Watch out for the Kiwis

The Black Sticks after winning the Beijing Olympics Qualfiying Tournament.

AFP -- World number seven New Zealand are the early favourites to win the five-nation Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which starts in Malaysia on Sunday.
The 1976 Montreal Olympic champions are the highest-ranked team in the tournament, which has suffered from the absence of top hockey-playing countries like Germany, Australia and Holland.
Malaysia, India, Pakistan and debutants Egypt join the Kiwis at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, the capital of northern Perak state, for the invitation event.
New Zealand’s new coach Shane Mcleod will be looking to build a team for the World Cup qualifiers in Auckland in November.
His squad includes newcomers and national juniors Arun Panchia from Auckland and Isaac Staples from Canterbury, and is bolstered by Olympians Kyle Pontifex, Blair Hopping, Dave Kosoof and Ben Collier, who will add experience to an otherwise raw team.
A number of key names are missing from the squad, including Ryan Archibald, Hayden Shaw, Phil Burrows, Simon Child, Brad Shaw and Shea McAleese.
Despite this lack of depth, the Kiwis, who will be playing in the tournament for the ninth time, are still expected to take the honours.
Eighth-ranked Pakistan and neighbours India, tenth, also loom as potential finalists.
India coach Harender Singh says the Sultan Azlan Shah this year will be a testing ground for teams wanting to give their youngsters a chance to break into the senior team.
“For the Asian teams the priority is the Asia Cup in May. This is just a testing ground,” he said.
“I do not think we should expect any great performances. The absence of the top teams will surely affect the quality of the meet. But it still has its uses and we hope to do well,” he said.
Pakistan coach Shahid Ali Khan will be making his debut in the top job and said the tournament offers him a chance to lay the ground for May.
“We have a young side and this is by no means our final team for the Asia Cup,” he said.
“I want to give the younger players the chance to shine and earn a place in the team. New Zealand and India should be the teams to watch for.
“For us the objective is not the results but the exposure,” he added.
Hosts Malaysia, ranked 15th, will be hoping for a better result after finishing last in 2008, and, say observers, should not be discounted from the final equation.
Like the Kiwis and the Pakistanis, the Malaysians also have a new coach in Tai Beng Hai.
The week-long tournament will start on April 5, with the finals on April 12. Argentina won the hockey event last year.

Azlan Shah Cup Fixtures

I will be in Ipoh for the Azlan Shah Cup, and results will be posted immediately at my blog.

FIXTURES: April 5 -- Egypt v India (5pm), Malaysia v Pakistan (7pm); April 6: New Zealand v Pakistan (5pm), Malaysia v Egypt (7pm).
April 7: REST DAY.
April 8: Egypt v New Zealand (5pm), India v Malaysia (7pm); April 9: New Zealand v India (5pm), Pakistan v Egypt (7pm).
April 10: REST DAY.
April 11: India v Pakistan (5pm), New Zealand v Malaysia (7pm); April 12: Third-Fourth (4.30pm), Final: (7pm).

BJSS within striking distance

BUKIT JALIL Sports School (BJSS) will get a chance to top the Division Two standings of the Malaysia Hockey League when they meet Malacca today.

Leaders Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS) have a rest day and BJSS, with six straight wins, will be playing a team which has lost three and drawn one match.
The imbalance is quite obvious, and with only five more matches to go before the league title is decided, BJSS coach S. Prakash is cautious.
"Nine of my players competed in the National Under-16 where they played seven matches in a row, and even after a few days rest, they could not perform well against Setapak High (on Friday, BJSS won 2-0).
"I hope they will fare much better against Malacca who have many Malaysia Games players," said Prakash.
The BJSS squad this year is made up of Under-17 players, but they have held on well against more experienced opponents in six matches.
"We don't want to burst the bubble at this stage, because at least three other teams are also in the running to claim the title, if we draw or lose."
TODAY -- Division Two: Bukit Jalil Sports School v Malacca (Tun Razak Stadium, 5pm), BJSS Juniors v Kijang Mas (Tun Razak Stadium, 7pm), Anderson v BPSS Juniors (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5pm), Tenaga Nasional v Olak (KLHA Stadium 5pm).
Division Three: Matri v Selangor (Kangar, 5pm), TBSS- Tampin v Penang (Tampin, 5pm), English College v Perlis (Johor Baru, 5pm), Temerloh v Kuala Selangor (Kuantan, 5pm).
Monday -- Division Three: Nur Insafi v Selangor (Sungai Petani, 3pm).

For the country....

By Tai Beng Hai
(The writer is Malaysian hockey chief coach)

I BELIEVE in my players, and they believe in me, and together, we are giving our best to elevate the standard of Malaysian hockey at the international level.

