Holding back aces for Chennai Asian Champions Trophy...

 

By Jugjet Singh

jugjet@nst.com.my

MALAYSIA as well as other Asian teams are expected to hold back their firepower at the Chennai Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) which is just five weeks away from the Asian Games.

  The Chennai ACT will be held on Aug 3-12 and offers teams a chance to spar before the Asian Games, but Malaysian coach Arul Selvaraj see danger in exposing too much.

   "We will play the same teams in the ACT as well as Asian Games and there is a danger in revealing too much, especially in penalty corners, as both the tournaments are just five weeks apart.

  "The Asian Games is the end target as it offers the champion a place in the 2024 Olympics which we are gunning for right now. So, the AHF (Asian Hockey Federation) could have selected a better date for the ACT," said Arul.

  The usual suspects Malaysia, India, South Korea, Japan, China and Pakistan will play in both the ACT and Asian Games looking for glory in Asiad as it offers the highest prize in the world of hockey.

  Towards the Asian Games, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) have brought in Australian Olympians Glenn Turner and Kieran Govers on an ad-hoc basis, the most recent being on June 9, with more sessions planned until the team departs for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

  Malaysia will head for South Korea for 10 days on June 18-28, instead of Europe, as the ACT announcement threw a spanner in their schedule.

   "Malaysia are 10th while South Korea one rung above us and playing them will be good.

  "We had to cancel the Europe Tour (playing Belgium, Germany and Spain) because of the late Chennai ACT dates announcement," said Arul.

ends/

BACK IN ACTION.....

 Finally got back my blog today after a long battle,

  Will post regularly again, Have a nice day

I. Vickneswaran: New KLHA deputy president

 Former International I. Vikneswaran made his entry as deputy president with a 20-12 win over incumbent S. Samson 

Megat: New KLHA president

By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my


DATUK Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin (pictute) and his team made a clean sweep of the Kuala Lumpur HA elections Saturday, signalling an exciting period for grassroots development.
  Newly minted president Megat is a kick-ass kind of person who does not hide his emotions, and if one is not used to his sincere comments, one would consider him outright offensive.
  But he has not only brought a new team into KLHA, but loads of ideas as well as cash to bail out the sinking KLHA coffers.
  Megat beat incumbent Datuk Abu Huraira Yazid 21-11.
  Former International I. Vikneswaran made his entry as deputy president with a 20-12 win over incumbent S. Samson 
  The vice-presidents voted in are Faris Mustafa (26 votes), Wan Faizal Ismail (23), Hezibah Sudin (23), S. Vigneswaran (22), Meor Shahril Saarani (17).
  Incumbent vice-president K. Maheswari withdrew before elections.
  V. Muthu Kannu turned into the biggest giantkiller when he won unopposed over 30-year KLHA secretary V. Rajamanickam.
  And the new secretary did not even have to go through the ballot, as Rajamanickam withdrew minutes before the elections started.
  Treasurer Daljit Singh had won unopposed when nominations closed.
  "I would like to thank the outgoing president and his men and with this new team I hope to bring some positive chances in junior development at the KLHA Stadium.
  "And since we owe much money to DBKL (City Hall), we will meet with them soon to settle some of the issues.
  "Otherwise, we have to hold our first meeting first before I can lay out my future plans for Kuala Lumpur," said Megat.
  KLHA have the mist active league in the country but their cash flow has been horrible over the years and they are up to their eye-ball in debt.
  And the team which took over this hockey hot-seat of the nation came in with their eyes open and know what they are going to face.

V. Muthu Kannu: New KLHA secretary

MUTHU.. Giant slayer as incumbent secretary V. Rajamanickam withdrew from contesting minutes before the Kuala Lumpur HA elections.

Rajamanickam no more...

V. RAJAMANICKAM ... WITHDREW at 11th hour from contesting against V. Muthu Kannu in the Kuala Lumpur HA elections Saturday
  Rajamanickam spent 30 years in KLHA.

