Third Formers set to continue Anderson's winning ways

02/02/2003

ANDERSON School of Ipoh, fresh from their eighth Champions Schools victory
last month, will give four Form Three students the opportunity to play in
the Junior Hockey League (JHL) which starts on Feb 7.
In the JHL, they will be known as Anderson XYBASE.
Mokhtar Baharudin, who has been coaching the school for several years,
has been given the task once again.
Perak duo Tajol Rosli and Azlan Misron made a name for themselves in the
Under-21 tournament when they helped Kuala Lumpur finish second, and by
exposing the players at a young age, Mokhtar hopes there will be
continuity after the Form Five boys leave school.
Anderson Old Boys are in high demand, as Malacca Municipal Council have
named eight former Anderson players in their quest to move out of Division
Two this season.
The four gunning to make a name with Anderson XYBASE this year are Noor
Khairul Azrain, Mohamed Noor Habib, Kamarul Adzhar Noordin and Mustaqim
Hamzah.
But the players to watch in Anderson are Fazreen Ehsan Kulub and Baljit
Singh.
Fazreen scored seven goals in the Under-21 tournament.
"He is one of the most exciting raw talent that I have seen for quite
some time now. He not only has the speed, but the brains to complement
it," commented Kuala Lumpur coach Nor Saiful Zaini during the Under-21
tournament.
Sixteen-year-old Baljit Singh had a sterling performance not only in the
Champions Schools, but also the Under-19 Four-Nation International and the
Under-21 tournament.
Baljit is slowly gaining confidence, and can be relied to keep a tight
grip of the defence with accurate passes and intelligent play.
"We have to groom new faces in the JHL every year because we need to
have strong and reliable players to defend our Champions Schools title. I
am just exposing them at a higher level so that they will pick up the
right basics at a young age," said Mokhtar.
Even with a majority of inexperienced being players in their side,
Andersdon, playing in Division One, have set themselves an initial target
of reaching the quarter-finals.
The JHL, an Under-19 tournament, is a different ball game altogether
compared with the Champions Schools because there are financially strong
clubs like Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Telekom Pahang who have the means to
buy good players.
But Anderson have a reputation to defend, and with XYBASE sponsoring
them, things have finally started to look rosy for the normally cash-
strapped team.
Anderson XYBASE - Noorazlan Daud, Amar Firdaus Arshad, Baljit Singh,
Mohamed Fahmi Baserah, Herwan Pami, Zahiruddin Aman, Khairul Anam Suhati,
Mohamed Razali Zulkipli, Hafifi Hafiz Hanafi, Fazreen Ehsan Kulub, Mohamed
Nor Hisham, Mohamed Nor Hafizie, Rizal Haniffa, Saiful Nur Faiz, Mohamed
Noor Khairul, Mohamed Noor Habib, Kamarul Adzhar Nordin, Mustaqim Hamzah,
Mohamed Shahidan Hassan, Mohamed Izzani Mubarak.
Team manager: Mohamed Azlan Ali; Coach: Mokhtar Baharudin.
(END)