Roundup From Penultimate Day in Kuala Lumpur

Although unable to progress higher than sixth place, Great Britain’s 2-2 draw against Korea has effectively selected their opponents for the final match, which will be played tomorrow (Sunday). Korea were the favourites to win and take the three points, which would have put them second in the table. That fact that they did not win leaves them in fourth place behind The Netherlands. GB’s predicted opponents in for a 5^th/6^th place play-off were Australia, who this afternoon played Germany. The Germans were assured a place in the finals and one should not read too much into the 5-0 defeat dished our by the Kookaburras. Given a choice of Australia or the Netherlands, I suspect the Australians would have been their first choice, and Germany effectively gifted them their second place by a generally under par performance.. Although this is a good Australian team, it is not the best by any stretch of the imagination. The Netherlands beat Pakistan 4-1 this afternoon, which puts them in the bronze medal match against Korea. Spain, who got off to a slow start in this tournament, are now firing on all cylinders, albeit too late. Their meeting against Malaysia ended 7-2 to Spain. Unfortunately, three points is not enough to let Spain move out of the 5^th / 6^th play-off position, and so Spain meet Great Britain again tomorrow. One can only hope that Great Britain can shake off memories of their very poor performance against Spain on Thursday night. There is a prize awaiting for the winner of this match, namely automatics qualification for next year’s Champions Trophy in Rotterdam. If GB do qualify, there will be questions asked as to the fairness of this arrangement. England only managed to finish fourth in the second-tier Champions Challenge earlier this year and some may view qualification of one of the “extra” teams in the Champions Trophy as gaining entry by the back door.

Todays results:
Malaya 2-7 Spain
Great Britain 2-2 Korea
Netherlands 4-1 Pakistan
Australia 5-0 Germany
Places at end of round robin stages:

1, Germany 16 pts (+18)

2. Australia 13 pts (+7)

3. Netherlands 12 pts (+5)

4. Korea 12 pts (+5)

5. Spain 11 pts (+6)

6. Great Britain 7 pts (-10)

7. Pakistan 5 pts (-8)

8. Malaysia 1 pt (-22)

Tomorrow’s matches;

7^th/8^th place Pakistan v Malaysia

5^th/6^th place Great Britain v Spain

Bronze medal (3^rd/4^th) Netherlands v Korea

Final (1^st/2^nd) Germany v Australia

AYMAR AND DWYER WORLD HOCKEY PLAYERS OF 2007.

Popular Argentine star, the 30 year old Luciana Aymer (pictured on the right), has been elected World Hockey Women’s Player of the Year for the fourth time. She previously held the title in 2001, 2004, and 2005. The Young Player of the Year Award went to Germany’s Maike Srokel (pictured with Aymar). The men’s award went to the diminutive Australian striker, Jamie Dwyer. The Young Player award went to fellow Australian Mark Knowles.