Three-way battle

09/04/2002

AFTER four matches, a clear pattern has emerged in the Malaysia Hockey
League (MHL) and it looks like the fight for the League and Overall titles
will be among Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), Andersen Sports Club and
Tenaga Nasional.
And among the three, the most unstable is Andersen because they are
banking too much on their Indian imports as was the case in their match
against BSN on Sunday.
Although the Indian pair of Len Ayappa and Dhanraj Pillay, 34, delivered
a goal each to pull off a draw, the star-studded Andersen should have won
comfortably instead of struggling against BSN had they relied more on
local players.
BSN, still waiting for their Pakistan imports Sohail Abbas and Kashif
Jawad, showed that their local players can stand on their own on Sunday
and coach C. Paramalingam was more than pleased with the draw.
"You saw for yourself that we relied on the local players and grabbed
one point in a highly competitive match. I believe my players can only get
better as the league progresses," said Paramalingam.
"Once our Pakistani players arrive, we will have added firepower to go
for the MHL double this season."
BSN made a wise selection in Sohail, the top-scorer in the Kuala Lumpur
World Cup with 10 goals, and up-and-coming youngster Kashif. But it looks
like Andersen made a bad choice in Dhanraj, 34.
S. Thyagarajan, a veteran hockey columnist from India who covered the KL
World Cup, wrote at the FIH website (www.fihockey.org): "Lacking in
consistency and cohesion for the major part, India banked too much on
veterans Dhanraj Pillay and Baljit Singh Dhillon. It was unfortunate that
the latter was in poor form ... making many wonder whether these players
were over rated."
Now Andersen are making the mistake of banking too much on Dhanraj.
Fans who watched the Andersen-BSN match at the KL Hockey Stadium on
Sunday were surprised as well as angry with the way the over rated Dhanraj
played.
They had come expecting more from the so-called Indian superstar, but
went home disappointed as he hardly made any intelligent moves and
dribbled too much.
Most fans agreed that Andersen would be better off if they relied on
local players, and that sounds like a sound ides for the next MHL season.
Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) should seriously consider vetting
foreign players and clubs should look for promising young foreigners who
in turn will be good role models to teach our boys a trick or two about
hockey.
Ageing players who fail to deliver serve the League no purpose.
FA of Malaysia, experienced hands with troubled imports, have come up
with a good system whereby clubs are not allowed to hire players above the
age of 33. They also have a cooling off period for foreign players where,
say, someone who has played for Singapore, is not allowed to play for
Malaysia for one year.
If MHF plan to allow foreign players into the MHL in future, they should
follow the FAM system for hockey's sake.
In contrast, Tenaga Nasional, who have no foreign players in their camp,
have been picked by national coach Paul Lissek to win the league as well
as the overall titles this year.
Lissek, who is always in the stands watching the MHL every weekend, said
Tenaga have the depth to take the double.
"After watching them make a strong comeback against Sapura, I believe
they are the team to watch this season. If they maintain their form, the
double is theirs," said Lissek.
Tenaga were 0-1 down against Sapura, Nor Saiful Zaini and his men
charged back in the second half to score five stunning goals against
Sapura who had six national players fresh from World Cup duty. With Chua
Boon Huat off to Germany, they now have five.
After BSN meet Tenaga at the KL Hockey Stadium On April 14, there will
be a clear line to separate the contenders and the pretenders.
jugjet@nstp.com.my
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