Injured S. Kumar confirm out...

Hockey Pre-Olympic Qualifier Kuala Lumpur April 26-May 4:
Malaysia's No 1 goalkeeper S. Kumar not on list of 18 to be announced Friday.
More in the New Straits Times.

Pic: S. Kumar.

Malaysia's VR gift to the hockey world..

PIC 2008: Malaysia's Kevinder Singh Makbul Singh (C, #19) scores past Japanese goalkeeper Hirofumi Miyoshi (R, #21) during the first half of the men's hockey qualifiers for the Beijing Olympics in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture on April 12, 2008. Malaysia and Japan ended a 3-3 draw. AFP PHOTO / Kazuhiro NOGI (Photo credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)


COLUMN
By Jugjet Singh

KUALA LUMPUR: Not many know that Malaysia gifted the hockey world Video Referral on April 12, 2008 in Kakamigahara, Japan.
  This scribe was assigned to cover the Beijing Olympics Quallifier and was part of the history which opened the eyes of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on the need for a third-eye.
  But sadly, the FIH shut their eyes again when Malaysia needed VR for the World Series which will be held at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on April 26-May 4.
  Flashback.
  Malaysia, coached by Sarjit Singh, needed to beat Japan while Japan needed a draw to play in the final against mighty Germany.
  The scene was serene, as Kakamigahara stadium is surrounded by vast rolling paddy fields, but it turned out to be a day of utter havoc.
  The cool evening breeze brought along scents of sakura in full bloom, and the match started well with Malaysia taking a 3-1 lead when the late Chua Boon Huat opened scoring while Jiwa Mohan and Kelvinder Singh added more misery to the hosts and it was only 33 minutes into the match.
  But as usual, Malaysia started crumbling and Japan scored their second goal off Tomonori Ono in the 35th minute.
  And while Japan celebrated, the crowd kept shouting to the two umpires, Hamish Jamson from Britain and Australian Murray Grime, to look at the big scoreboard which kept showing an amazing replay -- at least three times before the screen went blank.
  The replay showed that Ono scored with his right thigh, as the ball missed his stick by inches, but both the umpires' views were blocked.
  Grime was standing about 10 feet exactly behind Ono, while Jamson was at the middle of the pitch and his view was blocked too.
  Grime blew for goal, while Malaysian goalkeeper S. Kumar kept asking the umpire to look up at the big screen but the Australian never did.
  That freak goal ignited a fightback which Japan needed, and they went on to score the third in the 69th minute and qualified to play Germany in the final.
  Malaysia were clearly robbed but there was no VR to lean on, back then.
  Players were in tears, while coach Sarjit was fuming mad but did not know what to do.
  But the German tournament director knew what to do and he approached Sarjit and asked Malaysia to appeal the goal inside 20 minutes, as regulation allows.
  The match had already ended 15 minutes ago and with 5 more minutes remaining to place the protest, there was panic at the Malaysian bench on who, how and what to write inside 5 minutes...
  This scribe, watching everything unfold before his eyes then stepped in by tearing off a piece from his reporters notebook, writing a two paragraph appeal with flying fingers and handed it to team manager Satish Kumar to sign.
  The German TD took the letter, with a US500 deposit, and walked away smiling.
  "I remember that faithful day clearly as it started a strong lobby for VR in Europe and the world benefited a year later when VR was used in the Melbourne Champions Trophy.
  "The TD gave us back our money (which never happened in any appeal back then) and said that nothing can be done about the goal scored with a thigh, but he will bring up this matter with the FIH to strengthen a lobby for VR.
  "Even FIH president Els (Van Breda) was sympathetic with Malaysia's plight and said something would be done soon about it, when I met her later," said Sarjit.
  And this is how the hockey world won a referral to have VR, on Malaysia's misery but it brought joy to good decision making for 11 years.

