As indoor hockey in South Africa continues to show positive growth, enthusiasts of the sport will have a golden opportunity to see the best of the best in action at the Indoor Hockey World Cup, presented by SPAR, in South Africa next year.
Led by defending men’s champions Austria, 12 of the leading indoor hockey nations will showcase their talents as the men’s and women’s teams converge on the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria from February 5 to 11.
Even though the powerful German sides will not be at the tournament, local organising committee chairman Simon Martin said they were delighted with the response and were looking forward to a blockbuster event.
“We will see the Austria, the champions of the last men’s World Cup who also added the European Indoor Championship title to their name this weekend, return to defend their title, as well as two-time women’s winners the Netherlands,” he said.
“The absence of the Germans in the women’s division will see new champions being crowned and it opens the way for top contenders such as Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, United States and Iran to make an impact.”
He felt that the Netherlands men’s team, who won the title in 2015, would be serious challengers again, along with 2018 winners Austria.
These two teams ended Germany’s domination of the World Cup after they won the first three titles (2003, 2007 and 2011).
“But with teams like Iran, Australia and the Czech Republic all in the mix, it is going to be a very tight tournament,” Martin said.
“Similarly, the women’s division will be close, with teams such as the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Austria fighting it out.”
He added that it would be an opportunity for the South African men’s and women’s teams to measure themselves against the best.
“The women are currently ranked 14 and the men are ranked at 11,” Martin said. “It’s tough for us
in the southern hemisphere to rack up as many ranking points as our northern competitors due to
being in two different seasons.
“A lot of indoor hockey tournaments and series take place in Europe in our summer months when outdoor hockey is our focus.”
The sixth edition of the Indoor World Cup, supported by SPAR, is the first to be played outside of Europe after Germany hosted the inaugural tournament in Leipzig in 2003. The following events were held in Austria (Vienna) and Poland (Poznan) in 2011, before returning to Germany in 2015 (Leipzig) and 2018 (Berlin).
Germany lead the way with three titles and there is one each to the Netherlands and Austria, who famously won the 2018 tournament when they beat the Germans on a penalty shootout in the final.
The women’s World Cup has been a seesaw battle between the Netherlands and Germany. They have contested all five finals, with the Germans leading 3-2.
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Captions
HOCKEY: Robin Johnson in action in a recent test match against Ireland
HOCKEY2: Edith Molikoe playing in exhibition match against an Invitational European team during The Pro Series Indoor Nationals Tournament
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This media release was sent out on behalf of FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup by BLD Communications.