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Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin in a failed attempt at the Irish goalmouth. Picture by MOHD HELMI DAWI
THE Azlan Shah Cup dream could turn out to be a nightmare yet again, even as Malaysia move into high gear for the Invitational tournament which will be held in Ipoh on March 9-17.
For back in the fray are World No 2 Australia, who sat out last year, and also defending champions New Zealand who grabbed the title by edging Argentina 1-0 last year.
Malaysia have never won the Cup even after playing in the tournament 21 times, and the 22nd Edition is expected to be no different.
But the title would not matter is Malaysia beat the three Asian teams in Pakistan, India and South Korea, as they will be meeting the trio again in the Asia Cup in Ipoh on Aug 24-Sept 1.
“The team have been moving nicely since we last played in the Champions Challenge I in Argentina, and the three wins against Ireland were a big boost ahead of the Azlan Shah Cup.
“However, we need a few more training sessions as well as matches before we name the final squad for the Azlan Shah Cup,” said assistant coach Arul Selvaraj.
Malaysia, even though without No 1 goalkeeper S. Kumar, striker Faizal Saari and defender Baljit Singh; still managed to beat Ireland 4-2, 3-0 and 3-1 in the three recent Tests.
“Everybody has been giving their best in training as well as matches and it would be tough to select the final 18. That is a good sign that the team is progressing well.
“We know the score, that we need to get results against the three Asian team as we will be playing them again in the Asia Cup for the single ticket to the World Cup,” said Arul.
The three Tests showed Malaysia have fallen back in their penalty corner conversions, as many went to waste, and this is one are that needs to be sharper to produce results in both the tournaments in Ipoh.
MALAYSIA kept a clean slate when they beat Ireland 3-1 in the Third Test at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil last night.
The national team had already sealed the three-Test series before entering the pitch yesterday as they had beaten the Irish 4-2 in the First Test on Sunday, and 3-0 in the Second Test on Monday.
Shane O Donoghue had give the Irish an early lead, but it was cancelled by Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin off a field attempt in the 18th minute and the score remained until the half-time.
Razie Rahim gave Malaysia the lead in the 42nd minute while Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin made it 3-1 in the 66th minute.
The players are being primed for the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh on March 9-17 where they will play Asian teams India, Pakistan and South Korea and Oceania sides Australia and last year's champions New Zealand.
The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) are still waiting for a reply from another team to make it a seven-team tournament.
New Zealand, who beat Argentina 1-0 last year, have selected a youthful side for this edition while Malaysia will use the Irish Tests to select their best.
As after that, they will be involved in two World Cup Qualifiers in the Hockey World League semi-finals in Johor Baru on June 29-July 7, as well as the Asia Cup in Ipoh on Aug 24-Sept 1.
Malaysian skipper Nadia Abdul Rahman makes a gallant effort during the 2012 International Super Series at Perth
Hockey Stadium.
THE Malaysian women’s hockey team will find the going uphill when they play in the Second Round of the World League on Feb 18-24 in New Delhi, India.
Even though Malaysia emerged as champions in the First Round in Kuantan in August, it was against lesser known teams Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and Singapore.
Malaysia, ranked no 22 and Kazakhstan (33) booked their tickets in Kuantan, and will now be pitted against higher ranked Japan (9), India (12), Russia (20), as well as Fiji (59).
The top-two will make the grade to the Third Round in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on June 13.
Coach Nasihin Nubli, a former international goalkeeper, believes in his women: “We have a good chance of qualifying for the Third Round as my players are well prepared, and if all goes as planned, we can even end tops in India as well.”
Nasihin said only India and Japan are their main hurdles, while Russia, Kazakhstan and Fiji are must win sides to achieve their target.
History does not favour their match against Japan, as Malaysia were drubbed 8-0 in the last meeting during the 2012 Olympic qualifiers.
“That was a painful encounter, but my players have come a long way since, and the advantage is that we play them last.”
The women will head for India on Wednesday and will play a friendly against Russia on Friday. Nasihin is also trying to get a friendly with India before the tournament starts.
Malaysia’s fixtures: Feb 18 -- Malaysia v Russia; Feb 19: Malaysia v India; Feb 21: Malaysia v Kazakhstan; Feb 22:
Malaysia v Fiji; Feb 24: Malaysia v Japan.
WOMEN’S TEAM: Nadia Abdul Rahman (capt), Juliani Mohamed Din (vice capt), Farah Ayuni Yahya, Mas Huzaimah Aziz, Siti Shahidah Saad, Siti Nor Amarina Ruhani, Raja Norsharina Raja Shahbuddin, Fatin Shafika Shukri, Norasikin Halim, Noor Hasliza Ali, Rabiatul Adawiyah, Siti Rahmah Othman, Nor Izaidah Ibrahim, Kannagi Arumugam, Norbaini Hashim, Fazilla Sylvester Silin, Nurul Nabihah Mansor, Nor Azlin Sumantri.
THE Malaysian senior hockey team will play three Test matches against a visiting Ireland side starting on Sunday at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
The series were planned to give some veteran, as well as young players, a chance to show their progress since coach Paul Revington roped them in for the Champions Challenge I in Argentina last year.
Seasoned players who had earlier quit but were named in the Test series are Amin Rahim, Chua Boon Huat, Jivan Mohan and Ismail Abu.
The Second Test will be on Monday, while the Third Test on Wednesday.
“The Test series are important for the coaching staff to expose some players and assess their progress as many regulars are not available.”
“We have left out goalkeeper S. Kumar and Faizal (Saari) who are playing in the Hockey India League, while regulars Nabil (Fiqri), Izwan (Firdaus) and Hafifi (Hafifiz) are carrying injuries. Baljit Singh is also on leave after getting married last week,” said team manager George Koshy.
The national team will play in two important tournaments this year in the World Hockey League semi-finals in Johor Baru and the Asia Cup in Ipoh.
Both the tournaments offer tickets to the 2014 World Cup in the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, Kuala Langat were thrown out of the Junior Hockey League for failing to show up for two matches.
The Selangor side failed to show up for a rain-postponed schedule against Kuala Lumpur Sports School and then against Politeknik KPT.
The Malaysian Hockey Confederation competitions committee decided to erase their previous match results from Division Two, Group B, and refer them to the Disciplinary Board.
The Division two semi-finals between Kelantan and Politeknik and Kuala Lumpur Sports School and Anderson Juniors will be held on Feb 15, while the final will be on Feb 17.
The finalists from Division Two will then move up to the Overall title home-and-away quarter-finals on Feb 22 and waiting for them from Division One are six teams in league champions Tengku Mahkota Ismail Sports School, Petaling Jaya City Council, UniKL Young Guns, Andersons, SSTMI Juniors and Malacca High School.
MALAYSIA: Amir Farid, Azlan Misron, Chua Boon Huat, Faiz Helmi, Ismail Abu, Jivan Mohan, Kairulnizam Ibrahim (gk), Hazrul Faiz, Sukri Mutalib, Izad Hakimi, Fitri Saari, Shahrun Nabil (capt), Amin Rahim, Azammi Adabi, Ramadan Rosli, Amerullah Aziz, Marhan Jalil, Razie Rahim, Norhizzat Sumantri, Roslan Jamaluddin (gk), Tengku Ahmad Tajudin.
