South Africa: Anxious wait for SA men's hockey
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| South Africa |
May 17, 2004 
iAfrica.com
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As the Spar South African women's hockey jetted out of Johannesburg International Airport for China on Tuesday afternoon, their male counterparts were just more than 24 hours away from hearing their Olympic fate, to be decided by a court in Switzerland.
The decision is expected to be handed down at around 4pm South African time on Wednesday.
The women qualified last year and have been in such impressive form that Australian hockey legend Rick Charlsworth has touted them as possible medal contenders. South Africa has never won an Olympic medal for hockey
Coach Ros Howell's charges embark on another phase in their impressive Athens Olympic preparation safe in the knowledge that they will be part of the games in Greece.
It is, however, the Greeks that could scupper the men's dreams this time round, after they were cruelly denied a place in Sydney in 2000.
By all accounts the men have qualified, but they now wait for the Court of Arbitration of Sport to make their ruling on the Hellenic Hockey Federation's appeal.
South African Hockey Association (Saha) president Charles Smith is in Lausanne to argue South Africa's case.
"We are confident, but stranger things have happened," said Smith.
Greece failed to qualify through the stipulated system after the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) agreed that they were too weak a hockey nation to be granted direct passage into the hockey event of the games.
For the women, the China tournament represents another chance to take their game to another level.
"This tournament is very important for me. The team has reached a level and now we have to see if we can take the next step," said Howell.
"Internationally we are never guaranteed a (positive) result, but at this stage we are at least guaranteed of contesting.
The other teams playing in the tournament in China are Korea and Japan. South Africa played against China and Korea at the KT Cup in Korea last year, where the South Africans finished third. However, South Africa has not played Japan for a number of years.
"The Asian style of playing is different and all three of these teams will be at the Olympics — Korea is in our pool — while China are currently ranked fourth in the world and Japan won the recent Olympic qualifiers (in New Zealand)."
The team returns at the end of the month. South Africa will also travel to Spain and the Netherlands before the Olympic Games in Athens in August.
SA women's squad: Kerry Bee, Caroline Birt, Pietie Coetzee, Liesel Dorothy, Grazjyna Engelbrecht, Candice Forword, Natalie Fulton, Kate Hector, Johke Koornhof, Anli Kotze, Marsha Marescia, Lunto Ntloko, Bronwyn Ross, Nita van Jaarsveld, Susan Webber (captain), Sharne Wehmeyer, Jennifer Wilson.
South Africa's Fixtures: May 22 vs Korea; May 23 vs Japan; May 25 vs China; May 27 Playoffs.
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