Welsh Trio Bid To Secure GB Olympic Qualification

By Hannah Blackwell

Wales stars Sarah Jones, Rupert Shipperley and Jacob Draper have all made the latest Great Britain hockey squads aiming to book their places at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

The GB men’s and women’s teams are both seeking qualification for the Games this weekend and the Welsh trio have been included in their respective squads.

Jones will be in the women’s squad bound for Valencia in Spain where they have been drawn in Pool B and will face Canada, Malaysia and Spain.

https://twitter.com/HockeyWales/status/1744758429883961507?s=20

Shipperley and Draper are both in the men’s squad who will be travelling to Muscat in Oman to take on China, Malaysia and Pakistan in Pool A.

The teams need to secure a place in the top three of their respective tournaments to qualify their place at the Paris Games.

All three Welsh players were part of GB Hockey’s Olympic squads for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Jones is returning to the GB squad following a hamstring injury, whilst Shipperley and Draper will be looking to build on their recent success in the FIH Pro League event in Argentina.

https://twitter.com/GBHockey/status/1744388652111736870?s=20

The eight women’s teams that will compete in Valencia are: Belgium, Great Britain, Spain, Korea, Ireland, Canada, Malaysia and Ukraine
The eight men’s teams that will compete in Muscat are: Great Britain, Germany, New Zealand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Canada, Chile and China.

Olympic qualifiers:

Women
Valencia, Spain
13 Jan 2024 – Great Britain V Canada – 08:30 GMT
14 Jan 2024 – Spain V Great Britain – 10:45 GMT
16 Jan 2024 – Great Britain V Malaysia – 13:15 GMT

Men
Muscat, Oman
15 Jan 2024 – Great Britain V Pakistan – 16:00 GMT
16 Jan 2024 – Malaysia V Great Britain – 16:00 GMT
18 Jan 2024 – Great Britain V China – 14:00 GMT