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PIC: Joel van Huizen
Pic: Kavin Kartik (right)
TAMPIN lad G. Kavin Kartik, 21, will have the distinction of being only the second Malaysian to play in two Junior World Cups, when coach K. Dharmaraj named his final 18 for the New Delhi tournament from Dec 6-15.
The first was defender M. Devendran who played in the 1985 Vancouver and 1989 Ipoh Junior World Cups.
And history ran three-deep in the Van Huizen family when Joel Samuel was also selected to play for the country for the first time.
Joel’s grandfather Lawrence and father Stephen had also represented the nation in various tournaments, including the Olympics.
“Kavin will be a valuable asset as he played in the 2009 World Cup, and knows how to handle match pressure in a major junior event.
“As for Joel, he has never played in any tournament for the country, but he has worked hard during the recent tours and friendlies to warrant a call-up,” said juniors coach K. Dharmaraj.
The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) has revised the top-four, to a top-six target for the juniors, which is within their grasp, provided they do not bungle in the group stage.
Malaysia are in Group D with New Zealand, England and South Africa.
“I’m taking the target as a challenge for me and my players, however, right now, I am in full planning to win our first match against New Zealand (Dec 6) as a win would almost assure us a place in the quarter-finals, as we would have two more matched against South Africa (Dec 8) and England (Dec 9) to collect at least three points or more for the knock-out stage,” said Dharmaraj.
For the record, New Zealand finished fourth in the 2009 Junior World Cup in Johor Baru, while Malaysia ended 12th in the 20-team tournament when they were beaten 3-2 by Belgium in the classification match.
The pillars of the squad would be skipper Fitri Saari, Firhan Ashaari, Faiz Helmi Jali, Izad Hakimi Jamaluddin, Meor Azuan and Rashid Baharom as they have had the experience of playing at the senior level.
The team will leave for New Delhi on Dec 1 and will play a friendly against Germany on Dec 3 as the final tune-up.
MALAYSIA -- Hazrul Faiz Ahmad Sobri (goalkeeper), Hafizuddin Othman (goalkeeper), Firhan Ashaari, Fitri Saari (captain), Rashid Baharom, G. Kavin Kartik, Syamim Yusof, Shazril Irwan Nazli, Meor Azuan, Haziq Samsul, Izad Hakimi Jamaluddin, Azri Hassan, Zulhairi Hashim, Faiz Helmi Jali, Shahril Saabah, Joel Samuel van Huizen, Nor Aqmal Abdul Ghaffar, Hafiz Zainol.
MALACCA sprang a surprise by beating Negri Sembilan 1-0 on the first day of the National Under-14 Hockey Tournament in Kuala Terengganu yesterday.
Ranked lower than their opponents who finished third in last year’s competition, Malacca claimed full points in the Group B opening match when Amir Wafiq Aizat converted a penalty corner in the 20th minute.
Malacca manager R. Manogaran said the result was tremendous considering three of the team’s key players from the Bukit Jalil and Bandar Penawar sport schools only arrived a few hours before the match.
“They took the bus here from their schools and they were obviously tired from the long journey but that did not stop them from playing their best hockey, especially goalkeeper Luqman (Nurharith Azman) who did well to keep a clean sheet.
“It was a pretty even game with both sides having ample scoring chances but it was us who found the lucky break from one of the penalty corners and although it is still early days, we are now more confident that our semi-final aim is within reach,” he said.
Negri Sembilan manager R. Subramaniam said it was unfortunate that his team failed to take advantage of their numerous scoring chances throughout the morning match at Batu Buruk Hockey Stadium.
“We enjoyed a bigger share of possession, we controlled most of the match but they were the ones who scored.
“It’s a disappointing result but we can’t let one defeat dictate the whole of the tournament as we are here to at least secure a semi-final berth and that is what we are going do,” he said.
In the Group A opening match, Kedah beat Sarawak 6-3.
In the girls category, Terengganu had little trouble against Sarawak when the hosts went on a scoring spree late in the match, winning 6-2 at Gong Badak Hockey Stadium.
RESULTS: Boys’ -- Group A: Kedah 6 Sarawak 3, Perak 8 Perlis 1, Penang x Sabah x.
Group B: Negri Sembilan 0 Malacca 1, Terengganu 1 Pahang 3, Selangor x Kelantan x.
Girls’: Group A: Sarawak 2 Terengganu 6, Malacca 5 Pahang 1.
Group B: Kelantan 1 Penang 6.
TODAY: Boys’ -- Group A: Kuala Lumpur v Perlis, Kedah v Sabah, Perak v Sarawak.
Group B: Johor v Malacca, Terengganu v Kelantan, Negri Sembilan v Pahang.
Girls’: Group A: Kuala Lumpur v Malacca.
Group B: Selangor v Johor, Kuala Lumpur v Malacca.
IT WAS National Junior’s hockey coach K. Dharmaraj’s birthday yesterday, and he made a wish which his two penalty corner flickers will have to work doubly hard to deliver in the Junior World Cup in New Delhi on Dec 6-16.
Malaysia, the Junior Asia Cup champions, have a fighting chance to progress into the knock-out stages as they have to beat at least two teams from Group D which also has South Africa, New Zealand and England.
