News of Hammond’s injury joins a string of injuries for the Australian national teams. Defender Graeme Begbie went down with an injury at the Test Event and is out for the Olympics, while women’s defender Jade Warrender will also miss the Games with a torn ACL.

The German and Korean women also met in a two-game series. The first match ended in a 2-2 draw, and the second meeting was dominated by Germany in a clear 5-0 victory. After the two games, Germany’s Olympic Training group had its first major cut with the group getting trimmed from 27 players to 22. In other Germany news, congratulations to men's national team player Mattias Witthaus, who earned his 351st cap last week, a new German record.

There’s good news for Olympic host Great Britain. The national team lost two players, Crista Cullen and Alex Danson, to injury at the London Test Event, but it was announced that both should recover in time for the Olympics. The duo are likely going to miss the Investec Cup, which runs from June 5-10 and features the women’s national teams of Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa.

The Azlan Shah Cup is on the horizon and the eight participating men’s national teams, Argentina, Great Britain, India, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand and Pakistan are busy making their final preparations for the annual tournament, which begins on May 24^th. The most recent news from the event is that Argentina and New Zealand have named their squads.

Rounding out major hockey news this week: The final of the Junior Asia Cup in Melaka, Malaysia will be held this weekend. Pakistan and host Malaysia will meet for gold. The bronze medal game will feature India vs. Korea. Both games are on Sunday, May 13.

Following on from their 8-2 win on Wednesday night, the Australians mixed and matched through the lines, converting three corners and adding two field goals.

The result enables them to move onto the rather sterner challenge ahead in Germany next week with renewed confidence.

“It was a tough game but it was a good refuelling stop to go on to Germany,” said Charlesworth. “We were solid and our corners were pleasing but we weren’t emphatic.”

Mark Knowles opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a field goal, Australia’s only reward during a tight first half.

However two goals just after the interval put the Kookaburras in the driving seat, Russell Ford following up from a corner for the first and Kieran Govers converting Australia’s fourth penalty corner for the second.

Des Abbott made it 4-0 from open play in the 50th minute before Belgium’s corner master Tom Boon grabbed a consolation for an under-strength home side two minutes later. A Chris Ciriello corner wrapped up the result for the Kookaburras on the hour.

The Australians have not had an easy time over the last three weeks, losing Graeme Begbie and Rob Hammond to injury and yesterday assistant coach Graham Reid flew home following the death of his father.

For the remaining players and staff, selection pressures are rising with the Olympics only seven weeks away.

“Selection is hard but we just have to deal with it, every other team is affected by it as well. Germany, Great Britain are dealing with it too, not just us," Charlesworth said.

"Some teams may have decided already but I’m not sure that would be healthy, so I’d prefer to be in this situation where we are testing things out, for example, we have used our entire corner hierarchy.

“Of course it means that the players can wax and wane but the reality is that it is going to be that way over the next couple of months.”

The Kookaburras now head over the border to Mannheim for two days of training and then two tests against Germany next week.

They will be hoping for revenge after successive defeats to the World’s No 2 nation at the Olympic Test Event in London.

Goals:

Mark Knowles(AUS) FG 10m, Russell Ford(AUS) PC 37m, Kieran Govers(AUS) PC 40m, Des Abbott(AUS) FG 50m, Boon(BEL) PC 50m, Chris Ciriello (AUS) PC 60m.

It is the second time the NSW defender has suffered this injury and she will undergo reconstructive surgery next week.

Warrender is expected to be out for 9-12 months with the Junior World Cup in 2013 her most immediate goal.

Hockeyroos Coach Adam Commens said it was a huge blow, with Warrender a front runner for Olympic selection, after performing strongly at a series against the USA on the Sunshine Coast and in a Four Nations test event in New Zealand, earlier this year.

"At only 19 years of age Jade has a long career ahead of her for the Hockeyroos and after rehabilitation we expect to see her back to her best," he said.

"We have a squad of 27 and that is justified when something like this happens."

While devastating for Warrender, this now opens up a back-line position and Jacklyn McRae, Jayde Taylor and Kate Jenner are likely to press for selection in defense.

Warrender is the second Australian hockey player to suffer an acl injury this month, after Kookaburras star defender Graeme Begbie was also ruled out of the Games, at a test event in London last week, after going down in a practice match against India.