  Sadly, it would not be used in Kuala Lumpur for the Series Finals, as FIH decided to be fair to all but unkind to Malaysia.

India coaches' behaviour reaffirms why VR needed in Series Finals

By Jugjet Singh

jugjet@nst.com.my

Published in NST 12/04/2019

NOTE: The last 7 paras strengthen reason why VR is needed in Series, after what happened in the 5th Test Mas v India women.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Hockey Confederation competition manager Brian Fernandez Friday confirmed that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) is treating their video referral appeal as an urgent matter.

  The FIH held a meeting Friday, and will let the MHC know in a day or two.

  "It's an urgent matter and the FIH are holding a meeting today (yesterday) and will let us know early. We at the MHC strongly believe that as hosts, we need video referral for the Series," said Brian.

  The controversy cropped up when the FIH denied Malaysia the right to use video umpiring for the FIH Series Finals which will be held at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on April 26-May 4.

  In a brief statement FIH competitions committee secretary Martyn Gallivan said: "Following protracted discussions with the different host broadcasters in Malaysia, India, France, Ireland, Spain and Japan it would not be possible to provide the appropriate television feeds in several of the tournaments. 

  "FIH has therefore decided that the Video Umpire will not be provided at any of the FIH Series Final."

  A video referral will not only benefit the hosts, but all teams.

  "Lets say another teams calls for a referral and then scores a goal against Malaysia, it works for every team and not only the hosts.

  "It was a requirement in the bid paper, and we followed it to the dot and have arranged for the facilities.

  "To tell us now that we can't use it because other countries can't have the same set-up is injustice to MHC.

  "The last Test match between Malaysia and India (women) is a clear example on why we need video umpiring.

  "India claimed the ball hit a leg after the hooter and so there should not be a penalty corner. But the umpires saw otherwise. Video umpiring could have solved the problem and India would not have to walk out without defending the penalty corner," said Brian.

  It was an FIH recognised Test but still, hosts Malaysia let India off the hook by not pressing the umpires and Technical Desk to penalise India for not defending the penalty corner.

  Instead, an accommodating Malaysian coach K. Dharmaraj called out his charges after a prolonged standoff, as a gracious host.

  India coach Sjoerd Marijne also used vulgar words during the standoff, but still, Dharmaraj and the Technical Bench let him go off the hook.

  For the record, it was Malaysia 0 and India 1, when Dharmaraj's charges won a penalty corner seconds before the hooter.

  A video referral might have drawn the game, but nobody will know the real outcome now: "And this could happen in the Series Open if the FIH do not allow the use of Video Umpire," said Brian.

Azlan Shah Cup: Pressure turned them into bronze...

By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my

IPOH: Pressure turns charcoal into diamond, and so some 'inspirational words' from Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal turned a losing side into bronze medalists.
  After winning against Poland and Japan, Malaysia took a slide when they were beaten by South Korea and India and lost a chance to play in the Azlan Shah Cup final.
  Subahan did not mince his words, or his disappointment, when he lambasted the players and officials, saying that the MHC had given them everything possible and its payback-time.
  After the South Korea and India defeats, Subahan had said: "No more excuses, no more statistics to back up a defeat, no more 'we played well but lost'.
  "I don't want to hear all this from the coach (Roelant Oltmans) when we play in the Series Finals in KL.
  "I want results. And it should start on Friday when we play Canada, and again on Saturday if both teams qualify for the bronze medal bracket," said Subahan.
  His prodding saw Malaysia beat Canada 3-2 and 4-2 to win a rare second bronze in the Cup.
  However, everybody expected Malaysia to play in the final of the Azlan Shah Cup, and the MHC even had hoped of finally breaking the gold medal jink since 1983.
  But it turned out to be just another tournament for the generous hosts, as South Korea claimed their third Azlan Shah Cup gold, India silver and Malaysia bronze.
  In the beginning, the hosts beat Poland and Asian Games champions Japan with easy, setting the fans salivating for a miracle.
  But this bunch cracked when it mattered most against India and South Korea, and this has been happening for ages.
  When Malaysia are under no pressure to deliver, they will even beat the best in any tournament, like they did against Canada in the last pool match.
  But when it matters most, the Malaysian team always falters.
  But inspired by the warning from Subahan, the failure script was thrown out of the window, and it became a success story, albeit on a smaller scale.
  Hopefully Mr President will be on their minds again when they start their pre-Olympic Qualifier, the FIH Series Finals in Kuala Lumpur on April 26 to May 4.
  The other teams in this pre-Olympic Qualifier are not big guns and Malaysia even has the advantage as hosts.
  Group A is made up of Canada, Austria, Wales and Belarus.
  Malaysia are in Group B with China, Brazil and Italy.
  An appearance in the final against Canada, and a possible gold medal by beating them for the third straight time, is what MHC and Malaysia needs going into the final Olympic Qualifier in November.

