Johor HA turns 50 in style...

OLD GOLD: (from left) Balasingam, Poon Fook Loke, Tengku Abdullah and Wong Choong Hin.

 

 Though the match was played under a steady shower, the Johor Veterans and Mahkota United teams played their hearts out in a match to mark the 50th Anniversery of the Johor Hockey Association at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Baru.

     The Mahkota United team, led by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation president Tengku Abdullah Sulatn Ahmad Shah had four World Cuppers in their ranks - Dato Poon Fook Loke, K. Balasingam and Wong Choong Hin of the 1975 edition and Mirnawan Nawawi who played in the 2002 World Cup, both ironically played in Kuala Lumpur.

    And the JHA Veteran team was represented by the likes of former national junior coach Balbir Singh, former national team manager Kali Kavandan, former international umpire Faizal Abdullah who showed awesome reflexes in between the posts.

    The Johor team were also not short of quality coaches as A. Harbhajan Singh aka Samurai and former national assistant coach Gurmit Singh planned their tactics.

    Kali Kavandan opened scoring for JHA Veterans in the 9th minute but Mahkota United were on level terms in the 12th minute through Mirnawan.

    Fook Loke, who has lost none of his skills, turned out to be the saviour for Mahkota United as he saved a shot on the goal line in the second half.

    Though the match ended in a draw, every player who took the field was a winner as the match was played in the true spirit of sportsmanship.

KLHC ready for home run...

KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) received a second life-line yesterday, and they aim to use it to romp away with the Premier Division title in the Malaysia Hockey League.
   Double champions KLHC were doomed of losing their League title when they shed five points last weekend after losing 4-3 to Tenaga and being held to a 1-1 draw by Sapura.
  However, it was a good Friday for KLHC as table toppers Tenaga were shocked by bottom-of-the-table Nur Insafi-MBI to a 4-4 draw, while Sapura was held 2-2 by a struggling UniKL.
   And the champions whipped Maybank 6-1 to reclaim their top dog billing.
   “We were almost done in after losing five points and giving away the lead to Tenaga, but the other teams did us a favour and now that we are back at the top, we aim to remain there until the end of the League,” said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
   They next meet highly unpredictable Nur Insafi-MBI today, and have to go for early goals if they want full points.
   “I was shocked when I found out that Nur Insafi pulled off a draw against Tenaga. And the fact that that the Penang-Perak side were leading 4-1 at one time should serve a warning to my players.
   “There is no room for complacency tomorrow (today) and we need early goals to take command of the match,” said Dharmaraj.
   Nur Insafi only have one win, 3-2 against UniKL, after seven matches even though they have hired six foreign players.
  
PREMIER DIVISION

                        P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts
KLHC                7  5  1  1  32 8   16
TNB                  7  4  3  0  20 14  15
Sapura              7  3  2  2  15 13  11
Maybank            7  2  2  3  15 20  8
UniKL                7  1  1  5  13 21  4
Nur Insafi-MBI   7  1  1  5  12 31  4

DIVISION ONE

                    P  W  D  L  F   A   Pts
Forces          5  3  2  0  8   4   11
T’bolt           5  3  1  1  10   5   10
BJSS            5  3  0  2  18  14  9
Johor HA      5  3  0  2  15  14  9
Uniten          4  1  1  2  8   10  4
UiTM            4  1  0  3  5   10  3
Politeknik     4  0  0  4  6   13  0

  RESULTS: Division One -- Politeknik KPT 0 Thunderbolt 3, Armed Forces 2 BJSS 1, Johor HA 4 UiTM 3.
   TODAY: Premier Division -- KL Hockey Club v  Nur Insafi-MBI  (4pm),  TNB v  UniKL (6pm), Sapura  v Maybank (8pm).
   (All matches at Pitch II of National Hockey Stadium).
    DIVISION ONE: Politeknik KPT  v  Uniten  (Taman Daya, 5pm).

Second Edition of Sultan of Johor Cup rolls out..

A glittering launch, more then RM1 million in sponsorship and a world class field are the ingredients that ensures that the 2012 edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup will be one of the most eagerly anticipated world hockey tournament this year.

    His Royal Highness Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almahrum Sultan Iskandar graced the launch and received the sponsorship pledges, flanked by HRH Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, the President of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation and YAB Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, the Mentri Besar of Johor.

     Six teams, namely Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, India, Germany and Malaysia will contest it out for the trophy at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium, venue of the 2009 Junior World Cup, from the 11-18 November 2012. It is truly and international field, for the Junior World Cup has been won by only five nations since its inception in 1979 – Germany, Pakistan, Australia, India and Argentina.

     Germany are by far the most successful nation in junior hockey having won the Junior World Cup five times, 1979,1982,1985,1989 and 2009, with three of their wins on Malaysian soil – Kuala Lumpur in 1982, Ipoh in 1989 and Johor Baru in 2009.

     Thus it will be somewhat of a homecoming for the number one junior hockey team in the world.

    Pakistan (1979), Australia (1997) and India (2011) have also emerged World Junior Champions and the only other team to have won the world title is Argentina (2005).

    The Sultan of Johor Cup serves as a perfect platform for the teams in preparation of the 2013 Junior World Cup that will be held in New Delhi in December 2013.

 

THE SPONSORS

 

Johor State Government – RM500, 000: Genting Berhad – RM150, 000: UEM Land – RM100, 000: Ministry of Youth & Sports – RM100, 000: Johor Corporation – RM100, 000. Astro Arena – RM50, 000:Tenaga Nasional Berhad – RM50, 000: SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd – RM50, 000: Iskandar Waterfront – RM50, 000: Central Malaysian Properties – RM30, 000. F&N Beverages – in kind (100PLUS).