With less than 500 days to go until the Rio 2016 Olympics burst into life, more than 50 teams are still competing to book their places at one of hockey’s most prestigious events. With 11 places in both the men’s and women’s competitions still up for grabs, any chance to book a slot at the Games will be fiercely contested, but just how does a nation achieve an Olympic qualifying slot?
India men and Korea women can relax and prepare over the next few months as these two teams have already booked their places courtesy of wins in the Asian continental qualifier, the Asian Games 2014. India beat Pakistan after a penalty shoot-out in the final of the men’s competition, while Korea women recorded a surprise win over China.
For the Pan American teams, a win at the Pan American Games in Toronto this July will be enough to secure a spot at the Olympics, but competition in both the men’s and the women’s events is getting fiercer by the year.
In the women’s competition, the favorites will be Argentina, but with a young and exciting Canadian team that was bubbling with confidence at the recent Hockey World League (HWL) Round 2 event also in their pool, Las Leonas must beware complacency in the early rounds of the competition. Great performances by Canada and Uruguay to secure places at the Hockey World League Semi Finals will see them accrue world ranking points that will significantly affect their place in the global standings. This Olympic cycle might have come too early for Uruguay, Mexico and Chile, but all three teams are heading in the right direction when it comes to moving up the international rankings.
Of course, one team in the women’s event who will on tapping at the door to qualification will be the ever-improving USA. They are now ranked fifth in the world, moving ahead of both China and Germany. The recent four-test series against Argentina, where three games were drawn and the USA took all the points in the final game, is an indication of how far Craig Parnham’s team has come in a very short space of time.
In the men’s event Argentina are the highest ranked team, the bronze medal they won at the Hockey World Cup demonstrating the improvement that Carlos Retegui’s side has made in recent months, but Canada will want to put on a great show in front of a home crowd and, like the Canadian women, they are a group of players who have garnered confidence from recent HWL R2 successes.
One team more than capable of causing upset in the men’s pools will be Trinidad and Tobago. Driving force and veteran of the team, Kwan Browne, says that this is the first time the entire first choice team has been available for a major competition and there is a real hunger to qualify for the Olympics.
However, by the time the Pan American Games takes off in July, some of the teams involved might already have booked their slot to Rio 2016. A top three finish in one of the Hockey World League Semi-Finals guarantees a team a berth at the Olympics.
For those uninitiated in hockey competition, a quick word about the Hockey World League Semi-Finals. For many sports fans, the semi-final is the precursor to the grand finals. It is usually the round of play that consigns one team to the lesser medals and propels the winner to a shot at the top spot. Well, yes, in many competitions that is exactly what a semi-final is, but for the Hockey World League Semi-Final, this could be one of the most important competitions that a national team plays in.
This is because the Hockey World League Semi Finals offers a route to Olympic qualification, with the top placed teams in this year’s four semi-final events (two men’s and two women’s) all guaranteed a berth for Rio 2016. The Hockey World League was introduced after 2012, with the aim of increasing opportunities for developing teams to progress. Teams ranked lower than 20 in the FIH World Rankings compete in HWL Round 1 competitions, with those that do well qualifying for Round 2. At this point, teams with a ranking from 12 to 19 enter the competition. The top two teams at each Round 2 event win through to compete in the Semi-Finals. At this stage the top 11 ranked teams enter the fray.
With Argentina, Canada, the USA and Uruguay all competing in the women’s Semi Final in Valencia there is a very good chance that at least two Pan American women’s teams will have qualified for Rio by the end of June.
In the men’s Semi-Finals, which will be played in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Canada find themselves in the same pool as Germany, Spain and Austria. If the American contingent win through to the quarter finals, their most likely opponents are the highly-ranked Netherlands or New Zealand. South Korea, Japan and Egypt make up the teams participating in Buenos Aires, and all are capable of springing a surprise.
Brazil’s route to Rio 2016 is a special case. As the host nation, Brazil’s men’s and women’s teams were offered an alternative route to qualification. If either team had obtained a world ranking of 30 or higher (men) or 40 or higher (women) they would have been offered a qualification place. As neither team has achieved that, the other route is via a certain finishing position at the Pan-Am Games. The men’s team can still qualify for the Olympics if it finishes sixth or higher in July’s Pan American Games. The Brazilian women’s team hasn’t qualified for the Pan Am Games, so its Olympic dreams are over.
While Rio 2016 is a glittering target on the horizon, the next few months will provide hockey fans everywhere with some scintillating and fascinating competition, with teams fighting for their place at the top table of hockey. For the players and coaches it is a tense, nervy, potentially heart-breaking time: for the spectators and fans it is high drama and sport at its absorbing best.
