England round off series in style with 8-1 defeat of Scotland

England men made an emphatic finish to their indoor Test series against Scotland on Sunday with an 8-1 victory at the Lagoon Centre, Paisley.

Ashley Jackson opened the scoring from a penalty corner after just two minutes and the FIH Young Player of the Year went on to score a hat-trick with Matt Daly, Adam Dixon, Simon Egerton, Jonty Clarke and Richard Springham also contributing for England.

Reflecting on a weekend in which his side won three and drew one of the four matches, England team manager Nick Beasant said: "It was a very good performance, we were pleased with how we finished the series."

Beasant added that a number of impressive individual performances would make Andy Halliday's job of squad selection for the WASA Cup and European Championships next month harder than ever.

"Over the past two years we've seen a lot of improvements with everyone on the programme," Beasant said. "The squad is looking good and we need to make some tough decisions about selection for January."

England women, meanwhile, had a disappointing end to their four-match series when they lost 6-2 to Scotland.

A hat-trick from Vicky Bunce and goals from Julie Bryce and Amy Brodie helped the home side recover from a 1-0 half-time deficit.

The result means the series ended 3-1 in Scotland's favour.

Kiwis book CT berth after beating Pak

New Zealand qualified for elite Champions Trophy after scoring a 4-2 win over Pakistan in the final of the Champions Challenge Hockey tournament.

The summit clash between the two top ranked teams began on an aggressive note, with penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas scoring in seventh minute to put Pakistan ahead 1-0.

Black sticks replied with a penalty-corner conversion 10 minutes later with Ryan Archibald deflecting on the post.

In the 20th minute, New Zealand scored a sumptuous goal with Phillip Burrows, diving full length to deflect a cross from the left, giving his team a 2-1 lead.

Pakistan could not penetrate the compact rival's defense and tried to use long passes but in vain.

In the last minute of first-half Rehan Butt pounced on a ball in the crowded circle and acrobatically managed to shoot it out of reach of Pontifex, levelling the scores.

In the second half, Kiwis' went in the offensive with Simon Child, Phillip Burrows and Ryan Archibald, circulating the ball with speed and accuracy.

Their best chance was made by Nicholas Wilson, who deflected the ball from close range on the crossbar, but the score did not evolve.

Pakistan had chances to shot into lead but wasted three more penalty-corners.

New Zealand scored two goals in quick succession in the last five minutes, first by Steven Edwards and then with Phillip Burrows, both at the conclusion of fast offensive moves that swept away the Pakistani defense.

Sohail Abbas missed another penalty-corner and New Zealand were celebrating their first Champions Challenge victory with their traditional haka, traditional Kiwi dance.

India beat Argentina to win a bronze

India overcame a two-goal deficit to eke out a 3-2 win over Argentina and finish with the bronze medal in the Champions Challenge hockey tournament.

Their hopes to qualify for Champions Trophy dashed after the semifinal defeat against arch-rivals Pakistan, the Indian team was trailing 0-2 inside the first half an hour before V Raghunath (35th minute), Gurbaz Singh (54th) and Dhananjay Mahadik (69th) sounded the board to complete the win.

The bronze medal game started with both the teams taking their time and gauging each other before going on the offensive.

Argentina had lion's share of ball control and the hosts managed a series of penalty-corner but Indian custodian P Sreejesh was reassuring under the bar.

On the second one, Pedro Ibarra collected the rebound but sent his shot in the clouds and finally Facundo Callioni opened the account in the 22nd minute with a shot from a difficult angle.

India tried to shift play into the Argentinean half but Callioni hit the target again soon with a spectacular diving deflection.

Stung by the quick goals, the Indians pulled up their socks and started to dominate but they could not get close enough to generate a decent chance.

In the final second of play, they earned a penalty-corner and Raghunath converted it, reducing their deficit going into the break and winning the momentum back.

The Indians maintained the tempo and put pressure for the first 10 minutes of second-half on their rival but Ibarra, Fernando Zylberberg and Ignacio Bergner, backed by Juan Tomas Espinosa in the goal, looked rock solid.

Argentina had an opportunity to stretch the lead but Thomas Argento's spectacular reverse missed the mark by a whisker.

Meanwhile, India found the equaliser in the 54th minute through Gurbaj after some excellent work along the backline by Tushar Khandker.

Having erased the deficit, the Indians were on a role and monopolised the ball for long sequence of skillful plays.

