Bruising draw with Pakistan takes its toll

10/01/2003

Malaysia........................................3
(Sufian Mohamed 26th, 63rd; S. Selvaraju 29th)
Malaysia Project Squad .........................0
THE bruising 2-2 draw against Pakistan on Wednesday took its toll on the
Malaysian hockey team and high on the injury list entering into the final
of the Under-19 Four-Nation International Invitational is defender S.
Bubalan.
Team doctor, Dr S.S. Cheema is worried that Bubalan's back injury could
floor him for a few weeks.
"Bubalan took a nasty knock and injured his back while playing against
Pakistan, I will be monitoring his case closely and advise the team
management tomorrow (today) morning whether he is fit to play in the final
or not," said Dr Cheema.
Bubalan was benched for the match against Malaysia Project Squad
yesterday.
The others, like Izwan Hassan, have picked up minor bruises and should
be ready for the final on Sunday. Initially, there was concern on the
state of skipper Engku Abdul Malek, after he received a nasty knock on the
head during the opening 3-1 win over South Korea, but Engku was fielded in
the match against Pakistan and he showed no signs of weakness caused by
the concussion he suffered from the knock.
Yesterday, the Malaysian Under-19 squad played against the Malaysia
Project Squad team and the outcome was a predictable 3-0. The Malaysian
Under-19 goalscorers were Sufian Mohamed (26th, 63rd) and S. Selvaraju
29th.
But what was not predictable before the start of the Four-Nation was the
change in attitude of some players who now feel that they have reached the
`star' status.
The most glaring one was Megat Azrifiq Termizi, who wore the skipper's
armband when Engku was rested against India, and played a superb role to
secure a 1-1 draw, but he saw too many `stars' in the match against
Pakistan.
Some of the senior coaches who watched him trying to show off, and
making numerous mistakes in the process, felt that he needs to be benched
in the final to remove the chip on his shoulders.
"Maybe those who handle the team should send a clear warning to all the
juniors so that they will not dare to have an attitude on the pitch when
they mature into the senior squad," said a veteran coach.
Malaysia will take a break today and meet India to decide who wins the
inaugural Under-19 Four-Nation International Invitational on Sunday.
In the preliminary rounds, Malaysia struggled to a 1-1 draw against
India and it will be interesting to see how much they have learnt since.
Today: Malaysia Project Squad v India (6pm), South Korea v Pakistan
(8pm); Tomorrow: REST DAY; Sunday: Third-Fourth (3pm), Final (5.30pm).
(END)