Sarjit disappointed, not dejected

NATIONAL hockey coach Sarjit Singh had a
meet-the-press session yesterday, and his only
bone of contention was that he had to read in the
papers that his contract will not be extended. Otherwise, he has no regrets coaching for the
past 22 months, as his record shows that he is
the most successfull local or foreign coach for
the past decade.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) council
decided on Saturday not to extend his contract,
which expires on Dec 31. The council is now
looking towards hiring South Korean coach Kim
Sang Ryul instead.
"I feel a little sad that I had to read in the
papers that my contract will not be renewed. I
feel the proper way would have been to inform me
first, and then make the announcement," lamented
Sarjit.
"Im also disappointed that the new MHF council
members did not meet with me to discuss, or hear
me out. The NSC (National Sports Council) who are
my paymasters, also did not talk to me about it,
although its their preregotive to make any
changes," said Sarjit.
But still, the former national skipper bears no
grudge against any party:
"I accept the change
and will take leave to assess my options. I would
like to be involved with hockey in the future,
but at what level, it still remains to be seen." When Sarjit took over in 2007, the national
team were ranked 16th, and now they are 15th.
"When I was appointed as national coach, the
task given to me was to prepare a team for the
2010 World Cup and the 2012 Olympics. And I would
like to state here that the Olympic Qualifiers in
Japan (April this year) was not a target set for
me, because the team had failed in the Doha Asian
Games, and were forced into the Qualifier.
"The Olympic Qualidiers in Japan was a
difficult tournament, as world No 1 Germany were
in our pool. Germany went on to win the Olympics
gold, and that sould tell what we were against,"
said Sarjit.
During his 22-month stint, Sarjit succeeded in
taking his team to silver in the 2007 Azlan Shah
Cup, a feat which was last achieved 22 years ago. And his charges also finished with a bronze
medal in the Asia Cup, which was a first for
Malaysia.
"My team also finsihed second in the recent
Hamburg Masters, which was the best achievement
by Malaysia as our previous best was a bronze in
2002.
"I feel it is unfair to be fast on the draw
when it involves local coaches, as we should be
given at least four years to prove ourselves,
like what the foreign coaches are given.
" He has set a target of Qualifying for the 2010
World Cup by virtue of the Asia Cup next year,
and the 2012 Olympics by being among the top-two
in the Asian Games.
"Lasty I would like to wish the new MHF
council all the best, and hope they will be able
to take hockey to a higher level.
"I would like to end by thanking all my players
who had given their full co-operation, as well as
former MHF deputy president Tunku Majid Sultan
Iskandar and the former MHF coaching committee."

End of the road for coach Sarjit Singh

MALAYSIAN Hockey Federation (MHF) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah chaired his first council meeting yesterday and did not waste any time in making a dramatic change in the coaching department withthe contracts of three senior team coaches not being renewed.
Chief coach Sarjit Singh (pic), assistant coach Gurmit Singh and goalkeeping coach Shahid Ali Khan will not have their respective contracts renewed. The council has decided to hire South Korean Kim Sang Ryul as head coach.
All three local coaches’ contracts expire on Dec 31.
Sang Ryul, who is credited with uplifting the standard of hockey in South Korea and China, is expected to arrive soon. The council has also given him a free hand to select his team of assistant coaches and physical trainers.
Sarjit, when contacted, said he will make a statement today.
And there were also new faces appointed to the various committees with some former MHF hands re-appointed.
Chairing the Consultative Committee is previous president Tan Sri Admiral (rtd) Anwar Mohd Nor, while past MHF deputy president Tan Sri P. Alagendra, National Sports Council director general Datul Zolkples Embong and National Sports Institute director general Datuk Ramlan Aziz are among its members.
And in the Wawasan Committee, the chairman is Datuk Mazlan Ahmad, while among the members are Datuk Ho Koh Chye, and former players Mirnawan Nawawi and Maninderjit Singh.
The Coaching Committee is now chaired by Datuk Poon Fook Loke, while the Development Committee is chaired by Ken Pereira.
The Umpires Board also saw a change with international umpire Amarjit Singh tasked to helm it, while Datuk Dr S.S. Cheema will chair the Medical Committee.
Tengku Abdullah, as promised after taking over the MHF, has made some drastic changes in coaching as well as the various committees which have been entrusted with taking Malaysia into the top-10 bracket in the world by the 2010 London Olympics.

