THE NSC-Milo-MHC Junior Hockey League Division One title could go three ways when UniKL Young Guns and Tengku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) play for keeps at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil Thursday.
UniKL and SSTMI are tied on 15 points, while Petaling Jaya City Council are sitting pretty on 18 points. However both UniKL and SSTMI have a better goal difference than PJCC which means if either team wins today, the title is theirs.
But if the match ends in a draw, then PJCC will be crowned the champions while watching from the stands.
"This is a winner take-all situation, and my players are primed to give their best. A win is what we are looking for as we ended silver medallists in both the League and Overall to SSTMI last season," said UniKL coach Faiz Isa.
And the title aspirants received a surprise visit from their Chairman, Datuk Dr Adham Baba and newly appointed President/CEO, Prof Dr Mazliham Mohd Su'ud ahead of the big battle.
The only blemish in UniKL's run in the League was a 2-1 defeat to PJCC, while SSTMI's blot was a surprise defeat to Anderson of Ipoh 3-2.
SSTMI coach Wan Roslan Wan Rahman also knows the score well: "Both the teams are title contenders and it would be a difficult match which will only be separated by the mistakes each side makes. However, after the shock defeat to Anderson, I believe my players have woken up from their comfort zone and are now more dangerous than when the league started."
But if 70 minutes does not provide a winner, PJCC will win their first League title since the inception of the JHL in 1995.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
Baljit fast becoming a rare breed...
NATIONAL hockey player Baljit Singh tied the knot yes terday with Jesvin Kaur, and instantly became a rare species heading for extinction.
No, it not another marriage pun or joke, but he could well be the last Sikh hockey player to represent Malaysia for a long time to come.
The Sikhs have a proud hockey history in Malaysia, as the first Punjabi player to represent the country was Gian Singh in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
And after that Sikhs became a regular fixture at hockey fields around the country, and at one time had at least three players representing the country.
Sarjit Singh and Mohindar Singh even hold the distinction of being skippers, but sadly, the Lions are shying away from the sport in Malaysia.
Sukhvinderjeet Singh, Jagjit Singh, Sarjit Singh (1984 Los Angeles Olympics); Maninderjit Singh, Apthar Singh (1996 Atlanta Olympics); Tara Singh Sindhu, Ranjit Singh Gurdit, Kartar Singh Chandra (1964 Tokyo Olympics)....
The selected Olympian list is much longer than the above, and if one was to name Sikhs who represented Malaysia at the World Cups, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Sea Games it would even take up more space.
Present at the wedding reception in Kuala Lumpur yes terday were national coach Paul Revington, assistant coach Arul Selvaraj, and Baljit’s team mates.
And there were also many past and present hockey players who came to the dinner, including Sarjit.
The former skipper and double Olympian was looking a little down, so the scribe asked Sarjit what was the matter, and he replied that he felt sad that Malaysian Sikhs are no longer interested to play hockey and even the present national juniors does not even have one.
However, there could well be some reason to look forward to, as two venues in Kuala Lumpur are actively training young Sikhs.
One is at Kelab Aman and the other is at Gurdwara Kampung Pandan, which is possibly the only place of worship in the world that has a quarter hockey pitch in its com pound.
Dedicated coaches, who were themselves former players at various levels, volunteer their time to teach the basics of hockey to about 30 Sikh youths over weekends at the Gurdwara compound.
It might take more than five years for this batch of players to make their mark in the Junior Hockey League and then move up the ranks, and hopefully, save Sikhs from being an extinct race in a sport which they once made their presence felt in Malaysia.
Baljit Singh's grand reception..
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Title can go three ways...
TENGKU Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) kept their hopes of defending the Division One League title alive when they beat Petaling Jaya City Council (PJCC) 4-0 in the NSC-Milo-MHC Junior Hockey League yesterday.
The league title will now be decided on Thursday, when SSTMI play UniKL Young Guns in a winner-takes-all high stakes match as both teams are tied on 15 points.
PJCC ended their league on 18 points, but their goals-scored count is too low to challenge for the title, unless the SSTMI-UniKL match ends in a draw, and they will be crowned without breaking sweat while watching from the stands.
Playing at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil, PJCC only needed a draw to lift the League title, but SSTMI's Shahril Saabah dented their hopes early with a fourth minute penalty corner goal.
After that SSTMI took control of the match and won four more penalty corners, and scored their second in the 30th minute off a Mohamed Zulhamizan field goal to enter the dressing room with the title in sight.
Huzairy Zin then made it 3-0 in the 43rd minute, while Azwar Rahman helped himself to another in the 53rd minute.
SSTMI coach Wan Roslan Wan Rahman knows the score on Thursday: "The defeat to Anderson (2-1) on Friday turned out to be a blessing as it was a wake-up call for my players to play better against PJCC. Now, we can't afford to make too many mistakes in the match against UniKL as its a winner-take-all."
PJCC team manager Zanal Abidin was disappointed with the defeat, but is keeping is fingers crossed for UniKL and SSTMI to end with a draw.
"We will be at the stands on Thursday when UniKL and SSTMI play, and hopefully its a draw so we can celebrate our maiden JHL League title," said Zanal.
Two red cards were yesterday flashed to PJCC player Khairol Shafik and Politeknik player Mohamed Kamarul.
RESULTS: Division One: Tengku Mahkota SS 4 Petaling Jaya CC 0.
Division Two: Group A -- Nur Insafi 1 Kelantan HA 7, Perlis 1 1Mas Penang 0, Anderson Jnrs 3 SERATAS 0.
