THE 1Mas Hockey development program of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) tasted its first success when the Under-16 team won the FHE Cup held in Perth, Australia. The Malaysian development team was on top of their game when they defeated Western Australia Under-16 team 3-2 in the final.
The tournament saw six other teams competing and they were Western Australia, Japan, South West Academy of Sports, New South Wales Bushranger, Western Australia Under-15 State Team and New South Wales Golden Thun derbolts.
Lim Chiow Chuan, the Project Director of 1Mas Hockey program said: “The result was what we have been looking for, and I hope that the players will build on this and continue to improve.”
And as a further step to improve hockey in the country, a 1Mas Under-12 camp will be held on 9-13 Dec at the Ministry of Education pitch in Kuala Lumpur.
“The camp is a gathering of the 1Mas Under-12 pro gramme whereby centres will be able to meet other family members throughout the country and showcase their skills after 12 months of training at their respective centres. This camp will include fitness and basic skills tests and a tour nament amongst the training centres,” said Chiow Chuan.
On the Under-16 1Mas team, coached by Maidin Mo hammad of Negri Sembilan and Wan Noor Zuhari of Ke lantan, their progress was a pleasant surprise, as the players were selected in June, and from the initial 40 short-listed, the team was further reduced to the final 16 after a week’s training camp in October.
The FHE Cup started in Australia in 2007 as a junior event and focused around the under 16 tournament.
James Charles Lawson, Deputy Principal of the Clontarf Aboriginal College and a coach in Western Australia said: “I am ,astonished with the talent and discipline of the Malaysian players in the competition. The players not only performed well on the pitch but also earned the respect of everyone with their behaviour off the field.
“I hope that the 1Mas Hockey program will continue to flourish and produce quality players that will eventually represent the country in the near future.”
Group results: Malaysia 2 WA U-16 School Boys 0, Malaysia 2 Japan U-16 National Team 2, Malaysia 3 South West Academy of Sports 1, Malaysia 4 WA U-15 1, Malaysia 1 NSW Kelly Blues 1, Malaysia AirAsia 6 NSW Golden Thunderbolts 0.
Final: Malaysia 3 WA U-16 School Boys 2.
MALAYSIA: Adi Fazri Rahim, Danial Zafrin, Rozaini Ba harom, Izaidi smail, Abdul Muhaimin, Rahimi Iskandar, Jamil Johari, Ikwan Ishak, S. Devamoorthy, Syabariq Sham suri, Faid Farhadh, Ashraf Mohamed Noor, Fahad Naim, Khairul Ikhwan, Hafizi Roslan and Mawardi Hamirin.
