PERAK beat Johor 2-0 in Division One of the 48th Razak Cup and are now among the early contenders to play in the final, with Kuala Lumpur likely to be their main hurdle.
The Silver State, who had beaten Negri Sembilan 3-1 in their opening encounter on Thursday, had control of the match but muffed many chances which could have taken their tally higher.
In the end, penalty corner goals from Hairul Nizam (48th) and Sabri Mohamed (55th) gave them the full points.
“We had the match in control, but muffed many chances but still, I am happy with the three points which keeps us afloat in this tournament,” said Perak coach Manjit Singh.
Manjit felt that the next match on Saturday against Malac ca could decide if his men will go the distance.
“We have a day’s rest after which we will play Malacca who have assembled a good team this year.
“And if we play like the first two matches, I am confident we will be in the running to play in the final,” said Manjit Singh.
Negri Sembilan and Malacca, however, played to a goal- less draw yesterday, indicating that Perak have a good chance to achieving their dream against Malacca today.
RESULTS -- Division One: Johor 0 Perak 2, Malacca 0 Negri Sembilan 0, Kuala Lumpur 6 Penang 1.
Division Two: Singapore 4 Police 1, Kedah 1 Kelantan 3.
TODAY: Division Two: Selangor v Perlis (3pm), Sabah v Kelantan (5pm), Singapore v Kedah (7pm).
TOMORROW: Division One -- Kuala Lumpur v Johor (3pm), Armed Forces v Penang (5pm), Malacca v Perak (7pm).
Division Two: Terengganu v Pahang (3pm), Selangor v Brunei (5pm).
STANDINGS
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
K LUMPUR 2 2 0 0 8 1 6
PERAK 2 2 0 0 5 1 6
JOHOR 2 1 0 1 3 4 3
N SEMBILAN 2 0 1 1 2 3 1
MALACCA 2 0 1 1 0 2 1
PENANG 1 0 0 1 1 6 0
FORCES 1 0 0 1 2 3 0
DIVISION TWO
GROUP A
P W D L F A Pts
SINGAPORE 1 1 0 0 4 1 3
KELANTAN 1 1 0 0 3 1 3
KEDAH 1 0 0 1 1 3 0
POLICE 1 0 0 1 1 4 0
SABAH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GROUP B
P W D L F A Pts
PAHANG 1 1 0 0 9 0 3
BRUNEI 1 0 0 1 0 9 0
SELANGOR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PERLIS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TERENGGANU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Women have boys on their mind
THE Malaysian women’s hockey team returned from their seven-match Tour of New Zealand on a high, and now they are confident enough to challenge the boys in the Junior Hockey League (JHL).
The women are preparing for the World Cup Qualifier in Santiago, Chile where they will be up against the hosts, Australia, Ireland, Scotland and Ukraine for the single ticket to the World Cup in Rosario, Argentina on Aug 29-Sept 11.
The women just returned from New Zealand where they played four matches against the NZ national team and lost 2- 0, 2-1, 2-0 and 4-0.
And in the three matches against the NZ development team, the ladies won 3-0, 3-0 and 4-3.
“We received confirmation from the FIH (International Hockey Federation) that the tournament will be held in Chile, even though the country was recently hit by a massive earthquake,” Said MWHF secretary S. Shamala.
“And during the New Zealand Tour, which was the first time NZ agreed to host the Malaysian women, the girls learnt much from the team which had beaten Australia for direct entry into the World Cup.
“The matches were of high intensity with a lot of body contact and robust play which gave us the opportunity to evaluate our attacking and defending strategies.
“And among the lessons learnt from the Tour were on penalty corner set-pieces and circle penetrations, which improved vastly,” said Shamala.
And now, the ladies are ready to challenge the boys in the JHL.
“We are grateful to the MHF (Malaysian Hockey Fed eration), for allowing the women to compete in the JHL. We have forwarded our training program and the MHF will prepare a schedule to accommodate us.
“We are certain the experience and competitive envi ronment will be of great benefit to us,” said Shamala.
To date, 16 teams have conformed for the JHL which will start on April 9.