28th Azlan Shah Cup: Gold for Smart Korea...

By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my

IPOH: South Korea played smart hockey to take the Azlan Shah Cup final into shoot out and then a stylish goal from skipper Lee Nam Young saw them lift the Azlan Shah Cup for the third time.
  The match ended 1-1, just like the pool stage, but in the end South Korea won the shoot-out 4-2.
  Nam Young took the final shoot-out, and charging in, he lifted the ball over the goalkeeper for victory.
  India took an early lead off Simranjeet Singh in the 9th minute, and held onto dear life until the last quarter.
  Korea never stopped presing, while also keeping India in check, and they were finally rewarded in the 47th minute, when they won a penalty stroke and Jang Jung Hyun almost tore the netting for the equaliser.
  The lucky strike took Korea into a shoot out.
  For the record, before the final, India had won four golds and shared one with South Korea (1985, 1991, 1995, 2009 and shared 2010 because of rain), while Korea had won in 1996 and shared the 2010 gold.
  PLACING: South Korea, India, Malaysia, Canada, Japan, Poland.
  AWARDS:
  Fairplay (Raja Ashman Shah Trophy): Japan.
  Man-of-the-Final: Jang Jung Hyun (Korea).
  Top Goal Scorer: Mandeep Singh (India) and Jang Jung Hyun (seven goals each).
  Best Goalkeeper: Kim Jae Hyeon (Korea).
  Player-of-the-Tournament: Surender Kumar (India).
 

Azlan Shah Cup: Malaysia win rare bronze..

By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my


IPOH: Malaysia won a rare Azlan Shah Cup bronze when they beat Canada 4-2 Saturday.
  It way way back in 1996 when the first bronze was wrestled away from Great Britain in a 4-3 penalty stroke competition, after the match ended 2-2.
  The second bronze should inspire Malaysia to do much better in the FIH Series Finals in Kuala Lumpur on April 26 to May 4.
  When Malaysian coach Roelant Oltmans was asked what positives his team will take into the pre-Olympic Qualifier, he was short and sharp.
  "Wait and see, wait for the tournament to answer your question.
  The other teams in this pre-Olympic Qualifier are not big guns and Malaysia even has the advantage as hosts.
  Group A is made up of Canada, Austria, Wales and Belarus.
  Malaysia are in Group B with China, Brazil and Italy.
  And it looks like Malaysia will play Canada again, if both teams enter the final.
  Mark Pearson scored a field goal in the 14th minute, and the capacity crowd went silent for a few minutes, until Nik Aiman Nik Rozemi equalised off a 23rd minute penalty corner.
  From then onwards, local boy Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal (29th), Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (30th) and Faizal Saari (45th) made sure the bronze did not slip out of their grasps.
  James Wallaca narrowed the gap in the 59th minute, but the clock died on Canada's comeback aspirations.
  Malaysia failed against South Korea and India, but retained some pride when they beat Canada twice in a row.
  Penalty corners were a big letdown in both the crucial matches to take Malaysia higher up in the tournament.
  "We did have a good conversion rate in the other matches, but could have done better in the Korea and India matches. 
  "We will work on it, and Taeke Taekema (former world class Dutch flicker) will be back with goalkeepers coach Martijn Drijver (also from Netherlands) a week before the Series Finals," said Oltmans who also brought down both the Dutch legends for the Azlan Shah Cup.
   RESULTS: Final -- South Korea x India x; Third-Fourth: Malaysia 4 Canada 2; Fifth-Sixth: Japan 6 Poland 1.

