Commonwealth Games hockey draw

Indian eves will face Canada in their opening match in the XVII Commonwealth Games, which will be held in Manchester, England, from July 25 to August 4, 2002.

India is placed in the Pool 2 with New Zealand, England and Canada, while Commonwealth champions Australia are joined by Scotland, South Africa and Jamaica in Pool 1.

In the men’s tournament, Pool 1 will comprise current Commonwealth champions Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Barbados while Pool 2 will be made up of Canada, Wales, England and Pakistan.

The Indian men's team does not find a place in the draw as Commonwealth competition is made up of the host, the defending champions and the highest ranked nation from each of the six Commonwealth regions.

Pakistan, by virtue of finishing fourth at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, is the highest-ranked team from the Asian region.

However, the Indian men's team can still make it to the Games if one of the teams withdraws. It is likely that Barbados, who qualified for the tournament as the highest ranked team from the first Americas Cup 2000, will make way for India.

According to FIH rules, in case of any country withdrawing, the next highest ranked team is eligible to play irrespective of the region, which is India, who finished seventh at the Sydney Olympics.

The pool winners will qualify automatically for the semi-finals. However the second and third-placed teams in each pool will play cross-over matches to determine which team will qualify.

This extra round of games gives an added incentive to finish on top in a pool. It will also mean that all teams will retain the chance of progressing on to the final throughout the first stage of the competition.

The action starts with five days of preliminary round games from July 26 followed by the final stages from July 31 to August 4.

The women’s final will be played on August 3 with the men’s showdown the following day.

Schedule - Women:
July 26, 2002
Pool 1: Australia vs Scotland and South Africa vs Jamaica
Pool 2: New Zealand vs England and India vs Canada
July 27, 2002
Pool 1: Australia vs South Africa and Scotland vs Jamaica
July 28, 2002
Pool 2: New Zealand vs India and England vs Canada
July 29, 2002
Pool 1: Australia vs Jamaica and South Africa vs Scotland
Pool 2: India vs England and New Zealand vs Canada
July 31, 2002
Qualification final: 2nd Pool 1 vs 3rd Pool 2
Qualification final: 2nd Pool 2 vs 3rd Pool 1
August 1, 2002
7th/8th Play Off
5th/6th Play Off
Semi-final 1
Semi-final 2
August 3, 2002
Bronze Medal Match
Final