Great Britain’s men and women teams have arrived on different continents as the final tickets for the Paris 2024 Olympics loom large.
GB men have travelled to Oman for the eight-team FIH Olympic qualifier tournament, while the women are in Valencia for their competition where only the top three will earn berths for the Olympics this summer.
Great Britain captain David Ames returns to the squad after missing the recent Pro League matches in Argentina. Struan Walker, Tim Nurse, Rohan Bhuhi and Ian Sloan have not been included.
They start their campaign on Monday against Pakistan before matches against Malaysia and China. Should they qualify for the semi-finals and advance to the final, Paul Revington’s side will have automatically qualified.
The same goes for David Ralph’s GB women. They face Canada on Saturday, before clashes against hosts Spain and Malaysia. GB captain Hollie Pearne-Webb also returns to the helm, while recent Pro League squad players Alex Malzer, Charlotte Watson, Martha Taylor, Flora Peel and Grace Balsdon are not included for their Valencia trip.
GB women will be returning to the city which saw them secure qualification for the 2016 Olympics. They won the World League semi-finals, which acted as a Rio qualifier, by winning seven successive matches for the first time.
The matches in Spain and Oman will be broadcast on BBC Sport channels.
FIH Olympic qualifiers – GB squads:
Men: Nick Park, Jack Waller, David Ames, Jacob Draper, Zach Wallace, Rupert Shipperley, Sam Ward, James Albery, Phil Roper, James Mazarelo (GK), Brendan Creed, Ollie Payne (GK), Nick Bandurak, James Gall, Liam Sanford, Lee Morton, Tom Sorsby, Will Calnan.
Women: Giselle Ansley, Amy Costello, Fiona Crackles, Hannah French, Sophie Hamilton, Sabbie Heesh (GK), Tess Howard, Sarah Jones, Lily Owsley, Hollie Pearne-Webb (C), Izzy Petter, Miriam Pritchard (GK), Ellie Rayer, Katie Robertson, Sarah Robertson, Laura Roper, Anna Toman, Lily Walker.
The Olympic qualifier tournaments
Men
Muscat, Oman (Jan 15-21):
Pool A: Great Britain, Malaysia, Pakistan, China
Pool B: Germany, New Zealand, Canada, Chile
Valencia, Spain (Jan 13-21):
Pool A: Belgium, Ireland, Japan, Ukraine
Pool B: Spain, Korea, Austria, Egypt
Women
Valencia, Spain (Jan 13-21)
Pool A: Belgium, Korea, Ireland, Ukraine
Pool B: Great Britain, Spain, Canada, Malaysia
Ranchi, India (13-19)
Pool A: Germany, Japan, Chile, Czech Republic
Pool B: India, New Zealand, United States, Italy
The men’s and women’s teams have been divided into the two groups on the basis of their current world ranking.
The teams that finish in the top three of each of the four Olympic qualifiers will seal their qualification to Paris.
A total of 12 teams across the genders will compete in Paris.
Who has qualified already for Paris 2024?
Hosts France have gained direct qualification. Australia (men and women) were winners of the Oceania Cup, which sealed their qualification, while Netherlands (men and women) qualified as the European champions. India men and China women clinched their spots at the Olympics through their gold medal victories at the Asian Games.
Argentina (men and women) sealed their spots at the Olympics as winners of the Pan American Games. With South Africa (men and women) qualifying to the games
With five direct qualifiers, the six remaining berths alongside France will be known this month.
