I.H.F. delivers another numbing blow

Press, 23 November 1987, Page 44

I.H.F. delivers another numbing blow

By

KEVIN TUTTY

The International Hockey Federation, which dealt New Zealand a double blow when it excluded both the men’s and women’s teams from next year’s Olympics in Seoul, has delivered another numbing blow to the women’s association, but it is already up and coun-ter-punching vigorously. At Its council meeting in Wellington at the weekend, the New Zealand Women’s Hockey Association! received a letter from the I.H.F. informing

it that the qualification rounds for the first junior women’s World Cup have been altered. Earlier this year New Zealand entered an AsiaOceania qualification tournament to be played in New Delhi in October next year. It had received notification of the pools for the tournament and that It was drawn to play China, Malaysia and India. Australia was drawn in the other pool. The top three teams from the tournament would qualify fonthe first junior women’s World Cup

finals in Ottawa in 1989. The letter from the I.H.F. informed New Zealand that it was now out of the New Delhi tournament, and would have to play in an Oceania qualifying tournament against Australia and any other South Pacific nations which entered. Most importantly, however, only one team from the Oceania tournament would qualify for the World Cup finals. The publicity officer for the N.Z.W.HA, Miss Corrine Pritchard, said yesterday that a strongly

worded letter J had been drafted to send to the I.H.F. which, among other things, says that the New ; Zealand junior team will ■ still play in thft New Delhi tournament ,; “The council feels it is ridiculous asking us to play Australia in Canberra. We will probably be the only teams entered.” New Zealand would also have little chance of beating Australia. The majority of its players attend the Australian Institute of Sport, and Ausralia would be the favour-

ite to beat New Zealand. It would be the favourite to win the New Delhi . 'tournament too. ■ i Playing in the New Delhi tournament would give New Zealand a better chance of qualifying for the finals. “The New Delhi tournament will give our team the chance to meet sides they would not normally play. We have told the I.H.F. that we have already made bookings for the tournament and that we want to attend. We have also told them that we think a serie^'against Australia will be a farce.”