Jittery Malaysia blow their chances...

By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my


IPOH: Malaysia fought bravely, but did not use their brains and South Korea shut the Azlan Shah Cup final door on them with a 2-1 win.
  South Korea and India will play in the final on Saturday, while Malaysia will have to battle with Canada for a third-fourth placing ticket.
  Eleven penalty corners were won, but only one scored, showed how jittery were coach Roelant Oltman's men.
  Malaysia were too eager to win the match in the early stages, and paid dearly for it.
  They missed many chances, and even a goal scored, as jittery fingers saw them falter in front of the goalmouth.
  Korea kept their cool even though the stadium was packed with their rival's fans, including Ultras Malaya who never stopped singing and beating their drums.
  However, it was Korea who danced to the drum-beat as Lee Nam Young scored an opportunist goal in the 31st minute and Jang Jong Hyun made it 2-0 off a penalty corner attempt in the 35th.
  Malaysia kept up the fight, never giving up, but a goal scored by Firhan Ashaari was disallowed as the umpire and video referal said it was a back-stick attempt.
  However, a fightback was inspired by Razie Rahim when he scored off Malaysia's eighth penalty corner in the 48th minute.
  And in the 57th minute, there was dramatic moments when Malaysia scored another goal, but the umpire turned it into a penalty corner.
 But still, the Koreans held on tightly to the lead.
  And in the end, 
Malaysia fought bravely, but did not use their brain but only brawn.
  "If the umpires had kept their whistle in the pocket a little longer we would have won the match. The players showed a world class performance today and even though they lost, I am still very proud with their display," said Oltmans.
  And the Dutch hotly disputed when asked if his charges were jittery.
  "Did you watch the game? Did you see the correct match? They were world class," said Oltmans.
  When pushed that they played well but were jittery at crucial moments, Oltmans hit the table and said "'No more, next question."

  
STANDINGS

                P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts
INDIA           4  3  1  0  14 6  10
S KOREA         4  3  1  0  12 7  10
MALAYSIA        4  2  0  2  12 10 6
CANADA          4  2  0  2  12 14 6
JAPAN           4  1  0  3  7  8  3
POLAND          4  0  0  4  3  15 0


  RESULTS: Poland 0 Japan 3, Canada 3 India 7, Malaysia 1 South Korea 2.
  THURSDAY: REST DAY.
  FRIDAY: India v Poland (4pm), South Korea v Japan (6pm), Malaysia v Canada (8.35pm).

From vision to reality, Sabah next...