Shivendra Singh had a good chance after collecting a long pass but it was finally a penalty-corner by Dhananjay that earned them the lead.

Argentina had a last chance on a penalty-corner, but Ibarra could not cash in on and India won the bronze, much higher than their sixth entry ranking in this competition.

Pak overwhelm India to book final slot

India's hopes of booking a berth in next year's Champions Trophy were shattered as they went down fighting to arch rivals Pakistan 3-6 in a thrilling semifinal encounter of the Champions Challenge I hockey tournament.

In-form India, who were Group A toppers with an unbeaten record, failed to find the bearings at the last four match.

They dominated for most part of the match but failed to convert the chances that came their way.

As is often happened in Indian hockey team, the opponents scored from the few chances they got and Pakistan were 3-1 up at the end of half time.

The match was the usual classic exhibition of hockey artistry which is the case when the two sides clash but that was of no use for India.

India now face Argentina for the third-place play-off.

Pakistan play New Zealand in the summit clash and winner will qualify for the 2010 Champions Trophy in Monchengladbach, Germany.

New Zealand had beaten Argentina 3-2 in the other semifinal.

All the Indian goals came from penalty corners through Dhananjay Mahadik (eighth and 62nd minutes) and Diwakar Ram (67th minute).

As early as the second minute, goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza failed to stop a seemingly harmless shot by Rehan Butt to concede the lead to Pakistan and from then onwards India were doing the catch-up job.

India though equalised quickly in the eighth minute with Dhananjay Mahadik sounding the board with a well-executed penalty corner. India were then playing with one-man advantage with a Pakistani player cooling off for five minutes at the bench for a dangerous foul.

India had the momentum after that equaliser and Salman Akbar in the Pakistani goal faced a barrage of shots after spectacular moves that pleased the crowd.

Adrian made up for his initial mistake by stopping Rehan at the top of circle. But there was little he could do on a phenomenal shot by Rehan in 29th minute which gave Pakistan the lead.

Penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas then found the target three minutes later and Pakistan were leading 3-1 going into the breather.

After resumption, India got a couple of chances only to be wasted. Excellent work by captain Rajpal Singh earned them a penalty-corner but India could not convert it.

They had a long period of domination, with a massive chance for Rajpal after a quick series of passes in the circle, but his deflection on the far post was just wide.

With time ticking on, India pressed more players upfront, exposing in the process their defence and Pakistan increased the lead via quick counterattacks.

Haseem Khan took advantage of the huge gaps at the India defence and scored an opportunistic goal in the 58th minute, pushing the Pakistani lead to three goals.

A flurry of four goals were scored at both ends in the last eight minutes. Dhananjay Mahadik scored from a penalty-corner in the 62nd minute to make it 4-2 but Rehan Butt neutralised it two minutes later to maintain the Pakistan lead to three goals and completed a hat-trick of field goals in the process.

Diwakar Ram converted a penalty corner three minutes from time but Sohail Abbas made it 6-3 in the last minute via a penalty stroke after his last penalty corner was stopped illegally by the Indians.

India, Pakistan to play semis

India and Pakistan will clash in the Champions Challenge hockey semi-finals after registering comprehensive round-robin wins.

While India thrashed Belgium 4-2, Pakistan buried South Africa 4-1.

The second semi-final will be played between Argentina and New Zealand on Saturday. The two teams had played in the final in 2007, where the former had won on a golden goal in overtime.

Shakeel Abasi, Haseem Khan and Akhtar Ali scored for Pakistan in the second half after they were tied at 1-1 with the South Africans at halftime.

Argentina were already assured of making it through to the last four, having topped Pool B even after losing to Canada 3-2 earlier in the tournament.

Argentina and Pakistan finished with 6 points each, and Canada and South Africa 3 each.

Meanwhile, Belgium were in the lead against India at 2-1 but the latter drew level before the first half. Tushar Khandekar and Prabjhot Singh scored in the second half as India finished atop Belgium and Canada in their group/

India finished with seven points, New Zealand five, Belgium three and China one.

The winner of the tournament qualifies for the Champions Trophy next July in Moenchengladbach, Germany.

Ashley Jackson crowned Men's Young Player of the Year by FIH

Ashley Jackson has become the first Englishman to be named as the International Hockey Federation’s Men’s Young Player of the year 2009.

The 22-year-old, who currently plays for Dutch side HGC, has become an integral member of England coach Jason Lee’s squad since making his debut in 2006.

