FIH commited to help Asia

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has taken offense to our house style of 'ghost writing' where we interview personalities every Sunday and credit the byline to them.
The article never misquoted Leandro Negre in any paragraph. The interview was done during the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh and the same facts appeared in the www.theStar.com.my and in the Hindu by A. Thiagarajan.

By Jugjet Singh as told to him by Leandro Negre
(Leandro Negre is the president of the International Hockey Federation)

THE International Hockey Federation (FIH) is well aware that Asia, once a powerhouse in hockey, is fast slipping behind Europe and other continents, and it needs urgent help.

Asia is a valuable partner of the sport, as it is widely played in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, China and other countries.
That is why, more emphasis will be placed on this continent, and if giving hockey sticks and balls can start the sport in smaller playing nations, so be it.
The FIH will start with helping India prepare a strong team for the 2010 New Delhi World Cup. It will serve no purpose if India are only good hosts, but do not even qualify for the semi-finals.
I, personally, would be the happiest person if at the end of the World Cup, I end up presenting the trophy to India. It will be a big boost to Asian hockey if that happens.
I was in India before coming to Malaysia, and after a discussion with the Indian Olympic Association (which is running hockey on an ad-hoc basis in India), we came to an agreement that for six months, the Indian team will be based in England, and their players turn out for various clubs in the local league.
And during breaks, the India players will re-group and play against top clubs, from England, Spain, Netherlands or Germany.
There is a tremendous fan-base in England for the India team, and I believe the players will benefit from this exercise when they play in the World Cup.
Our partners in global hockey must be allowed to run their own houses. So, in future there will not be meddling from the FIH as continental federations know best on how to handle their programmes.
Money will also be channeled straight into the continental federations, and they will decide how to utilise it.
Another change which is being looked into is the qualifying system, which has placed many countries in a dilemma, and is too costly, and also takes up the greater part of FIH's time.
Having qualifiers all around the world and only promoting the gold medallists not only deprives some teams, but is also a waste of time and efforts which could be channeled into better work.
It was tragic when in the Beijing Olympic Qualifiers, teams were placed with Germany in Japan, with Argentina in Auckland and India in Chile.
Many teams gave up right after they knew that it was next to impossible to qualify.
I envision that soon, we will revert to the one-qualifier where 12 teams compete in two groups, and six are selected for the main event.
This way, even the placing matches will be keenly fought, and the tournament does not become a side-show once the chance to play in the final is out of sight.
Hockey is also feeling the pinch of the global economic slowdown, and having too many qualifiers for the women and the men is no longer realistic.
Lastly, my visit to India reaffirmed that they are capable hosts, with only one pressing matter which they must sort out.
India must have a democratic election to replace the ad-hoc committee, if not, we have Malaysia on standby as Plan B.
It is our responsibility to have a backup plan in case we are left with no option.

Third silver for Malaysia

The victorious India team with the Azlan Shah Cup after beating Malaysia 3-1 in the final yesterday. — Pic: MUHAIZAN YAHYA

MALAYSIA were resigned to their third silver medal in the Azlan Shah Cup when India beat them 3-1 in Ipoh yesterday.

