FAVOURITES UniKL acted to a Bollywood movie script when they took a punch before beating a gritty Ipoh Juniors 3-2 in the curtain raiser of the MHF-NSC-Milo Junior Hockey League at the Azlan Shah Stadium yesterday.
Virtually parading their Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) side, UniKL were shocked in the ninth minute when Rasyid Hazar scored off a penalty corner attempt..
However, the early setback was overcome with efforts from Zulhairi Hashim (19th, 31st) and Nor Aqmal Ghaffer (43rd). The other Ipoh goal was scored by Azrul Fazrin in the 62nd minute.
“We expected Ipoh to defend in the early stages, but they shocked my players by playing an attacking game and scoring the first goal instead.
“I salute their grit, and the match turned difficult after that as my players struggled to settle down, but the end result was in favour of us,” said UniKL manager Amir Azhar.
Bukit Jalil Sports School, whose players also just com pleted the MHL fixtures, were also a disappointing lot when they let in a goal, before edging Petaling Jaya City Council 2- 1 at the Ministry of Education pitch.
PJCC took the lead off Syamil Zulkifli off a ninth minute penalty corner, but BJSS sealed the three points with goals from Faridzul Afiq (12th) and Haziq Samsul (20th).
“I am shocked with the level of play today (yesterday) as we missed many sitters and were in the receiving end for no reason.
“We had practiced many set-pieces but my players just failed to execute them, so instead of winning comfortably, we started our campaign on a shaky note,” said BJSS coach S. Prakash whose players will next meet Ipoh Juniors tomorrow (Sunday).
In Division Two, Old Las Sallians Association of Klang (Olak-PKT) also took the lead off Hakim Azarha’s field attempt in the 27th minute, but shared points on a 1-1 score when Luqman Hakim scored for Padang Midin in the 43rd minute.
RESULTS: Division One -- Bandar Penawar SS 4 Bukit Jalil SS Juniors 0, Bukit Jalil SS 2 Petaling Jaya CC 1, Ipoh City Hall Juniors 2 UniKL 3.
Division Two: Group A -- Kedah 4 Matri Perlis 1; Group B: OLAK-PKT 1 Padang Midin 1, Johor 3 Perlis 1.
TODAY: Division One -- Pahang v Anderson (Kuantan, 4.30pm), Kelantan v BPSS Juniors (Terengganu, 4.30pm).
Division Two: Group A -- Malacca High v BPSS-WHPC (Malacca, 4.30pm); Group B: MSSWP-KLHC v Padang Midin (KLHA, 4.30pm).
TOMORROW: Division One -- BPSS v Petaling Jaya CC (Tamapn Daya, 4.30pm), BJSS V Ipoh Juniors (Ministry of Education, 5.30pm), UniKL v BJSS juniors (Ministry of Education, 6.30pm), Kelantan v Anderson (Terengganu, 4.30pm), Pahang v BPSS Juniors (Kuantan, 4.30pm).
Division Two: Group A -- Matri v Datuk Taha (Alor star, 4.30pm); Group B: Olak-PKT v Perlis (Tun Razak Stadium, 4.30pm).
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
BPSS 1 1 0 0 4 0 3
UniKL 1 1 0 0 3 2 3
BJSS 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
BJSS Juniors 1 0 0 1 0 4 0
PJCC 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Ipoh Juniors 1 0 0 1 2 3 0
BPSS Juniors 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kelantan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Anderson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pahang 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DIVISION TWO
Group A
P W D L F A Pts
Politeknik KPT 1 1 0 0 4 1 3
Matri 1 0 0 1 1 4 0
Penang 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sheikh Ahmad 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BPSS-MWHA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Malacca High 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Datuk Taha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Group B
P W D L F A Pts
Johor 1 1 0 0 3 1 3
Perlis 1 0 0 1 1 3 0
OLAK-PKT 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Padang Midin 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
TBSS Tampin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Penang Frees 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MSSWP-KLHC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
OLAK back with PKT Logistics backing
TEN teams will battle for honour in Division One of the Junior Hockey League (JHL) from today, with UniKL the front-runners for a clean sweep of titles.IN Division Two, which has 14 teams in two groups, there are no clear favourites.
