Sunday, November 22, 2015

Mirnawan quits as well...

.In the wake of a disastrous outing, in the Junior Asia Cup, national juniors team manager Mirnawan Nawawi has quit the outfit. More changes can be expected when the MHC meet to discuss the teams future inside one week.

Hashim throws in surprise resignation...



MALAYSIAN Hockey Confederation (MHC) Competitions Committee secretary Hashim Yusoff has abruptly put in his resignation letter.
  His last day is today. Hashim confirmed his resignation from MHC, but declined to elaborate.
  The former Armed Forces player was brought into Malaysian hockey administration by the late MHF secretary S. Satgunam after the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.

Malaysia vent anger on Bagladesh

MALAYSIA beat Bangladesh 8-0 to finish fifth in the Junior Asia Cup in Kuantan yesterday.
  It was a lopsided match from the start, as Malaysia took a 3-0 lead at half-time and never let Bangladesh back into the match.
  Even though Malaysia failed to qualify for the Junior World Cup next year, they still showed some determination to beat China 5-1 in the seventh-eighth classification, and then Bangladesh by a big margin.
  Sufi Ismat scored a brace in the second and sixth minutes, while Haziq Samsul also nailed a hat-trick in the 30th, 44th and 66th minutes.
  The other goals were scored by Najmi Jazlan (56th, 58th) and Azwar Rahman (56th).
  "Even though we failed to qualify for the World Cup, these players still deserve praise because its not east to wake up from such a disaster to beat China and Bangladesh by big margins in the lower classification," said coach Arul Selvaraj.
  Seniors coach Stephen van Huizen, who is in Kuantan to watch the matches, will select seven players from the juniors squad to train with him.
  Three players who have played with the seniors before in many international tournaments Shahril Saabah, Meor Hassan and Haziq Samsul are among the seven.
  "I will select seven, including the three that have played with the seniors before because there are many talented players in the juniors side, and its unfortunate that they did not qualify for the Junior World Cup," said Van Huizen.
  The seniors are in training for the Azlan Shah Cup next April, where teams like Germany and Netherlands have been invites. Defending champions New Zealand, silver medallists Australia, India, England and Japan are the other teams that have been invited for the Silver Jubilee of the Cup.
  RESULTS: Seventh-Eighth: China 7 Oman 2; Fifth-Sixth: Malaysia 8 Bangladesh 0; Third-Fourth: Japan x South Korea x; Final: India x South Korea x.

Germany, Netherlands invited for Azlan Shah Cup

THE Malaysian Hockey Condeferation (MHC) have invited Germany and Netherlands for the 25th Azlan Shah Cup on April 7-17 next year.
  The Silver Jubilee of the Cup, which started as a biennial event in 1983 and then became a yearly tournament in 1998, will be an eight-team event and follow the quarter-finals format for all teams.
  Malaysia will be up against the best teams in the world like Australia, England, India, New Zealand and Japan -- provided the teams accept the invitations sent on Oct 29.
  To date, India is the only team which has replied in the positive.
  Australia are the most successful Azlan Shah Cup team with eight titles (1983, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014), followed by India who won five golds including the 2010 joint champions with South Korea (1985, 1991, 1995, 2009, 2010*)
  Germany and Netherlands rarely take up the invitations due to clash with domestic tournaments. Germany won in 1987 and 2001 while Netharlands won in 2006.
  Malaysia have never won gold in the tournament but have five silvers to show (1985, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014), while New Zealand are the defending champions as they beat Australia 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out after a 2-2 draw in regulation time last year.
  Malaysia are in training under coach Stephen van Huizen and Technival Director Tery Walsh but it would be too much to as for a gold in the 25th Edition.

JAC 2015: Malaysia 5 China 1

MALAYSIA beat China 5-1 in the seventh-eighth classification match in the Junior Asia Cup in Kuantan Saturday, where only pride was at stake.
  Coach Arul Selvaj's boys will now meet Bangladesh in the fifth-sixth classification today after they beat Oman 3-2 in shoot-out. The full time score was 2-2.
  Shahril Saabah scored a hat-trick (41st, 52nd, 64th) while the other goals were scored by Nik Aiman Rozemi (56th) and Syed Shafiq Cholan (67th). The China goal was scored by E Wenlong in the 53rd minute.
  At half-time the score was 0-0: "During the break I lost my head a little and 'punished' some boys who were not putting in any effort, because this was a match to show the stake holders MHC (Malaysian Hockey Confederation) and NSC (National Sports Council) that these boys should not be disbanded just because they lost concentration for the last two minutes against South Korea.
  "Yes, we missed the Junior World Cup boat by two minutes, but we have some very talented players in this squad and they should have a continuous programme to make them better players," said Arul.
   Arul used his second goalkeeper Fazri Rahim for the full duration of the match and he played a big role in stopping China.
  "Fazri has never played a full match before and he proved that he can be relied upon and this is good for the future. As for Shahil, he showed the way for his team-mates on how to make a come-back from disaster and pick up the pieces no matter what.
  "We only have the fifth spot to aim for now, and we need to win by big margins to show that this team is not a bunch of losers, only that they fumbled for two minutes," said Arul.
  Malaysia lost out on the Junior World Cup when they allowed South Korea to come back into the match in the last two minutes, by scoring two goals to hold Malaysia 3-3, and then beat them 4-1 in the shoot-out.
  RESULTS: Fifth-eighth: Oman 2 Bangladesh 2 (Bangladesh win shoot-out 3-2), Malaysia 5 China 1.
  Semi-finals: Japan 6 India 1, South Korea 2 Pakistan 2 (Pakistan beat Japan 8-7 in shoot out).
  TODAY: Seventh-Eighth: China v Oman (3.45pm, Pitch II); Fifth-Sixth: Malaysia v Bangladesh (6pm, Pitch I); Third-Fourth: Japan v Korea (6.15pm, Pitch I); Final: India v Pakistan (8.30pm, Pitch I).
  Note: All matches at the Kuantan Stadium.