Ernst & Young too strong

ERNST & Young whipped Royal Thai Airforce 13-2 and will meet Olympian Village Club of Pakistan in the final of the Asian Champion Clubs Cup at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium today.
And Adijon of Uzbekistan came back from a goal down to beat Singapore Recreation Club 2-1, and will meet Royal Thai Airforce in the third-fourth placing match.
Singapore scored off Baqir Ali in the 18th minute, but Uzbekistan equalised in the 22nd minute with a field effort from Sibqev Roman.
The winner was scored by Uzbek skipper Qalandarov Golib in the 37th minute.
RESULTS -- Group A: Ernst & Young 13 Royal Thai Airforce 2; Group B: Singapore Recreation Club 1 Adijon 2.
TODAY: Final -- Ernst & Young v Olympian Village Club (5.30pm); Third-Fourth: Adijon v Royal Thai Airforce (3pm).
Note: Matches at the KLHA Stadium in Japan Pantai.

Ernst & Young v Village Club final

NATIONAL Juniors whipped Royal Thai Airforce 13-0 in the Asian Champion Clubs Cup at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium yesterday, but will not be playing in the third-fourth placing match.
Ernst & Young, who beat the National Juniors 5-2 on Thursday, will meet Royal Thai Airforce today, and even if the Thailand club loses by 30-0, they will still play in the third- fourth placing match.
The Asian Hockey Federation (FIH) decided on this, as the juniors are only a wild card entry in the six-team tournament tournament.
Ernst & Young will meet Olympian Village Club of Pakistan, who beat Singapore Recreation Club 1-0 yesterday, in the final on Sunday.
But for the Juniors, even though the score-line looked impressive, but there was no reason top celebrate, as the Thailand team lacked quality while the Juniors fumbled more than a dozen open chances.
“Thailand is an average team, and even though my boys scored 13 goals, I am not impressed. I used all the reserves, and the fact that our goalkeeper did not have to pulloff any saves tells the story,” said Juniors coach K. Rajan.
The other side of the story is that the forwards, who will lead Malaysia’s charge in the Junior World Cup next year, lack the killer instinct when in the semi-circle.
“Yes, they fumbled many opportunities, and were not sharp in the semi-circle. I will work on that in the MHL (Malaysia Hockey League) as well as the friendlies lined-up before the World Cup,” said Rajan.
The Juniors who got their names on the score-sheet yesterday were Izwan Firdaus (16th, 23rd, 25th, 68th, 69th), R. Nadesh (37th), Faisal Kamarudin (39th, 44th), Ahmad Kazamirul (48th, 51st, 65th, 67th) and Azreen Rizal (52nd).
RESULTS -- Group A: Royal Thai Airforce 0 National Juniors 13; Group B: Singapore Recreation Club 0 Olympian Village Club 1.
Today: Group A: Ernst & Young v Royal Thai Airforce (3pm); Group B: Singapore Recreation Club v Adijon (5pm).
Tomorrow: Final -- 5pm; Third-Fourth: 3pm.

FIH release 20 for Junior World Cup

THE International Hockey Federation (FIH) released the list of teams playing in international tournaments next year and Malaysia have been relegated to play in Champions Challenge II.
And the sad part is, China and Canada are among the teams which will play in Champions Challenge I.
FIH also released 20 teams which will play in the Malaysia- Singapore Junior World Cup, with defending champions Argentina leading the charge. Australia and New Zealand only need to show up at the two-team Oceania Cup, and both will qualify.
Twenty teams, 10 in Malaysia and 10 in Singapore, will play in the Junior World Cup from
The six teams from Asia are both the hosts, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Japan. The groupings have yet to be released.
JUNIOR WORLD CUP TEAMS: 1 South Africa, 2 Egypt, 3 Malaysia, 4 Singapore, 5 India, 6 South Korea, 7 Pakistan, 8 Japan, 9 Spain, 10 Netherlands, 11 Germany, 12 Belgium, 13 England, 14 Poland, 15 Russia, 16 Argentina, 17 Chile, 18 USA, 19 Australia, 20 New Zealand.
Note: Australia and New Zealand need only to participate in the Junior Oceania Cup on Dec 11-14 to qualify.
CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE II TEAMS: 1 Japan, 2 Malaysia, 3 France, 4 Russia, 5 Ireland, 6 Poland, 7 Austria, 8 Chile, 9 Chile.