Black Sticks' world placing is stepping stone for Olympics

Northland's Shay Neal is proud of playing his part in the Junior Black Sticks, who finished fourth at the Junior World Hockey Cup in Singapore and Malaysia.
The result was the best any New Zealand team has produced at an international event since the Black Sticks men's side won a gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics by defeating Australia 1-0.
"It was a real eye-opener to what can happen in the future from this group of guys," Neal said from his North Harbour base after returning to New Zealand late last week.
Neal said the team treated their time at the four-yearly Junior World Cup as a stepping stone to the London Olympics in 2012.
The Junior Black Sticks defied all odds when they drew with a very strong Indian contingent, followed by a 2-2 draw with the Dutch, which boosted the Kiwis' standings in their pool and ejected the Indian team from the competition.
Making the top eight was a great achievement by the young Kiwis, but defeating the Pakistanis to make the top four exceeded all expectations.
In the semifinals, the New Zealanders went down 1-4 to Holland and had to play Australia for third and fourth spot. Australia were too strong and the Kiwis were forced to settle for fourth.
Neal missed out on on the playoff due to illness but played in the other eight games.
For now, however, Neal said it was back to focusing on his business studies at Massey University and training with the Black Sticks men's side, with whom he played against India.
"I'd love to get a start in the test series against Australia later this year but we will see what happens," he said.
His focus was also on playing for North Harbour club East Coast Bays, who currently lead the competition.