COLUMN
By Jugjet Singh


Pic: Anil, Sabah HA president

IPOH: Malaysia is host to two of the only invitational hockey tournaments in the world, and are working to realise another one soon.
  The Azlan Shah Cup and the Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup is world renowned and even the International Hockey Federation (FIH) is in awe on how Malaysia can consistently organise both flawlessly.
  Now, Sabah is planning to host a women's invitational, and newly minted Sabah HA president Datuk Seri Anil Jeet Singh, when met recently, said all they want is more synthetic pitches to be built around the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex, and the tournament will become a reality.
  Anil said they need about RM1 million for the additional pitch, and another RM200,000 to make some minor upgrading works to the current pitch.
  And Sabah will have a women's invitational moulded to the Azlan Shah Cup.
  The Azlan Shah Cup was also born on a simple note, but now it is the most sought after tournament in the world, as all teams need to do is fork out fight tickets and the hosts will provide food, lodging and transport to and from the KLIA.
  Nowhere else in the world can one find such generous hosts who have been doing it since 1983, and never missing a beat into its 28th Edition this year.
  It all started when the late Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) secretary S. Satgunam was having a difficult time sourcing for funds to travel to Europe and other parts of the world to expose layers.
  It was an expensive affair as food, board and transport in Europe costs a bomb, but the late Sultan Azlan Shah was breathing down his neck to expose national players as he knew that was the only way to become better.
  Satgunam then came up with an idea to host an invitational in Malaysia, as it would be cheaper to bring six or seven teams down, than flying and playing in seven different countries.
  The rest, they say, is pleasant history.
  Sultan of Johor Cup is another success story which is partly because of the hard work of MHC vice-president Datuk Manjit Majid Abdullah.
  And now, Anil is in the picture to host a women's tournament in Sabah which has direct flights to-and-fro Kota Kinabalu to international destinations.
  Malaysia is a wonderful destination for hockey, and all because some people had a plan, and turned it into a vision.
  Over to you Anil, to realise another tournament in beautiful Sabah.

Canada tame fighting Japan

IPOH: Canada pulled off an upset of sorts when they edged Japan 2-1 in an epic Azlan Shah battle Monday.
  Eventough ranked 10th in the World, Canada did not look impresive but did just enough to claim full points.
  Japan were all over them, but man-of-the-match goalkeeper Antoni Kindler brought of some super saves in the fourth quarter.
  "I hate hockey, days like this, I really hate hockey," said Japan coach Seigfried Aikman.
  "Actually, I really hate losing and not hockey, and Canada are not an impressive team but my players made them look good by missing too many sitters.
  "Well, my players also made Canada goalkeeper man-of-the-match by taking poor shots at goal," said Aikman.
  Canada took the lead off Balraj Panesar in the 10th minute, but Ryosel Kato equalised in the very next minute, signalling another epic battle.
  However, James Kirkpatrick's 41st minute goal ended up being the decider, even though Japan tried every trick in the book to draw level but failed miserably in front of a towering Kindler.
  Canada coach Paul Bundy stuck to his learning curve: "It doesn't matter if we had won or lost this match. We can finish tops, or at the bottom of the pool, it does not matter because we came here to learn about ourselves and get ready for the FIH World Series in Kuala Lumpur in April.
  "That is where we want results," said Bundy.
  In the other match, Poland let slip a famous draw when a last minute blunder of a pass saw South Korea win 3-2.
  Poland twice took the lead, but in this haste to win, they threw away three points.
  The Poland goals were scored by Joseph Hillyer (28th) and Jacek Kurowski (40th), while the Koreans got their off Lee Namyong (40th), and Jung Manjae (56th, 60th).

Marked out of the match

By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my


IPOH: Malaysia played with a handicap as three regulars were tightly marked, and lost 4-2 to India in the Azlan Shah Cup.
  Confident and commanding, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Faizal Saari and Firhan Ashaari were taken out of the match by tight marking shadows.
  India looked fitter and controlled the match for long periods, resulting in goals from Sumit (17th), Sumit Kumar 27th, Varun Kumar 36th and Mandeep Singh (58th).
  Malaysia's goals were scored by Razie Rahim in the 21st minute and Firhan Ashaari in the 57th.
  "We played a fast and very entertaining game for the crowd but I am not happy with the end result. There are many positives to take from this game and now I know what to prepare for the (FIH World Series) Olympic Qualifier in April.
  "We had the game  in our hands at one point, but let it go, and after scoring the second goal we pressed harder but were punished with the fourth,"
  "Against Korea tomorrow (today) we need to make sure the players get a good rest and recovery work is very important," said Malaysian coach Roelant Oltmans.
  Malaysia next play South Korea today, and when asked about his opinion on the match, South Korea coach Shin Seok-kyo shook his head.
  "Next time I receive an invitation from Malaysia to play in the Azlan Shah Cup, I will throw it away," said a smiling Shin.
  Seriously: "Malaysia in his tournament is at their best, and will be difficult to beat. With the backing of their fans, it will be a very difficult match.
  "I love coming to the Azlan Shah tournament, as this is the best platform for us to test our players ahead of our FIH Series Finals in France (in June)," said Shin.
  