Three years of consistently notable performances for club and country saw Jackson selected to represent Great Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and in August of this year his eight goals at the EuroHockey Nations Championships helped England to win their first gold medals since 1988.

Presented with the award shortly after England’s play-off defeat to Spain at the Champions Trophy in Melbourne, Jasckon said: “This award is not about being voted for by the people watching the game, it’s about being recognised for playing good hockey by teammates and other players.”

Congratulating the midfielder, Lee said: “2009 has been a breakout year for Ashley. He’s a key ingredient in our midfield and gives us a lot of drive going forward. He’s got so much potential and will only get better.”

The junior women’s title went to Australia's Casey Eastham while compatriot Jamie Dwyer took the men’s senior award. Argentina's Luciana Aymar and Holland’s Naomi van As shared the women's prize.

Australia retain Champions Trophy after 5-3 victory over Germany

Australia claimed consecutive Champions Trophy titles and its 10th overall by beating Germany 5-3 in the final thanks to four unanswered second-half goals.

Australia trailed 3-1 at half-time before scoring three goals in 15 minutes to open the second half, with Luke Doerner finishing with three goals.

Australia started strongly and had the lead inside two minutes when striker Des Abbott scored. But Germany came back with three goals in 11 minutes — one from Florian Fuchs, a Martin Haner drag flick and another to Matthias Witthaus from open play.

Australia started to convert its penalty corners in the second half. First Liam de Young tapped in a rebound from close range, before Doerner found his range with a drag flick in the 41st minute to level the match.

Nine minutes later, Doerner scored again to give Australia the lead. The home side added an insurance goal with three minutes remaining when Fergus Kavanagh latched on to a long Doerner pass and flicked the ball over German keeper Max Weinhold's head.

"It was tough, Germany was the best team," Australia's Brett Livermore. "But when we came back from 3-1 down, it was a good test and challenge for us and shows our team's strong character."

Germany captain Maximilan Muller said his team "tired in the second half."

"It has been a long tournament for us and we struggled to keep up with them as the game wore on," said Muller. "We lost a lot of power going forward."

Meanwhile, ASouth Korea scored four second-half goals to beat the Netherlands 4-2 and claim third place while Spain defeated England 5-2 to take fifth.

Furthermore, Australia's Jamie Dwyer was named world player of the year, adding to his earlier wins in 2004 and 2007.

Argentina's Luciana Aymar shared the women's player of the year award with the Netherlands' Naomi van As. It was Aymar's sixth world player trophy.

England midfielder Ashley Jackson was named men's young player of the year and Australia midfielder Casey Eastham women's young player.

England crash to third Champions Trophy defeat

England are guaranteed to play Spain on Sunday in the Champions Trophy fifth versus sixth place play-off match after losing 3-2 to Holland - their third defeat of the tournament.

Having gone 2-0 down inside the opening 20 minutes it took a trademark penalty corner from Richard Mantell and an impressive solo effort from Richard Smith to get England back into the game.

But the Dutch proved too strong against an England side who, according to assistant coach Bobby Crutchley, took too long to find their form.

“It was a frustrating day,” he said. “Our first half performance was poor, definitely not up to our usual level, but in the second half we pulled ourselves back, we created chances and we could have got back into it, It’s just a shame we didn’t play the whole game like we played in the second half.”

Looking ahead to Saturday's tie with South Korea, Crutchley added: “It is another one for us to impose our game on the opposition. If we can do that we believe we can get something from the game.”

Meanwhile, hosts and defending champions Australia suffered their first defeat of the tournament after going 3-1 down to Germany while South Korea staged an impressive comeback against Spain to turn a 5-1 deficit into a 5-5 draw.

Australia maintain unbeaten run after 2-1 win over England at Champions Trophy

Australia squandered seven penalty corners before edging England 2-1 to remain unbeaten after three rounds of the Champions Trophy tournament.

Hampered by poor form at set pieces, the defending champions were forced to rally before denying England their first win and to stay on course for a place in Sunday's final.

England led after 13 minutes with a goal against the run of play to Iain Mackay and Australia failed to convert its first penalty corner before equalizing in the 22nd minute through Grant Schubert.

After a 4-0 win over South Korea and 7-2 win over the Netherlands in its first two games, Australia found England a tougher opponent than predicted. Jason Lee's side forced two penalty corners late in the first half, failed to convert either, but kept the hosts under steady pressure.