Last season, UniKL finished second behind Bandar Pe nawar Sports School in Division One, but lifted the Overall title when they beat BPSS in the final.
Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) were the disappointment of last season, as after winning 12 titles since 2003, they finished third in Division One and also third in the Overall battle.
BJSS, who made their debut 1995, were double champions five times in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009, and Division One winners twice in 2003 and 2006.
Old La Sallians Association of Klang (Olak), who only missed last season since making their debut in 1995, are back after sorting out their financial problems.
“We hold the distinction of having won the Division One title in 1997 and were double champions in 1998 and 1999. We also won the overall title in 2000, but could not compete last season due to financial constraints and will now play in Division Two,” said Olak manager Joseph de Silva.
PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd’s managing director Datuk Michael B.Y. Tio chipped in with RM50,000 in cash and kind to help the team make a return.
Coached by Paul Raj, Olak are determined to claw back into Division One this year.
Olak also hold the distinction of being the home of current National No 1 penalty corner flicker Amin Rahim to kick- start his career in the sport.
This season, they will rely on Section 11 Secondary School in Shah Alam, which is a project school for hockey, for players while four players from other states have also been roped in to strengthen the side.
DIVISION ONE -- Bukit Jalil Sports School, Bandar Pe nawar SS-Thunderbolt, UniKL, Petaling Jaya City Council, BJSS Juniors, BPSS Juniors, Kelantan, Anderson, Ipoh City Hall Juniors and Pahang.
DIVISION TWO: Group A -- Penang, Politeknik KPT (Kedah), Datuk Sheikh Ahmad (Perlis), BPSS-MWHA, Malac ca High School, Matri Perlis and Datuk Taha.
Group A: Old La Sallians Association of Klang (Olak), Tunku Besar Tampin, Penang Free School-MI Juniors, MSSWP- KLHC, Padang Midin (Terengganu), Johor and Perlis.
TODAY: Division One -- Bandar Penawar SS v Bukit Jalil SS Juniors (Taman Daya, 4.30pm), Bukit Jalil SS v Petaling Jaya CC (Ministry of Education, 4.30pm), Ipoh City Hall Juniors v UniKL (Azlan Shah, 4.30pm).
Division Two: Group A -- Kedah v Matri Perlis (Alor Star, 4.30pm).
Group B: Plak v Padang Midin (Tun Razak, 4.30pm), Johor v Perlis (Taman Daya Pitch II, 4.30pm).
Project 2017, Labuan for Razak Cup
Malaysian Hockey Federation deputy president Nor Azmi Ahmad (right) and national corporate affairs manager of F&N Beverages Marketing Sdn Bhd Datuk Kamal Harun at the launch of the Razak Cup logo at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday. — Picture by Fariz Iswadi Ismail.THE Project 2017 squad and Labuan are the two new teams competing in the 100PLUS Razak Cup which begins with the May 27-July 3 regional qualifiers.
The Project squad, under coach Lim Chiow Chuan, are the national Under-16 team. They have been placed in the Central Zone with defending champions Kuala Lumpur, Perak and Selangor.
Labuan are in the West Zone alongside Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. This year's Borneo Cup standings will double up as qualifiers for the Razak Cup.
Unlike in previous years, the 49th edition of the Razak Cup will see teams battling it out in their respective zones and then in the final round where the 20 teams will be separated into two divisions.
The top two teams from each of the five zones will play in Division One with the others featuring in Division Two in the final round scheduled for July 21-30.
Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) deputy president Nur Azmi Ahmad said all 16 affiliates have confirmed their entries with the Project 2017 squad, Brunei, Singapore and Labuan playing as invited sides.
"Each team must also register five Under-21 players in their 25-man squad and at least two must play in every match. This is to ensure that teams do not compromise on developing their younger players," said Nur Azmi at the launch of the Razak Cup logo at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
"The Razak Cup has also been moved from Kuantan to Malacca. The hockey pitch in Kuantan is unavailable as it is being refurbished for next year's Malaysia Games.
