, there was such a great atmosphere in the stadium, it was great to win. Based on tonight’s performance, we have a lot to do before the World Cup.’ Captain of South Africa, Tim Drummond said: ’We are ecstatic. That was tough but we are missing some players so that shows that we have depth in the squad. There is a long way to go before the World Cup but we hope to make a lot of improvement and finish in the top ten.’ Egypt’s Head Coach Zaman Tahir, said: ‘That was heartbreaking for all the boys. South Africa’s experience to handle this sort of pressure is huge. Shoot-out is down to nerves and South Africa had an advantage. Losing on shoot-out – it could have been any one’s game.’ South Africa’s penalty corner specialist Matthew Guise-Brown was top goalscorer with six goals. Earlier in the day, Kenya women had taken third place after they beat Zimbabwe in a tense match that had finished goalless at full time. Kenya’s goal keeper Milicent Adhiambo performed heroics to keep the Zimbabwe attackers at bay and the Kenyan team were able to finished one place higher than their previous fourth place in 2017. In the men’s match to decide third place, Nigeria put in an energetic

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