With the eagerly anticipated Hockey World League Semi-Finals in Antwerp, Belgium, getting underway on from June 20, here's a look at the teams competing in this crucial qualification competition for the Hockey World League Finals and Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
POOL ‘A’
In Pool A of the men’s competition, Pakistan, Australia, India, Poland and France will fight it out for a place in the quarter-finals.
Pakistan: The ever-dangerous and unpredictable Pakistan are likely to be a serious threat to all of the teams taking part in Antwerp, especially after their surprise Silver medal at the Hero Hockey Champions Trophy tournament in Bhubaneswar at the end of 2014.
Pakistan’s famous Greenshirts went into that tournament on the back of a terrible run of results, failing for the first time in their history to qualify for the 2014 World Cup and also being denied an automatic Olympic qualification by India in the final of the 2014 Asian Games.
Despite finishing bottom of their Pool in Bhubaneswar, Pakistan burst into life in the knock-out stages of the Champions Trophy, defeating the Netherlands (quarter-finals) and India (semi-finals) before losing the tournament final against Germany.
The squad named for Antwerp contains nine players who have played over 100 times for Pakistan, with Mohammad Imran (230+ caps), Mohammad Waqas (210+), Fareed Ahmed (190+) and Shafqat Rasool (170+) being the most experienced of the group. — Current world ranking: 10
Australia: Kookaburras coach Graham Reid has named an experienced squad as his team attempts to land the double ticket of the HWL Final and also achieve qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games. “We’re approaching the World League Semi-Final like we would an Olympics,” Reid.
Of the 18-man squad, 14 were members of the team that won the Rabobank Hockey World Cup just a year ago while 13 were part of the team that grabbed Commonwealth Games Gold last August. The exception is the inclusion of 18-year-old striker Blake Govers, the brother of Olympic Bronze medallist Kieran, who is selected following a series of impressive performances.
Five times FIH Player of the Year Jamie Dwyer will feature in Antwerp having recently become Australia’s most capped player in history, overtaking Jay Stacy’s record of 321 appearances at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia where the 36-year-old scored eight times as the Kookaburras finished in second place behind Oceania rivals New Zealand.
Both Dwyer and ace defender Mark Knowles - Dwyer’s brother-in-law and FIH Player of the Year for 2014 - were absent from the Hero Hockey Champions Trophy at the end of last year. — Current world ranking: 1
India: Eight times Olympic champions India have in recent years been showing signs that a return to the glory days of old might be just around the corner.
Following a 9th place finish at last year’s Rabobank Hockey World Cup, the team produced a string of high quality performances to claim the Silver medal behind World champions Australia at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
That success was a sign of even greater things to come, with India storming to glory at the 2014 Asian Games and sealing their place at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games by defeating great rivals Pakistan in the competition final before landing a fourth place finish at the end of year Hero Hockey Champions Trophy event on home soil in Bhubaneswar.
The team selected by new Head Coach Paul van Ass – who guided the Netherlands men to Silver medals at the 2012 Olympic Games and 2014 Rabobank Hockey World Cup respectively – contains masses of experience, with 28-year-old midfield icon Sardar Singh being named the captain of the side.
Brilliant goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, giant drag-flicking defender V.R. Raghunath and lively attackers S.V. Sunil, Yuvraj Walmiki and Akashdeep Singh have all been confirmed in the squad.
Despite the fact that they have already achieved Olympic qualification and are pre-qualified for the end-of-year showpiece Hockey World League Final as hosts, India will be determined to make a massive impression on this competition by finishing as high in the standings as possible. — Current world ranking: 9
Poland: Poland sealed their ticket to the Hockey World League Semi-Finals thanks to a second place finish at the HWL Round 2 event in Singapore earlier this year.
The team recorded wins over Mexico, Japan, Bangladesh, Singapore and Oman to set up a meeting against Malaysia in the tournament final, with the Asian giants coming out coming out comfortable 8-0 winners.
However, it would be foolish to read too much into that result, as simply reaching the final had already helped the European nation achieve their target of landing a berth in the Olympic qualifier stage of the tournament.
24-year-old team captain Pawel Bratkowski netted eight penalty corners in that tournament, and will be looking to collect another impressive goal-scoring haul in Antwerp. — Current world ranking: 17
France: Following their excellent tournament victory at the Greenfields Hockey World League Round 2 event in Cape Town (RSA), France are expected to arrive in Antwerp brimming with confidence.
The team put together a six match-winning streak at the tournament in South Africa, defeating Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Belarus, Switzerland, Egypt and China to take the title and reach the Olympic qualifier stage of the Hockey World League.
22-year-old Gaspard Baumgarten was the hero of the final, netting a hat-trick of field goals as France stormed to a 5-2 victory over China.
However, Baumgarten was far from being the only star of this talented, youthful group, with midfielder Simon Martin-Brisac and classy shot-stopper Martin Zylbermann being named the Player of the Tournament and Goalkeeper of the Tournament respectively.
Many of the current France team were part of the hugely successful side that claimed a second place finish at the Hero Hockey Junior World Cup in 2013, a sure sign that their star is very much on the rise. — Current world ranking: 18
POOL ‘B’
In Pool B, host nation Belgium, Great Britain, Malaysia, Ireland and China will all be aiming to seal a place in the quarter-finals.
Belgium: Host nation and home favourites Belgium – known as the Red Lions – have made incredible strides forward over the past few years. The team is now coached by legendary Netherlands international defender Jeroen Delmee, who replaced fellow Dutchman Marc Lammers at the helm of one of the most feared attacking sides on the planet.
