30/10/2001
WHILE Malaysia are still waiting for an answer to host the Champions
Challenge on Dec 7-15, our 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup opening opponents
Australia are clocking in valuable match practices in Brussels.
Yesterday, coach Barry Dancer's men beat Belgium, who are in Group A of
the World Cup, as they continued their preparation for the Champions
Trophy.
The Champions Trophy begins in Rotterdam on Nov 3 and Australia will
play another match against Belgium today as a warm up.
The Malaysia Hockey Federation are confident that they will get to host
the Champions Callenge after India withdrew as hosts because most of the
countries involved are reluctant to play in India due to the proximity
with the Afghan war.
"I called the FIH today (yesterday) and they told me that a definite
answer can be expected by Wednesday. Right now, there is positive input
from FIH and we are confident of hosting the Champions Challenge here,"
said MHF secretary S. Satgunam yesterday.
Normally there is a hosting fee, around RM40,000 for the Champions
Challenge, paid to the FIH but since Malaysia are `helping out India' it
is likely that the fee will be waived.
"It is part of our proposal that the FIH waive the hosting fee. Right
now it looks like they are agreeable to our terms and if we get to host
the Champions Challenge, the Malaysian team will get good practice before
the World Cup," said Satgunam.
Seven of the eight teams participating in the Champions Challenge have
qualified for the 2002 World Cup and they are Argentina, Japan, Malaysia,
South Africa, Spain, Poland and India.
The top six finishers from the Sydney 2000 Olympics play in the
Champions Trophy, which was shifted from Lahore to Rotterdam for the same
reason, and the 7-12th play in the Champions Challenge.
The winner of the Champions Challenge will be promoted to the Champions
Trophy while the sixth placed team in the Champions Trophy will be
relegated to the Champions Challenge in the next edition.
In the match against Belgium yesterday, the Kookaburras were one-down by
the 20th minute but vice-captain Brent Livermore had an excellent game in
his 100th international match, and Junior World Cup standout Liam De Young
made his international debut count.
In an even first half both teams built counter attacks, with Belgium the
only team to sound the board. The home team opened scoring in the 20th
minute when their central striker F.G Coudron deflected the ball past
advancing goalkeeper Mark Hickman.
Australia dominated the second half to make some excellent
opportunities, Livermore, and inside forward Adam Commens featuring
strongly in the midfield.
Australia created 29 circle penetrations to Belgiums 11, and had eight
shots on goal to the home teams three for the match, the visitors scoring
twice from the field and once from a penalty corner variation in the
second half to win the match three goals to one, reports Hockey Australia.
Meanwhile, the Malaysia Hockey Federation Management Committee met
yesterday in Kuala Lumpur to get first hand information from coach Yahya
Atan on what happened in Hobart.
Malaysia ended 12th in the 16-team Junior World Cup in Tasmania and the
MHF want to get to the bottom of things fast.
"This was an informal meeting where Yahya briefed us verbally on what
happened in Hobart. The MHF want to find out what went wrong," said
Satgunam.
The MHF are out to find out why the Juniors struggled against Scotland,
Chile and South Africa in the classification matches, so that they can
formulate a blueprint for a better future.
* jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Lissek: We play like `robots'
29/10/2001
THE players training for the 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup on Feb 24 to
March 9 are highly motivated and a disciplined lot, so much so that they
have been termed as robots.
And this has placed national coach Paul Lissek in a fix, because he is
finding it hard to change this `Asian culture'.
"Asians are very respectful and disciplined, but on the field, sometimes
they need to be more ambitious when faced with a difficult situation.
Sadly, the Malaysian players, from the junior to the senior ranks, are
unable to change their style of play on the run.
"Only Mirnawan Nawawi sometimes goes the extra mile on his own, the rest
of them follow my instructions and plans to the hilt, even when the
situation warrants otherwise," said Lissek.
Lissek pointed out Japan, and South Korea as two Asian teams who have
started playing intelligent hockey and can adapt to change on the field.
"Even Pakistan and India, the Junior World Cup gold medallists, have
started to become more ambitious on the field and the results have started
coming in.
"I have tried my best to change the Malaysian players' mindset, but they
have been tuned to the disciplined style of play from young, so the
success rate has been moderate," said Lissek.
He is also worried that the national players in training have not had
enough matches the past year.
When Lissek formulated the plan for the 2002 World Cup, he was looking
for 50 top-class matches from January this year, but the team has only
played 25 matches to date.
"The Azlan Shah Cup in August was the last time the seniors played
competitive hockey, since then, we have only been training. But there are
plans for Three-and Five-Nations to be held in Kuala Lumpur in December
and January.
"There are also plans to host a Six-Nation, most likely called the Azlan
Shah Cup, or some other name in January and we have had positive response
from Holland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Argentina and India to play in the
tournamant.
"So, by the look of things, the seniors will just about clock 50 matches
before the World Cup begins," said Lissek.
Argentina, the most improved side in the world so far, topped the World
Cup Qualifiers in Edinburgh recently and also won the silver medal in the
Junior World Cup in Hobart, are keen to have friendlies with Malaysia but
the venue has yet to be decided.
"Malaysia will surely benefit playing Argentina so we are planning to
either host them or go to Buenos Aires for friendlies before the 2002
World Cup," said Lissek.
On the World Cup itself, the German feels that fitness will be the key
to survival for Malaysia.
"There are seven matches to play in 10 days, even soccer players are not
exposed to such a hectic schedule in such a short period. So after the
first four matches (Australia, Japan, India and South Korea) which will
surely drain our boys, they face `easier' opponents in England, Cuba and
Poland.
"The outcome will surely favour the fitter team. Right now, Malaysia's
fitness level is `OK' but it could be better. We are working on it and
they should be better prepared to play the full 70 minutes in February."
* jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
THE players training for the 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup on Feb 24 to
March 9 are highly motivated and a disciplined lot, so much so that they
have been termed as robots.
And this has placed national coach Paul Lissek in a fix, because he is
finding it hard to change this `Asian culture'.
"Asians are very respectful and disciplined, but on the field, sometimes
they need to be more ambitious when faced with a difficult situation.
Sadly, the Malaysian players, from the junior to the senior ranks, are
unable to change their style of play on the run.
"Only Mirnawan Nawawi sometimes goes the extra mile on his own, the rest
of them follow my instructions and plans to the hilt, even when the
situation warrants otherwise," said Lissek.
Lissek pointed out Japan, and South Korea as two Asian teams who have
started playing intelligent hockey and can adapt to change on the field.
"Even Pakistan and India, the Junior World Cup gold medallists, have
started to become more ambitious on the field and the results have started
coming in.
"I have tried my best to change the Malaysian players' mindset, but they
have been tuned to the disciplined style of play from young, so the
success rate has been moderate," said Lissek.
He is also worried that the national players in training have not had
enough matches the past year.
When Lissek formulated the plan for the 2002 World Cup, he was looking
for 50 top-class matches from January this year, but the team has only
played 25 matches to date.
"The Azlan Shah Cup in August was the last time the seniors played
competitive hockey, since then, we have only been training. But there are
plans for Three-and Five-Nations to be held in Kuala Lumpur in December
and January.
"There are also plans to host a Six-Nation, most likely called the Azlan
Shah Cup, or some other name in January and we have had positive response
from Holland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Argentina and India to play in the
tournamant.
"So, by the look of things, the seniors will just about clock 50 matches
before the World Cup begins," said Lissek.
Argentina, the most improved side in the world so far, topped the World
Cup Qualifiers in Edinburgh recently and also won the silver medal in the
Junior World Cup in Hobart, are keen to have friendlies with Malaysia but
the venue has yet to be decided.
"Malaysia will surely benefit playing Argentina so we are planning to
either host them or go to Buenos Aires for friendlies before the 2002
World Cup," said Lissek.
On the World Cup itself, the German feels that fitness will be the key
to survival for Malaysia.
"There are seven matches to play in 10 days, even soccer players are not
exposed to such a hectic schedule in such a short period. So after the
first four matches (Australia, Japan, India and South Korea) which will
surely drain our boys, they face `easier' opponents in England, Cuba and
Poland.
"The outcome will surely favour the fitter team. Right now, Malaysia's
fitness level is `OK' but it could be better. We are working on it and
they should be better prepared to play the full 70 minutes in February."
* jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
All odds against Malaysia
28/10/2001
THE launch of the 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup match schedule was conducted
after a gala ceremony at the Malaysia Tourist Centre in Kuala Lumpur
yesterday and it looks like the hosts are going Down Under in their first
match itself.
Australia, who beat Malaysia 7-1 in the Azlan Shah Cup in August, will
be the first hurdle on Feb 24. However, national coach Paul Lissek sees it
as a blessing in disguise.
"We were hammered in the Azlan Shah Cup in August by the Australians so
it is good that we face them first. There will be less pressure on the
team because lose or win, they have six other matches to catch up in Group
B.
"We will definitely try to minimise the goals in the first match," said
Lissek.
Malaysia Hockey Federation president Sultan Azlan Shah launched the
match schedule with a remote control presented to him by Malaysian skipper
Mirnawan Nawawi.
Former internationals Poon Fook Loke, 1975 World Cup skipper N. Sri
Shan, Colin sta Maria, Nor Saiful Zaini, Aftar Singh Gill and Sarjit Singh
were among those present and opened envelopes for the schedule.
Malaysia's next opponents are Japan on Feb 26 and this match will chart
our path in the World Cup.
"This is definitely the toughest match because after Australia, where
the best we can do is minimise the goals, the fans will be looking for a
big win against Japan. But I assure you that it is not going to be easy,"
cautioned Lissek.
The German watched Japan play in the World Cup qualifiers in Edinburgh
recently and he was amazed by their progress: "Japan are certainly the
most dangerous team at the moment because they have improved much under
their former Korean coach. They are very fit, and they have `adopted' the
Korean style into their play and will be hard to beat.
"Japan are `super dangerous' and we must beat them at all cost to stay
afloat," said Lissek.
Lissek did not want to set any target for the team but after some
persuasion, he finally said that he will be happy if they improve on the
11th placing in the last World Cup.
"Finishing 10th in a 16-team tournament will be good, anything above is
a bonus."
For a team to do well in the World Cup, according to Lissek, a good
goalkeeper and a penalty corner specialist is a must.
"Sad to say the current team is weak in both departments. S. Kuhan is
our only hope and he is not in the `professional' category yet. Suhaimi
Ibrahim was being groomed to help Kuhan but he quit the team because of
some personal problems.
"It looks like Chua Boon Huat will have to be trained to take the
penalty corners. But time is not on our side to make a good impression in
penalty corners," said Lissek.
The 2002 World Cup mascot, Juara, was also unveiled yesterday.
Juara is a tiger and he danced to the theme song `Kita Pasti Juara' and
delighted the audience with his antics. The theme song (rap core meets
modern rock), will be aired in January on all radio stations and
television advertisements in four languages.
But by the look of things, the team have a torrid schedule in February
against the best hockey playing nations in the world and it is highly
unlikely that they will dance to the tune of champions, as the theme song
suggests. jugjet@nstp.com.my 2002 WORLD CUP GROUPINGS
GROUP A
Argentina
Belgium
Holland
Germany
New Zealand
Pakistan
South Africa
Spain
GROUP B
Australia
Cuba
England
India
Japan
Korea
Malaysia
Poland
(END)
THE launch of the 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup match schedule was conducted
after a gala ceremony at the Malaysia Tourist Centre in Kuala Lumpur
yesterday and it looks like the hosts are going Down Under in their first
match itself.
Australia, who beat Malaysia 7-1 in the Azlan Shah Cup in August, will
be the first hurdle on Feb 24. However, national coach Paul Lissek sees it
as a blessing in disguise.
"We were hammered in the Azlan Shah Cup in August by the Australians so
it is good that we face them first. There will be less pressure on the
team because lose or win, they have six other matches to catch up in Group
B.
"We will definitely try to minimise the goals in the first match," said
Lissek.
Malaysia Hockey Federation president Sultan Azlan Shah launched the
match schedule with a remote control presented to him by Malaysian skipper
Mirnawan Nawawi.
Former internationals Poon Fook Loke, 1975 World Cup skipper N. Sri
Shan, Colin sta Maria, Nor Saiful Zaini, Aftar Singh Gill and Sarjit Singh
were among those present and opened envelopes for the schedule.
Malaysia's next opponents are Japan on Feb 26 and this match will chart
our path in the World Cup.
"This is definitely the toughest match because after Australia, where
the best we can do is minimise the goals, the fans will be looking for a
big win against Japan. But I assure you that it is not going to be easy,"
cautioned Lissek.
The German watched Japan play in the World Cup qualifiers in Edinburgh
recently and he was amazed by their progress: "Japan are certainly the
most dangerous team at the moment because they have improved much under
their former Korean coach. They are very fit, and they have `adopted' the
Korean style into their play and will be hard to beat.
"Japan are `super dangerous' and we must beat them at all cost to stay
afloat," said Lissek.
Lissek did not want to set any target for the team but after some
persuasion, he finally said that he will be happy if they improve on the
11th placing in the last World Cup.
"Finishing 10th in a 16-team tournament will be good, anything above is
a bonus."
For a team to do well in the World Cup, according to Lissek, a good
goalkeeper and a penalty corner specialist is a must.
"Sad to say the current team is weak in both departments. S. Kuhan is
our only hope and he is not in the `professional' category yet. Suhaimi
Ibrahim was being groomed to help Kuhan but he quit the team because of
some personal problems.
"It looks like Chua Boon Huat will have to be trained to take the
penalty corners. But time is not on our side to make a good impression in
penalty corners," said Lissek.
The 2002 World Cup mascot, Juara, was also unveiled yesterday.
Juara is a tiger and he danced to the theme song `Kita Pasti Juara' and
delighted the audience with his antics. The theme song (rap core meets
modern rock), will be aired in January on all radio stations and
television advertisements in four languages.
