FIH Women's Series Finals Banbridge 2019 Media Kit - 8-16 June 2019
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FIH Women’s Series Finals
Banbridge 2019
8-16 June 2019
Media Kit
1
Contents
General Information
Page 3: Key contacts and resources
Page 4: Welcome message from FIH President Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra
Page 5: FIH Series Open & Finals – Questions & Answers
Page 10: About Northern Ireland and Banbridge Hockey Club
Competition
Page 12: Competition format
Page 15: Match schedule
Page 16: Teams
Page 21: Competition officials
Useful information
Page 22: Event logos for download
Page 22: Event Photography
Page 23: FIH World Rankings
2
Key contact and resources
Contact
For all media queries relating to the event, please contact:
Nishant Mehta – Event Media Manager
Email: media@fih.ch Mobile: +41 78 735 64 07
Event Name: FIH Women’s Series Finals Banbridge 2019
When: 8-16 June 2019
Where: Banbridge Hockey Club, Havelock Park, Lurgan Rd, Banbridge, County Down BT32 4LU,
Northern Ireland
Teams: Ireland, Korea, Scotland, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Ukraine, France, Singapore
Event website: https://www.fihseriesfinals.com
Broadcast and live streaming
Global broadcast and live streaming information will be published on the event website as listed
above when it becomes available.
In January 2019, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) launched the FIH.live global broadcast
platform. This year, all FIH competitions will be available live on FIH.live in every market where a
broadcaster will not be showing the matches. This includes the inaugural FIH Pro League, the FIH
Series Finals and the FIH Olympic qualifiers. To visit FIH.live, click here.
FIH Tournament Management System (TMS)
Raw competition data including match starting line-up pdfs, pool tables, top scorers, in-match
statistics and daily appointment sheets will be available for the media at
https://tms.fih.ch/competitions/1052
Social media
The FIH will provide comprehensive coverage of the event via our social media channels,
including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Facebook: facebook.com/fihockey
Instagram: instagram.com/fihockey
Twitter: twitter.com/fih_hockey
Hashtags: #FIHSeriesFinals
3
A message of welcome from Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra, President of the
International Hockey Federation (FIH)
Dear all,
On behalf of the International Hockey Federation (FIH),
it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the FIH
Series Finals, events that are all crucial milestones on
the road to earning qualification for the men’s and
women’s hockey competitions at the Olympic Games
Tokyo 2020.
Between April and June of this year, a total of six FIH
Series Finals events are hosted by the National
Associations of Malaysia, India, Ireland, France, Japan
and Spain. Kuala Lumpur (MAS), Bhubaneswar (IND)
and Le Touquet (FRA) all stage men’s events, with
women’s competitions taking place in Banbridge (IRL),
Hiroshima (JPN) and Valencia (ESP).
Each Finals event consists of eight teams, with the
best performers from last year’s FIH Series Open events taking on a group of nations who pre-
qualified for the Finals events due to higher placement in the FIH World Rankings. I am certain that
the qualifying nations from the FIH Series Open will be relishing the opportunity to upset the odds
against supposedly superior opposition.
With berths in the new FIH Olympic qualifiers on the line, not to mention valuable rankings points, it
is difficult to overstate the significance of these competitions to all nations taking part. The top two
finishers at each of the six FIH Series Finals competitions will win through to those FIH Olympic
qualifiers, joining the best performers from the FIH Pro League as well as some of the highest
ranked nations in the sport. The FIH Olympic qualifiers are scheduled to take place towards the
end of the year and will each feature two nations playing two back-to-back matches for that
coveted ticket to Tokyo.
The opportunity for even the smallest of hockey playing nations to make their mark, qualify for the
Olympic Games and write their own chapter in hockey’s history books is something I passionately
believe in. The FIH Series Open saw numerous shock results that defied the FIH World Rankings,
and I firmly believe that we will see more of the same in the FIH Series Finals events.
I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to the host National Associations for their tireless
dedication in their planning and preparation for these events. I hope that the teams, officials and
fans who attend these competitions depart with the very best of memories.
Yours in hockey,
Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra
FIH President
4FIH Series Open & Finals: Questions & Answers
What is the FIH Series?
Open to all countries not in the FIH Pro League, the FIH Series gives developing hockey-playing
nations the opportunity to test themselves against some of the world’s best and to qualify for the
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
The FIH Series is composed of two rounds, played over two years. In line with hockey’s ‘Equally
Amazing’ ethos, the competitions and subsequent qualification processes are exactly the same for
both the men’s and women’s competitions.
The FIH Series Open were continentally based.
From all teams competing in this round, 30 teams (15 men’s, 15 women’s) qualified for the FIH
Series Finals.
Each of the FIH Series Finals will have eight teams playing in them, with berths into the Olympic
qualifiers up for grabs.
