SEREMBAN, Nov 24 (Bernama) — Nine countries will do battle in the 5th Asian Women’s Junior Hockey Championship to be held at the Tan Sri Dr Mohd Said Sports Complex in Seremban II here from Dec 13 till 21.
Malaysian Women’s Hockey Association Raja Puan Sri Noora Ashikin Raja Abdullah said the top three finishers will qualify for next year’s Women’s Junior World Cup that will be held in Boston, United States in June.
“China, Japan, South Korea and India are the top teams but we will do our best to qualify for Boston,” she told reporters at the pre-launch of the tournament here today.
At the pre-launch, Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan handed over the challenge trophy to Noora Ashikin.
In Group A are China, Japan Thailand, Pakistan and hosts Malaysia while Group B is made up of South Korea, India, Singapore and Chinese Taipei.
Malaysia are ranked fifth in Asia behind South Korea, China, Japan and India and 25th in the world.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Youth Olympics test
THE National Juniors will be involved in a four-nation tournament at the Australian Youth Olympics on Jan 14-18, which will give coach K. Rajan a good indication on how his charges have progressed.
Also involved in the tournament to be played in Sydney and which could be Malaysia’s last before the Junior World Cup in June, are former Junior World Cup silver medallists Australia, New Zealand and Britain.
“The team have progressed well by playing in the MHL (Malaysia Hockey League), and although I am happy with their work rate, I am worried about the defenders,” said Rajan.
The Junior World Cup, which Malaysia and Singapore will co-host, will be held on June 7-21 and will involve 20 teams playing in two groups.
The teams which have qualified are defending champions Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Egypt, Malaysia, Singapore, India, South Korea, Pakistan, Japan, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, England, Poland, Russia, Chile, US and New Zealand.
And with only about seven months left to the main event, the Juniors have a poor record in the MHL having scored just 13 goals and letting in a massive 34 in nine matches.
“We are doing quite well up front, but too many soft goals were let in during the nine matches. I will be working on this until the Youth Olympics where I will get to see how they have progressed,” said Rajan.
There are a few more friendlies lined up with a South Korean University after the Youth Olympics but friendlies are not a good yardstick.
“After playing against the University team, we will head to Europe to play Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. And once the World Cup facilities are ready (by April), the team will start training at the tournament venue, and play any friendly that comes our way there,” added Rajan.
Rajan’s 35-member training squad will be trimmed in January as preparations enter the next stage.
Also involved in the tournament to be played in Sydney and which could be Malaysia’s last before the Junior World Cup in June, are former Junior World Cup silver medallists Australia, New Zealand and Britain.
“The team have progressed well by playing in the MHL (Malaysia Hockey League), and although I am happy with their work rate, I am worried about the defenders,” said Rajan.
The Junior World Cup, which Malaysia and Singapore will co-host, will be held on June 7-21 and will involve 20 teams playing in two groups.
The teams which have qualified are defending champions Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Egypt, Malaysia, Singapore, India, South Korea, Pakistan, Japan, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, England, Poland, Russia, Chile, US and New Zealand.
And with only about seven months left to the main event, the Juniors have a poor record in the MHL having scored just 13 goals and letting in a massive 34 in nine matches.
“We are doing quite well up front, but too many soft goals were let in during the nine matches. I will be working on this until the Youth Olympics where I will get to see how they have progressed,” said Rajan.
There are a few more friendlies lined up with a South Korean University after the Youth Olympics but friendlies are not a good yardstick.
“After playing against the University team, we will head to Europe to play Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. And once the World Cup facilities are ready (by April), the team will start training at the tournament venue, and play any friendly that comes our way there,” added Rajan.
Rajan’s 35-member training squad will be trimmed in January as preparations enter the next stage.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Army men 1-2 in Division Two
ARMY outfit Jurulatih dan Jentera (JLJ) lived up to their nickname Lightning Horse when they bolted away with the Division Two title by beating UNIMAP 6-3 at the Tun Razak Stadium yesterday.
The win earned them a bonus of RM20,000 and a slot to play in the quarter-finals of the TNB Cup.
And joining them in the knock-out stage from Division Two are Royal Malay Regiment, who beat UiTM 3-1 yesterday, for the second spot which came with RM15,000.
