Hosting FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup a game-changer for South Africa
Both the captains of the South African men's and women's indoor hockey teams believe that the presentation of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Pretoria has given the sport a huge boost locally and they hope that there will be positive consequences for the sport following this event.
The sixth edition of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup, presented by SPAR at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria last week came to an end at the weekend and after the tournament South Africa as host nation and Pretoria as host city received great praise for the professional and successful way the tournament was presented.
The SPAR South Africa women’s team suffered a tough final day but they kept the country’s name high by performing much better than expected.
After losing to the formidable Netherlands team 6-1 in the semi-finals, the host nation’s women were defeated 3-1 by the Czech Republic in the third-place playoff to finish in a creditable fourth position.
The Dutch women’s team were then crowned world champions after they beat Austria 7-0 in the final.
Congratulations to Mustapha Cassiem. Mustapha has now won both the FIH Hockey World Cup and FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Junior Player of the tournament in the space of a month. Mustapha was part of the mens side that reached an all time high finish of 6th! pic.twitter.com/XRcggV1ysk
— SA Hockey (@SA_Hockey) February 13, 2023
By finishing in the top six out of 12 teams – the SA men ended sixth – both South African captains Jess O’Connor and Jethro Eustice felt that indoor hockey had been given a boost on which it should capitalise.
The South African teams punched above their weight in terms of their world rankings as the men began the tournament at No 11 and the women were 14th.
The enthusiasm created by hosting the World Cup in South Africa – the first time it has moved out of Europe – has the two captains eagerly anticipating the future.
O’Connor said having the World Cup in South Africa was the best thing that could have happened to indoor hockey.
“I think it’s so exciting and we have shown South Africa and the world that we are here to compete with the best and that indoor hockey is not just something on the side-lines. We now need to work at getting more exposure going forward and to get more people to support the sport so we can continue to grow the game,” she remarked.
Proudly South African has never been defined better than watching the SA Indoor Hockey Men seal a historic spot in the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Quarter Finals. #IHWC2023 pic.twitter.com/xBP6Vgd9z1
— SA Hockey (@SA_Hockey) February 9, 2023
Central to the expansion of the sport, both captains felt, was the need for greater exposure.
“The more we are able to travel and to play international teams on a more regular basis, the better we will get. So, we must keep finding the level of competition to develop our games,” O’Connor said.
After several disruptions in recent years, Eustice was satisfied with the progress the men’s team, powered by Tops at SPAR, had made.
“Our record this week was two wins, two draws and two losses, so that’s a really good start after a long break through Covid and a cancelled World Cup, and I believe we have the potential to improve on this,” he said.
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