Who competed in the FIH Series Open and how did nations qualify for the FIH Series
Finals?
All nations affiliated to FIH that were not playing in the FIH Pro League were eligible to enter the
FIH Series Open, which took place between June and December 2018. The teams marked in
bold achieved qualification for the FIH Series Finals.
Date Location Final Standings Website TMS
Men: 1: USA, 2: Mexico, 3:
https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Puerto Rico, 4: Panama, 5:
Salamanca ons/934
5 - 10 Costa Rica
(MEX) - Men Event page
Jun 2018 Women: 1: Canada, 2:
& Women https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Mexico, 3: Puerto Rico, 4:
ons/938
Panama, 5: Guatemala
Men: 1: Singapore, 2:
Thailand, 3: Chinese Taipei, https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
4: Myanmar, 5: Hong Kong ons/939
23 Jun - Singapore China, 6: Indonesia.
1 Jul (SGP) - Men Event page
2018 & Women Women: 1: Malaysia, 2:
Thailand, 3: Singapore, 4: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Kazakhstan, 5: Hong Kong ons/940
China, 6: Indonesia
5Men: 1: Austria, 2: Wales, 3:
25 - 30 Zagreb https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Croatia, 4: Switzerland, 5: Event page
Jun 2018 (CRO) -Men ons/941
Slovakia
Wattignies
6 - 8 Jul Women: 1: Belarus, 2: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
(FRA) - Event page
2018 Russia, 3: France, 4: Austria ons/945
Women
Men: 1: Vanuatu*, 2: Fiji, 3: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Port Vila Solomon Islands, 4: Tonga ons/946
15 - 18
(VAN) – Men Event page
Aug 2018
& Women Women: 1: Fiji, 2: Vanuatu, 3: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Solomon Islands, 4: Tonga ons/947
Women: 1: Ukraine, 2:
21 - 26 Vilnius (LTU) https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Czech Republic, 3: Wales, Event page
Aug 2018 - Women ons/932
4: Lithuania, 5: Turkey
28 Aug - Men: 1: Poland, 2: Italy, 3:
Gniezno https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
2 Sep Ukraine, 4: Czech Republic, Event page
(POL) - Men ons/930
2018 5: Lithuania, 6: Cyprus
Men: 1: Russia, 2: Scotland,
4 - 9 Sep Lousada https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
3: Belarus*, 4: Gibraltar, 5: Event page
2018 (POR) - Men ons/931
Portugal, 6: Turkey
Men: 1: Chile, 2: Brazil, 3:
https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Venezuela, 4: Uruguay, 5:
Santiago ons/942
18 - 23 Peru, 6: Bolivia
(CHI) – Men Event page
Sep 2018 Women: 1: Chile, 2:
& Women https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Uruguay, 3: Paraguay, 4:
ons/943
Brazil, 5: Peru, 6: Bolivia
Men: 1: Egypt, 2: Zimbabwe, https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Bulawayo 3: Zambia, 4: Namibia ons/1018
7 - 9 Dec
(ZIM) – Men Event page
2018
& Women Women: 1: Namibia, 2: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Zambia, 3: Zimbabwe ons/1019
Men: 1: Uzbekistan, 2:
17 - 22 Lahore (PAK) https://tms.fih.ch/competiti
Kazakhstan, 3: Nepal, 4: Event page
Dec 2018 - Men ons/944
Afghanistan
* Following the withdrawal of Vanuatu, Belarus – who finished third in the Open Series event in Lousada,
Portugal – were given a berth in the men’s FIH Series Finals.
The nine highest placed nations in the FIH World Ranking (as of 9 June 2017) that were not
playing in the FIH Pro League were exempt from the FIH Series Open and qualified directly for the
FIH Series Finals.
Men: India, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, China, France, South Africa, Korea and Japan
Women: Ireland, India, Korea, Japan, South Africa, Spain, Italy, Scotland and Poland
6In 2019, six FIH Series Finals (3 for Men, 3 for Women) take place, each with eight teams
competing. Each FIH Series Finals event will include at least five qualifiers from the FIH Series
Open but contain no more than three of the teams that qualified directly for the Finals based on
World Ranking. The line-ups for the events can be found below.
