NAMIBIA'S men and women both got off to a losing start at the Indoor Hockey World Cup in Pretoria on Sunday, with the women losing 5-3 to Kazakhstan, while the men lost 7-1 to the Netherlands.
Namibia's women had a rude awakening as Kazakhstan scored two early goals to go 2-0 up inside the opening two minutes.
Namibia managed to launch some attacks and won a penalty for an infringement towards the end of the first quarter, but Caitlyn Gillies' shot was well saved by Kazakhstan keeper Guzal Bakhavaddin.
Namibia stepped up the tempo in the second quarter, with Maggy Mengo and Armin van Staden at the forefront of their attacks until Mengo finally opened their account with a field goal, and with Namibia trailing 2-1 at half time the game was still wide open.
Kazakhstan however caught Namibia napping when Bissirova scored her second goal from a counterattack and when Viktoriya Lyapina scored a field goal they were suddenly leading 4-1 with one quarter to go.
Namibian keeper Petro Stoffberg brought off a diving save from Lyapina and Namibia finished strongly as two field goals by Van Staden and Kaela Schimming brought them right back into the game at 4-3 down.
Kazakhstan however had the final say when Lyapina scored her second goal from a counterattack to complete a 5-3 victory.
Namibia's men matched the Netherlands till half time, but the Dutch pulled away after the break to complete a comfortable 7-1 victory.
The Netherlands opened their account with a field goal by Max Sweering midway through the first quarter while he added a second early in the second quarter to give them a 2-0 lead at half time.
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Namibian keeper and captain DJ Strauss kept them in the game with some point blank saves, but the Dutch won a penalty early in the third quarter and Sweering scored from the spot to complete his hat-trick.
They went 4-0 up after a field goal by Wiegert Schut, but Namibia finally opened their account through a fine field goal by Percy Barthram.
Namibia created several more chances throughout the game, with Dylan Finch, Ernest Jacob and Fagan Hansen all coming close, but the Dutch finished stronger and three more goals in the final quarter by Joep Troost, Nicki Leijs and Niek Merkus gave them a comprehensive 7-1 win.
In other women's matches, the Netherlands sounded an early warning with a resounding 10-0 victory against New Zealand, while the Czech Republic also posted a commanding 6-1 win against Belgium.
Austria got off to a narrow 3-2 win against South Africa, while Australia beat the USA 4-2.
In other men's matches, the defending champions Austria posted a comprehensive 7-1 victory against New Zealand; Argentina beat Iran 5-4; the USA beat the Czech Republic 4-3; and South Africa and Australia drew 3-3.
In matches on Monday, Namibia's men take on Austria in the first match at 08h30, followed by Namibia's women up against Canada at 09h40.
