SLOAN AND AMES HAVE OLYMPIC AMBITIONS

Sloan, who plays for Cookstown and David Ames, who plies his trade for Beeston in England, are part of the Ireland squad who are striving for that elusive Olympic place.

Ireland have five games to play in total and with three games already played, they sit second in the table of six teams.

On Tuesday evening, Ireland grabbed a crucial draw against favourites Korea, with David Ames grabbing their only goal. Ames deflected a Cockram cross to give Ireland the lead. However, the Korean outfit came out all fired up for the second half and HW Nam slammed home their fourth penalty corner.

Ian Sloan also played a huge role in this hard fought draw and he could very well have been on the scoreline when he slammed an effort off the upright.

The home side started the tournament in blistering form as they hammered Ukraine by 5-0 and followed this victory up with a stunning 12-0 win over Russia.

Malaysia currently sit top of the pile with Ireland in second place. Next up for Ireland is a tie against Chile this afternoon and they conclude the group stages with a tricky tie against Malaysia.

The top two in the table will face each other on Sunday afternoon (Wednesday) and the victor will seal their place in the Olympics this summer.