With the Belgians in the middle of their club play-offs, national coach Colin Batch, the Australian who was assistant to Barry Dancer through the gold and bronze medal campaigns in Athens and Beijing was denied several of his star men.

However, the contest gave Batch the chance to look to the future and gave the Kookaburras an opportunity to rediscover the goal scoring form which temporarily deserted them in England.

The Olympic test event behind them, the Kookaburras reassembled at the Royal Herakles Hockey Centre, just outside Antwerp, refreshing the squad with six new faces and enjoying a comfortable win in much more balmy conditions than they had suffered in freezing London.

Into the squad came Jamie Dwyer, Des Abbott, Glenn Turner, Jonathon Charlesworth, goalkeeper Andrew Charters and Kiel Brown, who has replaced the injured Graeme Begbie.

And it was Dwyer who made an instant impression by setting the Australians on their way when he tucked in a rebound from a penalty corner.

The Belgians, a rising force who have both their men’s and women’s teams qualified for London, battled back and showed their prowess from corners, bagging two in quick succession before Australia got their grip back on the game.

By the final whistle, Matt Gohdes had grabbed a hat-trick, Dwyer had added a second and there were strikes too for Kieran Govers, Matthew Butturini and Turner.

Assistant coach Paul Gaudoin said the major positive from the game was that they were able to score eight goals in one outing and the finishing was much more clinical.

“But we still let in two goals and our defending needs to tighten up. We need to be much stronger in that area," he said.

The teams meet again on Friday before Australia move on to Germany for two tests. They will hope to gain revenge there for the two losses they suffered at the Visa International Invitational Tournament last week.

Kookaburras goal keeper George Bazeley has also replaced Nathan Burgers for the second leg of the tour and Rob Hammond will return to Australia after fracturing his wrist.

An x-ray showed a crack and irrespective of whether surgery is needed, Hammond is ruled out of the remainder of the European tour as a precaution.

He will be assessed by a specialist to ascertain the severity of the injury.

The world number one men’s hockey team will compete for an unprecedented fifth Champion’s Trophy title in front of a home crowd in Australia this year.

The FIH’s premiere event is returning to Melbourne, December 1-9, 2012 where the Kookaburras will aim to claim a history making 13th gold.

After the success of the 2009 event, Hockey Australia is proud to once again host the world’s best nations, in what promises to be a spectacular hockey extravaganza.

The top five nations from last year's Champions Trophy, the winner of the Champions Challenge and two nations invited to participate by the FIH are expected to compete at the event.

Hockey Australia Chief Executive Mark Anderson said the Kookaburras had a rich and successful history at the prestigious tournament and called on all sports lovers to support the national team, in their pursuit for a record fifth consecutive victory.

“Melbourne hosted a tremendously successful Champions Trophy event in 2009. The crowds were large, loud, supportive and all of the international teams had a fabulous experience both on and off-field," Mr Anderson said.

"We look forward to bringing the teams back to Melbourne for what we believe will be an even bigger event and more entertaining tournament."

The event is expected to attract up to 30,000 fans and for the international and Australian community, this is an experience not to be missed.

“We greatly appreciate the Victorian Government’s support, ensuring that Australia and Melbourne have the opportunity to host this feature hockey event," Mr Anderson said.

"Being the first international event following the London Olympics is a fantastic opportunity for all sports lovers to come out to watch the best of the best in our sport.

"Regardless of the results in London, we are guaranteed to have the gold medal champions here on show in Melbourne, just three months after the world’s biggest sporting event is conducted. It is an exciting opportunity for our sport."

Sports Minister Hugh Delahunty said the event would be hosted at Melbourne’s international standard hockey facility, the State Netball Hockey Centre, which gave spectators the opportunity to watch and support the Olympic medallists.

“Securing the FIH Champions Trophy for Melbourne will deliver economic benefits of up to $5.6 million to Victoria and reinforces Melbourne’s reputation as the world’s ultimate sports city, as well as significant benefits to the hockey community," he said.

Hockey Victoria Chief Executive Ben Hartung said it was an exciting time for sports fans in this country and he was looking forward to forming a successful partnership with Hockey Australia.