But by the look of things, the team have a torrid schedule in February
against the best hockey playing nations in the world and it is highly
unlikely that they will dance to the tune of champions, as the theme song
suggests. jugjet@nstp.com.my 2002 WORLD CUP GROUPINGS
GROUP A
Argentina
Belgium
Holland
Germany
New Zealand
Pakistan
South Africa
Spain
GROUP B
Australia
Cuba
England
India
Japan
Korea
Malaysia
Poland
(END)
Sri Shan: We are good for sixth
28/10/2001
N. SRISHANMUGANATHAN, or better known as Sri Shan, was at the launch ofthe match schedule for the 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup and he reckons thatMalaysia are good for the sixth spot, but only if they change theirplaying style. Sri Shan skippered malaysia to finish fourth in the 1975 World Cupplayed at the Kilat Ground in Pantai, and has been keenly following theprogress of the Malaysian team. "Malaysia do not have good defenders and in the Azlan Shah Cup inAugust, the world was amazed at how easy it was to score against our boys.It is still not too late to change the playing style of the defenders (S.Kuhan and Maninderjit Singh) to get better results. "It is useless for the forwards to struggle and score one goal but thedefenders allow in a dozen because of their playing style," said Sri Shan. Sri Shan should know because he was a solid fullback in his heyday andaccording to him "It was almost impossible for anyone to beat me from theleft, because I always played low and kept the stick on the ground." From his observations on the team, the current defenders look like theyfear the ball and instead of making a square stand (which is moredifficult to beat), they go rushing in for the ball and are easily beaten. Even then, the former skipper feels the fans will get a chance to seesome world class performances from Malaysia because playing at home,especially in the World Cup and Olympics, brings out the best even inmediocre teams. "If they stop making unnecessary back passes, which cost them dearly inthe Azlan Shah Cup, and think positively as individual leaders and notrely on one or two players to call the shots, they can put up a great showand surprise their sceptics. "I also noticed that we do not have fast runners to stop the oppositionduring penalty corners. And even when they do get to the ball and takepossession, they are normally at a loss on what to do with it. "I suggest they adopt the fast clearance style and not try to hold on tothe ball too long because most of the teams in the World Cup have speedyforwards and one mistake is enough to do the damage," said Sri Shan. "From 1956 to 1975, when hockey was played on grass, the training focuswas 75 per cent on stopping and the rest on accurate passing because itwas very difficult to stop on the bouncy surface. "After 1976, when the artificial pitch was introduced, the trainingfocus shifted towards 75 per cent on passing and the rest on stopping. Butsurprisingly, in Malaysia we have not seen this basic change from playingon grass to the artificial pitch. "We have not innovated any new strokes on the artificial pitch andnothing is being done at the grassroot level to check this. If we failmiserably at the 2002 World Cup, individuals are not to be blamned becausethe structure of hockey in Malaysia is such that they don't stand a chancefrom the onset itself," said Sri Shan. So how come he is looking at the sixth spot? "Malaysia are good for a draw against Australia and India in the groupmatches. It will be enough to finish sixth," the former skipper predicted. Sri Shan scored the all important goal against Holland in thequarterfinals of the 1975 World Cup. The score was 1-1 at regulation timeand during extra time, the skipper scored off a penalty corner to takeMalaysia into the semis for their best ever finish in the World Cup. He has said his piece, and will be watching from the stands as a fan inFebruary next year, hoping feverishly like all other malaysians for thatextra magic to take Malaysian hockey to the next level.
jugjet@nstp.com.my
N. SRISHANMUGANATHAN, or better known as Sri Shan, was at the launch ofthe match schedule for the 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup and he reckons thatMalaysia are good for the sixth spot, but only if they change theirplaying style. Sri Shan skippered malaysia to finish fourth in the 1975 World Cupplayed at the Kilat Ground in Pantai, and has been keenly following theprogress of the Malaysian team. "Malaysia do not have good defenders and in the Azlan Shah Cup inAugust, the world was amazed at how easy it was to score against our boys.It is still not too late to change the playing style of the defenders (S.Kuhan and Maninderjit Singh) to get better results. "It is useless for the forwards to struggle and score one goal but thedefenders allow in a dozen because of their playing style," said Sri Shan. Sri Shan should know because he was a solid fullback in his heyday andaccording to him "It was almost impossible for anyone to beat me from theleft, because I always played low and kept the stick on the ground." From his observations on the team, the current defenders look like theyfear the ball and instead of making a square stand (which is moredifficult to beat), they go rushing in for the ball and are easily beaten. Even then, the former skipper feels the fans will get a chance to seesome world class performances from Malaysia because playing at home,especially in the World Cup and Olympics, brings out the best even inmediocre teams. "If they stop making unnecessary back passes, which cost them dearly inthe Azlan Shah Cup, and think positively as individual leaders and notrely on one or two players to call the shots, they can put up a great showand surprise their sceptics. "I also noticed that we do not have fast runners to stop the oppositionduring penalty corners. And even when they do get to the ball and takepossession, they are normally at a loss on what to do with it. "I suggest they adopt the fast clearance style and not try to hold on tothe ball too long because most of the teams in the World Cup have speedyforwards and one mistake is enough to do the damage," said Sri Shan. "From 1956 to 1975, when hockey was played on grass, the training focuswas 75 per cent on stopping and the rest on accurate passing because itwas very difficult to stop on the bouncy surface. "After 1976, when the artificial pitch was introduced, the trainingfocus shifted towards 75 per cent on passing and the rest on stopping. Butsurprisingly, in Malaysia we have not seen this basic change from playingon grass to the artificial pitch. "We have not innovated any new strokes on the artificial pitch andnothing is being done at the grassroot level to check this. If we failmiserably at the 2002 World Cup, individuals are not to be blamned becausethe structure of hockey in Malaysia is such that they don't stand a chancefrom the onset itself," said Sri Shan. So how come he is looking at the sixth spot? "Malaysia are good for a draw against Australia and India in the groupmatches. It will be enough to finish sixth," the former skipper predicted. Sri Shan scored the all important goal against Holland in thequarterfinals of the 1975 World Cup. The score was 1-1 at regulation timeand during extra time, the skipper scored off a penalty corner to takeMalaysia into the semis for their best ever finish in the World Cup. He has said his piece, and will be watching from the stands as a fan inFebruary next year, hoping feverishly like all other malaysians for thatextra magic to take Malaysian hockey to the next level.
jugjet@nstp.com.my
MHF to increase seats at both pitches
28/10/2001
THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) plan to increase the seating
capacity at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil for the 2002 Kuala
Lumpur World Cup on Feb 24 to March 9.
Both the pitches will see action during the hectic eight-team-per-group
format so seating at the main stadium will be increased by 3,000 temporary
seats to 15,000 while additional 2,800 temporary seats will increase the
capacity of the second pitch to 4,800.
"We will also lay new turf at both the pitches as it is a requirement to
stage a world class event," said MHF deputy president Tan Sri P. Alagendra
after officiating the release of the match schedule yesterday.
For the first time in the history of the World Cup, the match schedule
was released outside of FIH headquarters in Brussels because, according to
Alagendra, "We have a very close working relationship with the FIH."
World Cup debutants Cuba will take on Sydney 2000 Olympic silver
medallists South Korea in the curtain raiser to the 10th Men's World Cup
on Feb 24.
Later in the day, defending champions Holland meet New Zealand while the
hosts face Australia.
The World Cup will feature for the first time an enlarged field of 16
nations divided into two groups of eight teams and a total of 72 matches
will be played over 14 days with the final on March 9.
Under the 2x8 format, each team will play seven matches in their group
followed by crossover playoffs before the final classification matches.
The two top teams in each group qualify for the semifinals while the
rest play for placings.
(END)
THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) plan to increase the seating
capacity at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil for the 2002 Kuala
Lumpur World Cup on Feb 24 to March 9.
Both the pitches will see action during the hectic eight-team-per-group
format so seating at the main stadium will be increased by 3,000 temporary
seats to 15,000 while additional 2,800 temporary seats will increase the
capacity of the second pitch to 4,800.
"We will also lay new turf at both the pitches as it is a requirement to
stage a world class event," said MHF deputy president Tan Sri P. Alagendra
after officiating the release of the match schedule yesterday.
For the first time in the history of the World Cup, the match schedule
was released outside of FIH headquarters in Brussels because, according to
Alagendra, "We have a very close working relationship with the FIH."
World Cup debutants Cuba will take on Sydney 2000 Olympic silver
medallists South Korea in the curtain raiser to the 10th Men's World Cup
on Feb 24.
Later in the day, defending champions Holland meet New Zealand while the
hosts face Australia.
The World Cup will feature for the first time an enlarged field of 16
nations divided into two groups of eight teams and a total of 72 matches
will be played over 14 days with the final on March 9.
Under the 2x8 format, each team will play seven matches in their group
followed by crossover playoffs before the final classification matches.
The two top teams in each group qualify for the semifinals while the
rest play for placings.
(END)
Windfall for MHF
27/10/2001
THE Malaysian Hockey Federation needs RM4.8 million to host the 2002 Kuala
Lumpur World Cup on February 24 to March 9, and yesterday AFFINBANK
chipped in with RM1 million towards the cause.
"After today, AFFINBANK will be very close to our hearts, because the
bank's name will be prominently displayed on the jersies during the World
Cup. This is the first time in the MHF history that we have named our
sponsors on the jersey since we started actively organising tournaments in
1950," said MHF deputy president Tan Sri P. Alagendra after the cheque
presentation ceremony at AFFINBANK headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The ceremony started with the rebana ubi welcoming MHF president Sultan
Azlan Shah and the cheque presentation was done by AFFINBANK chairman Gen
(rtd) Tan Sri Datuk Zain Hashim and witnessed by AFFINBANK Chief Executive
Officer Raja Datuk Aman Ahmad.
After presenting the cheque, the AFFINBANK chairman said: "We would like
to think that our role in hockey goes deeper than the KL World Cup. It is
a deep-rooted feeling towards the development of the sport in the country
as a whole that we would like to see.
"It is our vision and hope that this interest will also come from the
aspiring young Malaysians to do their best in the World Cup," said Zain.
Alagendra said the World Cup is considered the most prestigious
tournament in the hockey calendar and they are doing everyting to make it
a big success.
"On the organisational side, everyting is running smoothly and with
three months to the World Cup, almost everyting is in place. AFFINBANK's
contribution will help boost hockey further in the country," said
Alagendra.
Kuala Lumpur will be the first city in the world to host the World Cup
twice come February and after the silver medal won by Malaysia in the 1998
Commonwealth Games, expectations are high on the team.
"We have not set any target for the boys in the 2002 World Cup but
naturally we are looking for a good finish. Most of the countries have
been training for the World Cup for three years now and cannot be taken
lightly.
"Our boys have been steadily improving but so has the rest of the
world," cautioned Alagendra.
AFFINBANK CEO Aman said they have been helping hockey in the junior
league level and then the Azlan Shah Cup. Now the World Cup will give them
worldwide mileage.
"Our bank's name on the jersey and billboards around the National Hockey
Stadium in Bukit Jalil will be beamed worldwide. What else can we ask for?
"The junior side had our logo on their jersies in Hobart for the recent
Junior World Cup, so we are looking to make this relationship a long
lasting one," said Aman.
"Much has been said about the state of sports in the country at recent
times, one cannot agree that there are problems. However, if there is one
thing that stil holds true, it must be the fact that national interest in
sport is still very high.
"What it means is that sport is in the soul of every Malaysian. It is
this factor that will contiunue to push Malaysian sport to a higher level
in the world with some assistance from the private sector.
"So we at AFFINBANK are not merely in for the ride, we are working with
sports associations and the Sports Ministry to realise a better future for
sports in Malaysia," said Zain. jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
THE Malaysian Hockey Federation needs RM4.8 million to host the 2002 Kuala
Lumpur World Cup on February 24 to March 9, and yesterday AFFINBANK
chipped in with RM1 million towards the cause.
"After today, AFFINBANK will be very close to our hearts, because the
bank's name will be prominently displayed on the jersies during the World
Cup. This is the first time in the MHF history that we have named our
sponsors on the jersey since we started actively organising tournaments in
1950," said MHF deputy president Tan Sri P. Alagendra after the cheque
presentation ceremony at AFFINBANK headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The ceremony started with the rebana ubi welcoming MHF president Sultan
Azlan Shah and the cheque presentation was done by AFFINBANK chairman Gen
(rtd) Tan Sri Datuk Zain Hashim and witnessed by AFFINBANK Chief Executive
Officer Raja Datuk Aman Ahmad.
After presenting the cheque, the AFFINBANK chairman said: "We would like
to think that our role in hockey goes deeper than the KL World Cup. It is
a deep-rooted feeling towards the development of the sport in the country
as a whole that we would like to see.
"It is our vision and hope that this interest will also come from the
aspiring young Malaysians to do their best in the World Cup," said Zain.
Alagendra said the World Cup is considered the most prestigious
tournament in the hockey calendar and they are doing everyting to make it
a big success.
"On the organisational side, everyting is running smoothly and with
three months to the World Cup, almost everyting is in place. AFFINBANK's
contribution will help boost hockey further in the country," said
Alagendra.
Kuala Lumpur will be the first city in the world to host the World Cup
twice come February and after the silver medal won by Malaysia in the 1998
Commonwealth Games, expectations are high on the team.
"We have not set any target for the boys in the 2002 World Cup but
naturally we are looking for a good finish. Most of the countries have
been training for the World Cup for three years now and cannot be taken
lightly.
"Our boys have been steadily improving but so has the rest of the
world," cautioned Alagendra.
AFFINBANK CEO Aman said they have been helping hockey in the junior
league level and then the Azlan Shah Cup. Now the World Cup will give them
worldwide mileage.
"Our bank's name on the jersey and billboards around the National Hockey
Stadium in Bukit Jalil will be beamed worldwide. What else can we ask for?
"The junior side had our logo on their jersies in Hobart for the recent
Junior World Cup, so we are looking to make this relationship a long
lasting one," said Aman.
"Much has been said about the state of sports in the country at recent
times, one cannot agree that there are problems. However, if there is one
thing that stil holds true, it must be the fact that national interest in
sport is still very high.
"What it means is that sport is in the soul of every Malaysian. It is
this factor that will contiunue to push Malaysian sport to a higher level
in the world with some assistance from the private sector.
"So we at AFFINBANK are not merely in for the ride, we are working with
sports associations and the Sports Ministry to realise a better future for
sports in Malaysia," said Zain. jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
Malaysia lack players with grey matter
23/10/2001
SO what separated the top eight from the bottom eight at the Junior World
Cup in Tasmania?
As the dust settled and all the teams are either on their way back home
or have taken a few days off to rest and recuperate at this southern
hemisphere island, the question burns a bigger hole than the ozone
depletion suffered by this region.
What was clear to the layman is that the top teams seems to be more
intelligent than the bottom eight, in terms of keeping their cool and
making a pass to the right person at the right time. They did not need an
IQ of 144 to do that, but being street wise was a good start.
Some of the coaches, like Rajinder Singh of India and Alejandro Verga of
Argentina also believe they rode on Lady Luck as well. And to some extent,
they were lucky, but luck only sides those who are intelligent enough to
see an opening and make full use of it.
In the 11th-12th classification matches, Malaysia were lucky to take a
three-goal lead but rode out on their luck as stupidity crept in and lost
in the end.
Having lots of money, and elaborate preparations which included jet-
setting to foreign countries for friendlies and hosting big tournaments at
home will not guarantee success, as Malaysia, New Zealand and a host of
other countries in the bottom eight found out.
Argentina played with their hearts, even though they knew very well that
the "Soccer Gods" back home will get all the prime time on television and
hog the headlines in the newspapers. The lack of money hampered their
preparation and they could not play as many matches as they would have
liked before the Junior World Cup.
So when they arrived, nobody paid them any notice. But all that changed
as the first round ended because everybody wanted to know their secret.
And they had none to tell, except for the hunger in their eyes. They
were hungry to make a name and they went home with their heads high and
household names among the hockey loving fraternity in the world.
"We had very little money to spend on this team, so when we selected the
best out of the pool we had, I told them that going to Hobart might seem
like a holiday for most teams, but for you guys, it is the future. If you
play well, people will remember you. And if you finish at the bottom,
nobody will even remember that Argentina took part in the 2001 Junior
World Cup three month's from now.
"They knew what the stakes were, and they did not let the country down,"
said Verga.
When the Argies come to Kuala Lumpur in February next year, let's hope
they still have that hunger in their eyes, because if they do, they will
be good for another upset.
Holland, Spain and Germany went home from Hobart nursing their wounds
and to some extent their egos because their hockey - boring but result-
oriented - took a beating to the entertaining Indian style.
Entertaining hockey took a back seat after the artificial pitch was
introduced and the worse hit were India and Pakistan. But it looks like
the old style only needed intelligent players to reap results.
Ask Argentina, they will vouch for it. Ask Malaysia, they will not have
a clue.
Final standings: 1 India, 2 Argentina, 3 Germany, 4 England, 5 Spain, 6
Australia, 7 South Korea , 8 Holland , 9 New Zealand, 10 France, 11 South
Africa, 12 Malaysia, 13 Scotland, 14 Ireland ,15 Chile, 16 Canada. jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
SO what separated the top eight from the bottom eight at the Junior World
Cup in Tasmania?
As the dust settled and all the teams are either on their way back home
or have taken a few days off to rest and recuperate at this southern
hemisphere island, the question burns a bigger hole than the ozone
depletion suffered by this region.
What was clear to the layman is that the top teams seems to be more
intelligent than the bottom eight, in terms of keeping their cool and
making a pass to the right person at the right time. They did not need an
IQ of 144 to do that, but being street wise was a good start.
Some of the coaches, like Rajinder Singh of India and Alejandro Verga of
Argentina also believe they rode on Lady Luck as well. And to some extent,
they were lucky, but luck only sides those who are intelligent enough to
see an opening and make full use of it.
In the 11th-12th classification matches, Malaysia were lucky to take a
three-goal lead but rode out on their luck as stupidity crept in and lost
in the end.
Having lots of money, and elaborate preparations which included jet-
setting to foreign countries for friendlies and hosting big tournaments at
home will not guarantee success, as Malaysia, New Zealand and a host of
other countries in the bottom eight found out.
