Soccer fans disrupt hockey match..

 Soccer fans lighting up flares at the national hockey stadium after disrupting the Malaysia-China match. They came to watch hockey, which started at 6pm, while waiting for the Johor-Pahang FA Cup semifinals at the adjacent pitch...

 
MALAYSIA hammered China's Liaoning Club 5-0 in their final friendly at the National Hockey Stadium yesterday, but the win was marred by unruly soccer fans who disrupted the match after an argument with the umpire.
  Malaysia were comfortably leading 5-0 with nine minutes to go, when China's Korean coach Kim Young Soo, who doubled up as an umpire, was verbally abused by soccer fans who were at the hockey stadium waiting for the Johor-Pahang FA Cup semi-finals to start at the adjacent soccer pitch.
  Kim went to the sidelines to confront the soccer supporter, who had uttered racist and derogatory words, and there was almost a fist-fight but stopped by Malaysian players as well as assistant national coach Arul Selvaraj.
  The China coach then pulled back his charges and had to be convinced that the situation was under control before he asked his charges to resume playing.
  "I was at the sidelines umpiring when one of the fans uttered racist words towards my players and pointed the index finger.
  "I confronted him, as it was uncalled for in a friendly," said Kim.
  The Ultras Malaya supporters had entered the hockey stadium and with drums, cheered the Malaysian team, but after the incident, they brought out several flares and lighted them.
  In the four-match series, Malaysia won 2-1, 4-2, lost 4-3 and finally got their act together yesterday.
  The goals were scored by Chua Boon Huat, Izwan Firdaus, Faizal Saari, Razie Rahim and Firhan Ashaari.
  "The four matches were fantastic, as even though we played against a club side form China, but they had 10 national players and their fitness was at its best.
  "We learned much from these matches, and tomorrow (today) will head for South Africa for another four matches against the National side," said coach Paul Revington.
  Malaysia are preparing for the World League Semi-finals which will be held in Johor Baru from June 29 and offers a chance to qualify for the World Cup next year.

Liaoning Club better than Revington's men..

MALAYSIA lost to China's Liaoning Club 4-3 in a rain interrupted match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
  It was the first defeat for coach Paul Revington's charges as they had beaten the China Club, which has 10 national players, 2-1 and 4-2 in the earlier matches.
  The fourth and final match will be held today at 6pm at the same venue.
  Malaysia are preparing for the World League Semi-finals which Johor Baru will host from June 29-July 7, which is also a World Cup Qualifier.
  Malaysia will open their World League accounts against Pakistan on June 29 in Johor Baru, while the other teams in Group B are England and South Africa.
  In Group A are world no 1 Germany, South Korea, Argentina and a yet to be named team, which will be confirmed after the end of the Round 2 which ongoing in Russia now.
  Yesterday, Faizal Saari scored off a penalty stroke in the 10th minute, Amin Rahim off a penalty corner direct attempt in the 15th minute while the other goal by Kazamirul Ahmad in the 30th minute.
  China scored off Sun Yi (17th) and Hung We (33rd).
  After the breather, China scored two more quick goals off a field attempt by Sun Long (39th) and a Sun Yi penalty corner (45th) to seal the match.
  After the China friendlies, the national team will leave to South Africa on Sunday to play a Four-Test series against the South African side.

MHC Boss for Gurdwara Cup..

MALAYSIAN Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah will be the guest of honour at the Opening ceremony of the 62nd Gurdwara Cup at Kelab Aman on June 6.
  Tengku Abdullah will also officially declare open a mini artificial hockey pitch in Kelab Aman which was laid to boost junior development.
  The Gurdwara Cup, incepted in 1952, is the oldest hockey tournament in the country and has been held without a break since it was first played in Ipoh.
  This year the tournament will be held from June 5-8, and the other sports that will be held in the Sikh Carnival of Sports are soccer (seniors and juniors), netball, badminton and six categories of golf.
  "Normally our affiliates (states) are the ones who host the Gurdwara Cup but the Malaysia-Singapore Sikh Sports Council (MSSSC) decided to host the 62nd edition in Kuala Lumpur," said MSSSC president Datuk Sohan Singh Randhawa.
   The event has pushed to the fore many former Sikh national skippers like Sarjit Singh and Mohinder Singh, as well as former national players like Updesh Singh. Savinder Singh, Avatar Singh, Maninderjit Singh as well as current national player Baljit Singh.
  "The Sikhs used to be well represented in hockey a decade ago, but now only Baljit remains with the seniors.
  "There are no Sikh players in the Junior World Cup training team right now, but coaches especially in Klang, Kampung Pandan and Kelab Aman as well as many other states are slowly building junior sides to fill this void," said Sohan.
  There will be an under-13 hockey tournament which will showcase some exciting future talent, as well as budding stars in soccer and badminton in the Sikh Carnival of Sports.

Revington names 20 for South Africa Tour..