RESULTS: Division One: Maybank 2 Tenaga Nasional 2, Sapura 2 Nur Insafi 1, Ernst & Young 9 National Juniors 2.
Division Two: UNIMAP 3 JLJ 6, RMR 3 UiTM 1, BPSS 4 Dolphins 2, Alam Shah 1 BJSS 3.
TOMORROW: Division One -- Ernst & Young v Tenaga (National Stadium, 5pm), Sapura v National Juniors (KLHA Stadium, 5pm), Nur Insafi v Maybank (USM Stadium, 5pm).
Division Two: UNIMAP v Bukit Jalil SS (Alor Star, 5pm), Dolphins v Alam Shah (Lumut, 5pm).
STANDINGS
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
E & Y 8 8 0 0 37 7 24
Sapura 9 4 3 2 18 15 15
TNB 9 3 4 2 22 18 13
Maybank 8 2 4 2 13 11 10
Nat Juniors 8 1 3 4 13 29 6
Nur Insafi 8 0 0 8 12 35 0
DIVISION 2
P W D L F A Pts
JLJ 8 6 1 1 24 9 19
RAMD 8 6 0 2 27 14 18
BPSS 8 5 0 3 31 16 15
UiTM 8 4 1 3 18 13 13
Dolphin 7 3 2 2 24 14 11
BJSS 7 3 2 2 11 6 11
UNIMAP 7 2 1 4 9 25 7
SSAS 7 1 1 5 11 18 4
RS Club 8 0 0 8 7 47 0
The win earned them a bonus of RM20,000 and a slot to play in the quarter-finals of the TNB Cup.
And joining them in the knock-out stage from Division Two are Royal Malay Regiment, who beat UiTM 3-1 yesterday, for the second spot which came with RM15,000.
RESULTS: Division One: Maybank 2 Tenaga Nasional 2, Sapura 2 Nur Insafi 1, Ernst & Young 9 National Juniors 2.
Division Two: UNIMAP 3 JLJ 6, RMR 3 UiTM 1, BPSS 4 Dolphins 2, Alam Shah 1 BJSS 3.
TOMORROW: Division One -- Ernst & Young v Tenaga (National Stadium, 5pm), Sapura v National Juniors (KLHA Stadium, 5pm), Nur Insafi v Maybank (USM Stadium, 5pm).
Division Two: UNIMAP v Bukit Jalil SS (Alor Star, 5pm), Dolphins v Alam Shah (Lumut, 5pm).
STANDINGS
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
E & Y 8 8 0 0 37 7 24
Sapura 9 4 3 2 18 15 15
TNB 9 3 4 2 22 18 13
Maybank 8 2 4 2 13 11 10
Nat Juniors 8 1 3 4 13 29 6
Nur Insafi 8 0 0 8 12 35 0
DIVISION 2
P W D L F A Pts
JLJ 8 6 1 1 24 9 19
RAMD 8 6 0 2 27 14 18
BPSS 8 5 0 3 31 16 15
UiTM 8 4 1 3 18 13 13
Dolphin 7 3 2 2 24 14 11
BJSS 7 3 2 2 11 6 11
UNIMAP 7 2 1 4 9 25 7
SSAS 7 1 1 5 11 18 4
RS Club 8 0 0 8 7 47 0
Army men 1-2 in Division Two
ARMY outfit Jurulatih dan Jentera (JLJ) lived up to their nickname Lightning Horse when they bolted away with the Division Two title by beating UNIMAP 6-3 at the Tun Razak Stadium yesterday.
The win earned them a bonus of RM20,000 and a slot to play in the quarter-finals of the TNB Cup.
And joining them in the knock-out stage from Division Two are Royal Malay Regiment, who beat UiTM 3-1 yesterday, for the second spot which came with RM15,000.
RESULTS: Division One: Maybank 2 Tenaga Nasional 2, Sapura 2 Nur Insafi 1, Ernst & Young 9 National Juniors 2.
Division Two: UNIMAP 3 JLJ 6, RMR 3 UiTM 1, BPSS 4 Dolphins 2, Alam Shah 1 BJSS 3.
TOMORROW: Division One -- Ernst & Young v Tenaga (National Stadium, 5pm), Sapura v National Juniors (KLHA Stadium, 5pm), Nur Insafi v Maybank (USM Stadium, 5pm).
