Kim For Malaysia Next?

FIH HOMEPAGE -- KIM Sang Ryul raised more than a few eyebrows at the Athens Olympics when he said he found it impossible to handle a women’s team.
“All they want to do is colour their hair, paint their nails and go shopping.” he said.
Now the former Korean women’s coach has taken up a new challenge with the China men’s squad.
Will he take up a Malaysian challenge after the Beijing Olympics?

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation’s (MHF) coaching committee chairman C. Paramalingam claims to have no knowledge but the National Sports Council (NSC) has made it known that it prefers a foreigner to handle the national team.
NSC director general Datuk Zolkples Embong has spoken to MHF deputy president Tunku Majid, indicating that the agency will fully support should the federation decide to go foreign.
“I had a meeting with (MHF deputy president) Tunku Majid (Sultan Iskandar) where it was verbally agreed that South Korean Kim Sang Ryul be hired because he has proven to be a coach of caliber. Maybe Tunku Majid has yet to brief the coaching committee.”
And the NSC is thinking about a full-time coach, not a consultant.
“We have an excellent set of players in the national team now, but sadly, they have not shown any improvement under local coaches. Players like Ismail Abu and Tengku (Ahmad) Tajuddin (both strikers) are potential world-class players, but have not improved over the years.
“I feel that a foreign coach like Kim can help their progress. But I would like to state that the decision is in the hands of the MHF, and we are merely playing a supporting role.”
Sang Ryul is now coaching the China team, and he was instrumental in the hosts qualifying for the Olympics, on merit, by finishing second in the Doha Asian Games.
“Kim has a contract with China until the Olympics, and if the MHF wants him, they can have him as a full-time coach after that,” said Zolkples.
However, the coaching committee is totally against a full-time foreign coach.
“Sarjit Singh (current national coach), was tasked to qualify for the 2010 Delhi World Cup and the 2012 London Olympics without the need to go through a qualifier when he was appointed in January 2007.
“I strongly disagree on a full-time foreign coach as even the MHF council had only endorsed a striker consultant to help Sarjit.
“There is something sinister in this move, because when Sarjit delivered in 2007 by finishing second in the Azlan Shah Cup and third in the Asia Cup, nobody questioned his capabilities.
“And then, there was never a target of qualifying for the Olympics after Germany were dumped in our group. The target was to reach the final, and that was missed by a whisker when Japan scored the disputed equaliser,” said Paramalingam.
The national team have no major assignment this year, but are in training for the 2009 Asia Cup, which offers a direct entry into the Delhi World Cup.

Hakim Is Good, But Lazy

SHAHID Ali Khan with Hakim (in Black).

NATIONAL goalkeepers’ coach Shahid Ali Khan sees promise in junior Hakim Adnan provided he sheds his lazy attitude in training.

Hakim will be the player between the posts for Malaysia in the Junior Asia Cup which starts on Friday in Hyderabad, India.

The tournament offers three tickets to the 2009 Junior World Cup but co-hosts Malaysia and Singapore need not sweat.

Malaysia are in Group A with Singapore, Japan and India, while in Group B are Bangladesh, South Korea, Oman and Pakistan.

“Hakim has the height and is agile and I see a great future for him, but he is lazy and does not like training. Also, he does not keep fit when left on his own.

“I am working to change his attitude, as I believe he can challenge seniors goalkeeper (S.) Kumar in a few years,” said Shahid, who was a former Pakistan international.

The No 2 juniors goalkeeper is Safiuddin Sahrom, but he is unlikely to see much action in Hyderabad.

“Goalkeepers are so well protected these days that one rarely gets injured. Most teams have started with only one goalkeeper so that they can have an extra man in outfield,” said Shahid.

“We also fielded one goalkeeper in many of the Azlan Shah Cup matches and I believe this will be the trend in the Asia Cup too.”

Shahid is also impressed with five young goalkeepers he saw in action at the Terengganu Malaysia Games.

“I will call them for a training stint soon and select a few who show promise to have a bigger pool of goalkeepers.”

Currently Kumar is the No 1, while the others are miles behind.

The Wright Way To Beijing

SUPER MOM: Thelma Wright (1972, 1976; 1,500 metre run)

UBC athlete Anthony Wright is the fifth Canadian Olympian in his family - photo by Martin Dee

By Basil Waugh
Forgive Olympic historians for experiencing déjà vu when Anthony Wright takes to the field hockey pitch in Beijing this summer.

In what surely is an Olympic record, the graduating Human Kinetics student and his national squad and UBC teammate Philip Wright, his younger brother, will become the fourth and fifth members of his family to sport the maple leaf in Olympic competition.
“It feels pretty special,” says Anthony Wright, 24, who counts late grandfather Harold Wright (1932, track and field), mother Thelma Wright (1972, 1976; 1,500 m run) and father Lee Wright (1964, 1976; field hockey) as fellow Olympians.
“I’ve been dreaming of the Olympics since I was five,” says the hard-nosed defender. “For field hockey players, qualifying for the Olympics is our Stanley Cup. You train with one goal in mind with no guarantee that you will achieve it. It is a dream come true.”
Wright, whose parents are both UBC alumni, has added to his family’s impressive athletic legacy in other ways. Winner of the 2008 Bobby Gaul Memorial Trophy as UBC’s Outstanding Graduating Male Athlete of the Year, he followed in the footsteps of his mother, who received the equivalent honour for female athletes in 1974.
Wright chalks up his Olympic development to healthy doses of nature and nurture.