"Teams will be placed in two groups in both divisions with the top two teams playing in a crossover semi-finals."
Nur Azmi said the new format will help promote the sport on a wider scale.
"The tournament needed a face lift with innovative ideas to sustain and maintain its position as the Premier National Championship in the country, and that's why we introduced a qualifying round this year," he said.
Nur Azmi confirmed teams would earn RM1,000 for every match they play in the regional qualifiers.
"As an incentive, we will also give a grant of RM5,000 to each team who qualify for Division One and RM3,000 for Division Two sides," Nur Azmi added.
Division One champions will receive RM10,000, runners-up RM7,000 and third place RM5,000.
Division Two champions will pocket RM5,000, runners-up RM3,000, third place RM2,000.
THE ZONES -- North: Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Armed Forces.
Central: Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Project 2017.
South: Johor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca, Singapore.
East: Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Police.
West (Borneo Cup): Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan.
Monday, March 21, 2011
TNB start planning for next MHL
THE Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) season just ended, but many teams including title sponsors Tenaga Nasional have already started planning for the next tournament.
Tenaga, who lifted the Charity Shield, finished second in the League and third in the TNB Cup, will ‘lose’ some seasoned players and are looking to inject more youth to their side.
And Tenaga coach, former national skipper Nor Saiful Zaini, also feels there should be a cap to the number of foreigners per-team.
“Just as the bronze medal playoff final whistle was blown, I started planning for the next season and I hope other teams are also doing the same.
“This year, there were too many foreign players in certain teams because they did not plan for the future, but hastily tried to source for local players weeks before the MHL.
“Naturally, all the good players were already snapped up, and they were left with no choice but to hire foreign players in big numbers,” said Nor Saiful.
And he feels it did not serve the purpose: “Teams with more than five foreign players did not benefit the Malaysian hockey scene, while I personally feel those who had five or less foreign signings, did much better in terms of parting knowledge to the local players while competing,” said Nor Saiful.
Tenaga did not sign any foreign players, as they prefer to field their employees.
“We will be losing seasoned players M. Kaliswaran and Tajol Rosli (both employees) as they feel that they have contributed enough and it is time for the youth to take their place.
“And we will be looking for more local youth and not foreign players, because that is our policy,” said Nor Saiful.
Yayasan Negri Sembilan and Nur Insafi were made up of more than 70 percent foreign players, but they still failed to land any of the three trophies in the MHL.
Tenaga, who lifted the Charity Shield, finished second in the League and third in the TNB Cup, will ‘lose’ some seasoned players and are looking to inject more youth to their side.
And Tenaga coach, former national skipper Nor Saiful Zaini, also feels there should be a cap to the number of foreigners per-team.
“Just as the bronze medal playoff final whistle was blown, I started planning for the next season and I hope other teams are also doing the same.
“This year, there were too many foreign players in certain teams because they did not plan for the future, but hastily tried to source for local players weeks before the MHL.
“Naturally, all the good players were already snapped up, and they were left with no choice but to hire foreign players in big numbers,” said Nor Saiful.
And he feels it did not serve the purpose: “Teams with more than five foreign players did not benefit the Malaysian hockey scene, while I personally feel those who had five or less foreign signings, did much better in terms of parting knowledge to the local players while competing,” said Nor Saiful.
Tenaga did not sign any foreign players, as they prefer to field their employees.
“We will be losing seasoned players M. Kaliswaran and Tajol Rosli (both employees) as they feel that they have contributed enough and it is time for the youth to take their place.
“And we will be looking for more local youth and not foreign players, because that is our policy,” said Nor Saiful.
Yayasan Negri Sembilan and Nur Insafi were made up of more than 70 percent foreign players, but they still failed to land any of the three trophies in the MHL.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Kuala Lumpur fourth consecutive winners
RESULTS: Final -- Kuala Lumpur 6 Malacca 0; Third-Fourth: Perak 6 Kelantan 3.
