Is new order emerging in world hockey?

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Sydney: The qualifying rounds of the men's and women's hockey tournaments in Sydney Olympics have left few experts wondering if new world order is about to takeover the existing one as the presiding lords havebeen given severe jolts by rank newcomers like Chinese and South African women and Polish men's hockey teams.

The past one week has seen some remarkable hockey being played at Olympic Park's State Hockey Centre. It has also witnessed some sensational upsets taking place out there in the middle.

Chinese women have definitely created a flutter in the women'scompetitions by scalping for generation old dowagers of women's hockey, the German and the Netherlands hockey teams.

Those who have come across Chinese women are still bewildered about what hit them. The identity of the line-up for super-six round-up also seems to have become engulfed in the fog which wrapped the Hockey Centre for most of the day on Thursday. The prevailing confusion is partly generatedby the demolition job done by Chinese women.

A totally novice team of Chinese women has not only shocked European powerhouses but also, in spite of a loss to New Zealand and a draw with the South Africans, moved to the top of the group.

The Chinese women's scintillating performance looks even more amazing considering the fact that this country in India's north-east has a pool of just 300 hockey players and that the Chinese team is making debut in the Olympics at Sydney.

Poland men also sprang a surprise when they scalped Spain in a group 'B' match. The 4-1 score in favour of the Polish men has left experts wondering about the validity of the current international team ranking system.

The spate of upsets in the hockey competitions have also derailed bookkeepers' gravy train and they are offering much less lucrative odds now to cover some recent losses.

Korean men may have moved to the top in group 'B' by beating India 2-0 on Thursday but their women's outfit, silver-medalist at Atlanta Olympics, is leaving much to be desired with two draws and one loss and may find it hard to move to the next round.

The amount of uncertainty and scare among the leading women's teams can be gauged by the fact that Australian women's 'dream team', also known ashockeyroos, is struggling to score against even the low-ranked opponents.

The home ground and vociferous backing by their 'Green and Gold Army' supporters may have induced their 3-0 win over Korea on Friday and restored some faith in Ric Charlesworth coached reigning champion side, but it is still a long, rocky way in front of the Hockeyroos as they move to the Super-Six round.

India Abroad News Service