Pahang lift first RNA Cup

PAHANG lifted the Fifth Raja Noora Ashikin Cup when they defeated Armed Forces 2-1 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
It was the first win for the East Coast side since the inception of the tournament in 2000, and it was a hard-fought one in a steady drizzle.
Pahang took the lead off Fazzilla Slvester Silin in the eighth minuet, but Armed Forces refused to give up and equalised off Nadia Abdul Rahman in the 25th minute.
But they were not to be denied their glory, when Fazzilla nailed the winner for them 52nd minute.
In the bronze fight. Police beat KL Sukma 5-3, but the score does not tell the whole story as they had to come back from two goals down before winning.
The young KL side took the lead in the third minute off their skipper Nor Azlin Sumantri, but Police drew level in the seventh minute off Aida Fazriniza.
But KL Sukma then took control of the match to score two goals off Nur Farah Shahira (8th) and Fathih Hasni giving them a 3-1 lead.
Police fought back to reduce the deficit in the 39th minute through Aida and the inexperience begin to tell as KL Sukma wilted under pressure.
Che Inan Melati Ibrahim leveled the scores in the 56th minute and Angela Kais (68th) and Norhafizah Razali’s made sure the third spot.
RESULTS: Final -- Pahang 2 Armed Forces 1; Third-Fourth: KL Sukma 3 Police 5.
KUALA Lumpur reached the semi-finals of the National Under-14 in style when they hammered Malacca 5-0 at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium yesterday.
The win gave them the second spot in Group A on 10 points, and they will play Perak in the lest four today.
The other semi-finals will be between tournament favourites Terengganu and Kelantan.
RESULTS: Group A -- Kuala Lumpur 5 Malacca 0, Negri Sembilan 2 Perlis 3, Johor 3 Terengganu 6.
Group B: Selangor 5 Sabah 0, Kedah 2 Penang 5, Kelantan 2 Pahang 1.
TODAY: Semi-finals -- Terengganu v Kelantan (5pm), Perak v Kuala Lumpur (7pm).

Champions Challenge: Malaysia 1 Canada 3

South Africa celebrates a win at home in Johannesburg against Poland

(Photo: Duif Du Toit, Gallo Images)

MALAYSIA looked like they were on a safari holiday in South Africa when they went down meekly 3-1 to Canada in the Champions Challenge I at the Randburg Hockey Stadium yesterday.
And their lacklustre attitude could be because the first three group matches in the eight-team tournament does not matter at all, since the International Hockey Federation (FIH) drew a quarter-finals fixture for the Challenge.
All eight teams are already assured of playing in the last eight, and that could back-fire by lowering the standard of play in the group stages.
Team manager George Koshy summed up the game as sloppy, and not up to the normal standard of his players.
“It was a sloppy show from Malaysia, and well below what they are capable off. They gave away the ball too easily, and made many unforced errors,” said Koshy.
And what could be the reason for that: “They failed to settle down quickly, and needed the whole of the first half to gather themselves.
“That gave Canada the confidence they needed to win. However, I believe we will perform much better in our next match against Japan today (tomorrow),” said Koshy.
Malaysian coach Tai Beng Hai opted for a defensive approach in the first half, and Canada made inroads at will but failed to score numerous sitters until they won their firs penalty corner and converted.
Malaysia then drew level off their first penalty corner minutes from the half-time, when Amin Rahim flicked home.
But that was the only brilliant moment for Malaysia, as Canada took control of the second half and scored two more field goals for full points.
Malaysia next play Japan today, and it could turn out to be another safari excursion for Beng Hai’s men.
RESULTS: Group B: Canada 3 Malaysia 1, Argentina 2 Japan 2; Group A: India 3 Belgium 3, South Africa 3 Poland 1.
TODAY: Group A: Belgium v Poland (9pm), South Africa v India (11pm).
Group B: Argentina v Canada (5pm), Malaysia v Japan (7pm).
TUESDAY: Group A: India v Poland (9pm), Belgium v South Africa (11pm).
Group B: Canada v Japan (5pm), Malaysia v Argentina (7pm).
NOTE: Malaysian time.