Pahang gain trio

23/10/2002

THREE national juniors will be playing against their team-mates in the
Razak Cup which starts today at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit
Jalil.
The National Juniors loss became Pahang's gain when registration closed
yesterday, but Juniors coach Stephen van Huizen was not disappointed with
the outcome.
The National Juniors team was named one month in advance so that the
rest of the states will not name them in their squads, but the move back-
fired when the under-16 tournament in Bangladesh was postponed to next
year.
"Khairul Hisham, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin and Ahmad Bazli were initially
supposed to play in the Bangladesh tournament this week so we did not name
them in the Razak Cup side.
"But the Bangladesh tournament was postponed to next year and the
Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) told us to stick to the old team list
because to change it now will cause confusion," said van Huizen.
Tengku Ahmad was named as the Player-Of-The-Tournament in the FIH Junior
Carnival in Poznan, Poland where Malaysia lifted the gold by beating
Germany 3-1 in the final. Bazli was named as the most promising goalkeeper
in Poznan, while Khairul was also a key player who won Malaysia the junior
gold.
"I am actually glad that Pahang picked up the trio because they will
still get the experience of playing in the Razak Cup. They are all under-
16 players and it would have been a waste if they were sidelined because
the Bangladesh tournament was postponed," said van Huizen.
Today, the trio could play a vital role with Pahang to demolish the
National Juniors as Tengku Ahmad is among the best junior strikers in the
country while Ahmad Bazli is fast shaping up into a steady hand between
the posts.
Eleven teams will be taking part in the Razak Cup and most of the States
have a combination of old and youth.
Former national players and ageing stars are still in demand because all
the states, except for Negri Sembilan and Kuala Lumpur do not have an
active domestic league to unerth talent.
Former household names like Lailin Abu Hassan and Kerpal Singh (playing
for Negri Sembilan), Timothy Lopez (Malacca), Atul Kumar (Penang), R.
Shankar (Selangor), Nor Saiful Zaini (Kuala lumpur) and former national
skipper Sarjit Singh and Lee Sien Lam (Johor) have been roped in by the
states to `strenghten' their quest.
But even before the first match, Kuala Lumpur are highly touted to lift
the gold because they have signed-up almost the entire national squad
which won the bronze medal in the Busan Asian Games.
But Kuala Lumpur have been shaky in the four practice matches they have
played so far and could struggle in the first match against Malacca today,
but it will be hard to deny them the three points in the second half as
they have a deadly penalty corner team.
And once they pick up steam, and recover from Asian Games celebrations,
the title is all but theirs.
FIXTURES (all matches at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil) -
Today: Penang v Perak (4pm, pitch 1), Negri Sembilan v Kedah (5.30pm,
pitch 2), Kuala Lumpur v Malacca (6pm, pitch 1), Johor v Armed Forces
(8pm, pitch 2), National Juniors V Pahang (8.15, pitch 1).
Tomorrow: Negri Sembilan v Johor (4pm, pitch 1), Malacca v Perak
(5.30pm, pitch 2), National Juniors v Armed Forces (6pm, pitch 1), Pahang
v Kedah (8pm, pitch 2), Selangor v Kuala Lumpur (8.15, pitch 1).
Friday: Perak v Selangor (4pm, pitch 1), Penang v Malacca (6pm, pitch
1).
(END)