Date Location Gender Teams Website TMS
Final standings: 1:
Kuala Lumpur Canada, 2: Malaysia,
26 April – 4 https://tms.fih.ch/comp
Malaysia Men 3: Italy, 4: Austria, 5: Event page
May 2019 etitions/1049
(Completed) Wales, 6: China, 7:
Brazil, 8: Belarus*
India, South Africa,
6 - 15 June Bhubaneswar Japan, Poland, https://tms.fih.ch/comp
Men Event page
2019 India Russia, USA, Mexico, etitions/1050
Uzbekistan
Ireland, Korea,
Scotland, Czech
8-16 June Banbridge https://tms.fih.ch/comp
Women Republic, Malaysia, Event page
2019 Ireland etitions/1052
Ukraine, France,
Singapore
Ireland, France,
15-23 June Le Touquet Korea, Egypt, https://tms.fih.ch/comp
Men Event page
2019 France Scotland, Ukraine, etitions/1051
Chile, Singapore
India, Japan, Chile,
15-23 June Hiroshima https://tms.fih.ch/comp
Women Poland, Uruguay, Event page
2019 Japan etitions/1053
Russia, Mexico, Fiji
Spain, Italy, Belarus,
19-27 June Valencia Canada, Russia, https://tms.fih.ch/comp
Women Event page
2019 Spain Wales, Thailand, etitions/1054
Namibia
* Following the withdrawal of Vanuatu, Belarus – who finished third in the Open Series event in Lousada,
Portugal – were given a birth in the Kuala Lumpur event.
A berth in the FIH Olympic qualifiers at stake
Teams competing in the FIH Series will not only have the chance to gain valuable FIH World
Ranking points, but also the top two teams in each of the FIH Series Finals are guaranteed* a
berth in the FIH Olympic qualifiers.
* if Japan, Scotland or Wales finish in the top 2 of their respective events, they will not secure a place in the
FIH Olympic qualifiers. Japan have already qualified as both host and winners of the Asian Games; for
Scotland and Wales, the reason is that England are the nominated country for Great Britain’s qualification
pathway. If any of these three teams do finish in the top 2, the team that finishes third does NOT
automatically qualify for the FIH Olympic qualifiers. Any such additional place is determined by the FIH World
Rankings as at the completion of the continental championships (8 September 2019)
7How do teams qualify for the Olympic Games?
The IOC-approved Qualification System for the men’s and women’s Hockey competitions at the
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is as follows:
• The Host Nation – Japan
• The five (5) Continental Champions**
• Six (6) teams from the FIH Olympic qualifiers
** As Japan Men and Women won the Asian Games yet had already qualified as hosts, seven nations will
qualify for each of the Men’s and Women’s hockey events at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 through the
FIH Olympic qualifiers
Who will play in the FIH Olympic qualifiers?
• The top two nations in each of the three FIH Series Finals. The confirmed teams so far are as
follows
o Men: Canada (1st Place – FIH Series Final Kuala Lumpur, MAS), Malaysia (2 nd Place - FIH
Series Final Kuala Lumpur, MAS)
• They will be joined by the top four nations from the FIH Pro League
o Note: should one or more of these teams win their Continental Championship later
on and therefore qualify directly for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, then this/these
additional spot(s) will go to the best ranked nations not already qualified in the FIH
World Rankings (as at the end of the 2018 / 2019 round of Continental
Championships)
• The remaining spots will go to the best ranked nations (not already qualified) in the FIH World
Rankings (as at the end of the 2018 / 2019 round of Continental Championships) not having
qualified through either of the above events or as Continental Champions.
The seven FIH Olympic qualifiers will each feature two nations playing two back-to-back matches,
with nations drawn to play each other based on their rankings at the end of the 2018 / 2019
Continental Championships.
The nation with the highest aggregate score over the two matches will qualify for the Olympics. If at
the end of the two matches both teams have same aggregate score, the winner will be decided by
a shoot-out competition held immediately after the second match.
The FIH Olympic qualifiers are scheduled for October and November 2019 and the matches will be
hosted by the higher ranked of the two competing nations.
Official Olympic Hockey Qualification Guidelines can be downloaded here.
8How will fans be able to watch, read and get information about the FIH Series Finals?
FIH will cover the FIH Series Finals on all of its channels including easy to access digital outlets
such as the FIH website and social media. The FIH Series Finals will also be broadcast either
through the FIH.LIVE broadcasting platform or through our TV broadcast partners’ channels.
9About Northern Ireland and Banbridge Hockey Club
The Mourne Mountains in County Down. © discovernorthernireland.com
Athletes and supporters visiting Northern Ireland for the FIH Series Finals may be struck by the
familiarity of some of the landscape. That is, if they are fans of the hit television show Game of
Thrones. But, for nine days in June, a new type of hero will be headline news as eight international
hockey teams descend on Banbridge for a thrilling competition to decide who continues on their
own quest – the Road to Tokyo.
Away from the hockey, there are plenty of things to see and do in Northern Ireland. For Game of
Thrones fans, the tour of filming locations will be high on the agenda, which takes in iconic sites
such as the Giant’s Causeway, Inch Abbey and Tollymore Forest.
