Defending champions Germany will be strong favourites once again when the Grand Masters World Cup gets under way tomorrow. A total of 20 teams, mostly from Europe, will take part in the tournament for over-60s (Grand Masters) and over-65s (Great Grand Masters) at the Hong Kong Football Club and Happy Valley hockey pitches. The finals will be held next Sunday. 'Although this World Cup is for players over 60, the standard of hockey is surprisingly high,' said Roger Nissim, former president of the Hong Kong Hockey Association and a member of the organising committee. 'I would hope kids come and watch for they will be able to learn a lot from watching these guys, most of whom are former Olympians, play,' Nissim said. 'All the skills will be on show. They won't be running around too much in this heat but they will let the ball do the work.' Germany won the inaugural World Cup in 2002 in Kuala Lumpur and the last one, two years ago in Leverkusen defeating England in the final. They also entered the final in 2004 tournament when it was held in Athens, but lost to Australia. 'Play might be a little bit slower than what you would normally expect but this also means you can see the structure and strategy better. Youngsters can benefit from watching this tournament,' Nissim added. The Grand Masters will feature Australia, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Scotland and South Africa split into two pools. The over-65s will have five teams playing a round robin format. As good as ever Young players can learn a trick or two from the Grand Masters, who are aged: 60