Argentina played with their hearts, even though they knew very well that
the "Soccer Gods" back home will get all the prime time on television and
hog the headlines in the newspapers. The lack of money hampered their
preparation and they could not play as many matches as they would have
liked before the Junior World Cup.
So when they arrived, nobody paid them any notice. But all that changed
as the first round ended because everybody wanted to know their secret.
And they had none to tell, except for the hunger in their eyes. They
were hungry to make a name and they went home with their heads high and
household names among the hockey loving fraternity in the world.
"We had very little money to spend on this team, so when we selected the
best out of the pool we had, I told them that going to Hobart might seem
like a holiday for most teams, but for you guys, it is the future. If you
play well, people will remember you. And if you finish at the bottom,
nobody will even remember that Argentina took part in the 2001 Junior
World Cup three month's from now.
"They knew what the stakes were, and they did not let the country down,"
said Verga.
When the Argies come to Kuala Lumpur in February next year, let's hope
they still have that hunger in their eyes, because if they do, they will
be good for another upset.
Holland, Spain and Germany went home from Hobart nursing their wounds
and to some extent their egos because their hockey - boring but result-
oriented - took a beating to the entertaining Indian style.
Entertaining hockey took a back seat after the artificial pitch was
introduced and the worse hit were India and Pakistan. But it looks like
the old style only needed intelligent players to reap results.
Ask Argentina, they will vouch for it. Ask Malaysia, they will not have
a clue.
Final standings: 1 India, 2 Argentina, 3 Germany, 4 England, 5 Spain, 6
Australia, 7 South Korea , 8 Holland , 9 New Zealand, 10 France, 11 South
Africa, 12 Malaysia, 13 Scotland, 14 Ireland ,15 Chile, 16 Canada. jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
India thump Argentina for title
22/10/2001
INDIA upgraded their 1997 silver to gold with a thumping 6-1 win over
Argentina in the final of the Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian Hockey
Centre yesterday.
The pressure of being in a World Cup final was just too much for the
Argentinian boys who struggled to make clean stops and in the second half
the Indian side, made up of six players who have seen action either in the
Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games or the Sydney Olympics, brought them to
their knees.
The Tasmanian Hockey Centre yesterday seated a full capacity crowd of
5,000 and everybody went home satisfied with the standard of play.
For Argentina, reaching the final was reward enough, so after 10 minutes
of feeling sad, they started jumping and dancing with joy just like the
victorious Indian side.
Both sides adopted an attacking game and in the 11th minute, Vikram
Pillay passed to an unmarked Prabhjot Singh who tapped in the lead.
Argentina came back strongly after that but could not penetrate the Indian
25-yard line marshaled by Jugraj Singh and skipper Ajit Singh Gagan.
And before the Argentinians could settle from the early setback, Jugraj
flicked in a penalty corner goal and there were traces that the
Argentinians could be broken but they held on grimly in the first half.
The second half was more balanced and in the 44th minute, Lucas
Cammareri engineered a fightback with a field goal but right after the
restart, India won a penalty corner and Jugraj was on target again.
Argentina never recovered and allowed the Indian strikers, and sometimes
defenders, to run riot.
In the 54th minute, Argentina won a penalty corner but failed to make a
clean stop and an onrushing Ajit sent the ball to the other half and
Prabhjot Singh found himself face-to-face with goalkeeper Joaquin
Berthold.
He beat Berthold with a deft maneouver but instead of scoring, he passed
it to Deepak Thakur who was on the goal line. Thakur stopped the
ball,raised both his hands and celebrated before pushing it in.
Thakur went on to score a hat-trick with two more field goals (55th and
59th), bringing his tally to 10 in the World Cup.
As the final whistle blew the speakers at the Tasmanian Hockey Center,
which were playing English songs during the entire tournament, blasted a
bhangra beat and the Indian players and officials danced with joy.
"We knew that we had to take the game to the Argentinians by attacking
all the time, that way we hardly had to do any defending because the ball
was always in the other half," said Ajit.
India's coach Rajinder Singh believes the third goal by Jugraj won them
the title: "Argentina came back with a 44th minute goal but a minute
later, we snuffed the fire when Jugraj scored."
Indian Hockey Federation president K.P.S. Gill said the entire Junior
squad will join the seniors in training for the Kuala Lumpur World Cup in
Febrary.
"Now that we have shown the world that the Indian stick work style can
still produce results in the modern era, we will be out to prove ourselves
again in Kuala Lumpur. And from the Junior side, maybe seven players will
be drafted into the senior team," said Gill.
Argentine coach Alejandro Verga was as philosophical as ever.
"Sure, the boys were silly to get scared when asked to dance on such a
big stage and I'm angry with them. But if I take a step back and look at
the situation with a clearer head, the boys are heroes because they made
the final when nobody gave us any chance before the start of the
tournament," said Verga.
"The world did not know these boys before the tournament, now everybody
knows that the Argentinians too can play hockey," said Verga.
In the third-fourth placing match, Germany whipped England 5-1.
Fairplay award: Holland (four green cards).
Most promising player of tournament: David Eakins (Ireland).
(END)
INDIA upgraded their 1997 silver to gold with a thumping 6-1 win over
Argentina in the final of the Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian Hockey
Centre yesterday.
The pressure of being in a World Cup final was just too much for the
Argentinian boys who struggled to make clean stops and in the second half
the Indian side, made up of six players who have seen action either in the
Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games or the Sydney Olympics, brought them to
their knees.
The Tasmanian Hockey Centre yesterday seated a full capacity crowd of
5,000 and everybody went home satisfied with the standard of play.
For Argentina, reaching the final was reward enough, so after 10 minutes
of feeling sad, they started jumping and dancing with joy just like the
victorious Indian side.
Both sides adopted an attacking game and in the 11th minute, Vikram
Pillay passed to an unmarked Prabhjot Singh who tapped in the lead.
Argentina came back strongly after that but could not penetrate the Indian
25-yard line marshaled by Jugraj Singh and skipper Ajit Singh Gagan.
And before the Argentinians could settle from the early setback, Jugraj
flicked in a penalty corner goal and there were traces that the
Argentinians could be broken but they held on grimly in the first half.
The second half was more balanced and in the 44th minute, Lucas
Cammareri engineered a fightback with a field goal but right after the
restart, India won a penalty corner and Jugraj was on target again.
Argentina never recovered and allowed the Indian strikers, and sometimes
defenders, to run riot.
In the 54th minute, Argentina won a penalty corner but failed to make a
clean stop and an onrushing Ajit sent the ball to the other half and
Prabhjot Singh found himself face-to-face with goalkeeper Joaquin
Berthold.
He beat Berthold with a deft maneouver but instead of scoring, he passed
it to Deepak Thakur who was on the goal line. Thakur stopped the
ball,raised both his hands and celebrated before pushing it in.
Thakur went on to score a hat-trick with two more field goals (55th and
59th), bringing his tally to 10 in the World Cup.
As the final whistle blew the speakers at the Tasmanian Hockey Center,
which were playing English songs during the entire tournament, blasted a
bhangra beat and the Indian players and officials danced with joy.
"We knew that we had to take the game to the Argentinians by attacking
all the time, that way we hardly had to do any defending because the ball
was always in the other half," said Ajit.
India's coach Rajinder Singh believes the third goal by Jugraj won them
the title: "Argentina came back with a 44th minute goal but a minute
later, we snuffed the fire when Jugraj scored."
Indian Hockey Federation president K.P.S. Gill said the entire Junior
squad will join the seniors in training for the Kuala Lumpur World Cup in
Febrary.
"Now that we have shown the world that the Indian stick work style can
still produce results in the modern era, we will be out to prove ourselves
again in Kuala Lumpur. And from the Junior side, maybe seven players will
be drafted into the senior team," said Gill.
Argentine coach Alejandro Verga was as philosophical as ever.
"Sure, the boys were silly to get scared when asked to dance on such a
big stage and I'm angry with them. But if I take a step back and look at
the situation with a clearer head, the boys are heroes because they made
the final when nobody gave us any chance before the start of the
tournament," said Verga.
"The world did not know these boys before the tournament, now everybody
knows that the Argentinians too can play hockey," said Verga.
In the third-fourth placing match, Germany whipped England 5-1.
Fairplay award: Holland (four green cards).
Most promising player of tournament: David Eakins (Ireland).
(END)
Lissek wants MHF to introduce indoor league
22/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
NATIONAL coach Paul Lissek feels there is an urgent need to set up anIndoor League if Malaysia are serious about lifting the standard ofhockey. And if the National Sports Council and the Malaysia Hockey Federationaccept Lissek's proposal, which will be forwarded soon, Malaysia might seeaction in the first FIH sanctioned indoor tournament in Germany in 2003. FIH president Els van Breda Vriesman said on Friday the only criteriafor a team to take part in the indoor tournament is to have an activeleague for at least one year. "In Hobart, I watched with horror as the Juniors made unforced errorsbecause they just did not have the basic skills. Indoor hockey, which isplayed on cement and is a fast and skillful game, can teach them thebasics. "The indoor game can also improve dribbling and stamina. I feel thatMalaysia need to have an indoor league if they want to keep up with therest of the world," said Lissek. The National Juniors went into the World Cup full of confidence because,either they did not know or were fooled, into believing they were goodenough for a top-four place. After struggling against Scotland, Chile and South Africa in theclassification matches, the standard of the Juniors was exposed. It is back to the drawing board for now and the next horror might justbe the 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup because, according to Lissek, he has nochoice but to draft some of the Juniors into the senior side as thenational team is experiencing numerous problems. "Stephen van Huizen (assistant national coach) e-mailed me saying thatSuhaimi Ibrahim, who got married three months ago, wants to quit hockey. "Suhaimi is one of our better forwards and if he quits, I will have tofind a replacement fast and we only have the junior side to pick from." The German also feels that Malaysia should start investing in six-year-olds instead of the current practise of scouting for 15 and 16-year-olds. "Just look at the National Juniors. I have told them a million times toplay on the right side of the field but 20 minutes into a match, theystart attacking from the middle and the left. At their age, it is verydifficult to teach them any new tricks in hockey."
RESULTS
FINAL
INDIA 6 ARGENTINA 1
(3rd-4th Placing)
GERMANY 5 ENGLAND 1
(5th-6th placing)
SPAIN 2 AUSTRALIA 0
(7th-8th placing)
SOUTH KOREA 3 HOLLAND 2
jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
NATIONAL coach Paul Lissek feels there is an urgent need to set up anIndoor League if Malaysia are serious about lifting the standard ofhockey. And if the National Sports Council and the Malaysia Hockey Federationaccept Lissek's proposal, which will be forwarded soon, Malaysia might seeaction in the first FIH sanctioned indoor tournament in Germany in 2003. FIH president Els van Breda Vriesman said on Friday the only criteriafor a team to take part in the indoor tournament is to have an activeleague for at least one year. "In Hobart, I watched with horror as the Juniors made unforced errorsbecause they just did not have the basic skills. Indoor hockey, which isplayed on cement and is a fast and skillful game, can teach them thebasics. "The indoor game can also improve dribbling and stamina. I feel thatMalaysia need to have an indoor league if they want to keep up with therest of the world," said Lissek. The National Juniors went into the World Cup full of confidence because,either they did not know or were fooled, into believing they were goodenough for a top-four place. After struggling against Scotland, Chile and South Africa in theclassification matches, the standard of the Juniors was exposed. It is back to the drawing board for now and the next horror might justbe the 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup because, according to Lissek, he has nochoice but to draft some of the Juniors into the senior side as thenational team is experiencing numerous problems. "Stephen van Huizen (assistant national coach) e-mailed me saying thatSuhaimi Ibrahim, who got married three months ago, wants to quit hockey. "Suhaimi is one of our better forwards and if he quits, I will have tofind a replacement fast and we only have the junior side to pick from." The German also feels that Malaysia should start investing in six-year-olds instead of the current practise of scouting for 15 and 16-year-olds. "Just look at the National Juniors. I have told them a million times toplay on the right side of the field but 20 minutes into a match, theystart attacking from the middle and the left. At their age, it is verydifficult to teach them any new tricks in hockey."
RESULTS
FINAL
INDIA 6 ARGENTINA 1
(3rd-4th Placing)
GERMANY 5 ENGLAND 1
(5th-6th placing)
SPAIN 2 AUSTRALIA 0
(7th-8th placing)
SOUTH KOREA 3 HOLLAND 2
jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END
RM1.8m flop' finishes 12th
21/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
THE pathetic performance of the Malaysians in the Junior World Cup in
Hobart was summed up very well against South Africa in the classification
matches yesterday.
Malaysia, who were leading 3-0 up till the 44th minute, threw away the
game like they did in every match here and finished 12th in the 16-team
tournament.
Yesterday, they looked like they were not interested in the match after
taking a big lead and in the second half, started clowning around with the
South Africans, but the last laugh was on them.
Chua Boon Huat scored off a penalty corner in the sixth minute, and in
the 27th minute, stepped up to flick in the second goal after K.Logan Raj
was brought down in the semicircle.
In the 40th minute, Fairuz Ramli scored off a penalty corner rebound but
that was it.
The team became too cocky after that and South Africa started their
comeback with a 44th minute penalty corner which was tucked in by Ian
Symons. In the 51st minute, South Africa scored another penalty corner and
this time Ryan Ravenscroft got his name on the scoreboard.
Malaysia were totally out of the match after that and were forced deep
into defence as the South Africans became bolder and they equalised in the
60th when Ravenscroft sounded the board for his second goal.
After sudden death extra time they went into penalty strokes. Shanker
scored, Boon Huat and Jiwa missed, and South Africa went on to win4-2 in
flicks.
The entire Junior World Cup has been a mockery, for the Malaysian
challenge never took off after they lost to New Zealand 3-2 in the first
round.
They blamed the umpires for disallowing the third goal which would have
seen them sharing points, but it is clear for all to see that the effort
and money that was pumped into the junior squad went down the drain in
Tasmania.
In the 1993 Junior World Cup in Barcelona, they finished 11th out of 12
teams and failed to qualify for the 1997 Junior World Cup in Milton
Keynes.
For the 2001 edition, we pipped Pakistan but by the look of things it
was a big mistake to qualify itself.
After the South African match, coach Yahya Atan started talking about
the next qualifiers: "We must forget Hobart and start preparing for the
future."
But with the bunch that we now have, the future of the senior side also
looks bleak because there are plans to draft 12, yes 12 players from the
junior squad into the national side preparing for the Kuala lumpur World
Cup because back home, the senior side is also experiencing numerous
problems from marital to mental.
All the 16 juniors that played in Hobart, especially Jiwa Mohan, Chua,
Shanker and Logan Raj, do not deserve a promotion because they are a
mentally weak lot.
They are physically inferior and will never be able to deliver, no
matter how much of money is spent on them.
It will be better business sense for the Malaysia Hockey Federation to
concentrate on the under-18 team, and this time, conduct an IQ test
together with a fitness test during selection because hockey is an
intelligent game and Malaysia have no right to insult it. RESULTS
CLASSIFICATION
(5th-8th placing)
AUSTRALIA 4 SOUTH KOREA 1
SPAIN 3 HOLLAND 2
(9th-12th placing)
NEW ZEALAND 2 FRANCE 0
MALAYSIA 3 SOUTH AFRICA 3
(S Africa 4-2 on penalties)
(13th-16th placing)
SCOTLAND 3 IRELAND 2
CHILE 2 CANADA 1
jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
THE pathetic performance of the Malaysians in the Junior World Cup in
Hobart was summed up very well against South Africa in the classification
matches yesterday.
Malaysia, who were leading 3-0 up till the 44th minute, threw away the
game like they did in every match here and finished 12th in the 16-team
tournament.
Yesterday, they looked like they were not interested in the match after
taking a big lead and in the second half, started clowning around with the
South Africans, but the last laugh was on them.
Chua Boon Huat scored off a penalty corner in the sixth minute, and in
the 27th minute, stepped up to flick in the second goal after K.Logan Raj
was brought down in the semicircle.
In the 40th minute, Fairuz Ramli scored off a penalty corner rebound but
that was it.
The team became too cocky after that and South Africa started their
comeback with a 44th minute penalty corner which was tucked in by Ian
Symons. In the 51st minute, South Africa scored another penalty corner and
this time Ryan Ravenscroft got his name on the scoreboard.