Banbridge itself is a small town in County Down, a region where, according to the Lonely Planet
website, the attractions are “many and varied. From glorious walks in the Mourne Mountains, to
rolling farmland with cosy village pubs, to birdwatching on the mudflats of Strangford Lough, you'll
want to spend some time exploring it all.”
To read more, click here.
Other useful links
Tourism Northern Ireland: click here.
Discover Northern Ireland: click here.
10About Banbridge Hockey Club
Banbridge Hockey Club. © Euro Hockey League
Banbridge Hockey Club is no stranger to hosting major hockey events, most recently welcoming
the Euro Hockey League Round One competition in 2018. The club is also a regular host of the
national EY Championship Finals, a huge day in the Irish hockey calendar. The club will be
working with Hockey Ireland to make sure the eight participating teams and their supporters enjoy
a great experience. The players will also relish playing on the recently-laid turf, which has been
recognised by FIH as reaching Global Elite Status. The high-quality playing surface has garnered
much praise from athletes since it was laid.
Looking ahead to what promises to be a wonderful event, Banbridge Hockey Club President Jo-
Anne Lyttle said: “The silver medal winners inspired hockey players across the island of Ireland
and beyond with their success in the World Cup; to be able to showcase their talent in Banbridge
will be great chance for anyone with a hockey or sporting interest to watch them live in action on
home soil as they strive towards Olympic qualification.”
Address: Banbridge Hockey Club, Havelock Park, Lurgan Rd, Banbridge, County Down BT32
4LU, Northern Ireland
11Competition Format
The FIH Series Final events will feature two pools comprising four participating teams followed by
a knock-out phase.
a. Pool phase
All of the competing teams in each pool will play against each other, with three points being
awarded for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. Teams will be ranked according
to the number of points they have accumulated in the competition, providing the basis for the
classification matches.
The pools were composed as follows based on the FIH World Ranking at the date when the match
schedule was initially drafted.
Pool A Pool B
1 2
4 3
5 6
8 7
b. Ranking in the Pool
If at the end of the pool matches two or more teams have the same number of points for any place
in a pool, teams will be ranked according to their respective number of matches won, followed by
goal difference, goals scored and the result of the match played between the tied teams.
If more than two teams are involved, then a ranking based upon the results of the matches among
(only) them shall determine their respective position, based upon the points awarded.
If there still remains equality among two or more teams, then these teams will be ranked according
to the number of field goals scored in the pool matches.
Should there still remain equality among two or more teams, then the ranking will be determined by
a shoot-out competition between those teams.
c. Classification matches
The winners of the pools will automatically qualify for the semi-finals. The teams that finish 4th in
the pools will play for 7th and 8th places. The teams that finish 2nd and 3rd in the pools will play
cross-over / quarter-final matches as follows, although not necessarily in this order.
2nd Pool A v 3rd Pool B Match 1
2nd Pool B v 3rd Pool A Match 2
12The winners of these matches will qualify for the semi-finals, while the losing teams will play for
5th and 6th places. The semi-finals will be as follows, although the matches will not necessarily be
played in this order.
1st Pool A v Winner Match 2
1st Pool B v Winner Match 1
The winners of these matches will play for 1st and 2nd places (the final) and the losers will play for
3rd and 4th places.
The score at the end of the regulation time of any match will be registered by the FIH as the result
of the match. If at the end of regulation time the result is a draw, in order to establish an outright
winner of a classification match for the purpose of the competition, a shoot-out competition will be
played to establish the winner.
Shoot-out competition
In a shoot-out competition, five players from each team take a one-on-one shoot-out alternately
against a defender from the other team as set out in this Regulation. The shoot-out competition
comprises all series of shoot-outs required to determine a result.
Taking a shoot-out:
• The goalkeeper / defending player starts on or behind the goal-line between the goal posts;
• The ball is placed on the nearest 23m line opposite the centre of the goal.
• An attacker stands outside the 23m area near the ball.
• The Umpire blows the whistle to start time.
• An official at the technical table starts the clock.
• The attacker and the goalkeeper / defending player may then move in any direction.
• The shoot-out is completed when:
o 8 seconds has elapsed since the starting signal.
o a goal is scored.
o the attacker commits an offence.
o the goalkeeper / defending player commits an unintentional offence inside or
outside the circle in which case the shoot-out is re-taken by the same player against
the same goalkeeper / defending player.
o the goalkeeper / defending player commits an intentional offence inside or outside
the circle, in which case a penalty stroke is awarded and taken.
o the ball goes out of play over the back-line or side-line; this includes the goalkeeper
/ defending player intentionally playing the ball over the back-line.
• If a penalty stroke is awarded as specified above, it can be taken and defended by any
eligible player named for the match in question.
If an equal number of goals are scored after each team has taken five shoot-outs:
• A second series of five shoot-outs is taken with the same players.