KUALA Lumpur romped home to their fourth consecutive National Under-16 title when they whitewashed Malacca 6-0 at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium yesterday.
And it was no surprise, as they had the best players in the tournament and lifted the crown without conceeding a single goal in eight matches.
The tournament also served as a selection for the National Under-16 team, and 13 Kuala Lumpur players were named in the 47-strong training pool.
Eight players were selected from bronze medallists Perak, six from Selangor, four from Penang, three from Malacca, three from Kelantan, three from Negri Sembilan, two from Kedah, and one each from Perlis, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu and Sabah.
The newly selected squad will be coached by former International Lim Chiow Chuan for the qualifying rounds of the Tun Razak Cup in April and May before competing in a Four-Nation Invitational in Manheim, Germany from 10-13 June, 2011.
The other three countries in the fray are Germany, Holland and Belgium.
The KL goals were scored by Danial Asyraf (14th), Zizi Azwan (24th, 51st), Norsyafiq Sumantri (25th), Zahir Zaki (31st), Atithsha Tamil Chelvam (64th).
Meanwhile in the bronze playoff, Perak proved to be too strong for Kelantan and took a 3-0 lead off Ashran Hamsani (second), Khairul Adha (19th) and Luqman Hakim (24th).
Kelantan rallied and scored two goals off Faiz Zin (28th) and Aminudin Zain (35th), but Perak regained their confidence when Ashran scored in the 40th minute to make it 4-2.
And Khairul scored his brace in the 56th minute to make it 5-2 and it was plain sailing after that even though Kelantan scored their third in the 59th minute off Faiz.
Ashran claimed his hat-trick in the 67th minute, and the bronze medal was in the bag.
Fairplay: Pahang.
Most Outstanding: Amirol Aideed (KL).
Best Goalkeeper: Fitri Jasni (KL).
Top Scorer: Ikwan Ishak (NS) and Khairul Adha (PK) -- both scored 11 goals.
Man-of-the-Final: Norsyafiq Sumantri (KL).
KUALA Lumpur romped home to their fourth consecutive National Under-16 title when they whitewashed Malacca 6-0 at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium yesterday.
And it was no surprise, as they had the best players in the tournament and lifted the crown without conceeding a single goal in eight matches.
The tournament also served as a selection for the National Under-16 team, and 13 Kuala Lumpur players were named in the 47-strong training pool.
Eight players were selected from bronze medallists Perak, six from Selangor, four from Penang, three from Malacca, three from Kelantan, three from Negri Sembilan, two from Kedah, and one each from Perlis, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu and Sabah.
The newly selected squad will be coached by former International Lim Chiow Chuan for the qualifying rounds of the Tun Razak Cup in April and May before competing in a Four-Nation Invitational in Manheim, Germany from 10-13 June, 2011.
The other three countries in the fray are Germany, Holland and Belgium.
The KL goals were scored by Danial Asyraf (14th), Zizi Azwan (24th, 51st), Norsyafiq Sumantri (25th), Zahir Zaki (31st), Atithsha Tamil Chelvam (64th).
Meanwhile in the bronze playoff, Perak proved to be too strong for Kelantan and took a 3-0 lead off Ashran Hamsani (second), Khairul Adha (19th) and Luqman Hakim (24th).
Kelantan rallied and scored two goals off Faiz Zin (28th) and Aminudin Zain (35th), but Perak regained their confidence when Ashran scored in the 40th minute to make it 4-2.
And Khairul scored his brace in the 56th minute to make it 5-2 and it was plain sailing after that even though Kelantan scored their third in the 59th minute off Faiz.
Ashran claimed his hat-trick in the 67th minute, and the bronze medal was in the bag.
Fairplay: Pahang.
Most Outstanding: Amirol Aideed (KL).
Best Goalkeeper: Fitri Jasni (KL).
Top Scorer: Ikwan Ishak (NS) and Khairul Adha (PK) -- both scored 11 goals.
Man-of-the-Final: Norsyafiq Sumantri (KL).
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