Australia had penalty corners in the 43rd and 47th minutes but couldn't convert and was denied a 57th minute goal to Glenn Turner on the decision of the video umpire. Des Abbott finally gave Australia its narrow winning margin with a 60th minute field goal.

Despite the loss, England coach Jason Lee was happy with the squad's performance.

"Overall I thought today's game showed that we can be very optimistic about our potential for the next few years," he said. "The fact that Australia have beaten Korea and Holland by 4 and 5 goals means that losing by only 1 isn't anything to be ashamed of.

"I think we took a while to step up to the fight but when we did I thought we showed real ability and caused the Australians some trouble."

Looking ahead to their match against the Netherlands on Thursday, Lee added: "One of our aims for the next few years is to get results against the top 5 in tournament hockey, in the last Olympic cycle we only won one of the games against the top 5 in major tournament hockey.

"The game against Holland is another chance to get a win against one of the best teams in the world, so we are all looking forward to the opportunity."

South Korea beat Holland to remain on course for Champions Trophy final

Seo Jong-ho scored two minutes from fulltime to give South Korea a 2-1 win over the Netherlands at the Champions Trophy tournament boosting their chances of reaching Sunday's final.

The teams were locked 1-1 at halftime after Roderick Weusthof scored for the Netherlands in the 11th minute and Hong Eun-seong equalized for South Korea from a 26th minute penalty corner.

Team captain Seo clinched South Korea's second win in three matches at the tournament with a brilliant 68th-minute goal, deflecting a sharp pass high into the corner of the net.

"Netherlands was very strong and they know our strategies very well so we didn't get a lot of chances to attack," Seo said.

"But I feel we were controlling the game. Actually, we were so tired in the second half and it was harder to attack but Netherlands made a lot of mistakes, so we were lucky to win."

The Netherlands now has one win from three matches with two round-robin encounters remaining.

Germany striker Matthias Witthaus clinched a 5-4 win for Germany in dramatic fashion, and left Spain winless at the tournament, with a goal in the final minute.

Witthaus' goal was initially ruled out by umpire Hamish Jamson, but Germany appealed to the video referee who overturned the on-field umpire's decision.

"I'm happy with the result although we didn't have a good performance," German coach Markus Weise said.

Germany led after only two minutes with a goal by Benjamin Wess, and increased that lead four minutes later when Jan-Marco Montag scored with a drag flick from a penalty corner.

Spain pulled a goal back through Eduard Arbos, who finished off a slick passing movement from close range, but Florian Fuchs restored Germany's two goal margin when he deftly deflected the ball past Spanish keeper Francisco Cortes.

Spain's Xavi Ribas cut the margin to 3-2 at halftime, finding the bottom of the net from a penalty corner.

Edi Tubau leveled the scores just after halftime when he hit a reverse stick shot from a tight angle past German keeper Max Weinhold.

Spain seized the lead through striker Pau Quemada before Fuchs leveled the scores at 4-4 with his second goal.

Spain was disappointed that another close match got away, leaving it without a win from three games.

"We've had good games overall, but a few moments of bad play in each game has affected the result," captain Pol Amat said. "This is very frustrating for us."

Australia, Germany win their matches

Australia kept their winning streak intact, thrashing Netherlands 7-2 on Sunday in the second round of the Champions Trophy.

Grant Schubert starred for the Aussies, scoring thrice in the first half to virtually seal it for his team.

Meanwhile, in another game played on Sunday, South Korea stunned Germany, getting the better of the Olympic Champions in a 5-3 win.

Soo-Kyuk Yang latched on to a pass from Hyo-Sik You to score for the South Koreans.

Matthias Witthaus, flicking into the top of goal from 10 metres out, and Jan-Marco Montag's conversion of Germany's second penalty corner put the world champions 2-1 up three minutes into the second half but South Korea were too hot to handle on the day.

They attacked Germany’s backfield with long passes to get four goals in a mere 20 minutes.

Spain and England, who lost their matches on the first day were scheduled to meet later on Sunday.

India lose to China in Asia Cup final

The valiant Indian women hockey team went down 3-5 to formidable China in an action-packed final of the seventh Asia Cup.

Surinder Kaur and her teammates, who have already booked their berth for the 2010 World Cup in Argentina with this final appearance in Bangkok on Sunday, tried every trick in the book but just could not get the better of their Chinese opponents.