"This is a brilliant opportunity to showcase our sport on the world stage and engage the wider community in an event that promises to shine and grow even bigger and better," he said.

Last year the Kookaburras defeated Spain in a thrilling final 1-0 in Auckland with Eddie Ockenden sealing the win.

Five time World Player of the year and one of the most decorated sportsman Australia has ever produced, Jamie Dwyer starred and was named highest goal scorer at the tournament.

In 2009, Melbourne came alive with anticipation and the Kookaburras did not disappoint downing Germany in a memorable encounter 5-3 to take the title.

In a rousing women's Final, Great Britain repeated yesterday's result exactly in front of yet another near capacity crowd to defeat Argentina 2-0 to claim the title, but success came at a high price as both Crista Cullen and Alex Danson had to leave the field during the second half, injured after clashes. Great Britain benefitted from high efficiency in front of the goal, and the fact that a listless Argentine side could not make use of their chances, including two great shots that ended up on the post. Both goals came at the hands of the ever reliable Crista Cullen who sunk two penalty corners in the early phase of the second half.

The British triumph is even more impressve taking into consideration that the hosts did not concede a single goal in their 4 encounters here at the Riverbank Arena - a fact that Britain's youngest team member Georgie Twigg credits mostly to goalkeeper Beth Storry: "Beth is just the best in the world, and the defense works really hard." Argentine head coach Carlos Retegui also paid tribute to Britain's defense, saying "What I am worried about is having 8 penalty corners in the game and not scoring goals. Great Britain are very good defenders."

The men's Final delivered on the expectations put into the summit of the world's two best teams with an entertaining encounter that yielded 7 goals, but could easily have seen more if not for the wasted opportunities at both ends of the field. There were scoring chances on both sides from the very first minute, as Australia had already missed a penalty corner and Germany wasted a penalty stroke before three minutes were played. Australia then missed a string of chances, including a penalty stroke of their own, before finally getting on the scoreboard in the 18th minute as Chris Ciriello drilled a corner flick into the net. With the goal spell broken, Germany soon responded in kind however, as Tobias Matania and Thilo Stralkowski put a field goal each to their names.

Germany continued in the same vein after the break, as with less than two minutes on the clock, Florian Fuchs pushed his team further ahead with another penalty corner conversion. Midway through the second half, Matt Gohdes made good use of a penalty stroke this time to get the Kookaburras within striking distance again, but it didn't take long for Matthias Witthaus to restore the advantage. Australia had a good few opportunities in the last ten minutes of the match, but the German defense stood well and instead of challenging the number 2, the Kookaburras eventually conceded one more goal, giving away another penalty stroke three minutes from the end which Philipp Zeller converted for the 5-2 final scoreline and the tournament win.

Prior to each Final, the matches for third place had taken place. In the women's competition, the two Asian representatives had done battle for third place, with Korea defeating China 3-2. Overall a clash of equal opponents, the match had two vastly different halves, with Korea dominating the first half, and China becoming the stronger team after the break. Barely two minutes into the match, Lee Seonok converted a penalty corner for Korea, and nine minutes later, Park Kiju scored a field goal to extend Korea's lead. Zhao Yudiao responded with China's first goal, but Korea promptly restored the two goal advantage through a penalty corner by Cheon Seulki for a 3-1 halftime lead.

After the break, China awoke, and were able to create a number of chances after Lee Seonok had failed to take advantage of a penalty stroke for Korea, her shot saved by Zhang Yimeng in the Chinese goal. Despite a number of opportunities, China were unable to make their new found energy count until they had the advantage in number whenKim Jongeun was sidelined with a yellow card three minutes from the end. Li Hongxia scored the consolation goal for China, but it was too late, and the final whistle confirmed Korea's third place.

In the men's bronze medal match, the Great Britain men narrowly defeated India 2-1, a result that fairly reflects the course of the game: despite equal percentages in ball possession, Great Britain were the more efficient and more dangerous team. After a slow start into the match from both sides, it was India however who took the lead first when VR Ragunath hammered home a penalty corner in the 24th minute. Great Britain responded just before the end of the first half, with a penalty corner goal of their own, scored by James Tindall, and put away one more midway through the second half when Rob Moore tapped in a perfect pass from Iain Mackay for the narrowest possible win.

