Knocking on seniors' doors

27/09/2001

THE Malaysia Hockey Federation (MHF) have, over the years, steadilygroomed young players to fill the vacuum left by those who retire, or areforced to retire due to injuries and work commitment. Nothing new here, they are just doing their job. But there seems to be a flurry of activity around the juniors, on andoff the field, this time around and the reason is the 2002 World Cup whichMalaysia will host. While some of the seniors have rooted themselves steadily in the seniorteam, like S. Kuhan and Maninderjit Singh, to name a few, the MHF havekept the door open for the juniors with a promise that those who do wellin Hobart will definitely see action in the KL World Cup as well. And leading the pack right now are S. Shanker, Chua Boon Huat, JiwaMohan and K. Logan Raj. A handful of other junior players are alsoknocking on the seniors' door and this augurs well for Malaysian Hockey inthe long run. "We decided on this overlapping pool so that the players do not feel toocomfortable with their positions and start taking things for granted. "Right now, only the best will see action," said MHF deputy presidentTan Sri P. Alagendra. So in Hobart from Oct 9-21, the juniors will not only be fighting for atop-four placing but also for a spot in the senior squad for the 2002World Cup. The National Juniors went to Port Dickson yesterday for a two-daymotivational camp and according to team manager Arrifin Ghani they areenjoying the well deserved break. "After three years of preparing for the Junior World Cup, the final 18were named on Tuesday and it was a relief for some of the borderlinecases. That is why we decided to give them a break from hockey. "In Port Dickson, they will be motivated by Dr Balbir, who is a part ofthe MHF development committee, and do some light training. Playing hockeyis strictly banned in PD. After the motivation session, they will breakcamp for two days before heading for Hobart on Oct 3 to get acclimatised,"said Arrifin. Meanwhile, defending champions Australia, who returned victorious from arecent Five-Nation held in Malaysia have also named their squad and coachColin Batch believes the outing could be an important boost for his teamto defend the title they won in Milton Keynes in 1997. "We improved significantly in Kuala Lumpur and made giant stridesforward throughout the tournament. It is difficult to estimate the valueof success (at the Five-Nation), but the team has a real focus on theWorld Cup," Batch said on the official website for the Junior World Cup. There are three injury concerns for Batch. Sydney Olympian Craig Victoryis recovering from a stress fracture, Lachlan Vivian-Taylor will beincreasing his training after a 14 week absence from the game with afractured patella, and Seyi Onitiri is undergoing rehabilitation for aknee injury. The rest of the Australian players who saw action in the Five-NationsCup in KL are fit and ready to defend the title.

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