Maybank in for a rough ride

UNIKL are poised for another giant-killing feat when they meet Maybank in the Premier Division of the TNB-Malaysia Hockey League today.
It is the only matching encounter, while leaders Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club will have a chance to pile up their goal- count as they play Armed Forces Airod.
And second placed Sapura should be able to pull it off against Nur Insafi to keep pace with KLHC.
The University side made heads turn when they held Tenaga Nasional to a 3-3 draw with a last gasp equalsier, and then they kept up their furious pace against Sapura but were unlucky to lose 1-2.
UniKL, with young legs, have speed advantage and Noor Faeez, Rashid Baharom and Ramadhan Rosli have shown tremendous improvement.
And in goal, former Maybank player Abdul Hakim has pulled off some great saves to make his side look polished.
“We hope to snatch at least a point from Maybank, and we have been training hard for it,” said UniKL manager Amir Azhar.
Maybank have a rich tradition and have been with the MHL since its debut in 1987: “ We respect them as veterans in the MHL, but we do not fear them. My boys aim to match them, as I expect a close encounter.”
Maybank coach Wallace Tan was impressed with what he saw when UniKL held TNB to a draw, and killed off their title chase
“They are a young side but can’t be taken lightly. We have to thread with caution as they are fast and their counter. But still, we are optimistic that we can win if my players play to form.”
TODAY -- Premier League: UiTM v TNB (6pm, Pitch I NHS), Maybank v UniKL (6pm, Pitch II NHS), Armed Forces Airod v KL Hockey Club (8pm, Pitch I NHS), Nur Insafi v Sapura (8pm, Pitch II NHS).
Division One: BJSS v Ipoh City Hall (Ministry of Education, 8pm), SSTMI-Thunderbolt v Uniten (8pm, Taman Daya).
SUNDAY -- Premier League Sapura v UiTM (4pm, Pitch I NHS), UniKL v Nur Insafi Penang (5pm, Pitch II NHS), YNS v Maybank (6pm, Pitch I, NHS), TNB v Armed Forces Airod (8pm, Pitch I, NHS).
Division One: Ipoh City Hall v UNIMAP (Azlan Shah Sta dium, 5pm), SSTMI-Thunderbolt v BJSS (Taman Daya, 5pm).

Premier Division
P W D L F A Pts
KL HC 4 4 0 0 20 5 12
Sapura 3 3 0 0 9 3 9
TNB 4 2 1 1 12 6 7
Nur Insafi 4 2 0 2 8 11 6
UniKL 4 1 2 1 9 9 5
Maybank 3 1 0 2 6 7 3
YNS 4 1 0 3 5 16 3
UiTM 3 0 1 2 4 10 1
Airod 3 0 0 3 4 10 0

Division One
P W D L F A Pts
T’bolt 4 3 1 0 13 9 10
BJSS 4 1 2 1 10 5 5
Ipoh CH 4 1 2 1 8 13 5
UNIMAP 4 1 1 2 7 7 4
Uniten 4 0 2 2 5 9 2

Rich pickings at Sultan of Johor Cup

Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, Malaysian Hockey Federation president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman with the sponsors of the Sultan of Johor Cup at yesterday’s launch. — Picture by Zulkarnain Ahmad Tajuddin

By JJ Shah

THE state government's bid to turn Johor Baru into a sporting hub received a shot in the arm when the inaugural Sultan of Johor Cup was launched by Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar at the Johor International Convention Centre yesterday.
It will become the second annual international tournament in Johor Baru, joining the five-year-old Iskandar Johor Open Golf which draws big names from the European and Asian tours.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Ghani Othman listed cricket as the next international event that could be held in Johor Baru.
The Sultan of Johor Cup received a tremendous boost with a total of RM1.25 million in sponsorship at the launch.
In this year's tournament, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Korea and hosts Malaysia will compete at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium on Nov 5-12. The tournament, held in conjunction with the Sultan of Johor's birthday celebrations, has been sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and will feature on its hockey calendar.
"Due to time constraint, it is a six-nation tournament this year but we hope to bring European teams in the coming years and probably increase the total to eight or more teams," said Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar launched the tournament.
A total of RM1.25 million was raised from various sponsors with the Johor State Government contributing RM500,000 while other major sponsors include Johor Corporation, Danga Bay, Genting Berhad, Sapura Holdings, Sports Ministry, Century Logistics, Malaysian Pacific Corporation, SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd, Central Malaysian Properties, BCB Berhad, UEM Land Holdings Berhad, Tenaga National and Titan Chemicals Corporation.

Japan champs, Malaysia ffith

It was a week to remember for the girls of Japan at the 3rd Under-18 Asia Cup, which took place at the Queen Sirikit National Hockey Stadium in Thailand from 16th-25th September. The Japanese youngsters became champions of the ten team tournament thanks to a 1-0 victory over the heavily-fancied China.
Malaysian women’s hockey team finished fifth when they beat Singapore 4-0 in the fifth-sixth placing match. In the Group stages, Malaysia beat Sri Lanka 10-1, lost to China 3-1, beat Kazakhstan 16-0 and lost to India 4-1.
A big crowd turned up to watch the climax of an outstanding week of hockey action in Bangkok, and were not disappointed as the two finest teams at the event went head to head in search of the Gold medal. Both sides had a number of fantastic chances to score, but were thwarted by superb defensive work and brilliant goalkeeping. The only goal of the game arrived late in the second half, with Japan’s Minami Shimizu clinically executing a well-worked penalty corner routine.
It was a fitting climax to what had been a high quality tournament which suggests that women’s hockey in Asia has a very bright future indeed.
The tournament Bronze medallists were India, who crushed Korea 3-0 in a match which took place ahead of the competition final. Incredibly, both India and Korea topped the Pool phase of the competition before being beaten in the Semi Finals by Japan and China respectively.
Away from the action on the field of play, the 59th Asian Hockey Federation Council Meeting was another important element of the proceedings in Bangkok. The conference took place on Saturday 24th September.
Final Standings
1 Japan
2 China
3 India
4 South Korea
5 Malaysia
6 Singapore
7 Thailand
8 Sri Lanka
9 Kazakhstan
10 Chinese - Taipei

Individual Awards
Top Scorer: Nam So Ri (Korea) / Meisham Kiran Devi (India)
Best Goalkeeper: Manlika Thonhongsa (Thailand)
Player of the tournament: Haduki Nagai (Japan)
Player of the final: Luo Tiantian (China)

Information and Image supplied by Thai Hockey