Group B: Tunas Muda Pahang 2 Bukit Jalil SS Juniors 3, Padang Midin 2 Johor HA 5, Olak PKT 1 Politeknik KPT 2.
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
PJCC 7 6 0 1 11 9 18
SSTMI 6 5 0 1 29 3 15
UniKL 6 5 0 1 28 6 15
Anderson 6 2 2 2 10 16 8
Malacca HS 6 1 2 3 9 21 5
BJSS 7 1 1 5 9 17 4
SSTMI Jnrs 5 1 1 3 6 16 4
USM-MSSSPP 5 0 0 5 6 20 0
GROUP A
P W D L F A Pts
Kelantan 8 8 0 0 38 10 24
Kedah HA Jnrs 8 4 3 1 17 6 15
Perlis 7 4 2 1 23 12 14
Anderson Jnrs 7 4 2 1 18 9 14
STAR Ipoh 7 3 1 3 6 14 10
1Mas Penang 8 3 0 5 16 15 9
Matri 6 1 1 4 5 20 4
SERATAS 6 0 1 5 1 13 1
Nur Insafi 7 0 0 7 2 27 0
GROUP B
P W D L F A Pts
KLSS 7 7 0 0 28 8 21
Poli KPT 7 6 0 1 24 6 18
OLAK 8 5 0 3 21 9 15
K Langat 7 4 0 3 10 28 12
Datuk Taha 8 3 2 3 22 12 11
TM Pahang 8 3 1 4 19 18 10
TBSS 8 3 0 5 16 20 9
Johor HA 8 2 2 4 17 23 8
BJSS Jnrs 8 2 1 5 11 28 7
SMKPM 7 0 0 7 11 27 0
The league title will now be decided on Thursday, when SSTMI play UniKL Young Guns in a winner-takes-all high stakes match as both teams are tied on 15 points.
PJCC ended their league on 18 points, but their goals-scored count is too low to challenge for the title, unless the SSTMI-UniKL match ends in a draw, and they will be crowned without breaking sweat while watching from the stands.
Playing at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil, PJCC only needed a draw to lift the League title, but SSTMI's Shahril Saabah dented their hopes early with a fourth minute penalty corner goal.
After that SSTMI took control of the match and won four more penalty corners, and scored their second in the 30th minute off a Mohamed Zulhamizan field goal to enter the dressing room with the title in sight.
Huzairy Zin then made it 3-0 in the 43rd minute, while Azwar Rahman helped himself to another in the 53rd minute.
SSTMI coach Wan Roslan Wan Rahman knows the score on Thursday: "The defeat to Anderson (2-1) on Friday turned out to be a blessing as it was a wake-up call for my players to play better against PJCC. Now, we can't afford to make too many mistakes in the match against UniKL as its a winner-take-all."
PJCC team manager Zanal Abidin was disappointed with the defeat, but is keeping is fingers crossed for UniKL and SSTMI to end with a draw.
"We will be at the stands on Thursday when UniKL and SSTMI play, and hopefully its a draw so we can celebrate our maiden JHL League title," said Zanal.
Two red cards were yesterday flashed to PJCC player Khairol Shafik and Politeknik player Mohamed Kamarul.
RESULTS: Division One: Tengku Mahkota SS 4 Petaling Jaya CC 0.
Division Two: Group A -- Nur Insafi 1 Kelantan HA 7, Perlis 1 1Mas Penang 0, Anderson Jnrs 3 SERATAS 0.
Group B: Tunas Muda Pahang 2 Bukit Jalil SS Juniors 3, Padang Midin 2 Johor HA 5, Olak PKT 1 Politeknik KPT 2.
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
PJCC 7 6 0 1 11 9 18
SSTMI 6 5 0 1 29 3 15
UniKL 6 5 0 1 28 6 15
Anderson 6 2 2 2 10 16 8
Malacca HS 6 1 2 3 9 21 5
BJSS 7 1 1 5 9 17 4
SSTMI Jnrs 5 1 1 3 6 16 4
USM-MSSSPP 5 0 0 5 6 20 0
GROUP A
P W D L F A Pts
Kelantan 8 8 0 0 38 10 24
Kedah HA Jnrs 8 4 3 1 17 6 15
Perlis 7 4 2 1 23 12 14
Anderson Jnrs 7 4 2 1 18 9 14
STAR Ipoh 7 3 1 3 6 14 10
1Mas Penang 8 3 0 5 16 15 9
Matri 6 1 1 4 5 20 4
SERATAS 6 0 1 5 1 13 1
Nur Insafi 7 0 0 7 2 27 0
GROUP B
P W D L F A Pts
KLSS 7 7 0 0 28 8 21
Poli KPT 7 6 0 1 24 6 18
OLAK 8 5 0 3 21 9 15
K Langat 7 4 0 3 10 28 12
Datuk Taha 8 3 2 3 22 12 11
TM Pahang 8 3 1 4 19 18 10
TBSS 8 3 0 5 16 20 9
Johor HA 8 2 2 4 17 23 8
BJSS Jnrs 8 2 1 5 11 28 7
SMKPM 7 0 0 7 11 27 0
Hero’s welcome for Negre...
FIH president Leandro Negre received a hero’s welcome
on his visit to Bangladesh this week. Negre’s arrival inducted a new
edition in the history of Bangladesh sports as it was the first arrival
of any FIH president in the country.
Negre spent a busy day at Dhaka after his arrival as he met the state
minister for youth and sports Ahad Ali Sarker and the president of
Bangladesh Olympic Association and also attended a dinner arranged in
honour of the FIH president.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