Malaysia were totally out of the match after that and were forced deep
into defence as the South Africans became bolder and they equalised in the
60th when Ravenscroft sounded the board for his second goal.
After sudden death extra time they went into penalty strokes. Shanker
scored, Boon Huat and Jiwa missed, and South Africa went on to win4-2 in
flicks.
The entire Junior World Cup has been a mockery, for the Malaysian
challenge never took off after they lost to New Zealand 3-2 in the first
round.
They blamed the umpires for disallowing the third goal which would have
seen them sharing points, but it is clear for all to see that the effort
and money that was pumped into the junior squad went down the drain in
Tasmania.
In the 1993 Junior World Cup in Barcelona, they finished 11th out of 12
teams and failed to qualify for the 1997 Junior World Cup in Milton
Keynes.
For the 2001 edition, we pipped Pakistan but by the look of things it
was a big mistake to qualify itself.
After the South African match, coach Yahya Atan started talking about
the next qualifiers: "We must forget Hobart and start preparing for the
future."
But with the bunch that we now have, the future of the senior side also
looks bleak because there are plans to draft 12, yes 12 players from the
junior squad into the national side preparing for the Kuala lumpur World
Cup because back home, the senior side is also experiencing numerous
problems from marital to mental.
All the 16 juniors that played in Hobart, especially Jiwa Mohan, Chua,
Shanker and Logan Raj, do not deserve a promotion because they are a
mentally weak lot.
They are physically inferior and will never be able to deliver, no
matter how much of money is spent on them.
It will be better business sense for the Malaysia Hockey Federation to
concentrate on the under-18 team, and this time, conduct an IQ test
together with a fitness test during selection because hockey is an
intelligent game and Malaysia have no right to insult it. RESULTS
CLASSIFICATION
(5th-8th placing)
AUSTRALIA 4 SOUTH KOREA 1
SPAIN 3 HOLLAND 2
(9th-12th placing)
NEW ZEALAND 2 FRANCE 0
MALAYSIA 3 SOUTH AFRICA 3
(S Africa 4-2 on penalties)
(13th-16th placing)
SCOTLAND 3 IRELAND 2
CHILE 2 CANADA 1
jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
Argentine flair looking good for title
21/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
INDIA and Argentina will battle for the Junor World Cup crown at the
Tasmanian hockey centre today and no matter which team wins, hockey will
benefit from it.
When they met in the second round of the tournament, the score was 2-2,
but today the match is highly likely to be decided in 70 minutes of play
as both teams love to score and defending is not on the menu, because
extra time and penalty flicks is not their style.
Argentina coach Alejandro Verga has cleverly married the European
defence with Indian stick work and the result has been stunning at the
Junior World Cup. Even Australian seniors coach Barry Dancer, who
witnessed all their matches with a string of selectors in tow, was amazed
with the way the Argentines play.
There is total commitment in the team and the players are a joy to watch
because they always smile and encourage each other on the pitch. Every
pass they make is an intelligent one and once in the semicircle, they are
deadly and accurate. Winning penalty corners are not their style because
they prefer to score foeld goals, but when they do get a penalty corner,
chances are that the ball will land at the back of the net.
"In the beginning the players did not know what to do with the ball when
they received it so I told them in simple terms.
"It is like receiving money, if you don't know how to spend it, it will
go to waste. So they must imagine that every time they receive the ball,
it is like receiving money and they must spend it wisely to get maximum
joy. Now, they have no problems because they play with the heart and enjoy
receiving the ball, especially in difficult situations," said verga.
India coach Rajinder Singh, a world cup player and Olympian himself, was
diplomatic about their chances but feels they have a slight edge because
his boys have more exposure.
"We have six experienced players who have played either in the Kuala
lumpur Commonwealth Games or the Sydney Olympics. That might play an
important role in the final tomorrow (today)," said Rajinder.
And he might be right, because against England in the semifinals, the
Argentines were nervous for the first 20 minutes but when they settled
down, England were no match for them. Today, if they fail to overcome
their nervousness in the first 10 minutes, they might find themselves in a
tight spot.
But that is what the Argies thrive on, for they have come from behind on
many occasions with great determination and stubbornness like a charging
bull.
But Argentina have already won the battle by making the finals after
coming into the world cup as "just a number."
So, even if they lose today, they will be remembered in history. FINAL MATCH-UP
INDIA - 1997 silver medallists
Strengths: Love attacking and defending in numbers. Excellent stick work
and a very strong bench.
Weakness: Do not like defending, even when it is necessary.
Key players: Davesh Chauhan (Goalkeeper), Ajit Singh Gagan (Captain),
Prabhjot Singh, Ignace Tirkey, Kamal Singh (most of them have played in
the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games). ARGENTINA - Never played in the final before.
Strengths: Play with intelligence and teamwork is tops for them.
Key players: Rodrigo Vila (Captain), Joaquin Berthold (Goalkeeper),
Marcelo del Negro (deadly striker), Matias Paredes.
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
INDIA and Argentina will battle for the Junor World Cup crown at the
Tasmanian hockey centre today and no matter which team wins, hockey will
benefit from it.
When they met in the second round of the tournament, the score was 2-2,
but today the match is highly likely to be decided in 70 minutes of play
as both teams love to score and defending is not on the menu, because
extra time and penalty flicks is not their style.
Argentina coach Alejandro Verga has cleverly married the European
defence with Indian stick work and the result has been stunning at the
Junior World Cup. Even Australian seniors coach Barry Dancer, who
witnessed all their matches with a string of selectors in tow, was amazed
with the way the Argentines play.
There is total commitment in the team and the players are a joy to watch
because they always smile and encourage each other on the pitch. Every
pass they make is an intelligent one and once in the semicircle, they are
deadly and accurate. Winning penalty corners are not their style because
they prefer to score foeld goals, but when they do get a penalty corner,
chances are that the ball will land at the back of the net.
"In the beginning the players did not know what to do with the ball when
they received it so I told them in simple terms.
"It is like receiving money, if you don't know how to spend it, it will
go to waste. So they must imagine that every time they receive the ball,
it is like receiving money and they must spend it wisely to get maximum
joy. Now, they have no problems because they play with the heart and enjoy
receiving the ball, especially in difficult situations," said verga.
India coach Rajinder Singh, a world cup player and Olympian himself, was
diplomatic about their chances but feels they have a slight edge because
his boys have more exposure.
"We have six experienced players who have played either in the Kuala
lumpur Commonwealth Games or the Sydney Olympics. That might play an
important role in the final tomorrow (today)," said Rajinder.
And he might be right, because against England in the semifinals, the
Argentines were nervous for the first 20 minutes but when they settled
down, England were no match for them. Today, if they fail to overcome
their nervousness in the first 10 minutes, they might find themselves in a
tight spot.
But that is what the Argies thrive on, for they have come from behind on
many occasions with great determination and stubbornness like a charging
bull.
But Argentina have already won the battle by making the finals after
coming into the world cup as "just a number."
So, even if they lose today, they will be remembered in history. FINAL MATCH-UP
INDIA - 1997 silver medallists
Strengths: Love attacking and defending in numbers. Excellent stick work
and a very strong bench.
Weakness: Do not like defending, even when it is necessary.
Key players: Davesh Chauhan (Goalkeeper), Ajit Singh Gagan (Captain),
Prabhjot Singh, Ignace Tirkey, Kamal Singh (most of them have played in
the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games). ARGENTINA - Never played in the final before.
Strengths: Play with intelligence and teamwork is tops for them.
Key players: Rodrigo Vila (Captain), Joaquin Berthold (Goalkeeper),
Marcelo del Negro (deadly striker), Matias Paredes.
(END)
Els: Hockey facing uphill mass appeal battle
21/10/2001
Sunday Chat in Hobart
FIH president Els van Breda Vriesman feels that hockey will always remain
in the shadows of soccer, tennis, golf, cricket and rugby as far as fan
support and television coverage is concerned, but she is determined to
make it a more people and budget friendly sport.
Els was in Hobart for the Junior World Cup and spoke to Timesport's
Jugjet Singh on the future of hockey.
Timesport: FIH have named 2001 as the Year Of The Youth and there have
been elaborate programmes all over the world ending with the Junior World
Cup in Hobart. With the declining standard of hockey in Asia and Asean, is
there really a reason to celebrate?
Els: After the artificial pitch was introduced, there has been a steady
decline in India and Pakistan, the traditional powerhouses, but we are
working to check the slide. Pakistan did not qualify for the junior world
cup for the fist time since 1979, but the Indian side have made the final
again and attracted a bigger turnout than when hosts Australia were
playing.
In Japan and Hong Kong, the structure of hockey is killing the sport
because it is actively played at club and university level but playing at
national level does not attract them. South Korea have improved much
because they have a very good hockey federation that works hard to get
national players, but the pool of players they have is very small.
As for the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei and
Singapore, hockey is not a popular sport and even though the FIH, through
their respective hockey federations, have been giving them a lot of help,
the sport just refuses to take off in a big way.
Q: Are there any plans to make hockey more interesting to the masses,
especially television audiences, like the seven point format introduced by
the International Badminton Federation?
A: We have done all that we can to make it more interesting to the
public like introducing the no offside rule so that there will be a better
flow with minimal interferance from the umpires. But still the game has
not caught up with the TV audience and most countries are finding it
harder to source for sponsors to foot their development programmes.
Q: So what is the FIH doing about it, because if money dries up, the
sport is going to suffer, like the Australian team are experiencing now.
Before the 2001 Sydney Olympics they had money to throw, but now they are
struggling to keep their development programmes alive.
A: After compiling statistics in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers in
Edinburgh recently and the Junior World Cup in Hobart, we found out that
most major television stations and wire services are slowly shying away
from the sport. So, the FIH technical committee will meet in November to
discuss what can be done to bring them back and bring the sport to the
public. Among one of the suggestions is for the FIH to set up its own
television station and to sell matches of major tournaments, live or
recorded, to interested countries and get better mileage. We hope the
sponsors will come in more openly after that.
Q: What have the FIH been doing to upgrade the standard of coaching in
the Asean region so that they can stop relying on foreigners?
A: We can't do much unless the respective hockey federations send in a
proposal for us to study and follow up. Right now, we have received a
four-year coaching plan from the Philippines and it is quite elaborate so
we are still studying it to check on its feasibility. Once that is done,
we will get back to them. Malaysia have quite a number of interested
candidates who have been following our courses keenly and in a few years'
time, they should have a pool of international calibre coaches there.
Q: Other than the Olympics and the World Cup, which comes every four
years, don't you think that hockey is suffering because it has only a few
big tournaments in between?
A: As a matter of fact, the FIH feel that we have far too many
tournaments on our calendar and are looking into cutting down on some of
them when the hockey calendar starts in the year 2003. This year we
organised eight tournaments and next year there is the World Cup in Kuala
Lumpur in February. Some of the countries have been having problems
sourcing for sponsors and keeping up their development programmes to
qualify for the tournaments.
Q: You are talking about trimming down the FIH calendar, but don't you
have an indoor hockey tournament lined up in 2003 in Germany?
A: Yes, but it is just an experiment to see how popular the sport is
when played indoors. If it picks up, the countries which have seasons
which prevent it from playing hockey all year round, will benefit from the
tournament.
(END)
Sunday Chat in Hobart
FIH president Els van Breda Vriesman feels that hockey will always remain
in the shadows of soccer, tennis, golf, cricket and rugby as far as fan
support and television coverage is concerned, but she is determined to
make it a more people and budget friendly sport.
Els was in Hobart for the Junior World Cup and spoke to Timesport's
Jugjet Singh on the future of hockey.
Timesport: FIH have named 2001 as the Year Of The Youth and there have
been elaborate programmes all over the world ending with the Junior World
Cup in Hobart. With the declining standard of hockey in Asia and Asean, is
there really a reason to celebrate?
Els: After the artificial pitch was introduced, there has been a steady
decline in India and Pakistan, the traditional powerhouses, but we are
working to check the slide. Pakistan did not qualify for the junior world
cup for the fist time since 1979, but the Indian side have made the final
again and attracted a bigger turnout than when hosts Australia were
playing.
In Japan and Hong Kong, the structure of hockey is killing the sport
because it is actively played at club and university level but playing at
national level does not attract them. South Korea have improved much
because they have a very good hockey federation that works hard to get
national players, but the pool of players they have is very small.
As for the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei and
Singapore, hockey is not a popular sport and even though the FIH, through
their respective hockey federations, have been giving them a lot of help,
the sport just refuses to take off in a big way.
Q: Are there any plans to make hockey more interesting to the masses,
especially television audiences, like the seven point format introduced by
the International Badminton Federation?
A: We have done all that we can to make it more interesting to the
public like introducing the no offside rule so that there will be a better
flow with minimal interferance from the umpires. But still the game has
not caught up with the TV audience and most countries are finding it
harder to source for sponsors to foot their development programmes.
Q: So what is the FIH doing about it, because if money dries up, the
sport is going to suffer, like the Australian team are experiencing now.
Before the 2001 Sydney Olympics they had money to throw, but now they are
struggling to keep their development programmes alive.
A: After compiling statistics in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers in
Edinburgh recently and the Junior World Cup in Hobart, we found out that
most major television stations and wire services are slowly shying away
from the sport. So, the FIH technical committee will meet in November to
discuss what can be done to bring them back and bring the sport to the
public. Among one of the suggestions is for the FIH to set up its own
television station and to sell matches of major tournaments, live or
recorded, to interested countries and get better mileage. We hope the
sponsors will come in more openly after that.
Q: What have the FIH been doing to upgrade the standard of coaching in
the Asean region so that they can stop relying on foreigners?
A: We can't do much unless the respective hockey federations send in a
proposal for us to study and follow up. Right now, we have received a
four-year coaching plan from the Philippines and it is quite elaborate so
we are still studying it to check on its feasibility. Once that is done,
we will get back to them. Malaysia have quite a number of interested
candidates who have been following our courses keenly and in a few years'
time, they should have a pool of international calibre coaches there.
Q: Other than the Olympics and the World Cup, which comes every four
years, don't you think that hockey is suffering because it has only a few
big tournaments in between?
A: As a matter of fact, the FIH feel that we have far too many
tournaments on our calendar and are looking into cutting down on some of
them when the hockey calendar starts in the year 2003. This year we
organised eight tournaments and next year there is the World Cup in Kuala
Lumpur in February. Some of the countries have been having problems
sourcing for sponsors and keeping up their development programmes to
qualify for the tournaments.
Q: You are talking about trimming down the FIH calendar, but don't you
have an indoor hockey tournament lined up in 2003 in Germany?
A: Yes, but it is just an experiment to see how popular the sport is
when played indoors. If it picks up, the countries which have seasons
which prevent it from playing hockey all year round, will benefit from the
tournament.
(END)
Juniors fall to Kiwis again
20/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Tasmania
HOBART: Malaysia threw everything they had in the last 15 minutes of the
match but it was not good enough against New Zealand in the classification
matches of the Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre in Hobart
yesterday.
But by the look of things, they never had a chance, and the writing was
on the wall even before Malaysia took to the field.
After France had beaten South Africa with a 74th minute golden goal,
national chief coach Paul Lissek predicted that Malaysia will next play
South Africa for the 11-12th spot. And he has been spot on.
It was the same old Malaysian side that played a defensive game with
backpasses being the order of the day in the first half while New Zealand
had a field day in the Malaysian semicircle.
Hayden Shaw, the 6-foot-five-inch giant in defence kept the Malaysian
strikers at bay, and it looked like most of the Malaysian players still
feared him after their 3-2 loss in the first round.
Yesterday, Malaysia went down to an identical 3-2 score and New Zealand
were 3-0 up by the 54th minute before the Juniors woke up and put up a
spirited display. But it was a push too late and now they will be playing
for the 11-12th placing against South Africa today.
Coach Yahya Atan, trying to bring out the best in a mentally weak team,
played Mohamed Amin Rahim at the back and S. Shanker in midfield but it
only made things worse because both the players love to make dangerous
backpasses and yesterday, their tendency benefitted the Kiwis who stole
most of the backpasses and put the Malaysian defence in trouble.
