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Olympic hockey qualifying draws

The International Hockey Federation today released the match schedules for the men's and women's qualifying tournaments for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The men's tournament, scheduled for March 9 to 20 in Osaka, Japan, and the women's event, scheduled for March 24 to April 2 in Milton Keynes, England, present the final opportunities for teams hoping to fulfill an Olympic Hockey Dream in 2000.

Six of the 12 men's teams and five of the 10 women's teams competing in the qualifying tournaments will earn a place at the Sydney Olympic hockey competition. After completion of pool play in the men's tournament, the top two teams in each pool will be guaranteed a spot in Sydney. The critical crossover matches will then be between the third and fourth in each pool. The winners of these will finish no lower than sixth place and will also be headed Down Under.

In the women's event, similarly, a top-two pool finish will be good enough for a ticket to the Olympic Games. But with only five teams qualifying, not only with the 3rd versus 4th cross over matches be critical, so too will the 5th- 6th place final. In both instances, the competition promises to be fierce and intense.

A total of 12 teams will compete at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in the men's hockey tournament. The teams already qualified are: Australia (hosts, Oceania Cup winners), Canada (Pan American Games winners), Germany (European Nations Cup winners), India (Asian Games winners), The Netherlands (Olympic Champions) and South Africa (All Africa Games winners).

A total of 10 teams will compete at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in the women's hockey tournament. The teams already qualified are: Argentina (Pan American Games winners), Australia (Olympic Champions, hosts and Oceania Cup winners), Korea (Asian Games winners), The Netherlands (European Nations Cup winners) and South Africa (All Africa Games winners).

Men's Qualifying Tournament:

Pool A - Belgium, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Poland
Pool B - Argentina, Belarus, Malaysia, Pakistan, Spain, Switzerland