Reflecting on the successful event, British captain Glenn Kirkham complimented the enthusiastic spectators as well as the organizers' efforts after the match: "The large crowd for the last two games definitely gave us a boost on the pitch. We definitely benefitted from a well-informed crowd. Roll on the Olympics."

Women

3rd/4th place: Korea - China 3:2 (3:1)
Finale: Great Britain - Argentina 2:0 (0:0)

Men

3rd/4th place: Great Britain - India 2:1 (1:1)
Finale: Germany - Australia 5:2 (2:1)

The reining Olympic gold medallists, Germany backed up their 3-2 victory over the Kookaburras in the preliminary round with another dominating performance in the final, with Charlesworth commenting that the Germans deserved to be considered the sport's benchmark side.

The match started in Australia's favour, however a disciplined German side weathered the onslaught and became stronger as the game continued. Both Germany and Australia missed penalty corners before Australia's Chris Ciriello opened the scoring in the 18th minute.

Tobias Matania levelled four minutes later with a solid finish following a swift counter-attack from the Germans.

After Australia's early dominance, Germany made the most of their opportunities with goals from Thilo Stralkowski and Florian Fuchs. Kookaburras young gun Matt Gohdes pulled the score back to 3-2 with a penalty corner in the 57th minute.

But the Kooaburras fightback was short lived with Germany's Matthias Witthaus scoring four minutes later with Australia's defence confused and lacklustre in the remaining minutes.

Germany took advantage of the poor defence with Philipp Zeller completing the final score two minutes from the final whistle.

Charlesworth commented although disappointed with the outcome, "I am glad this has happened because we needed it."

"We have to play Germany again and we know how very good they are. They are now the benchmark, thank god."

Charlesworth's last comments must be taken with a grain of salt. Australia have dominated the sport since collecting bronze in Beijing and have suffered similar nervous starts in Europe months out from major tournaments under his time in charge.

Australia will play a two-Test series in Belgium this week before taking on the Germans in two internationals on May 15 and 16 in Mannheim.

South Africa became the last team to join the 2012 London Olympic Hockey Tournament after winning the Men’s Olympic Qualifier in Kakamigahara, Japan with a 2-1 win over Japan. It will be South Africa’s third consecutive appearance at the Olympics.

South Africa entered the tournament as the top-seed, holding the #12 spot in the World Ranking. But the margin between the teams in Kakamigahara was thin, with Japan as the #15 team and bronze medalist China holding the #17 spot.

The balance of the teams was clear in a scoreless first half. South Africa may have held the advantage in terms of possession, but Japan’s chances were more dangerous as they used their trademark speed to keep South African goaltender Erasmus Pieterse on his toes. Things were visibly tense on the field and teams had to settle for a 0-0 draw at the break. It was shades of the round robin game between the teams earlier this week, which ended in a 3-3 draw with no team ever holding a clear advantage.

Thornton McDade ended the scoring silence when he slipped behind Japan goalkeeper Shunsuke Nagaoka with some fancy footwork and tapped in the 1-0 marker after nearly 45 minutes of scoring silence. With 16 minutes left, a great defensive play on a Japanese penalty corner chance led to a breakaway for South Africa and Lloyd Norris Jones doubled the South African lead.

But the game was far from over as the home stretch was a flurry of activity that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. Japan pulled to within one when Kenji Kitazato ripped one into the net, making it a one goal game with six minutes left. Japan applied amazing pressure on South African in the waning minutes, but the South Africa defense withstood the attack and held on for the 2-1 win and the berth to the London Games.

It was a particularly long and bumpy Road to London for the South Africans, who thought they had their spot in the Games sealed after winning the Africa Cup last year, but had to go through the qualification tournament process to meet its National Olympic Committee’s guidelines. But both the men’s and women’s team took the challenge to heart and both persevered and will be in London.

Third-Place Game: China 5, Austria 3

China had no problem earning a third-place finish after a frenzied 5-3 win against Austria in the Olympic Qualifier’s bronze medal game.

It was clear from China’s body language that they were disappointed to only be playing for bronze, but nevertheless they showed up to win and at least got some consolation from the event with the bronze medals around their neck.