13• The sequence in which the attackers take the shoot-outs need not be the same as in the
first series.
• The team whose player took the first shoot-out in a series defends the first shoot-out of the
next series;
• When one team has scored or been awarded one more goal than the opposing team after
each team has taken the same number of shoot-outs, not necessarily being all five shoot-
outs, that team is the winner.
If an equal number of goals are scored after a second series of five shoot-outs, additional series of
shoot-outs are taken with the same players:
• The sequence in which the attackers take the shoot-outs need not be the same in any
subsequent series.
• The team which starts each shoot-out series alternates for each series.
The above information has been taken from ‘Appendix 6 - Two Pool 8-Team Competition Plan and
Ranking’ and ‘Appendix 8 – Shoot-Out Competition’ of the FIH Top Tier Tournament Regulations:
Outdoor Competitions – February 2019. To download the document in full, click here.
14Match schedule
The official match schedule for the event in Banbridge, as of Friday 24 May 2019, can be found
below. To keep track of any updates to the match schedule, please click the following link:
https://tms.fih.ch/competitions/1052/matches
Match # Date/Time Details
1 8 Jun 2019 11:00 KOR v UKR (Pool B)
2 8 Jun 2019 13:00 SCO v FRA (Pool B)
3 8 Jun 2019 15:00 IRL v MAS (Pool A)
4 8 Jun 2019 17:00 CZE v SGP (Pool A)
5 9 Jun 2019 11:00 UKR v FRA (Pool B)
6 9 Jun 2019 13:00 SCO v KOR (Pool B)
7 9 Jun 2019 15:00 CZE v IRL (Pool A)
8 9 Jun 2019 17:00 MAS v SGP (Pool A)
9 11 Jun 2019 12:00 MAS v CZE (Pool A)
10 11 Jun 2019 14:00 IRL v SGP (Pool A)
11 11 Jun 2019 16:00 KOR v FRA (Pool B)
12 11 Jun 2019 18:00 UKR v SCO (Pool B)
13 13 Jun 2019 15:45 2nd Pool A v 3rd Pool B (Cross-over)
14 13 Jun 2019 18:00 2nd Pool B v 3rd Pool A (Cross-over)
15 15 Jun 2019 11:00 4th Pool A v 4th Pool B (7 / 8)
16 15 Jun 2019 13:15 1st Pool A v Winner 14 (SF)
17 15 Jun 2019 15:30 1st Pool B v Winner 13 (SF)
18 16 Jun 2019 11:00 Loser 13 v Loser 14 (5 / 6)
19 16 Jun 2019 13:15 Loser 16 v Loser 17 (3 / 4)
20 16 Jun 2019 15:30 Winner 16 v Winner 17 (Final)
Subject to the approval of FIH, any match(es) may be rescheduled to accommodate commercial
requirements. All times listed are British Summer Time (UTC / GMT +1).
- Sequence of cross-over matches (13 and 14) will be finalised after completion of Pool matches
- Sequence of semi-final matches (17 and 18) will be finalised after completion of the cross-overs
15The Teams
You can find some general information about the competing teams below. Please be aware that, at
the time of writing, the squad lists for this event were not finalised. Complete and up-to-date squad
lists for each competing team will be available at the following link:
https://tms.fih.ch/competitions/1052/teams
A PDF download of the latest team lists can be found here:
https://tms.fih.ch/competitions/1052/reports/teams
Pool A – Ireland, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Singapore
Ireland
Current FIH World Ranking: 8
How they qualified: Direct qualification due to ranking
Notable honours: FIH Women’s World Cup silver medallists (2018), 11th Place – FIH Women’s
World Cup (1994), 6th Place – EuroHockey Nations Championship (2017)
About the team: Going into last year’s Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018, Ireland’s
women were, at 16th, the second lowest ranked team in the 16-nation competition and considered
favourites for elimination in the pool phase. Two weeks later they had won the silver medal in one
of the most remarkable and unexpected fairy tales in the sport’s history, beating USA, India twice
and Spain before going down against the all-conquering Netherlands in the final. Their heroic
endeavours captured the public’s imagination in Ireland, earning them a string of richly deserved
accolades. However, that golden summer has now passed, and the next goal for the Green Army
has been set: achieving Olympic qualification for the first time in their history.
While Ireland’s squad for the event had not been confirmed at the time of writing, many of the team
that competed in London are expected to be involved, including captain Katie Mullan, vastly-
experienced defender Shirley McCay, classy midfielder Chloe Watkins, live-wire forward Anna
O’Flanagan as well as star shot-stopper Ayeisha McFerran, a player named Goalkeeper of the
Tournament at last year’s World Cup. The team recently lost the services of Graham Shaw, who
has taken the position of head coach with the New Zealand women’s team. Highly-rated Australian
Sean Dancer – a former assistant coach and interim head coach with New Zealand’s women – has
been named as Shaw’s replacement, although it is not currently known if he will be working with the
team at Banbridge HC.