A freak goal, and a disputed decision, was the order of the day as the hosts added another silver to the ones the won in 1985 and 2007.
The Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh was filled to the brim with a crowd of at least 12,000 who braved the rain to watch Malaysia give their best but India were in no mood to do them any favours.
Malaysia played as a team with a vision to convert their two silver into gold, but were dealt an early blow when India scored a freak goal in the eighth minute.
Arjun Halappa ran along the sideline of the Malaysian goal and made a pass to the centre. The ball met Malaysian defender Baljit Singh Charun's stick and was deflected into goal.
But with solid crowd support, Malaysia started to look more dangerous and their attacks were also well co-ordinated.
And it was no surprise that the equaliser came in the 11th minute from a goalmouth melee with Azlan Misron giving the hosts a life-line.
India were reduced to a defensive side, and only made occasional attacks after Malaysia had equalised, but nonetheless regained the lead.
This time, Prabhjot Singh took advantage of a 20th minute confusion in the Malaysian circle to push the ball in.
The score remained 2-1 in India's favour until the breather, but with a promise of more action after the break.
And the pace in the second half never slowed down with both sides looking to kill the game early. Malaysia came the closest in the 39th minute when Azlan had a one-on-one with India goalkeeper Baljit Singh, but failed.
India increased their lead to 3-1 in the 41st minute when the umpire Deon Nel of South Africa blew for a penalty corner and the Malaysian players stopped playing, but Shivendra Singh took a reverse stick shot and the umpire reversed his decision and blew for goal leaving the hosts stunned.
That goal killed the game's passion and, not surprisingly, Malaysia found the India goal sealed shut for the remainder of the match.
In the match for third placing, New Zealand beat Pakistan 2-1.
The Kiwis took a 2-0 lead through skipper Blair Hopping (12th) and Joel Baker (13th) but Pakistan pulled one back in the 35th minute off Shakeel Abbasi.

RESULTS -- Final: India 3 Malaysia 1; Third-Fourth: New Zealand 2 Pakistan 1.
ROLL-OF-HONOUR: 1 India, 2 Malaysia, 3 New Zealand, 4 Pakistan, 5 Egypt.
Man-of-the-Match: Arjun Halappa (India)
Top Scorer: Sandip Singh (India, 7 goals)
Best Goalkeeper: S. Kumar (Malaysia)
Player of the Tournament: Sandip Singh (India)
Fairplay: New Zealand.

Malaysia in the final!

MALAYSIA earned some much needed respect from their fans when they held World No 7 New Zealand to a 1-1 draw yesterday to advance to the final of the 18th Azlan Shah Cup.

This will be the third time Malaysia will play in the final. Malaysia won silver in 1985 and 2007, and will play India for the gold today.
Overall, Malaysia controlled the match, with deft passes to penetrate the Kiwi semi-circle, but the finishing was poor.
New Zealand won the first penalty corner in the fourth minute, off their first foray into the Malaysian semi-circle, but it was well stopped by the runners.
Malaysia's first penalty corner in the 20th minute was a heart-stopper, as Amin Rahim's flick was blocked by goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex, and landed in front of S. Selvaraju, but his shot was also saved.
New Zealand earned a penalty corner 30 seconds from the break but, again, failed to capitalise.
After the break, Chua Boon Huat made his entry and his impact was almost immediate.
The veteran Boon Huat, with help from Ismail Abu, won Malaysia a penalty corner after the re-start, but the set-piece was well stopped.
Malaysia were finally rewarded for their hard work, when in the 48th minute, a free hit from 25 yards was deflected into goal by Boon Huat and Malaysia were in the driving seat.
But even as the 1,000-plus fans celebrated the goal, New Zealand struck with a Nicholas Wilson field goal and it was back to square one.
Malaysia were flawless for the remainder of the match, and the crowd gave them a standing ovation.
Meanwhile, India survived mediocrity to advance to the final. Sandip Singh gave them the lead in the 28th minute through a penalty stroke but Pakistan pulled level in the 50th minute.
Abbas Haider gave Pakistan the life-line with a field attempt, but Sandip Singh made sure India advanced to the final with another penalty corner goal in the 60th minute.
India will start the final as favourites after having whipped Malaysia 3-0 in the preliminary round.

FINAL STANDINGS

P W D L F A Pts
INDIA 4 2 2 0 9 5 8
MALAYSIA 4 2 1 1 8 7 7
NEW ZEALAND 4 1 3 0 7 6 6
PAKISTAN 4 1 0 3 9 8 3
EGYPT 4 0 2 2 4 11 2

RESULTS: India 2 Pakistan 1, Malaysia 1 New Zealand 1.
TODAY -- Third-Fourth: Pakistan v New Zealand (4.30pm), Final: Malaysia v India (7pm).

