National hockey teams to compete in bottom half of World Cup placing matches

The South African national men's and women's hockey teams faced relegation to lower-tier classification matches at the concurrent men's and women's Hockey World Cup tournaments in Belgium and the Netherlands. In their final Pool C game in Wavre, the men's team narrowly secured a 2-2 draw against Australia, who remained unbeaten in the first round and finished atop their group.

Mustapha Cassiem scored both of South Africa's goals in the fourth minute, but Australia responded with two goals in the third quarter to maintain their lead. Earlier in the tournament, South Africa had lost 3-1 to Spain and 4-1 to Ireland, securing the bottom spot in their group, which placed them among the teams competing for ninth to 16th positions in the classification rounds.

They were scheduled to face France and Malaysia in Pool H, with the final classification matches set for the following Friday.

Meanwhile, the South African women's team also suffered a disappointing opening round, losing 4-0 to England, 6-1 to India, and 5-1 to China. Finishing at the bottom of Pool D, they were to join the men's team in the classification rounds for ninth to 16th places. They were set to compete against Japan and Chile in Pool G, with the final classification matches scheduled for the following Thursday.

While the men's team had the potential to achieve their best result at the World Cup, having never finished higher than 10th, they needed to win their next two games to stand a chance. Likewise, the women's team could make their best performance since the 1998 World Cup, when they finished seventh, but they too needed to go unbeaten in the next round to improve their standing.