China owned a 3-1 lead at the break after a strong start. Liu Yiantang and Song Yi banged in convincing the field goals to take a quick 2-0 advantage. The teams exchanged short corner goals to close the first half scoring with Na Yubo scoring his seventh goal of the event for China.

The teams opened up the second half on fire, despite the stead drizzle dampening the mood. China scored the 4-1 goal nearly immediately after the opening whistle, but it was rapidly answered by Austrian captain Armin Stermitzer’s short corner goal, helping to keep his team within striking distance. Austria pulled to within one when Berhnardt Schmidt scored. But China was always just a half step ahead of the Austrians, and Yubo struck with his second of the game to restore the two-goal pad.

Yubo’s goal would be the last of the match, despite some fantastic chances on both sides in the waning minutes. Yubo was named the tournament’s Top Player for his strong performance throughout the two-weeks.

Fifth-Place Game: Czech Republic 5,  Brazil 1

There was no placement game letdown for the Czech Republic in its second consecutive meeting against Brazil. The Czechs earned fifth place at the Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament after a 5-1 win.

Tomas Prochacka scored two luscious penalty corner goals in the first nine minutes and the Czechs never looked back. Stepan Bernatek also scored twice in the win with his goals being split between the first and second half. In between the Bernatek markers, Brazil scored its lone goal of the game in the first minute of the second half. Thiago Pacheco got his team on their feet with his first goal of the event. Martin Seemann closed the scoring with four minutes left to bring the final to 5-1.

The loss means Brazil goes home without any points from the qualifier, but the #42-ranked team earned valuable experience in its six outings and even went home with some hardware after getting the Fair Play trophy.

Great Britain barely mustered a shot in the second half but kept persisting, until Ashley Jackson rifled home an unstoppable corner with four minutes to go.

The most telling statistic of a compelling 70 minutes of play was that Britain grabbed a goal from each of their three penalty corners, while the Kookaburras reaped little reward from six.

The Kookaburras now face a re-match with Germany in today's final, while Britain will play for third against India.

“It’s a good scenario for us to play Germany again and these tough matches have been exactly what we have needed,” assistant coach Graham Reid said.

Australia played with energy and purpose, pressing hard and hunting in packs and it was Great Britain's goalkeeper James Fair who kept his side in the game.

Fair saved shots from Eddie Ockenden and Matt Gohdes before the Kookaburras conceded first at the 16 minute mark, when James Tindall flicked low and left of Nathan Burgers off Britain's first penalty corner.

Gohdes sent one home shortly after, courtesy of an outstanding interception and forward foray from Liam de Young.

Momentum was with the Kookaburras, until Britain won their second corner and Richard Alexander pounced on a mis-trap with five minutes left before half-time.

Jason Wilson levelled the scores at 2-2, tapping in his 25th goal for Australia after Mark Knowles’s had broken through the British defence.

Australia controlled the second half with Fair again proving a formidable final barrier but the Kookaburras eventually grabbed the lead, when Simon Orchard converted a penalty stroke, awarded following Glenn Simpson’s corner strike which was kept out initially by a foot on the line.

Now trailing, the host side found some urgency and edged their way back into the game, getting their first shot of the half at the 57 minute mark but Burgers made a comfortable save from Dan Fox’s effort.

However, there was nothing comfortable about Jackson’s 66 minute corner flick which ensured the home side shared the spoils of the battle, if not the overall war.

“Our movement around penalty corners at both ends of the field needs to be a bit slicker, but that’s ok because we have time to work on that,” said Reid.

“The tone of the players was better and that was our focus, so we are much happier with that but we still need to be more thorough around the circle because we didn’t finish well enough. That is a continual battle.

“We also got a good taste of what an Olympic crowd will be like so that is good experience. All in all we’re reasonably happy.”

The draw was enough to put Australia in the final ahead of Great Britain, courtesy of a superior goal difference. Both sides lost to Germany but beat India.

Great Britain tackle Argentina in Sunday’s women’s final, with China and South Korea playing for bronze.

Goals:

Tindall (GB) PC 16m, Matt Gohdes (AUS) FG 28, Alexander (GB) PC 30m, Jason Wilson (AUS) FG 35m, Jackson (GB) PC 66m, Simon Orchard (AUS) FG 51m.