Switzerland

Lausanne, Switzerland: It’s a world first that will provide a showcase for hockey and bring the sport to new audiences. The Hero FIH Hockey5s Lausanne 2022 event is the first official senior World Hockey5s competition to be organised by FIH and it builds on the success of Hockey5s events that have been taking place across the world, including the Youth Olympic Games events in Nanjing 2014 and Buenos Aires 2018. Taking place in the centre of the Olympic Capital Lausanne on June 4-5, Hockey5s Lausanne 2022 will be two days of hockey action, fun and entertainment. The hockey action will see the men’s teams of India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland and Switzerland compete in a round robin style tournament, with a final between the two top teams. The women’s competition, following the same format, will see home nation Switzerland take on teams from India, Poland, South Africa and Uruguay. Spectators at the event will be able to enjoy some amazingly fast and skilful hockey action. Hockey5s is a shorter, more intense style of play. A match comprises two halves of 10 minutes and the ball is in play for 90 per cent of that time, thanks to perimeter boards that the ball can be played off. There should also be a glut of goals as players can shoot from anywhere in the attacking half. This event, and the increasing number of Hockey5s events world wide is creating excitement among players and coaches. South African coach Tsoanelo Pholo said: ‘Hockey5s is an initiator into hockey, a developer into the full-field version. If you have a Hockey5s court in three or four places in the country, I am telling you now, we are going to have way more hockey players in developing countries.’ Swiss athlete Sae Fontana said: ‘As early adopters of Hockey5s, we want to gain a competitive advantage, to get better rapidly, as a small country. Hockey5s is a fast game which makes it intense for the players.’ There will be some superstars, both established and up and coming, showing their skills at the …

Lausanne, Switzerland: An always the highly-anticipated match up between the Netherlands women and Argentina did not disappoint. A penalty corner goal from each side sent the game to a shootout. The brilliant Dutch scored four straight and thanks to two saves from keeper Josine Koning the Netherlands earned the bonus point. Over in London, the hosts, England, powered their way to a 3-1 win over the always tenacious Spanish side. The teams will match up again tomorrow, May 29, for the second of their double-header. On the men’s side, England was clinical on their penalty corner finishes to take the game 4-2 over South Africa. As they have started to become known for, South Africa mustered a comeback. Two goals in the fourth quarter were well finished but too little, too late. Over in Belgium, it was all penalty corner scoring including two from Belgium and a consolation flick for France to give the hom side the three points and 2-1 victory. The same teams will rally again tomorrow, May 29. Netherlands v Argentina (women) – HC Union, Nijmegen (NED) As expected, it was an energetic match from start to finish between the Netherlands and Argentina. There were plenty of penalty corner chances on both sides, while stellar goalkeeping and stingy defence made chances of a field goal a stiff feat. Penalty corner finishes from Dutch flicker Frédérique Matla and Argentina’s ace deflector Maria Granatto left the game level 1-1. Four-straight shootout finishes and two saves from the Netherlands secured the home team the extra point. In the opening quarter Argentina had a pair of penalty corner chances. Agustina Gorzelany, the league’s current top goal scorer, ricocheted a rocket flick off the cross bar forcing the Dutch to scramble to clear the ball. Lidewij Welten expertly ran down Gorzelany’s second attempt minutes later and the teams settled for a scoreless quarter. Frédérique Matla showed great composure in the circle in the 29th minute to find the foot of Argentine defender …

Lausanne, Switzerland: The Leonas had a chance to seal their fate as FIH Pro League champions with a win over the Netherlands but a second 1-1 draw left Argentina to suffer another shootout loss. This time it was 3-2 in sudden death shootouts. Argentina still sits in first place with 38 points in 14 games, while the Netherlands now have 23 points in 10 games. Over in London, Spain fought back to split the weekend with an important 2-0 win over England. On the men’s side, England completed the weekend sweep with a 3-0 win over South Africa. Two goals from Tom Boon propelled Belgium to their second-straight win over France. Netherlands v Argentina (women) – HC Union, Nijmegen (NED) It required another shootout to split the difference between the Netherlands and visiting Argentina women. This time, a 3-2 sudden death shootout gave the Dutch the two-game sweep of the weekend and, more importantly, it denied the Leonas the early chance of being the FIH Pro League champions. It was another fast-paced and energetic start to the match and this time a 27th minute penalty corner finish from Netherlands flicker Yibbi Jansen was all that separated the teams by half time. It was a strong baseline run from Laurien Leurink looking for Frédérique Matla that gave the Dutch an important penalty corner opportunity in the second quarter but Matla’s flick went wide of the right post. The Netherlands nearly scored in free play minutes later as Margot van Geffen fed Xan de Waard but the reverse-stick shot pinged off Belen Succi’s post. Finally Jansen was able to slot the ball home on a penalty corner moments before half time. In the third quarter the Leonas had a penalty corner chance to draw level. A miss hit out left Rocio Sanchez to strike and keeper Josine Koning was there to deny a tip from Julieta Jankunas at the far post. With minute to go in the quarter, Argentina’s high press paid off. Agustina Albertarrio found the reverse stick of Jankunas but the deflection was saved well by …