The women are preparing for the World Cup Qualifier in Santiago, Chile where they will be up against the hosts, Australia, Ireland, Scotland and Ukraine for the single ticket to the World Cup in Rosario, Argentina on Aug 29-Sept 11.
The women just returned from New Zealand where they played four matches against the NZ national team and lost 2- 0, 2-1, 2-0 and 4-0.
And in the three matches against the NZ development team, the ladies won 3-0, 3-0 and 4-3.
“We received confirmation from the FIH (International Hockey Federation) that the tournament will be held in Chile, even though the country was recently hit by a massive earthquake,” Said MWHF secretary S. Shamala.
“And during the New Zealand Tour, which was the first time NZ agreed to host the Malaysian women, the girls learnt much from the team which had beaten Australia for direct entry into the World Cup.
“The matches were of high intensity with a lot of body contact and robust play which gave us the opportunity to evaluate our attacking and defending strategies.
“And among the lessons learnt from the Tour were on penalty corner set-pieces and circle penetrations, which improved vastly,” said Shamala.
And now, the ladies are ready to challenge the boys in the JHL.
“We are grateful to the MHF (Malaysian Hockey Fed eration), for allowing the women to compete in the JHL. We have forwarded our training program and the MHF will prepare a schedule to accommodate us.
“We are certain the experience and competitive envi ronment will be of great benefit to us,” said Shamala.
To date, 16 teams have conformed for the JHL which will start on April 9.
KL start title hunt with confidence
Flying start: Kuala Lumpur’s Harvinder Singh (right) vies with Malacca’s Amirullah Zainul during their Razak Cup match in Kuantan yesterday. KL won 2-0.By AFTAR SINGH
KUANTAN: Kuala Lumpur got off to a good start in the Razak Cup hockey tournament when they defeated defending champions Malacca 2-0 in a Division One match at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium here yesterday.
KL, who are gunning to win the title for a record 19th time in the 48th edition of the tournament, went on the offensive from the start and took the lead in the 12th minute through national forward Nabil Fiqri Mohd Noor.
The team with six internationals in their ranks created many more chances to score in the first half but drew blanks.
The second goal for KL came off the penalty corner with national midfielder Mohd Shahrun Nabil scoring in the 40th minute.
Malacca, who had the services of former national forward Chua Boon Huat and current national forward B. Namasivayam, failed to impress and they were lucky to lose by a small margin.
KL coach Nor Saiful Zaini said that he was satisfied with his team’s performance even though they missed a number of sitters.
“We are playing in a round-robin format and we need to score as many goals as possible in every match to qualify for the final,” he said.
“I am also happy with the performance of three Under-21 players – Harvinder (Singh), Mohd Syamin (Mohd Yusuf) and Fahed (Saifullah). They played well. However, we need to tighten the defence. We allowed Malacca to create a few scoring chances.”
KL will be seeking to claim full points against Penang today.
“My players are highly motivated after the win over Malacca and we should get the better of Penang, who only have the services of one national player (M. Jivan),” said Nor Saiful.
Perak also got off to a winning start, beating Negri Sembilan 3-1 in another Division One match.
National forward Azlan Misron (10th), Mohd Noor Khairul Azrain (33rd) and Mohd Hafifihafiz Hanafi (64th) scored for Perak. Negri’s goal came from M. Ragesh Waran in the 61st minute.
Hosts Pahang started in Division Two with a thumping 9-0 win over Brunei in Group B.
Mohd Aminuddin Abu scored a hat-trick (2nd, 43rd and 64th) and the other goals came from Ahmad Kazamirul Nasruddin (14th, 52nd), Ismail Abu (47th, 66th), Mohd Hafiz Zainul (34th) and Mohd Al-Fadhir Kasim (45th).
KL, who are gunning to win the title for a record 19th time in the 48th edition of the tournament, went on the offensive from the start and took the lead in the 12th minute through national forward Nabil Fiqri Mohd Noor.
The team with six internationals in their ranks created many more chances to score in the first half but drew blanks.
The second goal for KL came off the penalty corner with national midfielder Mohd Shahrun Nabil scoring in the 40th minute.