TMS Team link: https://tms.fih.ch/teams/4982
Website: www.hockey.ie Twitter: @irishhockey Facebook: @IrishHockeyAssociation Instagram:
hockey_ireland
16Czech Republic
Current FIH World Ranking: 19
How they qualified: 2nd Place – FIH Series Open Vilnius (LTU)
Notable honours: 7th Place – EuroHockey Championship (2017), EuroHockey Championship II
gold medallists (2011)
About the team: Czech Republic booked their ticket to the FIH Series Finals by taking second
place at last August’s FIH Series Open event in Vilnius, Lithuania. Whilst the central aim of
achieving qualification for the Finals was achieved, it was far from simple for team that, as the
highest-ranked competing nation, started the event as favourites. The Czechs began well, beating
Turkey 7-1 before recording a 4-2 win over hosts Lithuania. However, losses against two lower-
ranked opponents in the shape of Wales (3-0) and eventual winners Ukraine (1-0), who are
competing in Pool B here in Banbridge, denied them a first-place finish. Whilst on the surface the
result was below expectations, the team that competed in Vilnius contained seven teenagers and a
total of 13 players aged 24 or younger, suggesting that this side will only improve over the coming
years. Katerina Jelinkova, 21 at the time of last year’s FIH Series Open event, finished top scorer in
Vilnius with four goals. If selected, she could be a big threat in Banbridge.
TMS Team link: https://tms.fih.ch/teams/4983
Website: http://www.pozemnihokej.cz Facebook: @pozemnihokej Instagram: czechfieldhockey
Malaysia
Current FIH World Ranking: 22
How they qualified: 1st Place – FIH Series Open Singapore (SGP)
Notable honours: Asia Games bronze medallists (1982), Asia Cup bronze medallists (1985), 7x
Southeast Asian Games gold medallists (1997, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2017)
About the team: Malaysia lived up to their billing as pre-tournament favourites at the FIH Series
Open in Singapore, justifying their position as the highest ranked team in the event by securing a
first-place finish to reach the Finals. It was a comprehensive display by the Malaysian Tigress,
scoring 51 goals and conceding only once as they recorded six straight wins. Head coach Dhaarma
Raj will have been impressed by what he saw, as his charges claimed victories over Indonesia (18-
0), Hong Kong (10-0), Kazakhstan (8-1), Thailand (4-0) and Singapore (5-0) before beating
Thailand (6-0) for a second time in the competition final. Nuraini Rashid scored in every match in
Singapore to finish as event top scorer with nine goals, while Nurmirah Zulkifli (seven goals), Hanis
Onn and Nuraslinda Said (both five goals) also made significant scoring contributions. If the team
captained by Siti Ruhani produce similar performance levels in Banbridge they will be serious
contenders for that all-important top-two finish.
TMS Team link: https://tms.fih.ch/teams/4986
Website: http://mhc.org.my Twitter: @HockeyMalaysia Facebook:
@MalaysianHockeyConfederation Instagram: malaysianhockeyconfederation
17Singapore
Current FIH World Ranking: 35
How they qualified: 3rd Place – FIH Series Open Singapore (SGP)
Notable honours: 4th Place – Asia Cup (1985), Southeast Asia Games bronze medallists (2017)
About the team: Singapore – the lowest ranked team in this event – earned a ticket to the Finals in
fairly dramatic circumstances. They finished fourth in the pool phase of the FIH Series Open event
that they hosted last June, five points behind third-placed Kazakhstan, a team they needed to beat
in the 3rd / 4th place play-off if they were to have any chance of qualifying for the next phase.
Despite the marginally higher-ranked Kazakhs triumphing 3-0 in their pool phase meeting, the re-
match saw a tense battle finish with the score locked at 3-3 before Singapore emerged 4-2 winners
in the shoot-out, snatching a third-place finish that proved to enough for Finals qualification. The
Singapore team is captained by midfielder Ho Puay Ling, while David Viner has been in the position
of head coach since 2016.
TMS Team link: https://tms.fih.ch/teams/4988
Website: www.singaporehockey.org Twitter: @singaporehockey Facebook: @singaporehockey
Instagram: singaporehockey
Pool B – Korea, Scotland, Ukraine, France
Korea
Current FIH World Ranking: 11
How they qualified: Direct qualification due to ranking
Notable honours: 2x Olympic silver medallists (1988, 1996), Hockey World Cup bronze medallists
(1990), FIH Champions Trophy gold medallists (1989), 5x Asian Games gold medallists (1986,
1990, 1994, 1998, 2014), 3x Asia Cup gold medallists (1985, 1993, 1999).