STANDINGS

                P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts
S KOREA         3  2  1  0  10 6  7
INDIA           3  2  1  0  7  3  7
MALAYSIA        3  2  0  1  11 8  6
CANADA          3  2  0  1  9  7  6
JAPAN           3  0  0  3  4  8  0
POLAND          3  0  0  3  3  12 0


  RESULTS: Japan 1 Canada 2, Poland 2 South Korea 3, Malaysia 2 India 4.
  WEDNESDAY: Poland v Japan (4pm), Canada v India (6pm), Malaysia v South Korea (8.35pm).
  THURSDAY: REST DAY.
  FRIDAY: India v Poland (4pm), South Korea v Japan (6pm), Malaysia v Canada (8.35pm).

Aikman picks Malaysia over India..

By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: So who will win today? India or Malaysia?
  When this question was posed to Japan coach Seigfried Aikman as well as Fitri Saari, two opposite reactions were received.
  Aikman picked Malaysia, while Fitri was cut short in his answer as coach Roelant Oltmans guarded him like a mother goose.
  Even though the question was asked in Bahasa Malaysia to Fitri, Oltmans was quick to jump in: "Ay, no such nonsence questions to my team. I understand what you asked, and the answer is 'No' to such questions. We have our own plans and programmes in this tournament and the question will answer itself at the end of the tournament!."
  "They say India is a young team (Minus their injured seven World Cup players) but still, 90 per cent of them have played in the Junior World Cup as well as other high ranking tournament and so you can't say they are inexperienced.
  "They are fast and skilfull, we just have to play our own style and the result will come," said Oltmans.
  Aikman picked Malaysia based on counter attack, fitness as well as Faizal Saari's form in the tournament.
  "Malaysia are fast on counter attack and they keep doing it the entire match (against Japan and Poland) because their fitness level is high. They are in the final stages in preparation for the FIH Series Finals and naturally, this is to be expected.
  "Also, the way the team feeds balls to Faizal, and his finishing, I believe Malaysia have the edge over India to win," said Aikman who never shies away from any question.
  Faizal has nailed a hat-trick against Poland and two goals against Japan and will be a guarded man today.
  India skipper Manpreet Singh, Asian Hockey Federation Player-of-the-Year 2018, did not mince his words as well.
  "We are here to win the tournament, and to do that, we have to first beat Malaysia. It was disappointing to lose two points to South Korea (drew 1-1) and we can't afford to lose any more points," said Manpreet who is the livewire and mastermind of India.

Malaysia alive and kicking ...

By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian hockey came back to life in the Azlan Shah Cup, when they beat Japan for the fourth straight time since the Jakarta Asian Games nightmare.
  This match could be the turning point to not only advance to the final in Ipoh, but stamp their mark in the FIH Series Finals which Kuala Lumpur will host on April 26 to May 4.
  Japan coach Siegfried Aikman had said a day before the sizzling match that Malaysian hockey had died in Jakarta when we lost the shoot-out and also the gold to Blue Samurai.
  He meant a mental death, but four straight wins against Japan showed that the Asian Games was a one-off summer for the Samurai, and not the death of hockey in Malaysia.
  Starting with the Darwin International 4-0 win, Malaysia went on to beat Japan twice in the Asian Champions Trophy.
   Malaysia won 3-0 in the pool stage, and then held them to a 2-2 draw before winning the bronze 3-2 on shoot-out.
  And now the Azlan Shah Cup..
  Aikman had requested Malaysian fans to show up in force to resurrect their team's mental death, and the people of Ipoh took up the clarion call and it was a match to cherish for a long time.
  However, Malaysia need to keep their feet on the ground as they next play three strong teams in India, South Korea and Canada.
  These three have shown that they have the heart, desire and legs to play in the final, and Malaysia need to play much better than their previous two matches to shut the door on them.
  "The fans in Ipoh are really great and they made the difference. However, Malaysia did not win the match, but we gave it to them by making three silly passes which resulted in three goals," said Aikman a Dutchman of Surinamese origin.
  A win is a win, by hook or crook...