Only some good goalkeeping by Mohamed Firdaus kept the score 0-0 in the
first 20 minutes.
But the gate was prised open by Mark Lawrence in the 26th minute when,
after pushing the ball in for a penalty corner, he remained on the goal
line and connected in a simple goal for the lead.
Then came the towering Shaw who hammered in penalty corners in the 48th
and 54th minutes. And it looked like Malaysia were in for a whipping but
that somehow woke them up and they came charging back and pinned New
Zealand in their own semicircle for the last 15 minutes.
Chua Boon Huat scored a field goal in the 58th minute and Mohamed Fairuz
Ramli narrowed the gap in the 67th minute, but by then, even the clock was
with the Kiwis.
With 20 seconds left in the match, Chua crossed the ball from the left
of the goalmouth and it sailed past six New Zealand players, with even the
Kiwi goalkeeper misjudging it, and at the end of the line was Tajol Rosli.
Tajol made a gallant dive to connect the ball into goal, but missed it
by a few centimeters and it was all over for Malaysia.
"We lost because the runners in the penalty corners were slow, and
sometimes even looked reluctant to make a charge," said Yahya. RESULTS
SEMIFINALS
INDIA.......... 3 GERMANY....... 2
ARGENTINA...... 3 ENGLAND....... 1
CLASSIFICATION (9th-12th)
NEW ZEALAND.... 3 MALAYSIA...... 2
FRANCE......... 1 SOUTH AFRICA.. 1
(France win by golden goal)
jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Tasmania
HOBART: Malaysia threw everything they had in the last 15 minutes of the
match but it was not good enough against New Zealand in the classification
matches of the Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre in Hobart
yesterday.
But by the look of things, they never had a chance, and the writing was
on the wall even before Malaysia took to the field.
After France had beaten South Africa with a 74th minute golden goal,
national chief coach Paul Lissek predicted that Malaysia will next play
South Africa for the 11-12th spot. And he has been spot on.
It was the same old Malaysian side that played a defensive game with
backpasses being the order of the day in the first half while New Zealand
had a field day in the Malaysian semicircle.
Hayden Shaw, the 6-foot-five-inch giant in defence kept the Malaysian
strikers at bay, and it looked like most of the Malaysian players still
feared him after their 3-2 loss in the first round.
Yesterday, Malaysia went down to an identical 3-2 score and New Zealand
were 3-0 up by the 54th minute before the Juniors woke up and put up a
spirited display. But it was a push too late and now they will be playing
for the 11-12th placing against South Africa today.
Coach Yahya Atan, trying to bring out the best in a mentally weak team,
played Mohamed Amin Rahim at the back and S. Shanker in midfield but it
only made things worse because both the players love to make dangerous
backpasses and yesterday, their tendency benefitted the Kiwis who stole
most of the backpasses and put the Malaysian defence in trouble.
Only some good goalkeeping by Mohamed Firdaus kept the score 0-0 in the
first 20 minutes.
But the gate was prised open by Mark Lawrence in the 26th minute when,
after pushing the ball in for a penalty corner, he remained on the goal
line and connected in a simple goal for the lead.
Then came the towering Shaw who hammered in penalty corners in the 48th
and 54th minutes. And it looked like Malaysia were in for a whipping but
that somehow woke them up and they came charging back and pinned New
Zealand in their own semicircle for the last 15 minutes.
Chua Boon Huat scored a field goal in the 58th minute and Mohamed Fairuz
Ramli narrowed the gap in the 67th minute, but by then, even the clock was
with the Kiwis.
With 20 seconds left in the match, Chua crossed the ball from the left
of the goalmouth and it sailed past six New Zealand players, with even the
Kiwi goalkeeper misjudging it, and at the end of the line was Tajol Rosli.
Tajol made a gallant dive to connect the ball into goal, but missed it
by a few centimeters and it was all over for Malaysia.
"We lost because the runners in the penalty corners were slow, and
sometimes even looked reluctant to make a charge," said Yahya. RESULTS
SEMIFINALS
INDIA.......... 3 GERMANY....... 2
ARGENTINA...... 3 ENGLAND....... 1
CLASSIFICATION (9th-12th)
NEW ZEALAND.... 3 MALAYSIA...... 2
FRANCE......... 1 SOUTH AFRICA.. 1
(France win by golden goal)
jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
Keep temper in check, boys
19/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Tasmania
MALAYSIA played one of their best matches against New Zealand in the first
round of the Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian hockey centre.
There were fireworks as the burly Kiwi defenders tossed about our pint-
sized strikers, and in the end, Malaysian skipper Chua Boon Huat lost his
head and received a yellow card. Jiva Mohan received a knock on his head
and brother Jiwa received a yellow card too for getting into a shoving
match to `avenge' his brother.
Malaysia eventually lost the match 3-2 and on his way to the changing
room, Chua verbally abused the match umpire and was suspended for one
match against the Argentines.
The following day, Argentina hammered Malaysia 5-0 and Malaysia's
campaign in the Junior World Cup has since taken a beating.
Then, the Juniors were fighting for a spot in the top-eight bracket, but
today, they will meet New Zealand again in the bottom-eight bracket to
decide the 9th-10th spot.
The match is not expected to be easy because, just like the Malaysian
team, the Kiwis have been preparing for the past three years and even
trained at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre in October last year to get used to
the unpredictable weather in Tasmania.
And just like Malaysia, they got whipped in the first round and will be
attempting to save the blushes against Malaysia today.
Since the local daily in Tasmania, The Mercury, wrote about Malaysia's
million-ringgit failure in the Junior World Cup, there has been a large
following in Tasmania, for the wrong reasons obviously, for the Malaysian
team.
And today, a large crowd can be expected at the stadium to watch the
grudge match.
After beating Malaysia, New Zealand coach Anthony Thornton duly declared
that the Kiwis have arrived and told others to look out for their advance
because they were serious about winning the title.
However, just like us, they too fell flat on their face.
On paper, we are a better team than New Zealand, who rely heavily on
their burly defenders Hayden Shaw and Dean Child, easily above six feet
four inches, to intimidate anyone who dares venture into their turf.
Against Argentina, Shaw was captured in a combo of pictures which made
headlines in Tasmania when he picked up Argentine striker Lucas Cammareri
like a sack of potatoes and tossed him over his shoulders.
Luckily, Cammareri landed on his back and was not seriously injured.
Both the burly defenders have been huffing and puffing, and occasionally
blowing away their opponents in the semicircle but have miraculously
escaped being punished by the umpires.
If Malaysia keep their temperament, and start playing like they did in
the first match against New Zealand, we have a good chance of finishing
ninth. But if they play like they did against Chile on Thursday, we are
doomed to occupy the 12th spot in the Junior World Cup. jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Tasmania
MALAYSIA played one of their best matches against New Zealand in the first
round of the Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian hockey centre.
There were fireworks as the burly Kiwi defenders tossed about our pint-
sized strikers, and in the end, Malaysian skipper Chua Boon Huat lost his
head and received a yellow card. Jiva Mohan received a knock on his head
and brother Jiwa received a yellow card too for getting into a shoving
match to `avenge' his brother.
Malaysia eventually lost the match 3-2 and on his way to the changing
room, Chua verbally abused the match umpire and was suspended for one
match against the Argentines.
The following day, Argentina hammered Malaysia 5-0 and Malaysia's
campaign in the Junior World Cup has since taken a beating.
Then, the Juniors were fighting for a spot in the top-eight bracket, but
today, they will meet New Zealand again in the bottom-eight bracket to
decide the 9th-10th spot.
The match is not expected to be easy because, just like the Malaysian
team, the Kiwis have been preparing for the past three years and even
trained at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre in October last year to get used to
the unpredictable weather in Tasmania.
And just like Malaysia, they got whipped in the first round and will be
attempting to save the blushes against Malaysia today.
Since the local daily in Tasmania, The Mercury, wrote about Malaysia's
million-ringgit failure in the Junior World Cup, there has been a large
following in Tasmania, for the wrong reasons obviously, for the Malaysian
team.
And today, a large crowd can be expected at the stadium to watch the
grudge match.
After beating Malaysia, New Zealand coach Anthony Thornton duly declared
that the Kiwis have arrived and told others to look out for their advance
because they were serious about winning the title.
However, just like us, they too fell flat on their face.
On paper, we are a better team than New Zealand, who rely heavily on
their burly defenders Hayden Shaw and Dean Child, easily above six feet
four inches, to intimidate anyone who dares venture into their turf.
Against Argentina, Shaw was captured in a combo of pictures which made
headlines in Tasmania when he picked up Argentine striker Lucas Cammareri
like a sack of potatoes and tossed him over his shoulders.
Luckily, Cammareri landed on his back and was not seriously injured.
Both the burly defenders have been huffing and puffing, and occasionally
blowing away their opponents in the semicircle but have miraculously
escaped being punished by the umpires.
If Malaysia keep their temperament, and start playing like they did in
the first match against New Zealand, we have a good chance of finishing
ninth. But if they play like they did against Chile on Thursday, we are
doomed to occupy the 12th spot in the Junior World Cup. jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
Sleeping koala, hungry devil
19/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Tasmania
AFTER hearing so much about the Tasmanian Devil, we just had to go and see
for ourselves what one looked like.
And since the Junior World Cup took a one day break from its hectic
schedule, so off we went to the Bonorong Wildlife Park, which was about an
hour's drive from the centre of Hobart town, armed with cameras and
curiosity.
The journey took us past about 50 sheep farms and a dozen vineyards. The
sheep huddled together for warmth even though it was the end of spring and
summer was just around the corner in Tasmania. The grapevines were just
sprouting and getting ready for the fruits of summer.
The heater in the car was on full blast so we were not prepared for the
outside world when we stepped out at the wildlife park.
All the animals at the park were either sleeping or huddling around
under the gum trees to keep warm. The koala bear was a bundle of fur and
after reading the placard we were shocked to find out that the native of
Australia sleeps 20 hours a day, eats for four hours and moves its limbs
for only five minutes a day.
We did not have enough time to wait for the koala's five-minute
performance so we left it in its deep slumber and headed for the Tasmanian
devil's enclosure.
The devil did look more menacing than the soft toys of it that we saw in
almost all the souvenir shops in Hobart. It looked like a small musang but
when it opened its mouth and took a bite at the chunk of meat that someone
threw into the enclosure, there was a bone crunching sound as the devil
swallowed the meat after only chewing twice.
The devil's teeth is razor sharp and the inside of its mouth and tongue
is blood red in colour. Its black coat and short stubby legs do nothing to
clear its nasty temper and reputation. The sign at its enclosure warned
tourists of venturing too close to the Devil, but it was not necessary as
the warning was prominently written on the devil's snapping jaws.
It was off to the vineyard after that.
It was closer to town and the main wine processing house was built
overlooking a huge lake and it was a real peaceful and quiet place. We
went there without any knowledge of what makes a good or a bad wine year
and what brings out the best in the grapes selected to make wine. But when
we left the wine showroom, after a hectic tasting and tutorial session, we
were quite dizzy with the amount of information we had to absorb in such a
short period at the Moorilla Estate.
But the tour was good to the last drop and five merry men made their way
to Mount Wellington, with a bottle of wine each to keep us warm.
Mount Wellington is the highest point in the whole of Tasmania and is a
must-see.
At the foot of the 1,207m mountain, the weather was bright and sunny and
people were sitting on deck chairs in gardens blooming with a dozen
colours. But the 30-minute ride up the mountain, opened to the public
after a road was built in 1937, was an eye opener as not only the weather
changed, but also the type of trees that lined the road.
Gum trees were at the bottom and as the climb reached the middle,
gnarled and weather beaten trees took over the landscape and it started
raining heavily. Two kilometers more of travelling and the sun started
shining brightly and as we approached the top of the mountain, rocks the
size of three-ton lorries and shrubs covered with snow took over.
All this changes in 30 minutes of traveling still failed to warn us of
the weather at the top because we were cosy and warm in our car.
As we stepped out, winds from the south pole raging at about 60kms an
hour greeted us and the weather was about 2 degrees Celsius.
We dashed to a lookout point and tried to snap a few shots with the city
of Hobart, miles below, as a backdrop. But our fingers froze as did our
ears and nose as the chilly glacier gale kept pushing us to the edge of
the mountain so we made a dash for our car and sat there watching the
antartic surrounding around us, amazed that only 30 minutes below, the
weather is totally of a different nature.
We were only up Mount Wellington for about five minutes, but the memory
will linger a lifetime even though we absolutely never had any chance of
opening a bottle of wine at the top of the mount.
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Tasmania
AFTER hearing so much about the Tasmanian Devil, we just had to go and see
for ourselves what one looked like.
And since the Junior World Cup took a one day break from its hectic
schedule, so off we went to the Bonorong Wildlife Park, which was about an
hour's drive from the centre of Hobart town, armed with cameras and
curiosity.
The journey took us past about 50 sheep farms and a dozen vineyards. The
sheep huddled together for warmth even though it was the end of spring and
summer was just around the corner in Tasmania. The grapevines were just
sprouting and getting ready for the fruits of summer.
The heater in the car was on full blast so we were not prepared for the
outside world when we stepped out at the wildlife park.
All the animals at the park were either sleeping or huddling around
under the gum trees to keep warm. The koala bear was a bundle of fur and
after reading the placard we were shocked to find out that the native of
Australia sleeps 20 hours a day, eats for four hours and moves its limbs
for only five minutes a day.
We did not have enough time to wait for the koala's five-minute
performance so we left it in its deep slumber and headed for the Tasmanian
devil's enclosure.
The devil did look more menacing than the soft toys of it that we saw in
almost all the souvenir shops in Hobart. It looked like a small musang but
when it opened its mouth and took a bite at the chunk of meat that someone
threw into the enclosure, there was a bone crunching sound as the devil
swallowed the meat after only chewing twice.
The devil's teeth is razor sharp and the inside of its mouth and tongue
is blood red in colour. Its black coat and short stubby legs do nothing to
clear its nasty temper and reputation. The sign at its enclosure warned
tourists of venturing too close to the Devil, but it was not necessary as
the warning was prominently written on the devil's snapping jaws.
It was off to the vineyard after that.
It was closer to town and the main wine processing house was built
overlooking a huge lake and it was a real peaceful and quiet place. We
went there without any knowledge of what makes a good or a bad wine year
and what brings out the best in the grapes selected to make wine. But when
we left the wine showroom, after a hectic tasting and tutorial session, we
were quite dizzy with the amount of information we had to absorb in such a
short period at the Moorilla Estate.
But the tour was good to the last drop and five merry men made their way
to Mount Wellington, with a bottle of wine each to keep us warm.
Mount Wellington is the highest point in the whole of Tasmania and is a
must-see.
At the foot of the 1,207m mountain, the weather was bright and sunny and
people were sitting on deck chairs in gardens blooming with a dozen
colours. But the 30-minute ride up the mountain, opened to the public
after a road was built in 1937, was an eye opener as not only the weather
changed, but also the type of trees that lined the road.
Gum trees were at the bottom and as the climb reached the middle,
gnarled and weather beaten trees took over the landscape and it started
raining heavily. Two kilometers more of travelling and the sun started
shining brightly and as we approached the top of the mountain, rocks the
size of three-ton lorries and shrubs covered with snow took over.
All this changes in 30 minutes of traveling still failed to warn us of
the weather at the top because we were cosy and warm in our car.
As we stepped out, winds from the south pole raging at about 60kms an
hour greeted us and the weather was about 2 degrees Celsius.
We dashed to a lookout point and tried to snap a few shots with the city
of Hobart, miles below, as a backdrop. But our fingers froze as did our
ears and nose as the chilly glacier gale kept pushing us to the edge of
the mountain so we made a dash for our car and sat there watching the
antartic surrounding around us, amazed that only 30 minutes below, the
weather is totally of a different nature.
We were only up Mount Wellington for about five minutes, but the memory
will linger a lifetime even though we absolutely never had any chance of
opening a bottle of wine at the top of the mount.
(END)
Argies knock out Aussies
18/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
ARGENTINA played to form and knocked out defending champions and hosts
Australia out of the semifinals of the Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian
Hockey Centre yesterday.