About the team: One of the undisputed giants of Asian hockey, Korea are the top ranked team in
Pool B and will naturally be considered one of the favourites to claim that all-important top two
finish here in Banbridge. However, they need to be on top form to keep alive hopes of qualifying for
a ninth successive Olympics, a competition in which Korea won silver at both the Seoul 1988 and
Atlanta 1996 Games. Korea endured a torrid time at last year’s Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup
London 2018, being defeated by eventual winners the Netherlands (7-0), Italy (1-0) and hosts
England (2-0) to finish 12th out of the 16 competing nations. That was followed by a fourth-place
finish in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, an event at which Korea have won gold on
five previous occasions and where success would have secured direct qualification to the Olympic
Games Tokyo 2020. Whilst the past 12 months may not have been Korea’s best, they remain a
dangerous, experienced and gifted outfit. Five of the provisional squad named for this event have
represented Korea over 100 times, including talented goalkeeper Jang Soo Ji (180+) and team
captain An Hyoju (130+). While there are some notable absentees in the shape of Kim Youngran
and legendary striker Park Mi Hyun, it will still take a monumental effort to stop them.
TMS Team link: https://tms.fih.ch/teams/4985
Website: http://www.koreahockey.co.kr Facebook: @khasns Instagram: koreahockey
18Scotland
Current FIH World Ranking: 18
How they qualified: Direct qualification due to ranking
Notable honours: 8th Place – FIH Women’s World Cup (1983), 5th Place – EuroHockey
Championship (1991), 6th Place – Commonwealth Games (2002, 2006, 2014)
About the team: While Scotland cannot qualify for the Olympic Games due to England being the
nominated country for Great Britain’s qualification pathway, this talented group – coached by South
Africa’s triple Olympian Jen Wilson, who replaced long-time head coach Gordon Shepherd in July
2018 – will be looking to claim as many ranking points as possible in a bid to climb the FIH World
Rankings. A recent win against FIH Pro League participants USA in a non-capped training match
will have provided a huge boost to Scottish confidence levels, although the Tartan Hearts did suffer
five successive defeats against lower-ranked Canada in a test match series on home soil in May.
Coach Wilson recently confirmed that Kareena Cuthbert would be continuing as Scotland’s captain,
with Becky Ward and Rebecca Condie sharing the vice-captaincy. Great Britain goalkeeper Amy
Gibson, who plays her club hockey in Germany with Hamburg’s Club an der Alster, is one of
numerous players to watch in a Scotland team that could make a big impression here in Banbridge.
TMS Team link: https://tms.fih.ch/teams/4989
Website: https://www.scottish-hockey.org.uk Twitter: @ScottishHockey
Facebook: @ScottishHockey
Ukraine
Current FIH World Ranking: 26
How they qualified: 1st Place – FIH Series Open Vilnius (LTU)
Notable honours: 14th Place – FIH Women’s World Cup (2002), 5th Place – EuroHockey
Championship (2003), FIH Indoor World Cup bronze medallists (2011)
About the team: Ukraine arrived at the FIH Series Open event in Vilnius, Lithuania as the third
highest ranked of the five competing teams, knowing they needed to record a few upsets if they
were to reach the Finals. It was something they achieved with flying colours, winning all four of their
matches to secure a first-place finish. Victories over hosts Lithuania (2-0), Wales (1-0), Turkey (5-1)
and top-ranked Czech Republic (1-0) gave Ukraine a thoroughly deserved place in the Finals. Olha
Honcharenko, Yevheniya Kernoz and Karyna Tokara all scored twice in Vilnius, with Oksana
Ponomarenko, Kateryna Samokhodchenko and team captain Yana Vorushylo each contributing a
goal to a very successful campaign. Vorushylo is a talismanic figure for Ukraine both outdoors and
indoors, with the 35-year-old having represented her nation at the Vienna 2007, Poznan 2011,
Leipzig 2015 and Berlin 2018 FIH Indoor World Cups. She was a bronze medallist at Poznan 2011,
and finished joint top scorer with nine goals alongside Namibia’s Kiana-Che Cormac at Berlin 2018.
