Time again for Malaysia to send shudders

30/03/2001

DID you know that India will have to qualify for the World Cup for thefirst time in their history? They will play in the 10th Men's World Cup Qualifier in Edinburgh fromJuly 17-29 for the 2002 World Cup, Kuala Lumpur. The past decade has not been kind to the Indian Continent where Pakistanand India have seen a steady decline in their standard while the rest ofthe world, particularly Europe, have been improving. The root of the cause is definitely a decay in grassroots development. And if Malaysia were not hosts, playing in the 2002 World Cup would haveremained a distant dream. That is why when the Seventh Edition of the Junior Hockey League startstoday, the players must excite the Malaysian Hockey Federation selectorsenough to be counted. For Malaysia, the day Bangladesh beat them to the fifth placing play-offin the Prime Minister's Gold Cup, hockey almost choked to death on theartificial pitch of the Maulana Bhashani Hockey Stadium in Dhaka. The 2-1 win was a first for Bangladesh against Malaysia at theinternational level. Nevermind that they had a senior side while Malaysiafielded a make-shift team which is preparing for the 2001 Junior World Cupin Hobart and the 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup. There was a time when even the mention of Malaysia, junior or senior,sent shudders among the Asian hockey playing nations. But neglect ingrassroots level has changed all that. We have almost been reduced to a punching bag. Old La Sallians Association of Klang who lifted their fourth Overalltitle last year will be the main contenders as in the last four years. But Tenaga Nasional's win in the League last year has added competitionin the Junior League and there is a likelyhood that a bigger pool has ashot at the two titles at stake this year. Among the early contenders are Anderson, Malacca Municipal Council,Bukit Jalil Sports School and probably Seberang Prai Municipal Council whoare the new cover for Electrical Switchgears Automation. But the Junior League should no longer be about winning titles andparticipation but how the titles are won and how much of effort is putinto preparing a decent team. The newcomers to the League are Sungai Petani Municipal Council and theArmed Forces. Pahang Sports Council will be making a comeback aftersitting out last year. And it is highly likely that these three teams will be among the`whipping boys' in the League. But that does not mean they should beforgotten and the selectory shy away from their matches. The fact that national juniors are not allowed to play in the Leagueshould spur those who aspire to don national colours. MHF secretary S. Satgunam has promised that national selectors will bearound to watch and take note of the potential. The new aspect in the League is the introduction of a quarterfinalstage. This home and away match-up will mean that eight teams will nowmake the grade to the knockout stage. Previously there was only thesemifinals after the preliminary round. To take the Junior League lightly is disastrous, and India will readilyvouch for that.