Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Good start in Bangkok qualifier..

KUALA LUMPUR: The national women's under-18 team started their Asian Youth Olympics Qualifier campaign with a bang when they whipped Hong Kong 10-1 at the Queen Sirikit Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
  And the men also had a wonderful time, when they hammered Cambodia 23-0 in the hockey 5s tournament.
  Only the men's and women's finalists will qualify for the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aries on Oct 6-18.
  Putri Nur Batrisyia (first, 23rd), Siti Zulaika Hussin (fourth, eighth, 18th), Nurmaizatul Hanim Syafi (fifth, 11th, 28th), and Siti Nur Arfah Nor (19th, 20th) scored for Malaysia.
  Women's coach Yahya Atan said: "This big win is a good start for our campaign to try and qualify for the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aries. The players adapted well to the 'new' concept of hockey 5s and I believe they will not disappoint in the next matches as well."
  "I'm really proud of my players who not only claimed three points, but also won by a big margin. Tomorrow (today) we will play China and I believe it would be our toughest match in the tournament.
  "We need to tighten our game against China, especially when under counter-attack after losing the ball in attack."
  RESULTS: Men -- Malaysia 23 Cambodia 0; Women: Malaysia 10 Hong Kong 1.
  THURSDAY: Men -- Malaysia v Taiwan (11am), Malaysia v Bangladsh (5pm).
  Women -- Malaysia v China (10am), Malaysia v Taiwan (6pm).
  Note: Malaysian time.

JHL: Thunderbolts miss each other...

KUALA LUMPUR: All four Thunderbolts received a favourable draw in the quarter-finals of the TNB Cup starting on May 2.
  Anderson of Ipoh, Pahang Sports School (AHP-SSP), Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) and Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) play under the Thunderbolts banner and are sponsored by Tenaga Nasional.
  The four will not meet each other in the quarter-finals, and it was a relief for Anderson team manager M. Kaliswaran after an open draw with the top-four seeded was conducted.
  "At least we (Thunderbolts) passed the first hurdle and will not plat against each other in the last eight," said Kaliswaran whose side will play MBMB Warriors from Malacca.
  Coincidentally, Anderson finished second in Division One, while MBMB Warriors second in Division Two.
  "Yes, but that does not mean we will be playing against a weak side. I watched Malacca play in the Division Two final, and they have a very good side. I believe if we take them lightly, we will be in trouble," said Kaliswaran.
  Division two champions from Penang, MSSPP-PSHA, were drawn to play Pahang's AHP-SSP-Thunderbolts.
  All four Thunderbolts teams not only receive funding from Tenaga Nasional but also equipment as well as coaching expertise from former internationals who also played for Tenaga.
  Defending champions SSTMI were drawn to play against PJCC Tigers, and even though the Tigers ended sixth in Division One and barely made the quarterfinals cut, they held the champions 0-0 in the League.
  MAY 2: Quarter-finals: Anderson Thunderbolts v MBMB Warriors, MSSPP- PSHA v AHP-SSP-Thunderbolts, SSTMI Thunderbolts v PJCC Tigers, BJSS Thunderbolts v SMKDBL-UniKL-PHJ.