The first Hockey 5s World Cup moved a step closer following the men’s and women’s draws for next January’s event in Oman, which will see the Netherlands compete as the only top nation from Europe.
The hosts have been drawn in Pool A along with Malaysia, Fiji and Netherlands in the women’s competition. Australia, South Africa, Ukraine and Zambia are placed in Pool B, India, United States, Poland and Namibia are in Pool C, while New Zealand, Uruguay, Thailand and Paraguay complete Pool D.
In the men’s competition Netherlands are drawn with Pakistan, Poland and Nigeria in Pool A and India, Egypt, Switzerland and Jamaica will compete in Pool B. Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad & Tobago and Kenya are placed in Pool C, while hosts Oman will face Malaysia, United States and Fiji in Pool D.
The first World Cup gets underway from Jan 24-31 next year in Muscat, Oman.
FIH president Tayyab Ikram said: “You represent the very best of Hockey5s; and you will be the trailblazers and the role models for all future players who take up this new and exciting format of our beloved sport.
“Hockey5s is not just a very exciting format, but it is also a highly accessible version of hockey that I am sure will inspire even more youngsters to pick up the stick and the ball.”
England, Germany and Belgium are notable absentees from the first Hockey 5s showpiece.
German Bundesliga chiefs last year issued a manifesto which said that teams or national sides should not participate in high-level competition or demonstration events.
I wish the top European teams were participating in the world cup.
It’s a pity because I fear that the hockey world could fracture on this issue.
Hockey5s is going to grow rapidly in non-European countries for the following reasons-
Hockey5s costs are considerably less that regular hockey and that allows smaller countries to compete. Could anyone imagine Oman securing 3rd place in the the toughest Hockey5s continental grouping Asia?
Even bigger nations like Pakistan cannot compete in regular hockey because the amount of resources that regular modern hockey needs is beyond their ability.
But Pakistan is very competitive in Hockey5s. They are one of the favorites for the world cup and each of their three encounters with India in this format have been absolute crackers.
Hockey grew popular in the 1960-70’s because of the India-Pakistan rivalry. Now that rivalry is more or less dead in regular hockey but it is alive and kicking in Hockey5s.
The Prime Minister of India congratulated India’s hockey5s team for winning Asia Cup, but it was more than that, India won by beating Pakistan in a thriller. If India had won against any other opponent I doubt the P.M would have cared to comment.