Azlan Shah Cup goes big online

The action begins.

The 19th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup begins at 16:05 Malaysian time (08:05 GMT). For the first time there is an official website for the tournament that can be found at http://www.azlanshshcup.com where the action can be followed live. Live commentary will be provided via Twitter and relayed onto the site. If you want to follow the commentary on Twitter, please follow the user Azlancup.

In what is believed to be a world first for any major international sports tournament, the official site is going to be updated from Apple's new iPad!

Minows to the fore

THE big guns will rest this weekend, as the minnows complete their fixtures in the MHF-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League.
Today will will only see Division Two action, where Tunku Besar Secondary School (TBSS) will play Johor in an attempt to finish at least third in the standings and qualify for the quarter-finals.
And on Sundy, both the Bandar Penawar and Bukit Jalil Sports Schools Juniors will clash to decide which school has made more progress.
TODAY: Division Two -- Tunku Besar Secondary School v Johor (5pm, Tampin), Kuala Selangor v Datuk Taha (Pandamaran, 5pm).
SUNDAY: Division One -- Petaling Jaya City Council v MWHA (Tun Razak, 5pm), Bandar Penawar Juniors v Bukit Jalil Juniors (Bandar Penawar, 5pm).
Division Two: Matri v Penang Frees (Kangar, 5pm), Sabah v Pahang (Pandamaran, 5pm).

DIVISION ONE

P W D L F A Pts

UniKL 6 5 1 0 29 6 16
BJSS 6 4 2 0 18 4 14
Thunderbolt 4 4 0 0 25 3 12
PJCC 7 3 1 3 17 15 10
Anderson 8 3 1 4 14 28 10
BPSS Juniors 5 2 0 3 9 13 6
Kelantan 6 0 2 4 7 31 2
BJSS Juniors 5 0 1 4 2 17 1
MWHA 3 0 0 3 4 9 0

DIVISION TWO

P W D L F A Pts
Ipoh CC 7 5 2 0 22 5 17
Pahang 5 5 0 0 24 8 15
Sabah 5 4 0 1 21 4 12
TBSS 6 2 2 2 16 9 8
Frees 4 1 2 1 12 11 5
Matri 5 1 1 3 7 8 4
Selangor 5 1 0 4 3 34 3
Johor 6 0 2 4 9 18 2
Datuk Taha 5 0 1 4 8 17 1

A glimmer of hope

THE 19th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup could either turn into an Asia bashing exercise, or a chance for Asian teams to finally beat World No 1 Australia.
Australia are fresh from their World Cup victory over Germany, after losing to the same country in two previous editions, but the fact that they will be fielding only four of those who lifted the coveted trophy has made the other six aspirants more confident.
However, the early indications are that South Korea could be the only side who would trouble the world champions, while Malaysia and the rest will find the going sticky.
Asian champions Korea, defending Azlan Shah Cup champions India, runners-up Malaysia, Pakistan, China and African champions Egypt will be out for the Australia’s scalps, but might get burnt in the process.
“We have purposefully chosen a young squad for this tournament. It will go a long way in exposing our squad to a number of quality teams, giving us even more experience and help add to the depth of our squad,” Australian coach Ric Charlesworth had said.
Charlesworth is more bent on finding new talent for the Champions Trophy, and his young guns know they will have to come out blazing in every match as the competition to break into the senior side is intense.
Among the Aussie hopefuls who will be out to impress are Matt Gohdes, Jason Wilson, Glenn Simpson and Ian Burcher.
For the Asian teams, the Asian Games is their end target as a gold there will mean automatic qualification for the 2012 London Olympics, so not much should be read from victories and defeats at the Azlan Shah Cup.

Madzli: We can shine

The Malaysian team in training in preparation for their opening match against Pakistan.

NATIONAL skipper Madzli Ikmar has the distinction of playing in 10 Azlan Shah Cup tournaments, and the Kuala Pilah-born defender feels Malaysia will make an impact starting with the match against Pakistan today.
The national side saw only four changes from the team which reached the final of the World Cup Qualifier in Invercargill, while many of the other teams have a total make-up.
And with the core players still with him, Madzli said: “We have a good mix comprising youth and experience. And I expect my teammates to give their best and play as a unit, as we were the runners-up last year,” said Madzli, capped 265 times.
The missing four are Kelvinder Singh, Jiwa Mohan and Ahmad Kazamirul and S. Selvaraju, who is playing in the French League.
Junior World Cup players Azreen Rizal and Izwan Firdaus will make their senior side debuts, while Tajol Rosli and Hafifihafiz Hanafi will be making a return after a few years in the wilderness.
The set-back for this side is that after playing in the Qualifier last November, they have only been training and playing in local tournaments.
“Even then, this should not be made into an excuse, and I am optimistic about our chances as many other teams are also trying out new players,” said Madzli.
Pakistan have 12 players who played in the Malaysia-Singapore Junior World Cup last year.
But Pakistan coach K.M. Junaid is not worried, as he was also the Junior World Cup coach where his team finished fifth.
“I did not have enough time to prepare the team, but will not use that as an excuse to flop. We have youth on our side and they have much to prove so this outing, in a way, will prepare them for what to expect at the higher level.”
Pakistan are in transition after finishing last in the New Delhi World Cup.

Wait another day...

NATIONAL coach Stephen van Huizen could not make up his mind after watching Malaysia beat Egypt 2-0 in a friendly at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh yesterday.
So, he will only name the final squad of 18 after testing four players against Australia in another friendly today.
Malaysia, Australia, Pakistan, India, South Korea, China and Egypt will be involved in the seven-team invitational tournament from Thursday.
“Stephen wanted more time to test four players who are recovering from injuries before naming his final squad. So, we will only release the final squad tomorrow (today),” said team manager George Koshy.
Jivan Mohan, Azlan Misron, Shahron Nabil and S. Baljit Singh are the four who will get another chance to prove themselves.
However, based on current form, the players listed below should find their place for the Azlan Shah Cup.
PROBABLE LIST: S. Kumar, Kairulnizam Ibrahim, Razie Rahim, Madzli Ikmar, Amin Rahim, C. Baljit Singh, Ahmad Kazamirul, Azreen Rizal Nasir.
Tajol Rosli, Shahrun Nabil, Marhan Jalil, Nabil Fiqri Nor, Sukri Mutalib, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Faizal Saari, Hafi fihafiz Hanafi, Azlan Misron, Izwan Firdaus.
Team Manager: George Koshy; Chief coach: Stephen van Huizen; Assistant coach: Tai Beng Hai
PAST RECORD; 1983 – Fourth; 1985 – Runner Up; 1987 – Fourth; 1991 – Fifth; 1994 – Fourth; 1995 – Sixth; 1996 – Third; 1998 – Sixth; 1999 – Fifth; 2000 – Fourth; 2001 – Seventh; 2003 – Fifth; 2004 – Sixth; 2005 – Sixth; 2006 – Eight; 2007 – Runner Up; 2008 – Seventh; 2009 – Runner Up.