Olympic hockey chances hang in balance

Press, 23 September 1987, Page 49

Olympic hockey chances hang in balance

By ]

KEVIN TUTTY

For the first time since it entered the Olympics in Melbourne in 1956, the New Zealand men’s hockey team’s participation in the world’s greatest sporting festival is in jeopardy.

The fate of the men’s and the women’s teams will be decided at a meeting of the F.I.H. (the international hockey federation) in Brussels next month, and the New Zealand delegates will have to do some convincing lobbying to ensure that the two teams are included in the tournament. Recent international results will not have helped the cases of either the men’s or women’s teams.

When the men finished ninth at the World Cup in London last year it became one of the marginal teams for inclusion in the 12 team Olympic tournament.

Seven teams qualify automatically for the Olympics. They are South Korea as host; Pakistan, the defending champion; and an automatic quali-

fier from each of five continental areas — Africa, the Americas, Asia, Oceania and Europe.

There is some confusion though, regarding the automatic qualifier from Asia. Mr Brian Bremner, the New Zealand Hockey Association’s delegate to the F.I.H. meeting, believes there will be an Asian qualifier in addition to Pakistan, but the chairman of the association, Dr Bruce Penfold, believes that Pakistan would also double as the automatic entry from Asia.

If Pakistan fills both automatic positions that would complicate matters for New Zealand. India, rather than being assured of a place, would enter the scramble for the final five places. Those positions will be filled by the F.I.H. next month.

Another team fighting for the final five places, and which New Zealand

had hoped to avoid, is Argentina.

At the Pan American Games in the United States last month Canada scored an upset 3-1 win in the final against Argentina to win the automatic place. New Zealand has never lost to Canada and it expected to be placed ahead of the Canadians in the F.I.H. deliberations. New Zealand has not lost to Argentina since the Los Angeles Olympics — the period from which international results will be considered when finalising the remaining places — but Argentina has performed well in recent international tournaments.

I Since 1984, New Zealand and Argentina have met six times for three draws and three wins to New Zealand. The last reSult was a 2-2 draw when New Zealand toured Argentina last March. At the World Clip last year, Argentina finished sixth, and at the Champions tournament in Amsterdam last June, it finished fifth of eight teams and ahead of Spain, Pakistan and the Soviet Union.

Presuming India has automatic entry and that Australia will be the Oceania representative, and the Netherlands, because of its recent win in the European Cup will be Europe’s automatic entry, there will be seven teams vying for the final five places. They will be West Germany, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, Poland, Spain, Argentina and New Zealand.

West Germany, Britain and the Soviet Union, because of their records in the last three years seem

assured of places, so the battle looks like being be.tween four teams for two places. New Zealand will have an edge over Poland in negotiations. In its two meetings with Poland since the Los Angeles Olympics New Zealand has had a win and a draw.

New Zealand beat Spain 1-0 at the Los Angeles Olympics for seventh place and since then the teams have met four times for three draws and a win by Spain 2-3, at their last meeting in Buenos Aires in March.

One of the draws was in the final of the InterContinental Cup in Barcelona in 1985. The score was 2-2 after extra time and Spain was awarded first place after a penaltystroke shoot-out. However, the F.I.H. is likely to consider the result a draw for its purposes.

If the F.I.H. considers results between the countries as the main requisite for inclusion in the Seoul tournament,, then New Zealand should scrape in ahead of Argentina and Poland.

But if the rankings from the World Cup last October, and the Champions Trophy this June are considered, New Zealand could be left in the cold.

If the F.I.H. finds a decision too difficult to make it can request that two or three of the teams play off for the final places. The N.Z.H.A. would have to consider such a request carefully said Dr Penfold, because of the financial cost involved. If New Zealand was asked to go to Europe it could not afford; the cost without substantial assistance. When the women’s team finished fourth in the World Cup in Amster-

dam last year, its place in Seoul seemed assured, but the outstanding work done at that tournament was undone when New Zealand failed to earn a point in the first women’s Champions tournament in Amsterdam in June. In that tournament it .lost to all five teams — the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, Canada and Great Britain, scoring one goal and conceding 30. Next year the Olympic tournament will comprise eight teams, an extension of two over the 1984 tournament. Because of its results in Amsterdam in June, New Zealand could now be battling for the two final places with the United States, Argentina and the Soviet Union. International results recently have not favoured the New Zealand women either.

Canada which beat New Zealand 5-0 at the Champions {tournament could only finish third at the Pan American Games. The finalists were Argentina and the United States. At'the European Cup in London earlier this month, the Soviet Union beat West Germany 2-1 in the play-off for third' and fourth to make a strong claim for Olympic inclusion along with the Germans who were beaten finalists in the World Cup last year. .* New Zealand could well end up disputing the final place with the United States and Argentina, and for New Zealand to receive the nod will require effective lobbying by the New Zealand Women’s Hockey Association’s delegate to the Brussels meeting, Mrs Chica Gilmer. Until the F.I.H. makes its decision on October 17, it will be a time of concern forboth associations.