Valley A wins int'l hockey tourney

JAKARTA (JP): The Valley A field hockey team from Hong Kong grabbed the first division title at the Le Meridien Jakarta International Hockey Tournament 2001 held at Bung Karno hockey field on Sunday.

Valley A won the Gold Cup after defeating Jakarta-based STEI 1-0 during Sunday's final of the first division.

The tournament was organized by Jakarta-based International Sports Club Indonesia (ISCI) and had 12 teams participating from Hong Kong, Singapore, Makassar, Bandung as well as host Jakarta.

Earlier in the second division, local Dutch club Kombinasi had a 1-0 victory over Bandung-based Mandala hockey team to capture the Silver Plate award.

In the third division, Valley B of Hong Kong grabbed the Bronze Bowl with a 2-1 victory over host team ISCI.

The organizers also named Carlos Sandez of Valley A as best player.

Ken Allen of ISCI told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the tournament that ISCI had run the tournament since the late 1980s with a brief pause in the late 1990s.

"We had to stop the event from 1997 to 1999 due to Indonesia's economic and political situation at the moment. Now we expect to organize the event annually and we hope for more sponsorship to back our efforts," he said.

"It would be such a waste if we couldn't take advantage of the excellent astro turf. Most participants love it."

Meanwhile, the State University of Jakarta won the Youth Hockey Challenge after defeating Trisakti University 2-1 in overtime last Friday. Both teams shared a 1-1 tie in regular time. Adri from Trisakti was awarded the most talented player.

Allen said the young players could have better achievement if they had started playing earlier.

"It would be suitable to start at the age of three or four years old. But perhaps another problem is they cannot afford the expensive equipment," he told the Post.

"We'll invite 12 youth teams next year, which is double the current participants prior to the main tournament." (nvn)