TMS Team link: https://tms.fih.ch/teams/4987
Website: http://ukrainehockey.org Facebook: @UkraineWomensHockey
19France
Current FIH World Ranking: 30
How they qualified: 3rd Place – FIH Series Open Wattignies (FRA)
Notable honours: 6th Place – FIH Women’s World Cup (1974), 8th Place – EuroHockey
Championship (2005), 4th Place – EuroHockey Nations Trophy (2009, 2011)
About the team: A third place finish at the FIH Series Open competition on home soil in Wattignies
proved enough for France to move into the Finals, although as the lowest ranked team in the pool
and second lowest of all eight competing nations here in Banbridge, they will need to be at their
very best if they are to keep their Olympic ambitions alive. The campaign in Wattignies went exactly
in accordance with the FIH World Rankings, with Belarus taking first place ahead of Russia, France
and Austria. France suffered a 4-0 defeat against Belarus, but a creditable 3-0 triumph over Austria
– with goals from Elysee Lecas, Justine Duby and Yohanna Lhopital – put things back on track
before they were beaten 4-2 by Russia. However, there are indications that the young French side
coached by Gael Foulard is making strides forward. The team defeated higher-ranked Wales by
two games to one in a trio of test matches earlier this year, a notable result for a France squad that
contained containing 15 players aged 21 or younger. Captained by 23-year-old Emma Ponthieu,
this is a team very much building for the future and could well peak around the time of the Paris
2024 Olympic Games.
TMS Team link: https://tms.fih.ch/teams/4984
Website: https://www.ffhockey.org
Twitter: @FF_Hockey Facebook: @FFHockey Instagram: ff_hockey
20Competition officials
Appointment Name Country Appointed By
Technical Delegate MORGAN Barbara SCO FIH
Technical Official AKII-BUA Nataki TTO FIH
Technical Official NIELSEN Janne Camilla DEN FIH
Technical Official SLUYK Cees NED FIH
Technical Official STICKLAND Harry ENG FIH
FIH Medical Officer GORDON Dr Leigh RSA FIH
Umpires Manager BOX-GRAINGER Paul ENG FIH
Umpires Manager EVANS Karen WAL FIH
Umpire DEVI Durga IND FIH
Umpire DRUIJTS Claire NED FIH
Umpire EISMAYER Violeta AUT FIH
Umpire FAIAS Ana POR FIH
Umpire HARRISON Hannah ENG FIH
Umpire NICHOLSON Andrea RSA FIH
Umpire REYDO Mariana ARG FIH
Umpire SACRE Lelia CAN FIH
Umpire WAGATSUMA Junko JPN FIH
Umpire WILLIAMS Rachel ENG FIH
Any changes to the list of competition officials will be available here:
https://tms.fih.ch/competitions/1052/officials
21Event Logo
You can download the event logo by clicking here.
Event Photography
The Press Eye photo agency will be providing match photography from this event, with downloads
available via their website. All images will be free of watermarks, allowing members of the media to
download and use for their respective news agency. Whilst these images are available for use
without charge, it is essential that credit is given to ‘Press Eye / Hockey Ireland’ when used.
Press Eye website: www.presseye.com
22FIH World Rankings
The top 30 ranked teams in the world can be found below. The complete men’s and women’s FIH
Hero World Rankings can be found here: http://www.fih.ch/rankings/outdoor/
Top 30 – Men
WORLD RANK COUNTRY CF CURRENT POINTS
1 Belgium EUR 2246
2 Australia OCE 2231
3 Netherlands EUR 2079
4 Argentina PAN 1908
5 India ASI 1765
6 Germany EUR 1681
7 England EUR 1551
8 New Zealand OCE 1228
9 Spain EUR 1133
10 Canada PAN 1067
11 Ireland EUR 1030
12 Pakistan ASI 1028
13 Malaysia ASI 953
14 China ASI 843
15 France EUR 839
16 South Africa AFR 765
17 Korea ASI 740
18 Japan ASI 675
19 Austria EUR 638
20 Egypt AFR 618
21 Poland EUR 552
22 Russia EUR 503
23 Scotland EUR 484
24 Wales EUR 433
25 United States PAN 404
26 Ukraine EUR 398
27 Brazil PAN 341
28 Chile PAN 322
29 Czech Republic EUR 320
30 Switzerland EUR 314
23Top 30 - Women
WORLD RANK COUNTRY CF CURRENT POINTS
1 Netherlands EUR 2550
2 England EUR 1856
3 Australia OCE 1850
4 Argentina PAN 1790
5 Germany EUR 1601
6 New Zealand OCE 1525
7 Spain EUR 1451
8 Ireland EUR 1380
9 India ASI 1188
10 China ASI 1178
11 Korea ASI 1151
12 USA PAN 1074
13 Belgium EUR 1045
14 Japan ASI 1018
15 South Africa AFR 893
16 Chile PAN 890
17 Italy EUR 816
18 Scotland EUR 598
19 Czech Republic EUR 534
20 Belarus EUR 529
21 Canada PAN 528
22 Malaysia ASI 514
23 Poland EUR 486
24 Uruguay PAN 439
25 Russia EUR 436
26 Ukraine EUR 402
27 Wales EUR 400
28 Thailand ASI 330
29 Mexico PAN 315
30 France EUR 298
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