Belgium produced some fine performances at the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014 but just missed out on a place in the tournament semi-finals when they fell to a narrow defeat at the hands of England. Still, their 5th place finish at the event was their best ever at a World Cup, setting another benchmark in the development of a gifted group of players that have yet to reach their full potential.
The squad named for the Hockey World League Semi-Final contains ten players have surpassed the 100 international appearances mark – John-John Dohmen (280+), Jerome Truyens (270+), Thomas Briels (220+), Felix Denayer (190+), Tom Boon (170+), Simon Gougnard (160+), Eliot van Strydonck (130+), goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch, Florent van Aubel (both 110+) and Loick Luypaert (100+). It will be something of a homecoming for four members of the Red Lions squad, with Arthur van Doren, Emmanuel Stockbroekx, Florent van Aubel and Felix Denayer being current players of the host club KHC Dragons. — Current world ranking: 4
Great Britain: Following their 4th place finish at the London 2012 Olympics, Great Britain come into this tournament knowing that any hopes of landing a medal at the Rio 2016 Games could be extinguished if they do not perform to their capabilities in Antwerp.
However, the squad selected by Head Coach Bobby Crutchley is more than capable of claiming a top three finish and sealing their ticket to Brazil. The GB side contains 14 athletes who competed for England at the Hero Hockey Champions Trophy in December 2014, with four changes to the group who finished seventh in the competition in Bhubaneswar, India.
The most experienced player in the group is talismanic attacker and team captain Barry Middleton, who is rapidly approaching 350 combined international appearances for England and GB. Brilliant midfielder and penalty corner expert Ashley Jackson is also included, as are charismatic goalkeeper George Pinner and skillful duo Adam Dixon and Nick Catlin.
The players to come into the squad are former Ireland international David Ames, who recently made his debut against Argentina after serving the qualifying period to become eligible for Great Britain, Harry Martin, who missed the Champions Trophy through injury as well as goalkeeper James Bailey. The players to miss out who travelled to the Champions Trophy are Ollie Willars, Paddy Smith, Tim Whiteman and Tom Carson. — Current world ranking: 5
Malaysia: Malaysia booked their place in the Hockey World League Semi-Finals with a breathtaking display of attacking hockey at the Round 2 event in Singapore. The side cruised into the tournament semi-finals with thumping victories over Ukraine (5-1), Oman (7-0), Singapore (16-1), and Mexico (10-1) before defeating Asian rivals Japan in a tense semi-final shoot-out.
Their performance in the final was staggering, sailing to an 8-0 win over Poland and in the process took Malaysia’s scoring tally to a remarkable 42 goals in just six games. Live-wire forward Faizal Saari scored 12 of those goals, and he could well be the key to Malaysian success in Antwerp.
The Malaysia side selected for the Hockey World League Semi-Final is enormously experienced, containing 11 players who have made more than 100 international appearances including four who have surpassed the 200 cap barrier – Mohd Shahrun Nabil Abdullah (220+), Mohd Sukri Mutalib (210+), goalkeeper Kumar Subramiam (240+) and Azlan Misron, who is rapidly approaching 350 caps.
The team coached by Tai Beng Hai finished 6th at April’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on home soil, a result which was certainly not ideal preparation for this event. However, the team are expected to be back to their very best in Antwerp and will be aiming to qualify for their first Summer Olympic Games since Sydney 2000, where they finished in 11th place. — Current world ranking: 12
Ireland: Ireland’s ‘Green Machine’ were in blistering form at the Hockey World League Round 2 event in San Diego, storming to a comprehensive tournament victory that sealed their place in the Semi-Final phase of the HWL.
The Irishmen completely justified their pre-tournament favourites tag with six wins out of six, defeating Chile (8-0), Austria (3-1), Italy (2-0), Trinidad & Tobago (12-2), Canada (2-0) before beating Austria (2-1) for a second time in the tournament final.
The squad selected for the Hockey World League Semi-Final contains the majority of players who were involved in the San Diego triumph, including agile goalkeeper David Harte, experienced defender Ronan Gormley as well as lively striker Shane O’Donoghue, who was named Player of the Tournament in San Diego.
Coached by former South African international Craig Fulton – who represented his country at the 1996 and 2004 Olympic Games – Ireland will feel that they have every chance of getting the required results in Antwerp. Defender Paul Gleghorne will be looking forward to his side’s pool meeting against Great Britain, where elder brother Mark Gleghorne will feature in the opposition line-up. — Current world ranking: 14
China: At 31 in the FIH World Rankings, it comes as little surprise that China are massive outsiders for this event. However, those who saw them in action at the Greenfields Hockey World League Round 2 event in Cape Town will know that this team is making huge strides forward.
China performed way above all expectations at that event, claiming an astonishing 2nd place finish ahead of a trio of higher-ranked nations — hosts South Africa (WR: 13), Czech Republic (WR: 20) and Egypt (WR: 21).
Their stunning 2-0 victory over South Africa in the tournament semi-final is arguably the biggest shock so far in the 2014-15 Edition of the HWL, with Liu Yixian and Sun Long scoring the goals to seal a place in both the tournament final and the HWL Olympic qualifying round.
The team eventually had to settle for Silver after going down to a 5-2 defeat against France, although there was a happy ending for 20-year-old Li Zecheng, who was named Young Player of the Tournament in the end of event awards. — Current world ranking: 31 — Dawn News
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