Malacca, who had the services of former national forward Chua Boon Huat and current national forward B. Namasivayam, failed to impress and they were lucky to lose by a small margin.
KL coach Nor Saiful Zaini said that he was satisfied with his team’s performance even though they missed a number of sitters.
“We are playing in a round-robin format and we need to score as many goals as possible in every match to qualify for the final,” he said.
“I am also happy with the performance of three Under-21 players – Harvinder (Singh), Mohd Syamin (Mohd Yusuf) and Fahed (Saifullah). They played well. However, we need to tighten the defence. We allowed Malacca to create a few scoring chances.”
KL will be seeking to claim full points against Penang today.
“My players are highly motivated after the win over Malacca and we should get the better of Penang, who only have the services of one national player (M. Jivan),” said Nor Saiful.
Perak also got off to a winning start, beating Negri Sembilan 3-1 in another Division One match.
National forward Azlan Misron (10th), Mohd Noor Khairul Azrain (33rd) and Mohd Hafifihafiz Hanafi (64th) scored for Perak. Negri’s goal came from M. Ragesh Waran in the 61st minute.
Hosts Pahang started in Division Two with a thumping 9-0 win over Brunei in Group B.
Mohd Aminuddin Abu scored a hat-trick (2nd, 43rd and 64th) and the other goals came from Ahmad Kazamirul Nasruddin (14th, 52nd), Ismail Abu (47th, 66th), Mohd Hafiz Zainul (34th) and Mohd Al-Fadhir Kasim (45th).
Monday, March 22, 2010
KL eye razak Cup final
KUALA Lumpur have set their sights on playing in the final of the 48th Razak Cup starting in Kuantan tomorrow (24/03/10).
KL, who beat Johor 6-3 for the bronze last season, have secured five national players, including the best penalty corner flicker in the country, Amin Rahim.
“We did not do well last year, but I am confident that we have a well balanced side and should be able to reach the final of Division One and take matters from there,” said KL coach Nor Saiful Zaini.
Division One will be led by defending champions Malacca, who beat Project 2013 2-1 last year. This year, the Project boys as well as national players have been released to play for their respective states.
“The national players only broke camp last week so I will only have them for training tonight (last night) but it should not be a problem as most of the are experienced and should adapt well,” said Nor Saiful, a former Malaysian skipper.
The Malaysian Hockey federation (MHF) made the Razak Cup more interesting this year when they made it mandatory for each team to have at least four Under-21 players.
All four must wear special armbands, and two of them must be on the pitch at any given time.
“I will include two under-16 players (KL won the national under-16 title in Sabah on Sunday) and another two school boys to meet the MHF quota. This is a good ruling, as players will be exposed in the Razak Cup at a young age,” said Nor Saiful.
MHF will provide a grant of RM5,000 for each team while the Division One purse is RM10,000 for gold, RM7,000 for silver and RM5,000 for bronze.
In Division Two, the pay-out is RM5,000 for gold, RM3,000 for silver and RM2,000 for bronze.
DIVISION ONE: Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Perak, Penang, Negri Sembilan, Armed Forces.
Division Two: Group A -- Singapore, Kedah, Kelantan, Police, Sabah; Group B: Selangor, Brunei, Pahang, Perlis, Terengganu.
FIXTURES -- Tomorrow: Division One: Kuala Lumpur v Malacca (6.30pm), Armed Forces v Johor (8.30pm), Negri Sembilan v Perak (5pm).
Division Two: Brunei v Pahang (4.30pm).
Thursday: Division One -- Johor v Perak (3pm), Malacca v Negri Sembilan (5pm), Kuala Lumpur v Penang (7pm).
Division Two: Singapore v Police (3pm), Kedah v Kelantan (5pm).
All Matches at Pitch I and II of the Kuantan Stadium.
KL, who beat Johor 6-3 for the bronze last season, have secured five national players, including the best penalty corner flicker in the country, Amin Rahim.
“We did not do well last year, but I am confident that we have a well balanced side and should be able to reach the final of Division One and take matters from there,” said KL coach Nor Saiful Zaini.
