Liaoning edges out Inner Mongolia in field hockey shootout

Inner Mongolia narrowly lost the championship to Liaoning in the penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw during the men’s field hockey final at the 13th National Games in Tianjin on Sept 7.

In qualified matches, Inner Mongolia triumphed three straight games by beating Jilin, Tianjin and Guangdong with scores of 10-0, 9-0 and 4-1, ranking first while entering the playoff stage. 

During the cross matches, Inner Mongolia overwhelmed Beijing 10-0 to enter the semi-finals. In play-offs, they then defeated Tianjin 5-0 , entering the finals against Liaoning.

In the final game, Inner Mongolia stroke first goal to gain momentum in the first quarter. Liaoning then equalized from the short corner in the beginning of the second quarter. 

As the scores were level, both the teams started to play cautiously, before Inner Mongolia took the lead again in the end of the second quarter.

In the third quarter, since they were trailing, Liaoning played offensively and scored again, to tie up the score 2-2 at regular time.

Then, the two teams entered the brutal and conclusive “23-meter battle”, the penalty shootout. Eventually, Liaoning defeated Inner Mongolia 4-3.

The penalty shootout competition was introduced at major tournaments in 2011. Sometimes known as a penalty shuffle, the method is similar to penalty shots in ice hockey and consists of one-on-one battle between an attacking player and the goalkeeper.

The attacker gets a chance to run with the ball in a one-on-one situation against the goalkeeper. The attacker starts on the 23-meter line with the ball and the goalkeeper starts on the goal line. 

When the whistle is blown, both players move towards each other and the scorer has 8 seconds to score a goal. If the attacker commits an offence, the ball travels outside the field of play, or 8 seconds elapses before the ball crosses the line, a goal is not awarded. 

If it’s still a draw after five rounds, the concept switches to an “abrupt death”. Here, both sides send out one player to shoot a penalty shot, the one who miss the goal loses the match.

This is the third consecutive season Inner Mongolia has confronted the bitter foe in the finals, winding up three straight failures to pursue gold medals, 1-3 and 0-2 in last two competitions in 2009 and 2013.

Liaoning, the reigning champion in men’s field hockey, has successively taken four gold medals at the National Games since 2005.

During the bronze medal competition, the home team Tianjin beat Guangdong 3-2. 

All Inner Mongolian field hockey players and coaches are from the Daur Autonomous Banner of Morin Dawa in Hulunbuir, a place which has treasured the sport as a traditional exercise since ancient times.

“Beikuo” is a term in the Daur language, similar to the present-day sport of field hockey, with the meaning of “hitting a ball while walking” in Chinese. 

The Daur people usually hold “beikuo” games during a festival or a special occasion, showcasing their athleticism and passion in physical training and competing.

In 1976, the first national hockey team was founded in the banner which was later known as the “Hometown of Field Hockey”.

Jiangsu is another team composing of members from the Daur Autonomous Banner of Morin Dawa. They took sixth place in men’s field hockey.

Edited by Anish Pandey

Athletes in action during men’s field hockey final at Tuanbo Sports Center in Tianjin on Sept 7, 2017. [Photo/nmgsports.gov.cn]