Pretoria, South Africa: With just 1 day to go for the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup South Africa 2023, the players and coaches of the men's and women's teams have spoken to express their expectations.
Men's Teams
Martin Hanus, Captain (Czech Republic)
“We are pleased to come to the IHWC once again after such a long time. The group is perfectly mixed as there are six teams from six continents. That makes the group stage very interesting as we are going to take on teams we did not have a chance to play yet. The crossover is a must for us and will probably bring one of the more known opponents as there are the European teams more represented.”
Trevor Cormack, Head Coach (Namibia)
“As the Namibia Men's Hockey Team we want to share our Namibian brand and style of Indoor Hockey with the World as well as Enjoy and Love every single moment of doing just that.”
Maxime Bergez, Head Coach (Belgium)
“Don’t wait for an opportunity, create it.” - George Bernard Shaw
Jethro Ray Eustice, Captain (South Africa)
“We are truly excited for the opportunity to be a part of the first African FIH IHWC, which will be held in South Africa, and believe we have the potential to create history for our country and achieve a top 6 result at this event.”
Steve Willer, Head Coach (Australia)
“We are excited to be playing at the Indoor World Cup in South Africa. A new and different experience from previous World Cups. As a team we are focused on taking the next step and improving from our 2018 performance in Berlin. The Indoor World Cup in South Africa will be an amazing event and the whole team is looking forward to stepping up to the challenges it will bring and proving ourselves on the world stage against the best.”
Dean Armstrong, Captain (New Zealand)
“We're excited and proud to be back on the world stage after 20 years away. We're under no illusions about the challenge ahead, but we've come here with a great group who are eager to learn and grow. We think that if we can control our performance well, and improve from quarter to quarter, then we'll have an enjoyable and productive week."
Robin Rösch, Head Coach (Austria)
“We are the European and World Champions, but each match is a new challenge, so we have to perform in each match. We are curious about what will happen, but we are also full of hope.”
Robert Tigges, Head Coach (Netherlands)
“It’s great to be here in South Africa for the World Cup, we had a strong preparation and are ready to compete and are really excited to start this tournament on Sunday!”
Massimo Lanzano - Head Coach (Argentina)
"All the teams in group B have different styles of play and different realities. We are going to face them with a lot of humility and confidence in our work game by game. We want to surprise and our first objective is to get into the quarterfinals."
Women’s Teams
Gaye Tarrant, Head Coach (New Zealand)
"I feel unbelievably privileged to have been given the opportunity to Coach the New Zealand Women’s team to their first Indoor Hockey World Cup. The experience will be invaluable to the players as they move back into International Indoor hockey after an extended hiatus. The team has worked hard over a very quick campaign so I am excited to see their development over the tournament."
Emma McLeish and Lizzy Duguid, Co-captains (Australia)
“The group is excited to finally be able to test ourselves against the best in the world after a lengthy preparation due to COVID. Being able to share the experience with this group of girls is something we both cherish and can not wait to take the field together.”
Yevheniia Moroz, Captain (Ukraine)
“We are extremely happy to be part of this World cup for sure we will give everything from our brave hearts.”
Corinna Zerbs, Head Coach (Austria)
“We are excited to be a part of this world cup that is the first one to be played outside of Europe. We are a young team and our aim is to get to the semi-finals first and take it from there and win a medal, hopefully in the finals.”
Shank Premakanthan, Head Coach (Canada)
“The opportunity to compete at a World Cup is always a great honour. Although we have a very young team, I am proud of the progress this group continues to make & the positive strides we continue to take. I am excited to see what this group can do against the world’s best.”
Maximiliano Garreta, Head Coach (Belgium)
“Enjoy the journey. Enjoy every moment and quit worrying about Winning or losing.”
Jess O'Connor, Captain (South Africa)
"We are feeling excited. There are some good nerves, we are well prepared after a tough test series. We know we can compete with the best nations in the world and we want to bring it to the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup"
Magreth Mengo, Captain (Namibia)
“We are super thrilled to play on the African Soil. We are keen to really compete and leave a legacy at this world cup. For us It’s not about how much experience you have or how mentally tough you are. It’s about trust and belief! We trust and believe in God and we trust and believe in each other as a team!”
Annie McDonough, Captain (USA)
“We are so grateful to be here and look forward to showing the world how this young American team can work together to succeed.”
Katerina Lacina, Captain (Czech Republic)
"We are dreaming about a medal again. That feeling with the bronze medal in 2015 was something special."
The sixth edition of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup will start on 5 February, in Pretoria, South Africa. All information about the tournament is available here.
