Home Olympic chance for Ireland

IRELAND’S senior men’s London 2012 hopes received a huge boost yesterday as the International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed Dublin will host an Olympic qualification tournament from March 11-18.

Paul Revington’s men, ranked 17th, are the third seeds in their winner-takes-all pool of six, with Korea and Malaysia ranked above them while Russia, Chile and Ukraine complete the line-up .

But home advantage in UCD’s Belfield stadium and the knowledge that they have beaten both Korea (ranked 6) and Malaysia (14) in recent years, amid ever-improving performances on the world stage, could prove a significant leveller.

Ireland’s women are seeded second behind Spain in their qualifier, which also features hosts Belgium and Russia, France and Mexico and takes place from March 17-25.