UNIKL Young Guns were the team to beat last season, but this year, they have hit turbulent waters after just six matches in Division One of the Junior Hockey League.
From double silver medallists, the Young Guns are heading towards an empty season -- all due to overconfidence.
UniKL manager Faiz Isa said: "Preparation wise, this team has received the best compared to last season as we started very early, in fact, they have been playing and training together for almost nine months."
But the results have been akin to a yo-yo.
They started off by being whitewashed 1-6 by BJSS Thunderbolts, and have since lost 1-0 to Politeknik and drew 2-2 with the weakest Division One side -- SSTMI Juniors.
Before holding UniKL to a 2-2 draw, SSTMI Juniors were on a four-match losing streak and had let in 22 goals.
"I still can't come to grips with this draw as we played the bottom of the table team after beating number two SSP-MSP Thunderbolts 3-2 and could not seal three points.
"Its all due to overconfidence and also I don't see much promise in many players we have now. In previous UniKL teams you could pick out five or six players who were above the rest and they went on to represent the country in the Junior World Cup. But this team, I have yet to see any promising players."
UniKL, formed in 2009, has developed a string of national players for the men's team, and now will contribute towards the development of women players.
"UniKL will field a girls team in the WJHL and selections are ongoing right now. We have always been actively developing the men's hockey, and with this move, we hope to help women's hockey grow as well," said Faiz.
The closing date to register teams for the inaugural WJHL is Feb 5, and about 10 teams are in the midst of scouting for players.
Meanwhile four Malaysians have been appointed to officiate at the 12th South Asian Games hockey tournament in Guwhati, Assam, on Feb 5 to 14.
Daljit Singh is the Tournament Director, while Amarjit Singh the Umpires Manager.
Iskandar Rashdan and K. Illango will be the neutral umpires.
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
SSTMI TNDER' 5 5 0 0 26 4 15
SSP-MSP-TNDER' 5 4 0 1 28 7 12
UNIKL YOUNG GUNS 6 3 1 2 14 15 10
BJSS TNDER' 4 3 0 1 11 5 9
OLAK TIGERS 6 3 0 3 14 19 9
POLITEKNIK 5 2 1 2 9 8 7
PJCC 5 2 0 3 7 11 6
SMKDBL YOUNG GUNS 6 1 1 4 10 16 4
NURINSAFI 5 0 2 3 6 21 2
SSTMI JRS 5 0 1 4 5 24 1
Monday, February 1, 2016
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