With the win Argentina are at the top of Group F and will meet England
in the crossover semifinals on Friday while India will meet Germany in
what is expected to be the thriller of the world cup.
Playing in Group F, India dazzled the crowd with some slick stick work
and put the Dutch out of the running with sheer determination and
excellent teamwork for a 4-3 win.
If asked to choose between India and Argentina, a very thin line will
separate both sides who have excellent forwards and defenders.
And since South Korea, who were whipped 7-3 by the Germans on Wednesday,
rebounded well and denied Spain a ticket to the last four with a 5-3 win,
they did England a favour.
Germany beat England to top Group E but England's fairytale run is
expected to come to an abrupt end on Friday.
Argentina have never seen action in the semifinal level of the junior or
senior world cup, so the Germans will have to bring out their best to make
the final.
Argentina scored the first goal in the 22nd minute when Juan Gilardi
hammered home a penalty corner and the ausies, who needed a clear win,
were in trouble.
In the 66th minute, Australia scored off a penalty corner when Lachlan
Vivian Taylor was on target and from then on they tries their best to seal
the match but the speedy Argies defended well and were dangerous in the
counter attacks.
Australia badly needed a goal and with one minute remaining in the
match, all 10 players went upfront and were in the semicircle when
Argentine defender Lucas Rey took control and sent the ball to the Aussie
semicircle. With 27 seconds on the clock, Argentina won a penalty corner
and Juan e Garreta made sure of a place in the finals.
India on the other hand were on top of the match all the time and scored
two goals in the seventh (Ajit Singh Gagan) and the 10th minutes (Jugraj
Singh) to put pressure on the Dutch but could not break them.
Holland came back in the 17th (Roderick Weather) and in the 22nd minutes
(Mathijs van Weerd) and the match was wide open again.
In the 48th minute, India went up again when Prabhjot Singh scored a
field goal. But a minute later, Holland won a penalty corner and rob
reckers made it 3-3.
India were not to be denied their day and in the 57th minute, Kamal
Singh scored a penalty corner and the Dutch became desperate. With five
seconds on the clock, Holland won a penalty corner and there was total
silence at the Tasmanian hockey centre as the crowd did not even dare to
breathe.
Holland missed and India went into the semis.
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
ARGENTINA played to form and knocked out defending champions and hosts
Australia out of the semifinals of the Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian
Hockey Centre yesterday.
With the win Argentina are at the top of Group F and will meet England
in the crossover semifinals on Friday while India will meet Germany in
what is expected to be the thriller of the world cup.
Playing in Group F, India dazzled the crowd with some slick stick work
and put the Dutch out of the running with sheer determination and
excellent teamwork for a 4-3 win.
If asked to choose between India and Argentina, a very thin line will
separate both sides who have excellent forwards and defenders.
And since South Korea, who were whipped 7-3 by the Germans on Wednesday,
rebounded well and denied Spain a ticket to the last four with a 5-3 win,
they did England a favour.
Germany beat England to top Group E but England's fairytale run is
expected to come to an abrupt end on Friday.
Argentina have never seen action in the semifinal level of the junior or
senior world cup, so the Germans will have to bring out their best to make
the final.
Argentina scored the first goal in the 22nd minute when Juan Gilardi
hammered home a penalty corner and the ausies, who needed a clear win,
were in trouble.
In the 66th minute, Australia scored off a penalty corner when Lachlan
Vivian Taylor was on target and from then on they tries their best to seal
the match but the speedy Argies defended well and were dangerous in the
counter attacks.
Australia badly needed a goal and with one minute remaining in the
match, all 10 players went upfront and were in the semicircle when
Argentine defender Lucas Rey took control and sent the ball to the Aussie
semicircle. With 27 seconds on the clock, Argentina won a penalty corner
and Juan e Garreta made sure of a place in the finals.
India on the other hand were on top of the match all the time and scored
two goals in the seventh (Ajit Singh Gagan) and the 10th minutes (Jugraj
Singh) to put pressure on the Dutch but could not break them.
Holland came back in the 17th (Roderick Weather) and in the 22nd minutes
(Mathijs van Weerd) and the match was wide open again.
In the 48th minute, India went up again when Prabhjot Singh scored a
field goal. But a minute later, Holland won a penalty corner and rob
reckers made it 3-3.
India were not to be denied their day and in the 57th minute, Kamal
Singh scored a penalty corner and the Dutch became desperate. With five
seconds on the clock, Holland won a penalty corner and there was total
silence at the Tasmanian hockey centre as the crowd did not even dare to
breathe.
Holland missed and India went into the semis.
(END)
Now Juniors struggle to get past Chileans
18/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
HOBART: The National Juniors played one of their worst matches in the
Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre yesterday, but somehow,
were lucky enough to top Group H when the final whistle blew.
After watching them in action for the last five matches, where they drew
three times and lost two, the match against Chile was expected to be the
easiest because the South American side have been the whipping boys of the
Junior World Cup.
But Chile almost had the last laugh in the final 10 minutes of play and
if not for goalkeeper Mohamed Firdaus, the only player who has had a good
game in the World Cup, Chile would have forced Malaysia out of the ninth-
12th classification matches.
Malaysia needed to win by at least two goals to make the ninth-12th
playoffs but they started the match badly and in the entire first half,
only had two penalty corners and scored because Chile did not have good
runners and made things that much easier.
Malaysia will now play New Zealand in the crossover semifinals of the
bottom eight. Malaysia lost 3-2 to New Zealand in the first round as well
as Chua Boon Huat and Jiwa Mohan to yellow cards in the robust match.
In Group G, France beat Canada 3-0 yesterday while New Zealand beat
Ireland 3-1. France topped the group on a single goal difference and New
Zealand finished second.
In the other Group H match, South Africa beat Scotland 3-2 in a penalty
shootout after both sides ended the match 3-3 and were tied with five
points each and their goal difference was also the same. So South Africa
will meet France in the crossover semis.
Malaysia made it through the skin of their teeth because they also had
five points after the win against Chile but had scored one extra goal in
the second round.
Jiwa Mohan scored the first goal in the 30th minute and after that the
entire team started defending in numbers.
In the 35th minute, Malaysia won their second penalty corner and this
time it was Chua who pushed it in.
The second half was heart stopping for the handful of Malaysian fans who
turned up to support the team because Chile looked dangerous and could
have scored if not for Fairuz.
Malaysia increased the lead in the 50th minute off a Mohamed Fairuz
field goal but five minutes later, Chile scored a field goal when Alan
Stein tapped in after Chua and Shanker bumped into each other and fell.
"I don't know what happened today. The boys really played badly and the
pressure was so much that I almost got a heart attack watching them from
the sidelines," said Yahya after the match.
He was especially disappointed with the way the four regulars with the
senior side played in Hobart.
"Shanker, Boon Huat, K. Logan Raj and Jiwa Mohan were expected to guide
the rest of the Juniors because they have the experience of playing in the
senior side and have been on numerous tours around the world. But they
really played badly in Hobart."
So why did he keep fielding the four seniors in all the matches?
"I have no choice, just look at the bench. We have no depth at all." jugjet@nstp.com.my SECOND ROUND RESULTS
GROUP E
GERMANY 3 ENGLAND 2
SOUTH KOREA 5 SPAIN 3
GROUP F
ARGENTINA 2AUSTRALIA 1
INDIA 4HOLLAND 3
LOSER'S POOL
GROUP G
NEW ZEALAND 3 IRELAND 1
FRANCE 3 CANADA 0
GROUP H
MALAYSIA 3 CHILE 1
SOUTH AFRICA 3 SCOTLAND 3
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
HOBART: The National Juniors played one of their worst matches in the
Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre yesterday, but somehow,
were lucky enough to top Group H when the final whistle blew.
After watching them in action for the last five matches, where they drew
three times and lost two, the match against Chile was expected to be the
easiest because the South American side have been the whipping boys of the
Junior World Cup.
But Chile almost had the last laugh in the final 10 minutes of play and
if not for goalkeeper Mohamed Firdaus, the only player who has had a good
game in the World Cup, Chile would have forced Malaysia out of the ninth-
12th classification matches.
Malaysia needed to win by at least two goals to make the ninth-12th
playoffs but they started the match badly and in the entire first half,
only had two penalty corners and scored because Chile did not have good
runners and made things that much easier.
Malaysia will now play New Zealand in the crossover semifinals of the
bottom eight. Malaysia lost 3-2 to New Zealand in the first round as well
as Chua Boon Huat and Jiwa Mohan to yellow cards in the robust match.
In Group G, France beat Canada 3-0 yesterday while New Zealand beat
Ireland 3-1. France topped the group on a single goal difference and New
Zealand finished second.
In the other Group H match, South Africa beat Scotland 3-2 in a penalty
shootout after both sides ended the match 3-3 and were tied with five
points each and their goal difference was also the same. So South Africa
will meet France in the crossover semis.
Malaysia made it through the skin of their teeth because they also had
five points after the win against Chile but had scored one extra goal in
the second round.
Jiwa Mohan scored the first goal in the 30th minute and after that the
entire team started defending in numbers.
In the 35th minute, Malaysia won their second penalty corner and this
time it was Chua who pushed it in.
The second half was heart stopping for the handful of Malaysian fans who
turned up to support the team because Chile looked dangerous and could
have scored if not for Fairuz.
Malaysia increased the lead in the 50th minute off a Mohamed Fairuz
field goal but five minutes later, Chile scored a field goal when Alan
Stein tapped in after Chua and Shanker bumped into each other and fell.
"I don't know what happened today. The boys really played badly and the
pressure was so much that I almost got a heart attack watching them from
the sidelines," said Yahya after the match.
He was especially disappointed with the way the four regulars with the
senior side played in Hobart.
"Shanker, Boon Huat, K. Logan Raj and Jiwa Mohan were expected to guide
the rest of the Juniors because they have the experience of playing in the
senior side and have been on numerous tours around the world. But they
really played badly in Hobart."
So why did he keep fielding the four seniors in all the matches?
"I have no choice, just look at the bench. We have no depth at all." jugjet@nstp.com.my SECOND ROUND RESULTS
GROUP E
GERMANY 3 ENGLAND 2
SOUTH KOREA 5 SPAIN 3
GROUP F
ARGENTINA 2AUSTRALIA 1
INDIA 4HOLLAND 3
LOSER'S POOL
GROUP G
NEW ZEALAND 3 IRELAND 1
FRANCE 3 CANADA 0
GROUP H
MALAYSIA 3 CHILE 1
SOUTH AFRICA 3 SCOTLAND 3
(END)
Argentine threat looms large
17/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
WATCH out for Argentina in the 2002 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur.
Argentina? Yes, the South Americans are the latest revelation in the
hockey world and if their juniors are to be used as a yardstick, the
Argies are going to take Kuala Lumpur by storm in February next year.
There are 16 juniors in Hobart in the Junior World Cup and about seven
of them are likely to make the senior squad. But Argentine coach Alejandro
Verga reckons only Rodrigo Vila, their skipper, will make the grade in
2002.
His reason: "There are 30 players in the senior squad training for the
Kuala Lumpur World Cup, and all of them are better than what we have in
Hobart for the junior tournament."
Argentina are on everybody's lips in Hobart and when they play Australia
today in the second round, nobody will be surprised if they hammer the
hosts and defending champions out of the tournament.
Vila, goalkeeper Joaquin Berthold, Juan Gilardi, Marcelo del Negro,
Matias Masot, Aeljandro Pasquali. The list goes on and on until every
player in the team is named, have talent, superb stick work and attack as
a team all the time, especially if they are a goal down as Holland found
out yesterday.
So how did Argentina, who normally shy off in the quarterfinals or the
semis in the past 10 years, assemble such a strong senior and junior side?
Verga, an expert one-line comedian off the field, feels that their
development programmes have finally started to show results.
Hockey is slowly picking up in the Americas and they are only riding on
the early waves, Verga cautioned: "one day we will become a tidal wave and
flood all the hockey pitches in the world."
There are about 300 active hockey players who are fighting to make the
grade in Argentina and the locals have started supporting them in a big
way, but compared to soccer, the support is like a drop of water in an
ocean.
So watch out for the Argies when they arrive in Kuala Lumpur in
February, if nothing else, the South Americans will be a joy to watch
because they have combined the Indian flair, German imagination, and South
Korean fighting spirit into their game.
And if they win big, in Verga's words: "Everything will start looking
nice, the mountains, the weather and even the hotel will suddenly look
like the ones back home."
On another note, while the rest of the world are glued to the bombings
in Afghanistan and the anthrax scare in the United States, in Tasmania the
headlines screamed of a fox being shot in the Symmons plains in north
Tasmania.
And the noise is not coming from animal lovers for cruelty on the fox
but because they now have proof for the first time of the "devastating"
pest's existence in the state.
After extensive laboratory testing, the stomach contents of the dead fox
included a dusky wood swallow, which migrates to Tasmania from interstate
in summer, a long tailed rat known as the Tasmanian mouse, and berries.
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
WATCH out for Argentina in the 2002 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur.
Argentina? Yes, the South Americans are the latest revelation in the
hockey world and if their juniors are to be used as a yardstick, the
Argies are going to take Kuala Lumpur by storm in February next year.
There are 16 juniors in Hobart in the Junior World Cup and about seven
of them are likely to make the senior squad. But Argentine coach Alejandro
Verga reckons only Rodrigo Vila, their skipper, will make the grade in
2002.
His reason: "There are 30 players in the senior squad training for the
Kuala Lumpur World Cup, and all of them are better than what we have in
Hobart for the junior tournament."
Argentina are on everybody's lips in Hobart and when they play Australia
today in the second round, nobody will be surprised if they hammer the
hosts and defending champions out of the tournament.
Vila, goalkeeper Joaquin Berthold, Juan Gilardi, Marcelo del Negro,
Matias Masot, Aeljandro Pasquali. The list goes on and on until every
player in the team is named, have talent, superb stick work and attack as
a team all the time, especially if they are a goal down as Holland found
out yesterday.
So how did Argentina, who normally shy off in the quarterfinals or the
semis in the past 10 years, assemble such a strong senior and junior side?
Verga, an expert one-line comedian off the field, feels that their
development programmes have finally started to show results.
Hockey is slowly picking up in the Americas and they are only riding on
the early waves, Verga cautioned: "one day we will become a tidal wave and
flood all the hockey pitches in the world."
There are about 300 active hockey players who are fighting to make the
grade in Argentina and the locals have started supporting them in a big
way, but compared to soccer, the support is like a drop of water in an
ocean.
So watch out for the Argies when they arrive in Kuala Lumpur in
February, if nothing else, the South Americans will be a joy to watch
because they have combined the Indian flair, German imagination, and South
Korean fighting spirit into their game.
And if they win big, in Verga's words: "Everything will start looking
nice, the mountains, the weather and even the hotel will suddenly look
like the ones back home."
On another note, while the rest of the world are glued to the bombings
in Afghanistan and the anthrax scare in the United States, in Tasmania the
headlines screamed of a fox being shot in the Symmons plains in north
Tasmania.
And the noise is not coming from animal lovers for cruelty on the fox
but because they now have proof for the first time of the "devastating"
pest's existence in the state.
After extensive laboratory testing, the stomach contents of the dead fox
included a dusky wood swallow, which migrates to Tasmania from interstate
in summer, a long tailed rat known as the Tasmanian mouse, and berries.
(END)
The nightmare continues
17/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
HOBART: Malaysia scored first but it did not matter because all those who
watched their classification match against South Africa in the Junior
World Cup knew that another disaster was in the making at the Tasmanian
Hockey Centre yesterday.
So when the final whistle blew, it was a big surprise that they managed
to win a point in their second Group H match. on Sunday, the Juniors were
held to a 1-1 draw by Scotland. They are now left with two points from two
matches.
The Chileans, who play the Malaysians today, could go on to spoil the
mood in the Malaysian camp when they wrap up the second round fixtures
unless skipper Chua Boon Huat and company come up with some excellent
performance in their quest for ninth placing.
But Chile is another story, the disappointing match against South Africa
took the cake yesterday.