Lausanne, Switzerland: All 16 qualified teams are now known for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar - Rourkela, India. At the Hero Asia Cup, which is currently taking place in Jakarta, a thrilling match between Japan and Pakistan, which ended 3-2 in Japan’s favour, meant Japan joined Malaysia and Korea as the three teams to qualify for the World Cup. As the host nation, India had already qualified. At the continental showpiece event, India, Japan, Malaysia and Korea have all won through to the top four of the competition, with the Super4s finals taking place over the weekend to decide the overall winner of the event. Our congratulations to all four teams on reaching the final and to the three teams who have now secured their places at the Men’s World Cup. The other two teams making up the participating nations are the top ranked teams in Oceania, New Zealand and Australia. Here is the full list of participating nations: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, England, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and Wales. CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za International/. Asia Cup provides ticket to Bhubaneswar-Rourkela Submission Details Author: FIH Hockey from FIH. More Info link: Images: For a high res version of THIS image please contact FIH Facebook: Twitter: …

Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is glad to announce the signing of a 3-year partnership with Dutch betting company BetCity.nl, the first-ever betting partner of hockey’s world governing body. The partnership covers the upcoming FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup as well as the FIH Hockey Pro League seasons in the Netherlands, from now until June 2025. BetCity.nl will be visible for the first time at the FIH Hockey Pro League matches that will be played in Nijmegen (Netherlands) at the end of May. As an established, experienced and 100% Dutch supplier, BetCity.nl has a great deal of affinity with its products and its market. This is in tune with the confidence that its players who, in addition to their passion for the casino games, also share the love for hockey and the sentiment of sportsmanship in general. The landmark partnership was facilitated by Sportradar, the official betting and gaming data rights partner of the FIH. The leading sports technology company is very pleased to support the FIH’s move into the betting space and introduce hockey to a new and highly engaged group of sports fans. Commenting on the partnership, FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: “We’ve been looking at engaging with the betting industry for some time now, but it was essential for us to do so in a completely trustful environment. Thanks to our collaboration with Sportradar, we’ve found in BetCity.nl the ideal partner to open the doors of the betting market to hockey. This first-of-a-kind move for us will hopefully generate further similar opportunities in this area in the future.” Melvin Bostelaar, CEO BetCity.nl: “The Netherlands have been among the world's top teams in hockey for years. As a 100% Dutch company, we are proud to be affiliated with the FIH and therefore being visible at matches in the Pro League and the Women's Hockey World Cup of our national team!” For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please visit FIH.hockey, follow the FIH social …

Lausanne, Switzerland: Argentina women continued to dominate the FIH Pro League as they recorded their 12th win, beating a Germany who were slightly below par today. Germany men came from behind to draw with Argentina and then took the shoot-out bonus point. At Lee Valley Tennis and Hockey Centre in London, England men beat France for the second time in two days, while China recorded their first win against England since 2014. Germany vs Argentina (women) - Ernst Reuter Sportfeld, Berlin Argentina got off to the brightest of starts when Maria Granatto opened the scoring in the first minute of play. Granatto’s sister Victoria nearly made it two but her shot struck the post, much to goalkeeper Nathalie Kubalski’s relief. Las Leona’s second goal came in the 11th minute when Agustina Albertarrio slipped the ball to Jimena Cedres, who sent the ball into the goal with real venom in the shot. Kubalski showed why she is first choice for the German team when she pulled off a magnificent save from a rasping penalty corner sent in by Agustina Gorzelany. The agile ‘keeper dived to her right to edge the ball round the post. The importance of those saves was amplified when a fantastic shot by Nike Lorenz brought the scores to 2-1. Belen Succi made two excellent saves in quick succession but even she was powerless when Lorenz sent the ball high into the left=hand corner of her goal. The two-goal cushion was restored in the third quarter when Maria Granatto scored her second goal – a sliding deflection from a penalty corner. Germany went straight down the other end for their own penalty corner attempt but Succi is currently in fabulous form and once again the tall ‘keeper reacted brilliantly to keep the ball from the net. The scores stayed the same for the final quarter as Argentina maintained their composure and Germany were just unable to find a way through a highly organised defence. Player of the Match, Argentina’s goalkeeper Belen Succi said: ‘We are very happy because we …