“My parents have been incredibly supportive,” he says: “But I guess it also helps when both your parents are Olympians, gene-wise.”
With seven other current or former Thunderbirds joining Wright on Canada’s 18-member Olympic team, Beijing should be something of a coming-out party for UBC’s men’s field hockey program. League champion for the past three years, the team has not lost a Vancouver Men’s Field Hockey Premier Division game since 2005.
Wright attributes the program’s powerhouse status to three factors: some serious globetrotting, the coaching of former Canadian Olympic team coach Shiaz Virjee, and the distinct advantage of playing home games on Wright Field, a world-class artificial turf facility named in honour of his Olympic forbear Harold Wright.
In addition to UBC trips to Spain and Malaysia, Wright has toured extensively with Canada’s national team, attending the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia and qualifying for Beijing by winning gold at the 2007 Pan American Games in Brazil.

He supplemented these team experiences with a semester of study at University of Queensland thanks to UBC’s Go Global international exchange program.
“Field hockey is not a mainstream sport in North America, so you need to travel to play the top players,” Wright says.

“Seeing how huge the sport is in other countries and learning how they play the game has been essential to my development and an amazing experience.”
Out of appreciation for the opportunities he has been given as an athlete, Wright has been a regular volunteer with I’m Going To UBC, which pairs varsity athletes with inner city kids for campus tours, sports clinics and T-Birds games, with the ultimate goal of increasing access to post-secondary education for children who may think it is beyond their grasp.
He also visits with local elementary students every month as part of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Adopt-an-Athlete program, and will write them weekly by email from Beijing.
Wright has also been a heavy-hitter in UBC’s School of Human Kinetics where he has been a finalist for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship and a three-time Academic All-Canadian for maintaining an average grade of 80 per cent or higher.

Under-20 for Asia Cup

Junior goalkepeepers after training.

Goalkeepers' coach Shahid Ali Khan training his charges for the Asia Cup.

NATIONAL Juniors coach V. Muraleedharan has set his sights on the semi-finals in the Asia Cup in Hyderabad, India, on July 11-18.

Three tickets to the 2009 Junior World Cup will be on offer in Hyderabad, but since Malaysia have qualified by virtue of being hosts, the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) selected only players who will be eligible to play next year.

Malaysia open their campaign against Singapore, who have also qualified as co-hosts, and Muraleedharan is confident of three points.

Malaysia have Japan, India and Singapore in Group A, while Bangladesh, South Korea, Oman and Pakistan are the Group B cast.

“Even if Singapore field Under-21 players, I believe we will win three points, and then we will have to beat either Japan or India to qualify for the semi-finals,” said Muraleedharan after naming the 18 for Hyderabad yesterday.

There will be five new additions from the recent European Tour, where Malaysia only won two of nine matches played.

“I believe the team is now stronger and we will aim for the semi-finals.”

The squad: Hakim Adnan, Safiuddin Sahrom; Kazamirul Nasruddin, Sybrie Shamsuddin, Nor Hafiq Gaffar, Marhan Jalil, Noor Khairul Azrain, Khairil Anuar, Shafiq Zain, Hang Edzharsyah, Andika Rahis, Fitri Bakar, Azammi Adabi, R. Nadesh, Fareez Ismail, Faizal Saari, Azreen Rizal. Coach: V. Muraleedharan; Assistant coach: K. Rajan; Manager: Ranjit Singh.

Meanwhile, it has been brought to Timesport’s attention that in a report headlined “Bleak future for Muraleedharan’s squad”. which appeared on June 28, a quote which read: “These are the best players in the country today, but they do not measure up, because the schools system has failed to hammer the basics in them,” was wrongly attributed to Muraleedharan. The error is regretted.

MPGA Strikes Back

MALAYSIAN Professional Golfers Association (MPGA) secretary S. Selvakumar believes the Asian Tour should not interfere in Malaysia’s domestic problems.
On Thursday, Asian PGA Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han singled MPGA as not interested in developing their pros: " "Unfortunately, the Malaysian PGA is the only organisation which we have had problems with over the years and it’s hindering the growth of Malaysian golf," added Han.
Selvakumar said: "The Asian Tour has not fulfilled its financial obligations with the MPGA since the 2006 Johor Open.
"So, the Asian Tour chairman should not interfere with the affairs of the MPGA, as he has no authority to talk about professional golf in Malaysia."
On the expulsion of a group of players, Selvakumar said: "The decision was taken after giving the said golfers a chance to explain themselves.
"Even after an 11-month appeal period, they did not bother to appeal, and the MPGA did not want to be held to ransom by a group of indisciplined players."
The MPGA statement also read: "The leading professionals in the world today like Vijay Singh and Jeev Milkha Singh all played in the Malaysian Tour which was sanctioned by the MPGA.
"They have excelled with the experience from the Malaysian Tour. Even Kyi Hla Han himself gained from the Malaysian Tour when his own country could not provide him the playing experience."
Selvakumar also said that the MPGA has its own Order of Merit, which is recognised world-wide.
"The MPGA is a growing organisation, currently with 180 members and we hope to have more than 300 members by the middle of 2009," said Selvakumar.
Selvakumar also emphasised the need for the states to ensure that MPGA sanctions these tournament so that local professionals get the benefit.
"Why must tax payers' money be spent on foreign players? Where is the desire to give more seats to locals when they are the ones who need tournaments to hone their skills?"