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SAPURA coach I. Vickneswaran, a former international, predicts a revival in the Malaysia Hockey League this season, based on the early effort pumped in by Premier Division teams.
The Premier Division Starts on Dec 17, and the nine teams competing are Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club, Armed Forces- Airod, Maybank, Nur Insafi, Sapura, Tenaga, UiTM, UniKL and Yayasan Negri Sembilan.
“I am amazed with the effort put in by many teams to prepare strong sides for the Premier challenge. I feel this season is going to see a revival of the MHL, back to what it used to be like in the 80s,” said Vickneswaran.
The MHL had taken a beating in the last 10 years, as it turned into a mediocre tournament where teams were just competing to complete the fixtures.
“That is no longer the situation, as many talented foreign players have been roped in to make it more exciting, and the standard will surely be higher than last year.”
As for Sapura: “We have signed three foreign players in Pakistan’s Rehan Butt (who scored the second goal against Malaysian in the Asian Games final), Welsh goalkeeper David James Kettle and Korean Junior World Cup player Lim Woo Geun.
“Rehan is still not here, and Jiwa Mohan is also still in Australia. We have played some friendlies, but not with the full side yet,” said Vickneswaran.
Vickneswaran, who coached UniKL last season, also feels the University side will impress this season.
“UniKL have signed some impressive foreign players, and with their local young talent, I believe they will also be a team to watch this year.”
Sapura, who lost the Overall title to Tenaga Nasional after a penalty shoot-out, will be looking to end their barren run this season.
SAPURA: Rodzhanizam Radzi, Noor Khairul Azrain, M. Vizayan, Marhan Jalil, Ahmad Kazamirul, Lim Woo Geun (GP), Redzuan Ponirin, Jiwa Mohan, Rehan Butt (GP), Nasihin Nubli (GK), Faisal Kamarudin, Izwan Firdaus, Joel Samuel Van Huizen, Razi Ismail, Jivan Mohan, Azreen Rizal, David James Kettle (GK, GP), Faizal Daud, Norhanfpe Omar, Izzat Rahim, Craig Joseph Fernandez, S. Kuhan.
Team Manager: Abdullah Yunus
Coach: I. Vikneswaran
Asst Coach: K. Balakrishnan
MEN IN GREEN: Shakeel Abbasi (right) will be turning out for YNS in the Malaysia Hockey League.
FORMER Malaysia Hockey League supremos Yayasan Ne gri Sembilan will parade 11 foreign players and a coach from India in the Malaysia Hockey League, not for want, but because there are not enough local talent to go around.
The MHL Premier Division will start on Dec 17, and the nine teams competing are Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club, Armed Forces-Airod, Maybank, Nur Insafi, Sapura, Tenaga, UiTM, UniKL and Yayasan Negri Sembilan.
YNS former double champions in 1994 and 1995 will be making a comeback after a long hiatus and have hired Pakistan and India players to beef up their challenge with the notable names on the list are Pakistanis Muhammad Rashid, Muhammad Waqas and Shakeel Abbasi.
Waqas and Abbasi played in the Asian Games, and helped beat Malaysia 2-0 in the final. Rashid, 17-years-old, made his debut in the last Azlan Shah Cup.
The India players with strong credentials are Deepak Thakur and Prabjoth Singh. The outfit will also be coached by India’s women’s coach P. Madhu Karan.
“It is not that we want to field so many foreign players, but after all the top teams snapped up the local talents, we were left with little to select from.
“That is why we opted to sign up 11 foreign players, and our target is to reach the semi-finals, first,” said YNS Assistant manager P. Tamil Selvan
But they might face a major problem in team-work, as their foreign players are only expected to arrive next week.
Our foreign signings have obligations back home now, and will only be arriving next week. This gives us little time to train together, but with the vast experience the players have, I believe it is not going to be a major problem,” said Tamil.
YNS: Hafifi Baharom (Gk), Mohamed Imran (GP), Vivek Gupta (GP), Muhammad Raashid (GP), Deepak Thakur (GP), Meor Shahril, Muhammad Waqas (GP), Yazid Yusof, Shakeel Abbasi (GP), Fitri Abu Bakar, Prabjoth Singh (GP), Zulfadli Mas Isa, Redza Maadun, Razlee Amree, Tarun Thammannah (GP, GK), M. Rageswaran, Sabri Mohamed, Mosiur Rahman (GP), S. Sarvaswaran, Arvind (GP), Muppidi Nagaraj (GP).
Coach: P. Madhu Karan.
IF you are in Malacca for the weekend and have some spare time on your hands, then please head out to the Bukit Serindit Hockey Stadium.
The Inaugural Sant Baba Sohan Singh Ji Under-21 tournament will be held at the Bukit Serendit Hockey Stadium in Malacca on Dec 11 will see teams from Malacca, Singapore , Batu Pahat, Ipoh, Klang and Seremban competing..
Only Sikh players, with names ending with Singh are eligible to compete and it is hoped that the organisation of such a tournament will revive interest amongst Sikh youths to participate in a sport that they once dominated.
The organizing committee has extended an open invitation to those in the hockey fraternity to watch the tournament. -- By S.S. Dhaliwal.