Surinder earned the lead for India in the eighth minute, while Mamta Kharab (47th) and Deepika Thakur (54th) sounded the board in the second half but the Chinese scored thrice in the first session (13th, 18th and 27th) and twice (47th, 51st) in the second to emerge victorious.

This was China's second Asia Cup triumph, coming exactly 20 years after their 1989 victory in Hong Kong.

India took the initiative early in the match with Surinder's eighth minute goal but the joy lasted only five minutes as the Chinese changed to top gear, putting the Indian on the defensive mode.

Veteran Fu Bao Rang trapped a free hit to equalise in the 13th minute and soon Ma Yi Bo's straight drive off the team's first penalty corner made it 2-1 for China.

Right winger Zhao Yu Dia then made good use of a feed from the left to stretch the lead to 3-1 in the 27th minute and go into the breather with a two-goal advantage.

Ma Yi Bo converted another penalty corner and De Jiao Jiao struck another in a counter attack in the second half to complete the tally for the winners.

Earlier, the match started 30 minutes late due to power failure and because of heavy rains. Half-time break had to be increased from usual 10 minutes to about 40 minutes.

The Chinese juggernaut rolled smoothly today befitting their world number three status. The forward line of Zhao Yu Dia on the left, Fu Bao Rong in the centre and Li Hong Xia at the right flank masterminded innumerable sallies that had the Indian defence on its toes.

With neat trapping at a high pace, they tormented Indian defenders Subhadra Pradhan and Binita Toppo. With goalie Deepika Murthy and Ritu Rani extending helping hand, India did thwart some nippy attacks in time.

India got a handful of chances in the first half. Midway through the first half, defender Binita surged to the 25-yard line before giving a precise cross but Rani Ramphal could not trap inside the circle and a golden chance was thus frittered away.

Quickly after the second session started, Mamta miscued a close range shot and within five minutes, India wasted two penalty corners.

On the first occasion, Jasjeet's grounder proved too feeble, while Saba Anjum's deflection was blocked by China goalie Zhang Yi Meng.

India suffered a setback in the 40th minute when medio Asunta Lakra got an yellow card and the team had to make do with one player less and in this spell China scored twice.

In the last five minutes, two penalty corners came India's way but neither Jasjeet nor Saba could sound the board.

Once China established a comfortable 4-2 lead, India coach M K Kaushik brought Savita Punnia under the cage and she certainly lived upto the expectations with some fabulous last second kicks and clearances.

The silver medal gave India valuable 700 points which will boost India's world ranking when it is revised this year.

Indian eves pound Singapore in Asia Cup

Jasjeet Kaur scored three goals as a ruthless India steamrolled novice Singapore 13-0 to open their Women's Asia Cup hockey campaign.

Jasjeet struck thrice in the 39th, 53rd and 59th minutes while Saba Anjum, Mamta Kharab, Deepika Thakur, Surinder Kaur and Rani Ramphal chipped in with two goals each as India blanked their hapless opponents with consummate ease.

Earlier, top contenders Japan and Korea routed Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka 10-0 and 17-0 respectively. Malaysia also collected full points with a 3-0 win over hosts Thailand.

Winger Saba Anjum connected Jasjeet Kaur's drag flick to open the scoring in the second minute off India's second penalty corner and captain Surinder Kaur stretched the lead two minutes later from the next penalty corner.

Stung by the reverse, Singapore tightened their defence, giving no leeway to strikers Jasjeet, Saba Anjum and Surinder Kaur, even though they conceded 15 penalty corners in the first session alone.

The Indians, however, soon brought down the rival citadel with Rani Ramphal (19th minute) and Mamta (23rd min) sounding the board and Deepika scoring at the stroke of lemon break to give India a 5-0 cushion at breather.

Indian forwards made amends in the second half, attacking with renewed vigour and it started raining goals.

Jasjeet connected a cross from right for India's sixth goal while lanky Rani Ramphal unleashed a deft flick from close range to make it 7-0 in the 41st minute. Next minute, Saba came from the wing to connect a pass from the midfield to find the cage.

Realising the match has slipped through the fingers, Singapore virtually gave in and India pumped in five more goals to complete the rout.

"We were a bit lazy in the first half but the second half went off well. When a team defends in full strength in your area, this happens," India's chief coach MK Kaushik said.

India, in all, got a whopping 24 penalty corners today and converted seven.

"Not a bad record, as we did not want to exhaust all the variations we have for the fear of exposure," Kaushik said.

Captain Surinder Kaur also felt the team could have done even better.

