Monday, October 13, 2008

First Asia Indoor Hockey Tournament

THE first Asia Indoor Hockey Tournament will be held at the Indra Mulia Stadium in Ipoh on Dec 10-15.
And the tournament will be named the Azlan Shah Cup, as agreed by the Sultan of Perak in a meeting held on Sept 26.
“We have sent out invitations to a host of countries, and are expecting a good response before the closing date which is at the end of the month,” said Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) secretary Sgt Hashim Yusoff.
MHF will be working with the Asian Hockey Federation (AFH), with the tournament being run by the Perak HA.
And some of the countries which have been invited are Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Singapore, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Hong Kong, Iran and many others.
Meanwhile, the seven-team 18th Azlan Shah Cup will be held from April 23 to May 2 next year at the Azlan Shah stadium in Ipoh.
“The FIH (International Hockey Federation) has agreed to the date, and the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHF) will be sending out invitations soon,” said Hashim.
Malaysia will invite defending champions Argentina, Pak istan, India, Canada, Belgium and England. The reserves will be New Zealand, South Korea, China and South Africa.

FIH happy with Junior World Cup venue

INTERNATIONAL Hockey Federation’s (FIH) competitions manager Dennis Meredith gave the thumbs up after in specting Johor’s Junior World Cup venue on Oct 8.
Johor and Singapore will co-host the Junior World Cup on June 7-21 next year and the Lion city’s stadium was also inspected.
“Dennis made some minor recommendations like the need for four changing rooms from the present two, and doping sites.
“It should not be a problem, as we can use tents for the two additional changing rooms like how it was done during the Doha Asian Games,” said Malaysian Hockey Federation secretary Sgt Hashim Yusoff.
The venue, which is expected to be completed by March, is 90 per cent complete, with the artificial pitches yet to be laid.
“The turf has yet to be laid, but it is already at the stadium, and Dennis approved it after inspecting its quality,” said Hashim.
Hashim said FIH are also happy with the progress in Singapore. Johor will host 10 teams while Singapore another 10, with the opening ceremony in Singapore and final being played in Johor.
The facilities will be further put to test when completed in March with a four-nation junior invitational. The dry run will also test immigration, transportation and other logistics to avoid hiccups on the big day.
And an estimated RM1.5 million is needed to make the tournament a successful business venture.