Division One will be led by defending champions Malacca, who beat Project 2013 2-1 last year. This year, the Project boys as well as national players have been released to play for their respective states.
“The national players only broke camp last week so I will only have them for training tonight (last night) but it should not be a problem as most of the are experienced and should adapt well,” said Nor Saiful, a former Malaysian skipper.
The Malaysian Hockey federation (MHF) made the Razak Cup more interesting this year when they made it mandatory for each team to have at least four Under-21 players.
All four must wear special armbands, and two of them must be on the pitch at any given time.
“I will include two under-16 players (KL won the national under-16 title in Sabah on Sunday) and another two school boys to meet the MHF quota. This is a good ruling, as players will be exposed in the Razak Cup at a young age,” said Nor Saiful.
MHF will provide a grant of RM5,000 for each team while the Division One purse is RM10,000 for gold, RM7,000 for silver and RM5,000 for bronze.
In Division Two, the pay-out is RM5,000 for gold, RM3,000 for silver and RM2,000 for bronze.
DIVISION ONE: Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Perak, Penang, Negri Sembilan, Armed Forces.
Division Two: Group A -- Singapore, Kedah, Kelantan, Police, Sabah; Group B: Selangor, Brunei, Pahang, Perlis, Terengganu.
FIXTURES -- Tomorrow: Division One: Kuala Lumpur v Malacca (6.30pm), Armed Forces v Johor (8.30pm), Negri Sembilan v Perak (5pm).
Division Two: Brunei v Pahang (4.30pm).
Thursday: Division One -- Johor v Perak (3pm), Malacca v Negri Sembilan (5pm), Kuala Lumpur v Penang (7pm).
Division Two: Singapore v Police (3pm), Kedah v Kelantan (5pm).
All Matches at Pitch I and II of the Kuantan Stadium.
AHF taken for a ride
PAKISTAN AND INDIA STILL CHASING A DREAMPAKISTAN and South Korea gave a sucker punch to the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) when they withdrew from the First Asian Champions Trophy, which was scheduled to be held in Ipoh on April 13-18.
The AHF, left with only China and Malaysia, decided to hide their tail between the legs and postpone the inaugural event which was supposedly being organised to elevate the stan dard of Asian teams.
Pakistan, who have four World Cup titles under their belt, finished last in the New Delhi World Cup and the entire team as well as the management resigned in shame.
South Korea finished sixth, and then decided that they had had enough of hockey and withdrew from the Asia Cup.
Both the teams know for a fact that the tournament does not carry any ranking points, and is also not a qualifier, so they did not think twice before pulling out.
They also know that the AHF will not punish them, as the Asian body need the two giants when elections come a calling.
However, the withdrawals have left the Malaysian team high and dry, and now they will have to keep on training for another month and wait for the Azlan Shah Cup, also in Ipoh, from May 6-16.
Interestingly, Pakistan and South Korea are also among the seven confirmed teams for the Azlan Shah Cup. The others are World No 1 and World Cup holders Australia, India, Malaysia, Egypt and China.
And a check with the MHF revealed that Pakistan and South Korea have not backed out of the Azlan Shah Cup, as of yesterday.
The reason? Both the teams will be punished by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) if they pull out of the Azlan Shah Cup, which is a sanctioned and recognised tournament.
Therein lies the fault which has seen Asia take a free fall in the recent World Cup, and only had two teams which qualified on merit, while India played as hosts.
The top five in the world saw one Oceania and four European teams in Germany, England, Netherlands and Spain.
Australia are in a class of their own, and even with little help Down Under, they seem to flourish by sending their players to compete in the European League.
And the European teams, with borders touching each other, enjoy a good time competing among each other and are consistently improving with England the team to watch in the London 2012 Olympics.
The AHF planned and then tried to execute a noble idea when they came up with the Asian Champions Trophy so that their members can have another tournament to improve themselves.
But it looks like some members are not interested in helping struggling countries like Malaysia and China, and that is why they took the easy way out, knowing well that the AHF do not have the clout to punish them.
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