STANDINGS

                P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts
MALAYSIA        2  2  0  0  9  4  6
S KOREA         2  1  1  0  7  4  4
INDIA           2  1  1  0  3  1  4
CANADA          2  1  0  1  7  6  3
JAPAN           2  0  0  2  3  6  0
POLAND          2  0  0  2  1  9  0


  TUESDAY: Japan v Canada (4pm), Poland v South Korea (6pm), Malaysia v India (8.35pm).
  WEDNESDAY: Poland v Japan (4pm), Canada v India (6pm), Malaysia v South Korea (8.35pm).
  THURSDAY: REST DAY.
  FRIDAY: India v Poland (4pm), South Korea v Japan (6pm), Malaysia v Canada (8.35pm).

Killer blow to KLHA

By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my


IPOH: Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association (KLHA) received a bitter blow when they were told to vacate the Pantai Hockey Stadium by the end of the month.
  The contract between KLHA and owners Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) ended last August but the letter to vacate was only received a few days back.
  KLHA have been having their base at the stadium since 1987, and will be appealing the eviction.
  KLHA secretary V. Rajamanickam, president Datuk Abu Huraira Yazid, vice president K. Maheswari and treasurer Daljit Singh could not be contacted for comments.
  However a source close to KLHA said: "Yes, the contract between KLHA-DBKL ended last August and all these years there was no such problem as it was automatically renewed on a 3+2 basis (three years plus option for another two).
  "However, KLHA were shocked to receive the eviction notice which stated that they must move out by end of March. They only received the eviction notice a few days back and so it was surprising.
  "An appeal will follow soon," said the source.
  KLHA have been doing good development work at the stadium for ages, and if their appeal is rejected, it would be a great loss to hockey in the country.

Bollywood script in India draw...

KUALA LUMPUR: India and South Korean battled to a 1-1 draw in a match full of Bollywood style drama in the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh Sunday.
  India had the match in hand until the last eight minutes, but South Korea survived a barrage of green cards as well as a 40 minute break courtesy of torrential rain.
  South Korea had the better of India until the 28th minute, but three of their players were green carded and they were left only eight to defend.
  Yang Jihun (25th), Lee Namyong (25th) and Lee Seungil (28th) were green carded and sat looking from the sin-bin, as India took the opportunity to attack in numbers and Mandeep nailed the lead in the 28th minute.
  And just when India felt they had the match wrapped up, pouring rain blanketed the Azlan Shah Stadium and the match was stopped with eight minutes to end.
  South Korea came back looking fresher after the long break, and forced four penalty corners before Jung Jung Hyun scored with 20 seconds on the clock to share the spoils.
  India coach David John blamed indiscipline among his players for the draw.
  "Indiscipline is what caused us to lose three points as we gave away too many penalty corners in the last eight minutes after rain. But still, a point is still good enough," said John.
  India defenders gave away four penalty corners after the rain break, and were punished by Jang, who played for Terengganu Hockey Team in the Malaysia Hockey League recently.
  Skipper Manpreet Singh believes rain helped old legs in the Korean team to recover.
  "The plan was to run them down as we have a younger team compared to them, and we did just that. But the 40 minute rain delay helped Korea to recover their 'old legs', and so, it (rain) was a great help for them," said Manpreet.
  After a day's break Malaysia play India on Tuesday.