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South Africa's Men's and Women's Hockey Teams Qualify for World Cup in Europe. Photo: Inky Zondi

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South Africa’s Men’s and Women’s Hockey Teams Qualify for World Cup in Europe

It was double delight for South African hockey as both the men and the women won the African Cup of Nations titles to confirm their qualification for the 2022 FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup and 2023 FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup. The women came from behind to beat hosts Ghana 3-1 while the men […]

south-africa-hockey-world-cup
South Africa's Men's and Women's Hockey Teams Qualify for World Cup in Europe. Photo: Inky Zondi

It was double delight for South African hockey as both the men and the women won the African Cup of Nations titles to confirm their qualification for the 2022 FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup and 2023 FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup.

South Africa's Men's and Women's Hockey Teams Qualify for World Cup in Europe
South Africa’s Men’s and Women’s Hockey Teams Qualify for World Cup in Europe. Photo: TeamSA

The women came from behind to beat hosts Ghana 3-1 while the men beat Egypt 3-1 in the penalty shootout after the scores had been locked at 1-1 after full-time.

South Africa’s men’s coach Gareth Ewing said:

“I’m shattered. That was too close for comfort. Ghana is such a great host, there was such a great atmosphere in the stadium, it was great to win. Based on tonight’s performance, we have a lot to do before the World Cup.”

South Africa’s men’s captain Tim Drummond said:

”We are ecstatic. That was tough but we are missing some players so that shows that we have depth in the squad. There is a long way to go before the World Cup but we hope to make a lot of improvement and finish in the top ten.”

South Africa’s women’s Coach Inky Zondy said:

“I am really excited and really happy with the game. It was a tough game, so thank you to Ghana. We have really enjoyed our week here. We are a team that has changed, so we have to learn from what has happened this week and represent Africa well at the World Cup.”

On Twitter, Inky called it his “African Dream”:

Tarryn Glasby of South Africa was the competition’s overall top scorer with nine goals. “It is nice to get a win in Ghana. As a striker you are supposed to score goals, so I am happy to be the top scorer. Looking forward to the World Cup, it is all about trusting our processes.”

The 2022 FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup will be held in Spain and the Netherlands in July. The FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup was cancelled this month because of Covid-19. The 2023 World Cup will be held in Belgium in February 2023.

Source: TeamSA