"I feel, we did not play well in the first half, especially the forwards, who were in a hurry. Once we adopted to one-touch pass in the second half, we got the rewards," Surinder said.

India beat Canada 3-2 in last match

India have won the seven-match hockey Test series 6-0 against Canada, at Tamanawis Park.

India rounded off their impressive tour of Canada with a 3-2 victory over the home side in their final game.

India, who led 2-1 at half time, scored through Prabhjot Singh (21st minute), Gurwinder Chandi (31st) and Tushar Khandker (49th).

Wayne Fernandes flicked home twice for Canada in the 26th and 46th minutes.

One match of the series was drawn.

The Indians made their intentions clear from the very beginning when Sarwanjit Singh tested Canadian goalkeeper David Carter in the opening minute followed by captain Rajpal Singh's attempt which narrowly missed the mark.

Canada took some time to settle down but soon produced a couple of fine moves which tested the Indian goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza.

First Philip Wright missed a deflection from Rob Short and then Gabbar Singh's effort went in vain as D'Souza brought off a one of his splendid saves.

India broke the ice in the 21st minute after midfielder Sardar Singh picked up the pace. Sardar sent a well-measured pass to Shivendra Singh who in turn pushed to the waiting Prabhjot atop the striking circle. The first timer from Prabhjot went past Carter to give India the lead.

Canada nearly pulled one back shortly after but Connor Meakin's deflection was saved by D'Souza.

A faulty stick tackle by Bharat Chhikara in the circle led to Canada's two successive penalty corners which Fernandes sank for the equaliser in the 26th minute.

Canada nearly took the lead but D'Souza again saved a Wright shot as the home team striker got past Indian defenders Dhananjay Mahadik and Sandeep Singh.

But it was India who forged ahead in the 31st minute as Chandi excelled with individual play and tapped the ball into goal after drawing out Carter.

Canada missed a chance to equalise close to half time with David Jameson failing to beat D'Souza with two rebounds.

India earned their first of two penalty corners after the change of ends but Sandeep shot wide. Chandi had another goal scoring opportunity but Carter made a glove save.

Canada put pressure on the shaky Indian defence but found the alert D'Souza rising to the occasion as he blocked another onslaught from a Jameson and Wright combination.

The hosts restored parity in the 46th minute when Fernandes struck again with his flick from Canada's third penalty corner.

Three minutes later India rejoiced again as Khandker found the mark from a Gurbaj Singh set up.

Later, efforts by Shivendra and Sardar - who was adjudged Player of the Series - did not bear results as Canadian custodian Carter successfully blocked their attempts.

India beat Canada, extend series lead

Shivendra Singh scored twice as India defeated Canada 3-1 to extend their lead to 5-0 in the seven-match hockey Test series.

Shivendra found the net in the 20th and 65th minutes, while in between Sarwanjit Singh scored in the 54th minute to help India's cause.

Gabbar Singh pulled one back for the Canada, converting a penalty stroke in the 47th minute.

The visitors have already taken an unassailable 5-0 lead in the series with one match drawn and will sign off their tour with the seventh and last Test here tomorrow.

The Indians could have registered the victory by a bigger margin had they not missed as many as six penalty corners and an equal number of open field chances.

Canada, on the other hand, were denied any short corner because of an alert and agile Indian defence, which made clean clearances from their danger zone.

India went into the offensive as early as in the opening minute of the match, winning a penalty corner when striker Gurvinder Chandi struck the foot of Wayne Fernandes but the pullout could not be stopped.

Short after, two more scoring chances went abegging as Roshan Minz and Danish Mujtaba failed to beat Canada goalkeeper Matt Peck.

India beat Canada again, take 3-0 lead

India scored a 2-0 win against Canada in the fourth Test and secured a 3-0 lead in the seven-match series at Tamanawis Par.

Vikram Pillay scored from a penalty stroke in the 22nd minute while Rajpal Singh shot home in the 38th minute to script India's victory.

India had won the first two matches and played a 4-4 draw in the third Test match.

Canada began aggressively winning a penalty corner in the third minute after goalkeeper Sreejesh made a dangerous save from Ranjeev Deol's shot at goal.

The Indian defence stood out as they blocked the indirect attempt from Scott Tupper.

The Canadians won their second of six penalty corners after Philip Wright was stopped by Bharat Chhikara but Sreejesh brought off a splendid save.

India could have broken the ice midway in the first half after Gurwinder Chandi powered his way into the striking circle but Vikram Pillay was a trifle late at the second post.