The training regime has been tough, as my team of coaches and I have been pushing them to the maximum for the past three months, and the plus point is that instead of complaining, my players took up the challenge to improve.
The wake-up call is at the break of dawn, 6am, and we start by building stamina with a variety of training drills. The results are there for all to see, as the National Sports Institute records have shown a marked improvement in every player after only three months.
Right now, fitness is no longer a worry for me, as the boys showed when we played seven matches in South Korea recently.
We played three matches in a row, took a two-day break, and then another four matches in a row and there was a very little drop in standard as all the players could keep their normal pace.
Time was what I did not have when I was offered to coach the team in January, as the Azlan Shah Cup and Asia Cup were just a few months away.
But I took up the challenge because my passion is hockey, as I enjoyed every moment of my life when I was donning the national jersey.
And there has been no looking over my shoulders to see if a foreign coach will be appointed to replace me, as this set of players, who I had trained as juniors when I was assistant to Sarjit Singh for the 2004 Junior World Cup, are among the best I have seen so far.
In fact they remind me of my teammates in dedication and commitment.
Right now, the team are eager to prove themselves in the Azlan Shah Cup as they have not played in a tournament for a long time.
Our trip to South Korea (where the team won three, drew two and lost two matches), was a refreshing change as I saw promise in many players who have been merely floating before.
We played against university sides which had many Korean national players, and I returned home with a better understanding about my team. Some of the players performed better in different positions and this, I believe, will be an asset in the next two important assignments.
The Azlan Shah Cup will be a great chance for the team to impress, and start their climb back into the respectable hockey playing nations' bracket. We are Number 15 today, but I believe the ranking does not reflect the true capabilities of this set of players.
I believe in my players, even though only Egypt (No 21) are ranked below us in the Azlan Shah Cup, while New Zealand (No 7), Pakistan (No 8) and India (No 10) are above, my players are eager to show results, and the tournament will be an exciting one, as we are looking at a podium finish.
After that, there will be a final push for the Asia Cup, and everybody knows the score -- it will be difficult to win the title and qualify for the (2010) World Cup but not impossible -- and like every other aspirant, we will give our best.

BPSS edge closer to title

BANDAR Penawar Sports School brushed aside Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Division Two title aspirants Tenaga Nasional 3-1 at the Bandar Penawar pitch yesterday.

The win has placed BPSS in good steed to win the League title, as they only have Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) to contend with.
Yesterday, BPSS and Tenaga were tied 1-1 at one stage, but fitness saw the sports school surge ahead in the last 20 minutes.
BPSS took the lead off Faez Hilmi in the 15th minute, but Tenaga equalised in the 46th minute when their captain Faizal Yaccob scored a field goal.
But the sports school boys regained the lead two minutes later off Noor Faeez Ibrahim and increased it further in the 69th minute when Fitri Saari was on target.
"We took a step closer to the League title, and I believe the team to watch out for now is BJSS who we play second last. It could well determine who claims the title," said BPSS coach Wan Roslan Wan Rahman.
At the Tun Razak Stadium, BJSS kept their perfect record when they edged Setapak High School 2-0 with goals from Dangerous Lee Mathew (sixth) and Shazril Irwan (57th).
RESULTS -- Division Two: Bukit Jalil Sports School 2 Setapak High 0, Malacca 4 BPSS Juniors 3, Olak 2 Kijang Mas 3, Bandar Penawar Sports School 3 Tenaga Nasional 1, Anderson 4 BJSS Juniors 1, Batu Pahat 1 Petaling Jaya City Councuil 4.
Division Three: Kuala Selangor 3 Penang 8, Temerloh 1 TBSS-Tampin 5, Datuk Taha 4 Perlis 6.
TOMORROW: Division Two: Bukit Jalil Sports School v Malacca (Tun Razak Stadium, 5pm), BJSS Juniors v Kijang Mas (Tun Razak Stadium, 7pm), Anderson v BPSS Juniors (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5pm), Tenaga Nasional v Olak (KLHA Stadium 5pm).
Division Three: Matri v Selangor (Kangar, 5pm), TBSS- Tampin v Penang (Tampin, 5pm), English College v Perlis (Johor Baru, 5pm), Temerloh v Kuala Selangor (Kuantan, 5pm).
Monday: Division Three: Nur Insafi v Selangor (Sungai Petani, 3pm).

DIVISION TWO

P W D L F A Pts
BPSS 7 6 1 0 22 9 19
BJSS 6 6 0 0 20 3 18
TNB 6 4 0 2 20 11 12
Anderson 6 4 0 2 14 6 12
PJ City Council 7 3 2 2 13 12 11
Malacca 7 3 1 3 15 13 10
Setapak High 6 2 2 2 11 8 8
Olak 5 2 1 2 10 10 7
Kijang Mas 7 1 2 4 8 16 5
Batu Pahat 6 1 1 4 7 17 4
BJSS Jnrs 7 1 0 6 4 25 3
BPSS Jnrs 6 0 0 6 8 18 0


DIVISION THREE


P W D L F A Pts
Nur Insafi 6 6 0 0 30 4 18
Temerloh 7 4 2 1 15 14 14
Perlis 6 3 1 2 20 14 10
Penang 6 2 4 0 15 9 10
TBSS-Tampin 5 3 1 1 13 12 10
English College 6 2 2 2 7 9 8
Matri 6 2 1 3 11 13 7
Selangor 5 1 1 3 6 10 4
Datuk Taha 6 0 1 5 14 23 1
Kuala Selangor 7 0 1 6 10 33 1