Alagendra: Squad will be named at managers' meeting

14/03/2003

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) Selection Committee met yesterday,
but still did not name the final 18 for the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh on
March 22-30.
The MHF Selection Committee, headed by president Sultan Azhan Shah,
deputy president Tan Sri P. Alagendra, Poon Fook Loke, Datuk R.
Yogeswaran, Zulkifli Abbas, C. Paramalingam and Dr S.S Cheema named 22
players in preparation for the four Test matches, and will only reveal the
final 18 during the managers meeting on March 21.
"We named 22 players because of the four Test matches (three against
Pakistan and one against South Korea), and will only name the final squad
at the managers' meeting," said Alagendra.
Wan Mohamed Asyrizal, who met with an accident yesterday, was also named
in the squad eventhough his condition is still not clear. The other
`newcomer' on MHF's list is Redzuan Ponirin.
"Wan fell off his motorbike in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday and suffered
some bruises, we will conduct a fitness test on him soon to find out if he
will be available for the Azlan Shah Cup. I am very keen to have him
because he has a good physique and a long reach," said chief coach Paul
Lissek.
Wan, 20, was `discovered' by the national selectors during the National
Under-21 in Kuala Lumpur, and Lissek wants him to gain experience from the
Azlan Shah Cup.
But the rest of the 20 players named were as predicted, with S. Kuhan
being the obvious choice for the skipper's armband.
Malaysia will play Pakistan on March 17 and 18 and South Korea on March
19 at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur while the third Test against
Pakistan will be on the 20th in Ipoh.
Meanwhile, Lissek was still adamant that the new FIH ruling on only
allowing seven players to defend at any time is "stupid".
"I was told that the FIH had sent out circulars to all six teams
competing in the Azlan Shah Cup on whether the rule should be tested here
and the rest of the team managers have said `no', but I am not sure on the
reply given by the MHF," said Lissek.
A check with MHF secretary S. Satgunam revealed that Malaysia had
already agreed on experimenting with the new ruling and nothing can be
done about it, eventhough it is ridiculous to expect a defender marking an
attacking forward to stop dead at the 25-yard line and count to see if
there are less than seven players defending before continuing.
A breach of the rule will result in a penalty corner being given away.
"It looks like there are going to be a lot of penalty corners at the
Azlan Shah Cup because there is no way players can keep track of how many
are behind the 25-yard line before crossing it," said Lissek.
Provisional squad -
Goalkeepers: Roslan Jamaluddin, S. Kumar; Defenders: Amin Rahim, S.
Kuhan, K. Gobinathan, Nor Azlan Bakar, Megat Azrafiq Megat Termizi, Wan
Mohamed Asyrizal; Midfield: K. Keevan Raj, Azlan Misron, P. Prabahkaran,
Nor Azlan Rahim, Riduan Nasir; Forwards: Fairuz Ramli, Tajol Rosli, Chua
Boon Huat, Rodhanizam Radzi, Fahkrulrazi Baharuddin; Shaiful Azli, Chairil
Anwar, Engku Abdul Malik and Redzuan Ponirin.
(END)