DOUBLE FLICK: Amin Rahim (left) and Razie Rahim, will represent Tenaga and KLHC respectively in the MHL Premier Division.KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) will be banking on a strong local outfit to defend their Malaysia Hockey League (MHF) Premier Division League title from Dec 17.
KLHC won the League title with a match to spare, but they finished with a bronze in the Overall battle.
And as a curtain raiser, KLHC will square off against Overall champions Tenaga Nasional in the Charity Shield on Dec 17.
“On paper, we have a strong local line-up with players who won silver in the Asian Games and also former internationals who are intent on making a comeback.
“However, looking at the player list of the other teams, especially those with foreign players, I feel it is going to be a very challenging tournament this year,” said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
Some of KLHC’s notable national players are Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Shahrun Nabil, Razie Rahim, Azlan Misron and goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin.
“In today’s game, good flickers and goalkeepers are an asset to win titles and I believe Tenaga Nasional have the best in the country. With (S.) Kumar in goal and Amin Rahim as a flicker, I believe Tenaga will be one of the early title contenders,” said Dharmaraj.
Last season, Tenaga won the Charity Shield as well at the Overall title and Kumar was named as the Best Goalkeeper, while Amin was the Tournament Top Scorer with 15 goals.
KLHC will also be fielding Ismail Abu, Megat Azrafiq, Kelvinder Singh and Chua Boon Huat who will be attempting to impress the national selectors again.
“Among all the former national players, I see Megat as the most improved and his dedication in training is excellent. I hope he will perform in the League, as he is still young and can make a come-back if he works hard enough.
“Kelvinder is still bogged down with injuries, while Ismail is a little rusty after a long lay-off,” said Dharmaraj.
Kelvinder, Ismail and Megat were team-mates in the 2005 Junior World Cup and went on to represent the national team but lost their touch to injuries and weight as well as disciplinary problems.
The nine teams in Premier Division are KLHC, Armed Forces-Airod, Maybank, Nur Insafi, Sapura, Tenaga, UiTM, UniKL and Yayasan Negri Sembilan.
KLHC Team: Roslan Jamaluddin (Gk), Kairulnizam Ibrahim (Gk), Baljit Singh Sarjab, Chua Boon Huat, Noor Faeez, S. Shanker, Shahrun Nabil, Harvinder Singh, Fitri Saari, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Azli Misron, Ismail Abu, Amerullah Aziz, Ahmad Anuar Sham, Azlan Misron (C), Nabil Fiqri, Razie Rahim, Sukri Mutalib, Kelvinder Singh, Megat Azrafiq, Sufian Mohamad, Hairulnizam Maizan.
Officials: Team Manager: George Koshy; Coach: K. Dhar maraj; Asst Coach: R. Vivekanandan.
By JJ ShahJOHOR scored a first in Malaysian hockey by becoming the first state to bring the men’s and women’s hockey association under one roof and take the sport to new heights.
The merger between the two associations was a unanimous decision taken at the Johor Hockey Association’s (JHA) 32nd biennial general meeting in Johor Bahru over the weekend.
This is in line with the FIH’s rule that all countries must have only one national association, for both men and women, which has not been strictly enforced by some countries, including Malaysia.
Putting that aside, the biggest surprise at the BGM was when state executive councilor for youth and sports Jais Sarday was voted in uncontested as the new JHA president, replacing incumbent Tunku Abdul Majid Idris Sultan Iskandar, who did not show up.
Tunku Majid, the Bendahara of Johor and former MHF deputy president, recently, lost his bid to make a comeback to the national body which is headed by the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
With his exit as the JHA president, Tunku Majid has severed his links with hockey at both state and national level
Recently elected MHF vice-president Majid Manjit Abdullah, relinquished his post as secretary and moved up the ranks in JHA as one of the two deputy presidents. The other is A. Harbhajan Singh. Both won uncontested.
The four vice-presidents elected are Ledang district officer Amran Abdul Rahman, Putri Wangsa state assemblyman Datuk Abdul Halim Sulaiman, Customs Superintendent A. Parmjit Singh and former Batu Pahat district officer Datuk Awang Mohamad.
Shahabudin Royani was unanimously elected the new secretary while entrepreneur Idris Othman is the treasurer. The appointment of assistant secretary is left to the president.
The six elected as committee members are R. Balakrishnan Nair (JB), Jai Prakash (Segamat), Malek Khiew (Kluang), Murugan Nair (JB), Zahari Othman (Batu Pahat) and Fakharudin Abdul Kadir (Muar).
The new Royal Patron is the Tunku Mahkota of Johor Tunku Ismail Ibrahim while Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman is the patron.
At the BGM, the delegates also unanimously agreed to change the JHA constitution with the JHA Congress as the ultimate authority governing the association.
“Of late, Johor hockey has taken a slide. But we aim to stop the rot and take the game to new heights and make Johor a hockey powerhouse in the country,” said Majid Manjit.
SAPURA coach I. Vickneswaran, a former international, predicts a revival in the Malaysia Hockey League this season, based on the early effort pumped in by Premier Division teams.