There was never a moment that Malaysia actually resembled a team which
has been preparing for the past three years and in their bungling ways,
they made the South Africans look good.
Watching the Malaysians in the first half was a painful sight as
whenever the forwards took the ball to their opponents 25-yard line, they
made a back pass to either defenders Chua and S. Shanker who in turn took
their time and switched play from left to right and sometimes got robbed
of the ball with weak passes.
The South Africans had their share of a peek at the Malaysian goalmouth
but could do little damage as they were without good forwards. The
Malaysians, on the other hand, had three penalty corners.
In the 33rd minute, in one of their rare moves into the South African
semicircle, the ball struck K. Logan Raj's stick and deflected into goal
after a goalmouth melee. It not only caught the fans by surprise but also
the stunned Malaysians who only regained their composure and celebrated
after the umpire blew for goal.
The second half was no different, with the Malaysians packing their own
defence and allowing the opposition to come at them.
And it was this blunder that allowed South Africa to equalise because
every time Norazlan Rahim or Tajol Rosli received the ball in midfield,
they turned back to the Malaysian goal and made a back pass to the
defenders. Wisened up by the move by now, the South African strikers
pounced on a back pass in the 54th minute and relayed the ball to Ian
Symons. Symons blasted it past goalkeeper Firdaus Razali.
In the 60th minute, the South Africans could have taken the lead off a
penalty stroke after Redzuan Ponirin was penalised but Firdaus pulled off
a superb save.
Firdaus, who replaced Saiful Azhar after three matches here, has been
playing to form. He has saved three out of four penalty strokes awarded
against Malaysia in the second round of the tournament.
Coach Yahya Atan defended his boys and was happy with the one point they
salvaged against South Africa.
"They did well and held on to the ball for long periods just like they
were told to do. We missed a couple of chances in our counter attacks but
we can still salvage some pride by beating Chile which will take our total
to five points.
"The target to finish ninth is still within our reach. Chile can be
beaten," said Yahya.
Malaysia take on Chile at 12 noon (Malaysian time) while South Africa
and Scotland play in the morning.
All this only makes our task much harder as the Juniors will have to win
by a big margin against Chile, and hope that the Scotland-South Africa
match does not end in a draw. SECOND ROUND RESULTS
GROUP E
GERMANY 7 SOUTH KOREA 3
GROUP F
ARGENTINA 3 HOLLAND 2
LOSER'S POOL
GROUP G
NEW ZEALAND 4 FRANCE 3
GROUP H
MALAYSIA 1 SOUTH AFRICA 1
Jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
HOBART: Malaysia scored first but it did not matter because all those who
watched their classification match against South Africa in the Junior
World Cup knew that another disaster was in the making at the Tasmanian
Hockey Centre yesterday.
So when the final whistle blew, it was a big surprise that they managed
to win a point in their second Group H match. on Sunday, the Juniors were
held to a 1-1 draw by Scotland. They are now left with two points from two
matches.
The Chileans, who play the Malaysians today, could go on to spoil the
mood in the Malaysian camp when they wrap up the second round fixtures
unless skipper Chua Boon Huat and company come up with some excellent
performance in their quest for ninth placing.
But Chile is another story, the disappointing match against South Africa
took the cake yesterday.
There was never a moment that Malaysia actually resembled a team which
has been preparing for the past three years and in their bungling ways,
they made the South Africans look good.
Watching the Malaysians in the first half was a painful sight as
whenever the forwards took the ball to their opponents 25-yard line, they
made a back pass to either defenders Chua and S. Shanker who in turn took
their time and switched play from left to right and sometimes got robbed
of the ball with weak passes.
The South Africans had their share of a peek at the Malaysian goalmouth
but could do little damage as they were without good forwards. The
Malaysians, on the other hand, had three penalty corners.
In the 33rd minute, in one of their rare moves into the South African
semicircle, the ball struck K. Logan Raj's stick and deflected into goal
after a goalmouth melee. It not only caught the fans by surprise but also
the stunned Malaysians who only regained their composure and celebrated
after the umpire blew for goal.
The second half was no different, with the Malaysians packing their own
defence and allowing the opposition to come at them.
And it was this blunder that allowed South Africa to equalise because
every time Norazlan Rahim or Tajol Rosli received the ball in midfield,
they turned back to the Malaysian goal and made a back pass to the
defenders. Wisened up by the move by now, the South African strikers
pounced on a back pass in the 54th minute and relayed the ball to Ian
Symons. Symons blasted it past goalkeeper Firdaus Razali.
In the 60th minute, the South Africans could have taken the lead off a
penalty stroke after Redzuan Ponirin was penalised but Firdaus pulled off
a superb save.
Firdaus, who replaced Saiful Azhar after three matches here, has been
playing to form. He has saved three out of four penalty strokes awarded
against Malaysia in the second round of the tournament.
Coach Yahya Atan defended his boys and was happy with the one point they
salvaged against South Africa.
"They did well and held on to the ball for long periods just like they
were told to do. We missed a couple of chances in our counter attacks but
we can still salvage some pride by beating Chile which will take our total
to five points.
"The target to finish ninth is still within our reach. Chile can be
beaten," said Yahya.
Malaysia take on Chile at 12 noon (Malaysian time) while South Africa
and Scotland play in the morning.
All this only makes our task much harder as the Juniors will have to win
by a big margin against Chile, and hope that the Scotland-South Africa
match does not end in a draw. SECOND ROUND RESULTS
GROUP E
GERMANY 7 SOUTH KOREA 3
GROUP F
ARGENTINA 3 HOLLAND 2
LOSER'S POOL
GROUP G
NEW ZEALAND 4 FRANCE 3
GROUP H
MALAYSIA 1 SOUTH AFRICA 1
Jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)
Indians unlucky against Aussies
16/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
HOBART: India were clearly the better team but champions Australia walked
away with three points after their Junior World Cup match at the Tasmanian
hockey centre yesterday.
In the last 15 minutes, India, who were trailing 2-1, displayed some
world class attacking hockey with little regard for defence but Australian
goalkeeper Leon Martin stood his ground.
And when the horn blew, even the Australian fans knew they were lucky to
have walked away as winners.
The first half was lopsided as Indian skipper Ajit Singh Gagan, Jugraj
Singh and Prabhjot Singh kept the ball in the Australian semicircle for
long periods with great stick work and superb team play.
In the 23rd minute, India scored off a penalty corner set piece, but the
goal was disallowed by the umpire.
But India had impressed the crowd with their wizardry and the second
half was an exciting affair.
In the 38th minute, the match took on a physical look as both sides
tried to break the deadlock with India trying to score while Australia
were desperate to move upfront more often.
That was when Ajit received a nasty blow just below his knee and had to
be carried out. He required stitches and was out for 10 minutes but India
hardly missed him as the scored the opener off a penalty corner.
A dummy saw Jugraj with plenty of room and he slammed in the lead. The
desperate Aussies, who lost 4-2 to Holland on Sunday, needed to win and
the match became robust with four yellow cards flashed with two for each
side. In the 44th minute, Australia leveled with a penalty corner goal
from their skipper Craig Victory. It was following one of the rare
attacks.
India still dominated but poor finishing cost them as Australia fought
back and in the 58th minute, Josh Hawes scored a field goal which brought
the crowd to their feet.
Australia meet Argentina tomorrow and must win if they want to defend
their crown while India, who have only one point after a 2-2 draw with
Argentina, meet Holland in what will be their last chance to remain in the
running for the semifinals.
In pool E, England, who beat korea 5-3 on Sunday, continued their fine
run and drew 2-2 with Spain. They play Germany tomorrow and if they win,
it will be the fairytale of the tournament.
Today, the match of the day is between Holland and Argentina and it will
be interesting to see how the Dutch stop the speedy Argies.
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
HOBART: India were clearly the better team but champions Australia walked
away with three points after their Junior World Cup match at the Tasmanian
hockey centre yesterday.
In the last 15 minutes, India, who were trailing 2-1, displayed some
world class attacking hockey with little regard for defence but Australian
goalkeeper Leon Martin stood his ground.
And when the horn blew, even the Australian fans knew they were lucky to
have walked away as winners.
The first half was lopsided as Indian skipper Ajit Singh Gagan, Jugraj
Singh and Prabhjot Singh kept the ball in the Australian semicircle for
long periods with great stick work and superb team play.
In the 23rd minute, India scored off a penalty corner set piece, but the
goal was disallowed by the umpire.
But India had impressed the crowd with their wizardry and the second
half was an exciting affair.
In the 38th minute, the match took on a physical look as both sides
tried to break the deadlock with India trying to score while Australia
were desperate to move upfront more often.
That was when Ajit received a nasty blow just below his knee and had to
be carried out. He required stitches and was out for 10 minutes but India
hardly missed him as the scored the opener off a penalty corner.
A dummy saw Jugraj with plenty of room and he slammed in the lead. The
desperate Aussies, who lost 4-2 to Holland on Sunday, needed to win and
the match became robust with four yellow cards flashed with two for each
side. In the 44th minute, Australia leveled with a penalty corner goal
from their skipper Craig Victory. It was following one of the rare
attacks.
India still dominated but poor finishing cost them as Australia fought
back and in the 58th minute, Josh Hawes scored a field goal which brought
the crowd to their feet.
Australia meet Argentina tomorrow and must win if they want to defend
their crown while India, who have only one point after a 2-2 draw with
Argentina, meet Holland in what will be their last chance to remain in the
running for the semifinals.
In pool E, England, who beat korea 5-3 on Sunday, continued their fine
run and drew 2-2 with Spain. They play Germany tomorrow and if they win,
it will be the fairytale of the tournament.
Today, the match of the day is between Holland and Argentina and it will
be interesting to see how the Dutch stop the speedy Argies.
(END)
Will the nightmare end?
16/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
HOBART: How will the Malaysian juniors fare against South Africa today?
Nobody dares answer because if there are any awards for being erratic in
the Junior World Cup here in Tasmania, Malaysia will win hands down.
The first round is now history, some say a nightmare, and many feel the
new target of finishing ninth in this 16-team tournament will merely be a
dream if Malaysia fail against South Africa.
Scotland, who beat Chile 3-2 yester
day, look good to advance into the 9-12th placed classification matches,
and it is imperative that Malaysia win today.
They should be rested for they spent yesterday, a rest day for them,
doing some window shopping in the morning and they had a workout in the
afternoon.
Malaysia, if they win today, will not be assured of advancing in the top
two position as they have to beat Chile tomorrow to confirm their berth.
For the moment though, South Africa need to be slayed and it is not
going to be easy because they beat Chile 3-2 on Sunday and need the three
points as well.
They might find the Malaysian defenders, if Chua Boon Huat plays the
full match at the back, tough to crack. But the problem is, Malaysia have
not been impressive upfront.
Only one of the five goals they have scored in the campaign so far was
by a forward - Fairuz Ramil - while fullback Chua scored one, midfielder
Jiwa Mohan two and halfback Jiva Mohan one.
88 Forwards Zaharin Zakaria, K. Logan Raj and Tajol Rosli have hit a bad
patch but after the training session yesterday, they vowed to make amends.
"I know the statistics do not look good for the forwards but we have
been doing our best. The midfield has been great but I think tight marking
and robust play has stopped us from scoring," said Zaharin.
Yesterday, coach Yahya Atan was seen instructing his charges to play on
the right side while the left was used sparingly and they looked good. But
then again, nothing is confirmed with this team until the THE END is
flashed on the scoreboard. jugjet@nstp.com.my SECOND ROUND RESULTS
GROUP E
ENGLAND 2 SPAIN 2 GROUP F
AUSTRALIA 2 INDIA 1 LOSER'S POOL
GROUP G
IRELAND 2 CANADA 1 GROUP H
SCOTLAND 3 CHILE 2
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
HOBART: How will the Malaysian juniors fare against South Africa today?
Nobody dares answer because if there are any awards for being erratic in
the Junior World Cup here in Tasmania, Malaysia will win hands down.
The first round is now history, some say a nightmare, and many feel the
new target of finishing ninth in this 16-team tournament will merely be a
dream if Malaysia fail against South Africa.
Scotland, who beat Chile 3-2 yester
day, look good to advance into the 9-12th placed classification matches,
and it is imperative that Malaysia win today.
They should be rested for they spent yesterday, a rest day for them,
doing some window shopping in the morning and they had a workout in the
afternoon.
Malaysia, if they win today, will not be assured of advancing in the top
two position as they have to beat Chile tomorrow to confirm their berth.
For the moment though, South Africa need to be slayed and it is not
going to be easy because they beat Chile 3-2 on Sunday and need the three
points as well.
They might find the Malaysian defenders, if Chua Boon Huat plays the
full match at the back, tough to crack. But the problem is, Malaysia have
not been impressive upfront.
Only one of the five goals they have scored in the campaign so far was
by a forward - Fairuz Ramil - while fullback Chua scored one, midfielder
Jiwa Mohan two and halfback Jiva Mohan one.
88 Forwards Zaharin Zakaria, K. Logan Raj and Tajol Rosli have hit a bad
patch but after the training session yesterday, they vowed to make amends.
"I know the statistics do not look good for the forwards but we have
been doing our best. The midfield has been great but I think tight marking
and robust play has stopped us from scoring," said Zaharin.
Yesterday, coach Yahya Atan was seen instructing his charges to play on
the right side while the left was used sparingly and they looked good. But
then again, nothing is confirmed with this team until the THE END is
flashed on the scoreboard. jugjet@nstp.com.my SECOND ROUND RESULTS
GROUP E
ENGLAND 2 SPAIN 2 GROUP F
AUSTRALIA 2 INDIA 1 LOSER'S POOL
GROUP G
IRELAND 2 CANADA 1 GROUP H
SCOTLAND 3 CHILE 2
(END)
Lissek: I could strangle 'em
15/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
HOBART: National senior's coach Paul Lissek simply could not understand
why Malaysia failed to beat Scotland in the classification match of the
Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre yesterday.
But he was clear about one thing, throughout the match, he had a strong
urge to strangle some of the players and kick skipper Chua Boon Huat in
the backside, because they could have easily won the match but ended up
sharing points.
"There are no excuses for the way the team played today. I have told
them time and again to play on the right side of the field and after the
first 15 minutes, they started attacking from the left and the middle.
They have all the skills and fitness to become great players, but they
don't have it up there (pointing to the head) to win matches," said Lissek
after Malaysia drew 1-1 against a weak Scotland side.
"I even stood on the right side of the pitch so that they will get the
signal and have a better chance to score. In hockey, the right side is the
easiest to play on and score goals but K.Logan Raj, Jiwa Mohan and the
rest preferred to let their back stick do the work and the Scotts had an
easy time stopping them."
And after the first goal, the Juniors started attacking in numbers
because most of the time there were seven upfront while three were left to
guard the back.
"What were they trying to do? In their haste to score more goals they
left the back wide open for Scotland to equalise. Chua played as a
fullback, which is what he does best, but after the goal, he too went
forward to try and get his name on the score sheet.
"It was really bad hockey and a bad tactic, because against a team like
Scotland, we could have defended the one goal we had and walked off as
winners. Scotland do not have good strikers, Malaysia made them look good
by giving them too much of space to run riot at the back," said Lissek.
The German also lamented on their short-term memory.
"When I show them videos and point out what they are doing wrong, they
seem to understand and follow my instructions. But after 20 minutes of
play, they always go back to their own style and forget everything that
they have been taught. Against Scotland, I told them not to hold on to the
ball too long and attack from the right. But after a few minutes of play,
they started playing on the left and everybody held on to the ball longer
than it was necessary."
Lissek feels that the Juniors were exposed to hockey at a late stage in
their lives so it is very difficult to change their style of play.
"It is no use pounding them right now because the basics should have
been taught to them in the primary schools itself. It is too late to
change things when the players reach 16. Maybe we should concentrate on
younger players in the future."
Just like Malaysia, the rest of the teams in the Junior World Cup have
also been preparing for the past three years so the standard is pretty
much the same among most teams and the only thing that separated the top
eight from the bottom eight was the power to assess a situation and make
the most of it.
"Most people do not understand the German style of play, they see it as
boring, but I see it as winning points with the least amount of trouble.