And the coach has made his wish: “When I was young, every time when my birthday arrives, my mother would say ’close your eyes and make a wish sincerely and your wish would come true because the angels are listening, but you can’t tell others your wish because it’s secret.’
“I am 44 today (yesterday). I have made my wish, and will have to wait until Dec 16 (one day after the Junior World Cup ends) to see its outcome,” said Dharmaraj.
Defender Zulhairi Hashim and forward Shahril Saabah are the two penalty corner flickers which Malaysia will rely heavily upon to score in New Delhi, and yesterday, they were hard at work with former India international Len Aiyappa.
“I have been working with these players on an off since the beginning of the year and there has been tremendous improvement in their attempts,” said Len at the National Stadium in Buklit Jalil yesterday.
Len was India’s best drag flicker until he retired from national duty following a fallout with the Indian Hockey Federation in 2006 but has been in touch with the sport by representing Italian club side Cernusco from 2008-2012.
Shahril, 19 and from Terengganu, was top-scorer in the Sultan of Johor Cup, when he scored eight goals in six matches.
And Kuala Lumpur-born Zulhairi, 21, scored three goals in three friendly matches against the Indian juniors in New Delhi.
Dharmaraj will name his final squad of 18 on Nov 21: “I already have confirmed 15 players who played in the Sultan of Johor Cup, while the remaining 11 in the training pool will fight for the three spots,” said Dharmaraj.
Malaysia open accounts against New Zealand (Dec 6), then South Africa (Dec 8) and finally England (Dec 9). And they need to finish top-two to qualify for the crossover quar terfinals with Group C opponents.
And Group C has India, Netherlands, South Korea and Canada.
THE Malaysian senior hockey squad will head for South Korea from Nov 22 to Dec 2 for a five-match friendly with the Korean national side.
Coach Paul Revington picked a mixed-team again, as he included former players like Madzli Ikmar, Ahmad Kaza mirul and Engku Malik to gauge their performance ahead of next year’s World Cup at the Hague, Netherlands.
The senior side has played in the Australian 9s and the Asian Champions Trophy with a mixed side, and won bronze meals on both occasions.
And after the team returns, some of them will be included in the Myanmar Sea Games squad, where hockey will be played form Dec 13-21.
For the record, the Malaysian men’s team only lost the gold medal in the 1973 Sea Games in Singapore.
In the Sea Games, the men will be up against Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.
The women will play against Thailand, Singapore, In donesia, Cambodia and Myanmar.
And after winning bronze in the recent Asian Champions Trophy, the Malaysian women are hot favourites for the gold as well.
Hockey is making a comeback into the Sea Games, as it was last played in 2007 in Korat. Vientiane (2009) and Jakarta (2011) Sea Games did not feature hockey.
KOREA TOUR -- Goalkeepers: Roslan Jamaluddin, Kair ulnizam Ibrahim; Defenders: Ahmad Kazamirul, Azlan Mis ron, Baljit Singh, Engku Malik, Madzli Ikmar, Razie Rahim.
Midfielders: Amirullah Zainol, Jivan Mohan, Shukri Mu talib, Azammi Adabi, Marhan Jalil.
Forwards: Amir Farid Fuzi, Dedy Ariyadi, Faizal Saari, Ramadan Rosli, Nabil Fiqri.
Fixtures: Nov 23 -- Malaysia v South Korea (Game 1); Nov 26: Malaysia v South Korea (Game 2); Nov 28: Malaysia v South Korea (Game 3); Nov 30: Malaysia v South Korea (Game 4); Dec 2: Malaysia v South Korea (Game 5).
THE 1Mas Hockey programme will be entering into its fourth year in January, and plans are afoot to bring out the coaches and players from their comfort zone.
“After three years, we have 18 centres (14 states and four outsourced) and while some are active, others have needed constant monitoring to bring out the coaches as well as players from their comfort zone.
“And where complacency has crept in, the new re-structuring will make sure they become performance based again,” said 1Mas Project Director Lim Chiow Chuan.
From January, centres will be classified into four different categories, where funding will also play a big role in keeping coaching staff on their toes.
“Following the Steering Committee meeting (on Oct 30), it was decided that the program will be re-structured which will involve classification of centres into different categories. This exercise is vital and necessary to improve the quality and take the program to a higher level.
The centres will be categorised from Class One to Four, with Class One being best performers and Class Four being poor performers.
“The classification of centres will also determine the amount of allowances payable to coaches support staff. Centres in the higher bracket will be receiving better remunerations,” said Chiow Chuan.
A head coach, with all the required qualifications, can earn up to RM2,250 by running the weekend coaching centre at his state.
Right now, most of the age-group tournaments have shown some improvement in skills, as 1Mas players are the preferred choice.
“From our observations, the age-group tournaments that were held this year saw a large number of 1Mas players being selected to represent their states as these players have already been taught the basics.
“Also the Under-16 team that players regularly in the Mannheim (Germany) tournament has seen a big jump in the number of 1Mas players selected. In 2011, there was only one 1Mas player, 2012 seven 1Mas players, and this year there were eight 1Mas players selected to represent Malaysia,” said Chiow Chuan.