Division Two: UNIMAP v Bukit Jalil SS (Alor Star, 5pm), Dolphins v Alam Shah (Lumut, 5pm).
STANDINGS
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
E & Y 8 8 0 0 37 7 24
Sapura 9 4 3 2 18 15 15
TNB 9 3 4 2 22 18 13
Maybank 8 2 4 2 13 11 10
Nat Juniors 8 1 3 4 13 29 6
Nur Insafi 8 0 0 8 12 35 0
DIVISION 2
P W D L F A Pts
JLJ 8 6 1 1 24 9 19
RAMD 8 6 0 2 27 14 18
BPSS 8 5 0 3 31 16 15
UiTM 8 4 1 3 18 13 13
Dolphin 7 3 2 2 24 14 11
BJSS 7 3 2 2 11 6 11
UNIMAP 7 2 1 4 9 25 7
SSAS 7 1 1 5 11 18 4
RS Club 8 0 0 8 7 47 0
The win earned them a bonus of RM20,000 and a slot to play in the quarter-finals of the TNB Cup.
And joining them in the knock-out stage from Division Two are Royal Malay Regiment, who beat UiTM 3-1 yesterday, for the second spot which came with RM15,000.
RESULTS: Division One: Maybank 2 Tenaga Nasional 2, Sapura 2 Nur Insafi 1, Ernst & Young 9 National Juniors 2.
Division Two: UNIMAP 3 JLJ 6, RMR 3 UiTM 1, BPSS 4 Dolphins 2, Alam Shah 1 BJSS 3.
TOMORROW: Division One -- Ernst & Young v Tenaga (National Stadium, 5pm), Sapura v National Juniors (KLHA Stadium, 5pm), Nur Insafi v Maybank (USM Stadium, 5pm).
Division Two: UNIMAP v Bukit Jalil SS (Alor Star, 5pm), Dolphins v Alam Shah (Lumut, 5pm).
STANDINGS
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
E & Y 8 8 0 0 37 7 24
Sapura 9 4 3 2 18 15 15
TNB 9 3 4 2 22 18 13
Maybank 8 2 4 2 13 11 10
Nat Juniors 8 1 3 4 13 29 6
Nur Insafi 8 0 0 8 12 35 0
DIVISION 2
P W D L F A Pts
JLJ 8 6 1 1 24 9 19
RAMD 8 6 0 2 27 14 18
BPSS 8 5 0 3 31 16 15
UiTM 8 4 1 3 18 13 13
Dolphin 7 3 2 2 24 14 11
BJSS 7 3 2 2 11 6 11
UNIMAP 7 2 1 4 9 25 7
SSAS 7 1 1 5 11 18 4
RS Club 8 0 0 8 7 47 0
Umpires Board chairman to keep blowing
PIC: Amarjit Singh in the thick of action.
Pic: Amarjit to keep his whistle.NEWLY appointed Malaysian Hockey Federation Umpires Board (MHFUB) chairman Amarjit Singh knows his work is cut out, as he will have to start from scratch to re-build this often neglected side of hockey.
And the fact that Amarjit, 44, still wants to actively blow at the international level until the mandatory retirement age of 47, is going to make it more challenging for him.
“I will be frank on my appointment. There is much work to do, and two years is not enough to complete it. But I will give my best, especially in the development of young umpires.
“I also intent to keep of umpiring at the international level, as my appointments come directly from either the AHF (Asian Hockey Federation) or the FIH (International Hockey Federation) and there is no question of being biased to my fellow umpires,” said Amarjit.
The Ipoh-born Amarjit is credited with having umpired at three World Cups and four Olympics, with his last ap pointment being the Beijing Olympics.
And if anybody knows the problems that have been hindering development in MHFUB, it is Amarjit.
“I will be holding my first MHFUB committee meeting in December where I will give my views, and get feedback from members on how to uplift the standard of umpires and umpiring in the country.
“Basically, from my two decades experience of umpiring at the local and international level I know what are the problems faced by my fellow umpires, and it will make my work that much easier as I will be going in with many ideas.
“But I need help from all quarters in the MHF and my fellow umpires as the time-frame is too short, while there is plenty of work to do,” said Amarjit.
His next appointment as an umpire, as listed on the FIH website, is the Punjab Gold Cup in January 2009.
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