If Malaysia had defended after the goal, like the Germans would have done,
they would have won three points instead of sharing it with Scotland."
Lissek expects the 2002 World Cup in Kuala lumpur to be equally
challenging: "The public will expect the team to make the semifinals but
it is not going to be easy. Before I left for Germany and then Tasmania, I
conducted a fitness test on the seniors and while some passed it, some did
not make the grade. But there is nothing to worry about, because right now
they are following a rigorous programme and should be ready for the 2002
World Cup.
"The World Cup brings out the best in most teams, so even those who are
termed as weak have an equal chance to do well. We can only prepare the
team, when they are on the pitch they make the decision weather they want
to play for a win or throw away the match," said Lissek.
The German cooled down a little after saying his piece, but tonight he
is sure to give the Juniors hell for throwing away three points. Jugjet@nstp.com.my SECOND ROUND RESULTS
GROUP E
GERMANY 2 SPAIN 1
ENGLAND 5 SOUTH KOREA 3 GROUP F
INDIA 2 ARGENTINA 2
HOLLAND 4 AUSTRALIA 2 LOSER'S POOL
GROUP G
FRANCE 1 IRELAND 0
CANADA 2 N ZEALAND 1 GROUP H
MALAYSIA 1 SCOTLAND 1
SOUTH AFRICA 3 CHILE 2
(END)
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
HOBART: National senior's coach Paul Lissek simply could not understand
why Malaysia failed to beat Scotland in the classification match of the
Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre yesterday.
But he was clear about one thing, throughout the match, he had a strong
urge to strangle some of the players and kick skipper Chua Boon Huat in
the backside, because they could have easily won the match but ended up
sharing points.
"There are no excuses for the way the team played today. I have told
them time and again to play on the right side of the field and after the
first 15 minutes, they started attacking from the left and the middle.
They have all the skills and fitness to become great players, but they
don't have it up there (pointing to the head) to win matches," said Lissek
after Malaysia drew 1-1 against a weak Scotland side.
"I even stood on the right side of the pitch so that they will get the
signal and have a better chance to score. In hockey, the right side is the
easiest to play on and score goals but K.Logan Raj, Jiwa Mohan and the
rest preferred to let their back stick do the work and the Scotts had an
easy time stopping them."
And after the first goal, the Juniors started attacking in numbers
because most of the time there were seven upfront while three were left to
guard the back.
"What were they trying to do? In their haste to score more goals they
left the back wide open for Scotland to equalise. Chua played as a
fullback, which is what he does best, but after the goal, he too went
forward to try and get his name on the score sheet.
"It was really bad hockey and a bad tactic, because against a team like
Scotland, we could have defended the one goal we had and walked off as
winners. Scotland do not have good strikers, Malaysia made them look good
by giving them too much of space to run riot at the back," said Lissek.
The German also lamented on their short-term memory.
"When I show them videos and point out what they are doing wrong, they
seem to understand and follow my instructions. But after 20 minutes of
play, they always go back to their own style and forget everything that
they have been taught. Against Scotland, I told them not to hold on to the
ball too long and attack from the right. But after a few minutes of play,
they started playing on the left and everybody held on to the ball longer
than it was necessary."
Lissek feels that the Juniors were exposed to hockey at a late stage in
their lives so it is very difficult to change their style of play.
"It is no use pounding them right now because the basics should have
been taught to them in the primary schools itself. It is too late to
change things when the players reach 16. Maybe we should concentrate on
younger players in the future."
Just like Malaysia, the rest of the teams in the Junior World Cup have
also been preparing for the past three years so the standard is pretty
much the same among most teams and the only thing that separated the top
eight from the bottom eight was the power to assess a situation and make
the most of it.
"Most people do not understand the German style of play, they see it as
boring, but I see it as winning points with the least amount of trouble.
If Malaysia had defended after the goal, like the Germans would have done,
they would have won three points instead of sharing it with Scotland."
Lissek expects the 2002 World Cup in Kuala lumpur to be equally
challenging: "The public will expect the team to make the semifinals but
it is not going to be easy. Before I left for Germany and then Tasmania, I
conducted a fitness test on the seniors and while some passed it, some did
not make the grade. But there is nothing to worry about, because right now
they are following a rigorous programme and should be ready for the 2002
World Cup.
"The World Cup brings out the best in most teams, so even those who are
termed as weak have an equal chance to do well. We can only prepare the
team, when they are on the pitch they make the decision weather they want
to play for a win or throw away the match," said Lissek.
The German cooled down a little after saying his piece, but tonight he
is sure to give the Juniors hell for throwing away three points. Jugjet@nstp.com.my SECOND ROUND RESULTS
GROUP E
GERMANY 2 SPAIN 1
ENGLAND 5 SOUTH KOREA 3 GROUP F
INDIA 2 ARGENTINA 2
HOLLAND 4 AUSTRALIA 2 LOSER'S POOL
GROUP G
FRANCE 1 IRELAND 0
CANADA 2 N ZEALAND 1 GROUP H
MALAYSIA 1 SCOTLAND 1
SOUTH AFRICA 3 CHILE 2
(END)
Juniors are back at it
15/10/2001
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
THE Malaysian juniors were back at what they do best at the TasmanianHockey Centre yesterday. Scotland were never in the match, but Malaysia made them look like asolid team with a pathetic display in the classification match of theJunior World Cup which ended in a 1-1 draw. Playing on Pitch B, Malaysia only won two penalty corners, one in eachhalf, and most of the time were happy to play with little imagination, andtheir stopping was atrocious. Scotland only had two clear chances in the entire first half but failedto score because they simply did not have any good forwards. Most of the first half was played in midfield and for the first sevenminutes the Malaysian juniors did not even manage to break into Scotland'ssemicircle because of poor passes. It was fitting that they played on the second pitch while India andArgentina displayed world class hockey on the main pitch. Twenty minutes into the match and still not a single shot was taken atgoal. Scotland goalkeeper Kris Kane must be as surprised as the 200-oddfans at the stands because Malaysia came with a reputation of having heldGermany to a 2-2 draw in the first round match. By the look of things yesterday, the draw was only a flash in the panand Malaysian hockey has hit an all-time low. The first half ended with Scotland looking the better team with somegood counterattacks while Malaysia were happy to have midfield possessionwith the ball moving from right to left and back again with no forwardplay. But two minutes into the second half, Mohamed Fairuz Ramli connected apass from K. Logan Raj on the left and scored. Malaysia started attacking after that with seven players upfront whilethree defended. Even skipper Chua Boon Huat, who played as a defender onthe first half, moved up in search of the second goal. In their eagerness to score more goals, they left the midfield wideopen. Most of the attacks were from the left of the field and notsuccessful. Scotland skipper Lawrence Doherty scored the easiest of goals when M.Jiwa, in trying to make a back pass to Chua, gave the ball away and allthe Scot had to do was beat Malaysia goalkeeper Mohamed Firdaus for theequaliser. With four minutes left on the clock, Scotland were the more dominatingside and won three penalty corners in succession. But their inability toeven stop the ball properly saved Malaysia from the humiliation offinishing their first classification matches without any points. "I fail to understand the boys anymore, after playing well againstGermany, they showed little imagination against Scotland. We are lucky tohave walked away with a point," said coach Yahya Atan. Malaysia next play South Africa tomorrow and by the looks of things,they are not even good for the ninth spot and might end up at the bottomof the table. But you'll never know what the erratic juniors will do next, so all bets are off.
By Jugjet Singh in Hobart
THE Malaysian juniors were back at what they do best at the TasmanianHockey Centre yesterday. Scotland were never in the match, but Malaysia made them look like asolid team with a pathetic display in the classification match of theJunior World Cup which ended in a 1-1 draw. Playing on Pitch B, Malaysia only won two penalty corners, one in eachhalf, and most of the time were happy to play with little imagination, andtheir stopping was atrocious. Scotland only had two clear chances in the entire first half but failedto score because they simply did not have any good forwards. Most of the first half was played in midfield and for the first sevenminutes the Malaysian juniors did not even manage to break into Scotland'ssemicircle because of poor passes. It was fitting that they played on the second pitch while India andArgentina displayed world class hockey on the main pitch. Twenty minutes into the match and still not a single shot was taken atgoal. Scotland goalkeeper Kris Kane must be as surprised as the 200-oddfans at the stands because Malaysia came with a reputation of having heldGermany to a 2-2 draw in the first round match. By the look of things yesterday, the draw was only a flash in the panand Malaysian hockey has hit an all-time low. The first half ended with Scotland looking the better team with somegood counterattacks while Malaysia were happy to have midfield possessionwith the ball moving from right to left and back again with no forwardplay. But two minutes into the second half, Mohamed Fairuz Ramli connected apass from K. Logan Raj on the left and scored. Malaysia started attacking after that with seven players upfront whilethree defended. Even skipper Chua Boon Huat, who played as a defender onthe first half, moved up in search of the second goal. In their eagerness to score more goals, they left the midfield wideopen. Most of the attacks were from the left of the field and notsuccessful. Scotland skipper Lawrence Doherty scored the easiest of goals when M.Jiwa, in trying to make a back pass to Chua, gave the ball away and allthe Scot had to do was beat Malaysia goalkeeper Mohamed Firdaus for theequaliser. With four minutes left on the clock, Scotland were the more dominatingside and won three penalty corners in succession. But their inability toeven stop the ball properly saved Malaysia from the humiliation offinishing their first classification matches without any points. "I fail to understand the boys anymore, after playing well againstGermany, they showed little imagination against Scotland. We are lucky tohave walked away with a point," said coach Yahya Atan. Malaysia next play South Africa tomorrow and by the looks of things,they are not even good for the ninth spot and might end up at the bottomof the table. But you'll never know what the erratic juniors will do next, so all bets are off.
All we get is lies damn lies!
14/10/2001
Game all with Johnson Fernandez
MALAYSIANS form the largest number of the foreign Press corp at the JuniorWorld Cup in Hobart, Tasmania. There are six of us, the others being Jugjet Singh (New Straits Times),V. Ashok (Berita Harian), S. Ramaguru (The Star), Asan Ahmad (Bernama) andSaadon Jaafar (Utusan Malaysia). In fact, there is just one other guy, from Holland. Four Nigerianjournalists are also registered but they have not been seen. There was a bit of excitement in Hobart that Malaysia had deemed itnecessary to send journalists to a junior event. There was generalamazement, and the obvious questions followed. Is hockey very popular in Malaysia? And so on... On the first few days we proudly announced that all the major newspaperswere in town because the Malaysian team were expected to do well. Some ofus genuinely believed that Malaysia were even good enough for thesemifinals. Even after the opening 3-2 defeat by New Zealand we clung on to the hopethat Malaysia would bounce back. We even thought that perhaps starting thetournament with a defeat may even be good for the team. And so we were still there the following day, still in a state ofdenial, for the game against Argentina. One minute into the game, Argentina led 1-0 and the Malaysianjournalists looked at one another. This was not good. Well, there wasstill 69 minutes of play left. When the second goal came, we knew how wrong we all were! The selection process had started about three years ago and this teamwere kept together for the last 11 months. They had cost the taxpayersabout RM2 millions. The Malaysians were just a bunch of losers. They may have wanted to playwell but they didn't know how. And worse, I don't even think the teamofficials knew the first thing about motivating the players. And that is something the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) and NationalSports Council (NSC) should think about when they appoint officials. But more than anything I need to tell them this - if a world classtournament is not being played at home, do not bother entering a Malaysianteam. Like some of our badminton players, the hockey team are also jaguhkampung. Or if they still insist on sending teams overseas, then be prepared tosend about 10 planeloads of supporters as well. Malaysian athletes have no character. It is not enough for the playersto know there are people rooting for them. They need to hear thesupporters. One of the habits of officials when they return from playing toursoverseas is they sing praises of the team and tell you how every playerperformed exceptionally well. They will never tell the truth for fear they may be replaced, or thattheir own quality as an official may be questioned. So they paint a veryrosy picture of the team's prospects. In fact, this is not the case of the hockey team alone but severalothers like soccer. The truth is always buried in a pile of cover-ups,distortions and lies. After the game against Argentina, as coach Yahya Atan walked towards thetraining pitch, he stopped where two Malaysian players were standing nearthe changing room. And he said to them: "Itu lah, suruh you orang lari bukit, tak nak. Itutak boleh, ini tak boleh. (This is the result. Tell you to do hill runsand you refuse. This cannot, that cannot). I was shocked to hear that. Very, very concerned because I asked myselfif Yahya enjoyed the respect of the players. Who was running the team? The officials? Or the players? Did the playersactually have a say in how they should be trained? Did they have the rightto refuse? I knew then immediately why this team had lost their two matches. No matter what happens from hereon, no need to pity the players.Basically, what we sent to Hobart were shirkers. They may have drawn with Germany and even finish as the best team in thelosers' pool by finishing ninth. Don't be fooled by it all. These players do not deserve sympathy. They had taken us all for a verylong ride - to Korea, India, Poland, Germany and Hobart.
Game all with Johnson Fernandez
MALAYSIANS form the largest number of the foreign Press corp at the JuniorWorld Cup in Hobart, Tasmania. There are six of us, the others being Jugjet Singh (New Straits Times),V. Ashok (Berita Harian), S. Ramaguru (The Star), Asan Ahmad (Bernama) andSaadon Jaafar (Utusan Malaysia). In fact, there is just one other guy, from Holland. Four Nigerianjournalists are also registered but they have not been seen. There was a bit of excitement in Hobart that Malaysia had deemed itnecessary to send journalists to a junior event. There was generalamazement, and the obvious questions followed. Is hockey very popular in Malaysia? And so on... On the first few days we proudly announced that all the major newspaperswere in town because the Malaysian team were expected to do well. Some ofus genuinely believed that Malaysia were even good enough for thesemifinals. Even after the opening 3-2 defeat by New Zealand we clung on to the hopethat Malaysia would bounce back. We even thought that perhaps starting thetournament with a defeat may even be good for the team. And so we were still there the following day, still in a state ofdenial, for the game against Argentina. One minute into the game, Argentina led 1-0 and the Malaysianjournalists looked at one another. This was not good. Well, there wasstill 69 minutes of play left. When the second goal came, we knew how wrong we all were! The selection process had started about three years ago and this teamwere kept together for the last 11 months. They had cost the taxpayersabout RM2 millions. The Malaysians were just a bunch of losers. They may have wanted to playwell but they didn't know how. And worse, I don't even think the teamofficials knew the first thing about motivating the players. And that is something the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) and NationalSports Council (NSC) should think about when they appoint officials. But more than anything I need to tell them this - if a world classtournament is not being played at home, do not bother entering a Malaysianteam. Like some of our badminton players, the hockey team are also jaguhkampung. Or if they still insist on sending teams overseas, then be prepared tosend about 10 planeloads of supporters as well. Malaysian athletes have no character. It is not enough for the playersto know there are people rooting for them. They need to hear thesupporters. One of the habits of officials when they return from playing toursoverseas is they sing praises of the team and tell you how every playerperformed exceptionally well. They will never tell the truth for fear they may be replaced, or thattheir own quality as an official may be questioned. So they paint a veryrosy picture of the team's prospects. In fact, this is not the case of the hockey team alone but severalothers like soccer. The truth is always buried in a pile of cover-ups,distortions and lies. After the game against Argentina, as coach Yahya Atan walked towards thetraining pitch, he stopped where two Malaysian players were standing nearthe changing room. And he said to them: "Itu lah, suruh you orang lari bukit, tak nak. Itutak boleh, ini tak boleh. (This is the result. Tell you to do hill runsand you refuse. This cannot, that cannot). I was shocked to hear that. Very, very concerned because I asked myselfif Yahya enjoyed the respect of the players. Who was running the team? The officials? Or the players? Did the playersactually have a say in how they should be trained? Did they have the rightto refuse? I knew then immediately why this team had lost their two matches. No matter what happens from hereon, no need to pity the players.Basically, what we sent to Hobart were shirkers. They may have drawn with Germany and even finish as the best team in thelosers' pool by finishing ninth. Don't be fooled by it all. These players do not deserve sympathy. They had taken us all for a verylong ride - to Korea, India, Poland, Germany and Hobart.
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