Time to polish Kiwis

New Zealand players celebrate after scoring against India on Thursday. The teams drew 2-2.

MALAYSIA are in the running to play in the final of the Azlan Shah Cup, provided they pull off at least a draw against New Zealand today.

India will be involved in a do-or-die mission against Pakistan, as the battle for the final tickets goes to the wire in the last pool matches.
Malaysia have only two silver medals to show since the tournament was incepted in 1983. The only silver linings for the hosts came in 1985 and in 2007 in this illustrious tournament which has been graced by the likes of Germany, Netherlands, Australia, Spain, India and Pakistan.
However, coach Tai Beng Hai's team are playing in a rather diluted tournament, where they beat Pakistan 3-2 and then Egypt 4-1 before collapsing 3-0 to India.
The big guns of hockey are conspicuously missing for this edition, while all the teams here today including Malaysia, are still at an experimental stage for the Asia Cup, or World Cup qualifiers.
And so, the results have been anything but predictable, as Egypt played the spoiler role by holding India and New Zealand, and then the drawn game between New Zealand and India threw wide open the chase to the final.
Now, even Pakistan have a chance, provided they beat India and New Zealand beat Malaysia.
Beng Hai said: "There are no major injuries in the team, and fitness was not a problem in all three matches. I believe we will have to press harder against New Zealand if we want to play in the final."
New Zealand have had their problems in this tournament, and their only victory was against Pakistan. However, all the coaches here have the same thing to say about the Kiwis.
"They drew two matches, but never lost their structure at all. In fact, they have been gaining strength after every match, and are among the favourites this year," said India coach Harendra Singh.
Today's match will also indicate if the Malaysian players are ready to take on the challenge of winning the single ticket offered by the Asia Cup in Kuantan to the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi.
Today: India v Pakistan (5pm), New Zealand v Malaysia (7pm).

Indian hockey lesson

Malaysia’s Chua Boon Huat (left) is challenged by India players in their match on Wednesday. India won 3-0. — Pic:MUHAIZAN YAHYA.

MALAYSIA captain Madzli Ikmar, 30, has been in many sticky situations before, and is among a handful of seniors who survived a revamp after the Japan Olympic Qualifier debacle last year.

And he is in another familiar tight spot, after Malaysia lost 3-0 to India, and need to beat New Zealand tomorrow to qualify for the Azlan Shah Cup final.
"The first two matches -- we played almost perfect hockey, but against India, it was an off day. We simply could not get the ball out from midfield to the Indian semi-circle," said Madzli.
And the reason?
"There are a few, but the main problem was that we could not match the total hockey which India played in the first half.
"In fact, we lost the match in the first 15 minutes, and after that, we were left chasing wildly as we tried to make amends by attacking in the second half, but India defended in numbers, while we easily lost possession in the third pass," said Madzli.
However, the Tenaga Nasional player is confident New Zealand can be beaten.
"After the match we had a meeting, and our faults against India were highlighted by coach (Tai Beng Hai). And I am confident we have the capabilities to beat New Zealand and play in the final," said Madzli.
The Malaysian squad were present to watch the India-New Zealand match yesterday, to have a better understanding of how the Kiwis play.
New Zealand have fielded some youngsters in this tournament, and left behind six seniors, as they are preparing for the World Cup qualifiers in Auckland in November.
The Kiwi squad includes newcomers Arun Panchia and Isaac Staples.
The squad is held together by Olympians Kyle Pontifex, Blair Hopping, Dave Kosoof and Ben Collier
The experienced players left behind are Ryan Archibald, Hayden Shaw, Phil Burrows, Simon Child, Brad Shaw and Shea McAleese.

RESULTS: New Zealand 2 India 2, Pakistan 4 Egypt 0.

FIXTURES -- Tomorrow: India v Pakistan (5pm), New Zealand v Malaysia (7pm);
Sunday: Third-Fourth (4.30pm), Final: (7pm).