However, India got a penalty stroke when Chandi was tripped by Canada goalkeeper Matt Peck in the 22nd minute.

Pillay shot in to the custodian's left to give India the lead.

The visitors had two more opportunities to increase the lead before half time, but on the first, a penalty corner ball pull in was not stopped, while Tushar Khandker missed on a goalmouth scramble later.

The second half saw India in total domination of the proceedings with quality midfield and backup play highlighted by captain Dhahanjay Mahadik, Gurbaj Singh and Sardar Singh.

Prabhjot Singh grabbed the ball from close to the centre line body feinting and dribbling past a host of Canadian players before setting up Rajpal Singh three minutes into the second half.

The wily Chandigarh winger smashed the ball past Peck from the edge of the circle to make it 2-0 for the Indians.

Rajpal had another opportunity to score when he combined with Bharat cutting into the circle from the left flank but his shot was well taken by Peck.

India were awarded their second penalty corner when Prabhjot was obstructed by Wayne Fernandes but Sandeep Singh flicked wide.

Canada bolstered their attacks winning corners in quick succession but the Indian defence, particularly Sreejesh, rose to the occasion.

The fifth Test will be played at the same venue on Sunday.

Canada hold India to 4-4 draw

Sandeep Singh scored four times but Canada held the visitors to a 4-4 draw in the third Test of the seven-match hockey series.

Sandeep flicked home in the ninth, 18th, 31st and 45th minutes while Scott Tupper (second), Rob Short (66th) and Mark Pearson (68th and 70th min) scored for Canada, who took advantage of a fragile Indian defence to stage a late comeback.

However, India continue to lead the series 2-0.

Canada began aggressively and took an early lead when the Indian defence conceded a soft penalty corner in the second minute which was sunk in by Tupper to goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza's right.

Rattled by this reversal, India took a firm grip on the proceedings soon after, with forays from both flanks.

The midfielders led by skipper Tushar Khandker propelled the forwards Shivendra Singh, Rajpal Singh and Gurwinder Chandi to move cohesively in the Canadian danger zone for a look in.

A physical tackle by Scott Sandison on Rajpal Singh within the Canadian quarter line gave India their first penalty corner from which Sandeep levelled the score.

Sandeep scored again nine minutes later after Shivendra was brought down by Canada's Gabbar Singh.

India continued to hold sway with Khandker, Dhananjay Mahadik and Arjun Halappa constantly moving upfront in tandem with the forwards.

Sandeep completed his hat-trick off a scorcher past custodian David Carter in the 31st minute after striker Roshan Minz found the foot of a Canadian defender.

Canada came close to reducing the margin shortly before the break but a penalty corner attempt by Tupper was wide and Rob Short's open attempt was well anticipated by D'Souza.

India kept the accelaration initially in the second half with Rajpal missing the target with a reverse.

The Canadians replied with swift turnovers and won their third penalty corner when Pearson was wrongly tackled by Bharat Chhikara. Wayne Fernandes' dragflick was well saved by D'Souza.

Soon after, India were reduced to 10 men when Sarwanjit Singh was yellow carded for hitting the ball deliberately after the umpire had blown the whistle for an infringement against him.

However, despite this setback, India further increased their lead to 4-1 in the 45th minute after a splendid Halappa-Prabhjot Singh move from the left flank was halted by an obstruction from Canada. Sandeep found the target yet again, high to Carter's left.

However, the hosts continued to attack and their efforts bore fruit when they were awarded a penalty corner after Prabhjot's attempt to stop a long overhead with a raised stick four minutes from the end.

This proved to be the turning point as Short fired home to give Canada their second goal.

The Indian defence went into panic mode as Canada played long hard hits into the Indian circle.

Deep defenders Sardar Singh, Sandeep and Chhikara were unable to thwart the Canadian onslaught as Mark Person found the target twice in two minutes to level the match.

Indian chief coach Jose Brasa was visibly upset after the draw and said his defence had thrown away the match in the final minutes with irresponsible and unprofessional play.

India beat Canada 2-0 in hockey Test

A dominant India scored in each half to blank Canada 2-0 in the opening game of their seven-match hockey Test series.

Tushar Khandker struck in the 27th minute while Sandeep Singh sank home a penalty corner in the 66th minute to give India the opening win yesterday.

India took time settling down in cold conditions under lights and were distinctly fortunate in not conceding the lead to Canada in the opening minutes.

Goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza first warded off a reverse from winger Gabbar Singh and followed up with a spectacular save off Taylor Curran's effort.

Indian forwards missed a few chances midway in the first session with forwards Rajpal Singh, Prabhjot Singh and Gurwinder Chandi shooting wide.

But the Indian deep defence was marshalled majestically by Sardar Singh whose clean tackling and interceptions were lustily applauded by the housefull crowd.

He was ably supported by midfielders Gurbaj Singh and Dhananjay Mahadik who constantly set up the flankmen and other forwards.

India took the lead in the 27th minute when Rajpal Singh put through diminutive Bharat Chikara whose clever run down and pass atop the striking circle to the unmarked Tushar Khandker had no answer from Canadian goalkeeper David Carter.

India dominated most of the second half and should have increased their tally soon but Chandi sent a backhander over the crosspiece and Rajpal failed to connect a Vikram Pillay cross immediately thereafter.

Canada came close to scoring an equaliser on a couple of occasions but attempts from Connor Meakin and Gabbar Singh were foiled by an alert Indian defence.

They also earned two penalty corners, one of which was saved by D'Souza, while the other was flicked over.

Sandeep Singh settled the issue for India after he fired home from their only penalty corner in the 66th minute to give the visitors victory.

The second Test between the two sides would be played on Sunday.

England men's hockey stun Germany to win European Championship

England 5 Germany 3

England stunned Germany, the Beijing Olympic gold medallists, in the final of the European Championship at Amstelveen to win their first continental title.

It was England's first major title since they won the 1908 and 1920 Olympic titles before the days of Great Britain sides.

England played hockey of such a quality there can be little doubt that they will be serious contenders at the World Cup in Delhi next year and, in Great Britain colours, at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Germany, who boasted more experience, went into the final as the favourites and they quickly got into their stride leading 3-2 at half-time and well into the second half.

England's early deficit was partly due to their commitment to attack and the ability of the Germans to catch them out on the break. England's new corner striker Ashley Jackson scored the opening goal for England, his fourth in five matches.

Germany's noted striker Christopher Zeller then replied in kind before Barry Middleton, a captain who led by example, restored England's lead.

England twice went close to making it 3-1 but Zeller struck again and an unmarked Jan Montag put Germany ahead on 31 minutes.

But England showed their strength in depth and the game was turned on its head when three of England's big guns were resting.

Two corners were forced and, with Jackson, Glen Kirkham and Ben Hawes, off the field, Ric Mantell converted both and England were ahead again by the 56th minute. Germany forced three corners after that but all were safely defended.

That England's James Fair received the 'goalkeeper of the championship' award was fully deserved. His was not the only individual award. One should go to coach Jason Lee, who brought his team to a peak at exactly the right time; one did go to Jackson, deemed 'player of the tournament' at the tender age of 21.

It was Jackson who rounded off the scoring, converting a penalty for his eighth European goal.

Holland beat Spain 6-1 in the bronze-medal match, the day after they took the women's gold with a 3-2 over Germany. England's women who lost to Germany on a golden goal in their semi-final, retained the bronze with a 2-1 win over Spain, thanks to goals from Chloe Rogers and Kate Walsh.

England beat Holland to reach European final

England scored a golden goal with 45 seconds left on the clock to beat Holland 2-1 and dethrone the European men's champions in the cauldron of their national stadium at Amstelveen.

Ashley Jackson, the new kid on the block, scored the winning goal with a deflection, after skilful approach play by Simon Mantell.

It was only the second time England who have never won the European title, have beaten the Dutch in a major event, and takes them into their first final in any competition since Britain's 1988 Olympic gold medal.

James Tindall had put England ahead after 22 minutes, taking a quick free hit and smacking in Rob Moore's return pass.

The Dutch responded by forcing a plethora of corners but Taeke Taekama, their dangerous striker, just could not find a way past an inspired James Fair in the England goal. Finally Taekama levelled the score with his 10th attempt after 49 minutes.

England dominated the sudden death extra time. Tindall, Barry Middleton and Jackson all went close before Jackson's match winner.

England's win was a big consolation after their women's team lost 2-1 to Germany by a golden goal the previous evening. They play Spain for the bronze medals on Saturday.

Olympic champions Germany will be England's opponents in Sunday's men's final. They beat Spain 2-1 in the second semi-final. England drew 4-4 with the Germans in their pool match last Monday after leading 4-2.