ROTTERDAM, June 20: Five of the top six world ranked men’s field hockey teams will meet at the Champions Trophy starting here Saturday in what is the last major international tournament before the Olympic Games.
Joining Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Spain and South Korea will be seventh-ranked Argentina, who failed to qualify for Beijing.
Sixth-ranked Pakistan was relegated from this Tournament, which it inaugurated in 1978, replaced by Argentina, winner of the 2007 Champions Challenge.
Olympic champion Australia has problems with three key players — Brent Livermore, Aaron Hopkins and Nathan Eglington - injured and possibly unavailable for Beijing.
Australia coach Barry Dancer sees this as an opportunity for younger players to seek Olympic selection. “While team success will be the overall objective for the team, the Champions Trophy also presents itself as an excellent stage for individual players to step up and show the coaches they deserve a spot in the final Olympic squad,” Dancer said.
Dancer’s view is echoed by Germany coach Markus Weise who is without injured star striker Christopher Zeller, and by Maurits Hendriks, the Spain coach. “I will nominate my team after the Champions Trophy so it is really essential for my players to give a high quality performance to improve their chances of securing a place in the final squad,” Weise said.
Jeroen Delmee, the Netherlands captain, does not want to win the Champions Trophy. “In fact it would be better if we didn’t win the Champions Trophy,” Delmee said. “In the past it’s happened all too often that after winning the Champions Trophy we performed badly at another big tournament.”
Spain has higher ambitions for the tournament. “Spain will be aiming for a top three finish as playing so close to the Olympics it is important to look for a maximum result,” Hendriks said.
Host coach Roelant Oltmans recognizes his players are influenced by the desire to win at home. “You can try to direct everything but if these sixteen players want to go for it, they should - we’re playing at home, nothing beats playing well in front of your own public,” Oltman’s said.—AFP