NATIONAL chief coach Paul Revington will be taking his charges back to his home turf in South Africa for a Four Test series from June 2 to prepare for the World Hockey League Semi-finals.
    Malaysia will open their World League accounts against Pakistan on June 29 in Johor Baru, while the other teams in Group B are England and South Africa.
    In Group A are world no 1 Germany, South Korea, Argentina and a yet to be named team, which will be confirmed after the end of the Round 2 which ongoing in Russia now.
    All eight teams progress to the quarter-finals stage, and one win at the last eight will take Malaysia into the World Cup in the Netherlands next year.
   The English have also named their 20 for Johor Baru, which consists of six London Olympics players.
    Among the notable names that were missing from the South Africa Tests were national No 1 goalkeeper S. Kumar and seasoned defender as well as penalty corner flicker Amin Rahim.
    “Kumar was left out of the squad due to travel fatigue as he just returned from Netherlands after a one-week goalkeepers training. His place will be taken over by Kairulnizam (Ibrahim),” said Revington.
   Kumar will train under goalkeepers coach M. Nadarajan in Kuala Lumpur.
    Roslan Jamaluddin, the No 2 goalkeeper, had also attended the Netherlands training but he is game to travel to South Africa.
   As for Amin: “He opted out for personal reasons, but will be considered for the World League selection at a later date,” said Revington.
   Also left behind but still within a fighting chance for the World League are Azreen Rizal, Jivan Mohan, Ramadan Rosli, and Norhizzat Sumantri.
   The national team is currently involved with a four-match series with China’s Liaoning club where they won 2-1 and 4-2. The other two matches will be today (7pm) and tomorrow (6pm) at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
   Goalkeepers: Kairulnizam Ibrahim, Roslan Jamaluddin.
   Defenders: Ahmad Kazamirul, Azlan Misron, Baljit Singh, Sukri Mutalib, Izad Hakimi, Razie Rahim.
   Midfielders: Faiz Helmi, Meor Muhamad Azuan, Fitri Saari, Shahrun Nabil, Azammi Adabi, Marhan Jalil, Nabil Fiqri Mohamed Noor.
    Forwards: Chua Boon Huat, Faizal Saari, Izwan Firdaus, Firhan Ashaari, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin.

England name their 20 for Johor Baru...

Ahead of the World League Semi Final in Johor, Malaysia, England Men’s Head Coach Bobby Crutchley has named a squad of 20 athletes who will fly out to Malaysia next month to prepare for the new FIH competition. The final 18 man squad will be announced closer to the event which runs from 29 June – 7 July.

The line-up sees six London 2012 Olympians returning to action, plus several other athletes who bring a wealth of experience to the squad. Alongside them, Crutchley has also named a number of less experienced athletes, three of whom will be looking to secure international debuts.

 Back from a season playing for Dutch side HGC, England Captain Barry Middleton is ready for the new challenge ahead, “I am really looking forward to the tournament as it gives the squad a good chance to see where we stand right now in World Hockey.  We have a new group with a good mix of youth and experience and there’s a real desire to get out there and challenge ourselves against the best sides in the world. It’s exciting to see the young talent we have coming through our development pathways.”

 Alongside Middleton, Olympians Nick Catlin (Reading), Dan Fox (Hampstead & Westminster), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead), Harry Martin (Beeston) and Richard Smith (Royal Racing Club Brussels) have all been named in the squad, which will face some strong opposition out in Malaysia.

England (FIH #4) have been drawn in Pool B and will face South Africa (FIH #12), Pakistan (FIH #5) and Malaysia (FIH #13) in the group phase of the tournament. South Africa and Pakistan are no strangers to the six London Olympians as they faced them last Summer in the group stages under the guise of Great Britain.

The results from those fixtures saw a dominant 4-1 win over Pakistan and a 2-2 draw with the team ranked twelfth in the world. Ashley Jackson will look to continue some of the same form he showed in those games, contributing four out of the six goals for Great Britain. England’s other opponents, Malaysia, will be on home turf and have enjoyed some good results against some of the best sides in the world, including a 3-3 draw with Great Britain at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup last May.

In the other Pool, Olympic Champions Germany (FIH #1) will face Korea (FIH #8), Argentina (FIH #10) and one additional team that will be named at the end of this week following the completion of the final World League Round 2 tournament in Russia.

Speaking about the selected squad and the tournament ahead, England Head Coach, Bobby Crutchley said, “We know this will be a tough environment to jump into, but it’s a challenge we’re relishing and we have some good young players coming into the team. We travel to Belgium and Germany over the next couple of weeks to play some practice matches so it will be great to gauge where we stand against two very good sides. The less experienced athletes are making progress in training, so it will be great to play these five matches before we head out to Malaysia.”

Two Olympians currently missing from the line-up are Rob Moore and Iain Lewers. Iain Lewers continues to be monitored as he recovers from surgery on his knee earlier this year. Rob Moore currently has work commitments and therefore will not make the trip to Malaysia.

England’s first game is against South Africa and will take place on Saturday 29 June at 13:00 (UK time). There will be live streaming of all the matches from the FIH website. Further information will be released closer to the tournament.

One week earlier England’s Women will be playing in the Investec World League Semi Final on home turf in London from 22-30 June 2013. Click here for more information about the event.

England Men’s Squad for the World League Semi Final (20 athletes have been named, this number will be reduced to the final 18 closer to the tournament).

Name                      Current Club                            Position  

Ben Arnold              Beeston                                      Forward

James Bailey           Reading                                      Goalkeeper

Tom Carson             Reading                                      Forward

Nick Catlin                Reading                                      Midfielder/Forward  

Darren Cheesman   Reading                                      Forward 

David Condon          Loughborough Students            Midfielder

Adam Dixon             Beeston                                     Midfielder/Defender

Dan Fox                   Hampstead and Westminster     Defender

Mark Gleghorne       East Grinstead                           Forward

Michael Hoare          Beeston                                     Defender 

Ashley Jackson       East Grinstead                          Midfielder 

Simon Mantell           Reading                                    Forward 

Harry Martin             Beeston                                    Midfielder

Barry Middleton        Holcombe                                 Midfielder/Forward

George Pinner          Beeston                                    Goalkeeper 

Phil Roper                 Sheffield Hallam                        Forward

Dan Shingles            Southgate                                 Midfielder

Richard Smith           Racing Club Brussels               Defender

Henry Weir               Loughborough Students          Midfielder/Defender

Oliver Willars            Beeston                                    Defender