TERENGGANU Hockey Team (THT) beat Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club 2-1 in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League yesterday.
The defeat has placed a dent on KLHC's title charge, with two more matches to go.
THT got their goals off Jang Jong Hyun (22nd) and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (35th) while Nor Faeez Ibrahim scored for KLHC in the 28th minute.
KLHC got themselves into trouble when they fielded Police trainees Nabil Fiqri and Razie Rahim for the Sapura match on Friday.
Both of them were only released for national training, to do weights, but went on to play for their club in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League instead.
When the Pulapol Camp Commander found out about it, they were asked to report back for training immediately and left the match at half-time.
And yesterday, both the national stalwarts were missing in action for KLHC in a crucial match against Terengganu Hockey Team.
It was the first game of the season for both the players, and it looks like it would be the last as well as their Police training is until the end of the year.
"This sneaky move has placed both the players hockey careers in a lurch, as they might not get a release from Police to play in the Asian Champions Trophy in Kuantan on 20-30 Oct," said an Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) official who declined to
be named.
However, KLHC coach Harun Rashid said he was not aware of the controversy surrounding his team.
"Razie and Nabil were not used for the second half on Friday for tactical reasons, while they did not play against KLHC today (yesterday) because they had Police training until late evening."
In another match, Sapura survived by the skin-of-their-teeth when they edged Universiti Kuala Lumpur 1-0 to top the standings.
It was a penalty stroke from Oscar William Wookey in the 38th minute which gave them three vital points to keep the League title in sight.
Otherwise, it was a listless match which saw mundane hockey being played for 60 minutes.
Meanwhile in Divison One, TNB Thunderbolt emerged as the League champions and went home RM30,000 richer following a 13-1 thrashing of ATM Airod. Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) and Universiti Teknologi MARA-KPT (UiTM-KPT) finished second and
third respectively.
In the President's Cup quarter-finals draw held yesterday, TNB Thunderbolt will meet Penang-based Nur Insafi, SSTMI go up against ATM Airod, UiTM-KPT plays Ipoh Municipal Council (MBI) and Politeknik Malaysia meets Bukit Jalil Sports School.
The first leg quarter-finals will be held on Sept 16 and return leg on Sept 18 followed by the two-leg semifinals (Sept 21 and 23). The final is on Sept 25 at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium. The champion of the President’s Cup receives RM30,000 and runner-up
RM20,000.
RESULTS: Premier Division -- Sapura 1 UniKL 0, Tenaga 3 Maybank 3, KLHC 1 Terengganu HT 2.
PREMIER DIVISION
P W D L F A Pts
SAPURA 8 6 0 2 14 11 18
KLHC 8 5 2 1 25 11 17
THT 8 5 1 2 22 14 16
UNIKL 8 2 1 5 8 12 7
MAYBANK 8 2 1 5 16 30 7
TENAGA 8 0 3 5 14 21 3
