Monday, October 1, 2012

By George! It's quite the contrary..

NATIONAL team manager George Koshy, who is also Kuala Lumpur HA president, yesterday said the two-day national camp on the eve of Razak Cup will be held as planned.
    On Sunday, KLHA secretary V. Rajamanickam had said that the national camp must be called off as states’ preparations for the Razak Cup would be affected.
   The Malaysia Hockey League ends on Oct 10, and national coach Paul Revington will call up about 30 players for a two-day training on Oct 11 and 12, and the Razak Cup starts two days later.
    Rajamanickam had said: “I know that I risk being suspended by the MHC (Malaysian Hockey Confederation) for making this call. But the truth must be said, and I am not worried about the repercussions that might come with it.
  “The tournament starts on the 14th of October and it is ridiculous for the national coach to call for a two-day training camp which will deny the states a chance to re-group their squads.”
   However, Koshy said: “The national team’s programme would proceed as planned because it was communicated to the MHC (Malaysian Hockey Confederation) and that’s his (Rajamanickam’s) opinion as secretary of KLHA.
   “The two-day camp in Kuantan is critical to our overall preparation. The players called up have been laying tough games over five weeks and this (two-day stint) would give them a much needed recovery period,” said Koshy.
     And 1975 World Cup player K. Balasingam also called in to give his opinion on the matter.
    “I seriously don’t understand what the fuss is all about as the national coach has called for training and this would only benefit the states when their charges play in the Razak Cup.
   “Also, Rajamanickam is the KLHA secretary while his president (Koshy) is the national team manager and it looks like both of them have a communication breakdown,” said Balasingam.
   Meanwhile, the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) technical committee stuck to their guns, when they decided yesterday that Tenaga Nasional’s Faizal Saari and Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club’s Ahmad Kazamirul are not eligible to play in the first leg semi-finals of the Premier Division after picking up demerit points in the League.
    Tenaga Nasional had protested during the semi-finals draw on Sunday as they felt the MHL competition rules were unclear on the matter of demerit points being carried forward to the knock-out stages.
    The technical committee also decided that the Division One semi-finals between Johor HA and Thunderbolts would be played at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor to save cost.

Tiger to terrorise Mines...

TIGER Woods, winner of 14 major championships and a  two-time FedEx Cup champion, will lead a sterling cast in the  CIMB Classic at the Mines Resort and Golf Club on Oct 25- 28.
     It will be Tiger’s first appearance in the Third Edition of the  Classic, which is the only PGA Tour co-sanctioned event in  Malaysia.
     Other winners from the 2012 PGA Tour season who are in  the field include Nick Watney (The Barclays), Jason Dufner  (Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the HP Byron Nelson  Championship) and Carl Pettersson (RBC Heritage).
     Scott Piercy (RBC Canadian Open), Rickie Fowler (Wells  Fargo Championship), John Huh (Mayakoba Golf Classic),  Kyle Stanley (Waste Management Phoenix Open), Bill Haas  (Northern Trust Open), Johnson Wagner (Sony Open in  Hawaii) and Marc Leishman (Travelers Championship).
      Tiger won three times on 2012 on the PGA Tour – at the  Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, the  Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance  and the AT&T National.
     In addition to the players who gained entry via the FedEx  Cup, 2010 champion Ben Crane, Martin Laird, Sean O’Hair,  Ricky Barnes, Cameron Tringale and 2008 Masters cham pion Trevor Immelman all received sponsors’ exemptions  into this year’s field.
  The other two sponsors’ exemptions are Malaysians Danny  Chia and Shaaban Hussin.
    “We are excited about the strength and depth of field at this  year’s CIMB Classic,” said Executive Director Todd Rhine hart.
    “The 2012 PGA Tour season has been as thrilling and  competitive as I can remember with comeback victories,  players winning multiple events and emerging new stars,  many of whom will tee it up in Malaysia. We look forward to  watching these great players come to the Mines Resort and  Golf Club for the CIMB Classic.”
     Sanctioned by the PGA TOUR, Asian Tour and Professional  Golf Association of Malaysia, the CIMB Classic will see a top  class international field of 48 players competing for a US$6.1  million prize purse, with US$1.3 million going to the winner.

Bernama Sports Desk Chief Zulhimi Dies

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- Zulhilmi Supaat, head of the Sports Desk at the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), died on Monday at Selayang Hospital. He was 44.
    His widow, Noor Aidah Idris, 37, said Zulhilmi was admitted to the hospital last night after he complained of difficulty breathing. He died at 7.45 am.
    Zulhimi leaves behind four children, Amir Fitri, nine, Alya Farisah, seven, Aina Farizah, six, and Akmal Fahmi, five.
    He joined Bernama in 1992 and had covered various sports events in the country and abroad, including the recent Olympic Games in London, the Asian Games in Guangzhou in 2010, the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010 and the Thomas Cup badminton tournaments.
   Zulhimi was also a committee member of the Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM).