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GLASGOW: The Malaysian women’s hockey team
finished seventh in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games when they beat Canada
3-0 in a penalty shootout after both teams were tied at 2-2 in
regulation time at the National Hockey Stadium.
On Friday, Canada took the lead in the 15th minute off a
penalty corner goal by Abigail Raye but Malaysia fought back to equalise
through Fatin Shafika Mohd Sukri in the 48th minute.
Canada regained the lead with a field goal by skipper Catherine Gills in the 55th minute but Malaysia again hit back, this time through Nurul Nabihah Mansur’s field goal in the 66th minute.
Both teams tried but failed to find the winning goal, forcing the game to be decided on penalties.
In the shootout Malaysia’s Juliani Mohd Din, Siti Noor Amarina and
Silin Fazilla converted the first three attempts while Canada’s players
fluffed their lines.
The men beat hosts Scotland 2-1 to also finish seventh.
Scott Chris Grassick put the hosts ahead in the 11th minute, but goals from Shahril Saabah (25th) and Ahmad Kazamirul (30th) saved the blushes for Malaysia.
For the record, in the group stages, Malaysia beat Canada 2-0, lost to England 8-1, lost to Trinidad and Tobago 4-2 and lost to New Zealand 6-1.
MANJIT (left)
NATIONAL hockey coach K. Dharmaraj has deleted his FB account, and now
the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) might just delete him from the
coaching set-up before the Asian Games.
Dharmaraj, who walked onto
a minefield before the Commonwealth Games when he posted on FB that the
MHC management is very weak, and that it should not manage the hockey
body like people who still live in caves, or on trees.
He received, and replied to a show-cause letter on that FB posting days before leaving for Glasgow.
Dharmaraj had written on his FB:
“Kenapalah pentadbiran kita lemah sangat.... Susah sangat ke, nak didik semua.....
“...Jangan lah mentadbir macam orang duduk dalam gua atau duduk atas pokok....”
(“Why is our administration weak ... is it so difficult, to guide everyone...
“....Don’t administrate like people living in caves or on trees...”).
“In my personal opinion, Dharmaraj and the present coaches should be
removed from the set-up before the Asian Games which is just 50 days
away,” said MHC senior veep as well as coaching chairman Manjit Majid
Abdullah.
This came about after Malaysia lost 4-2 to Trinidad and Tobago, after being whipped 8-1 by England.
“I will put forward that proposal in the next coaching committee
meeting, and it would be up to the committee to decide and endorse, if
they approve of my motion,” said Manjit.
The World Cup was also a disaster as Malaysia lost all their matches and ended at the bottom of the pool.
Before the World Cup, 10 senior players had a meeting with MHC
president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and asked for the coach to
be removed.
An MHC official confirmed the meeting, but wanted to
remain anonymous: “The meeting did take place and 10 senior players
wanted Tengku Abdullah to remove coach Dharmaraj before the World Cup as
they had many issues with him.
“But Tengku Abdullah did not want to rock the boat, and the outcome is for all to see,” said the official.
Manjit believes al is not well and there is an element of anger among
the players which needs to be addressed before the Asian Games, which
offers a ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“We need to address the
situation fast, as there is distrust and other issues between the
coach(s) and players. It does not look like we are ready for the Asian
Games, but we need to have a team which will put up a fight, and not
fight among themselves.
“The new low was losing to Trinidad and Tobago, and now we need to rise from the ashes,” said Manjit.
By Aftar Singh
GLASGOW: National hockey coach K. Dharmaraj is as good as a “dead man walking”.
The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) coaching committee chairman Manjit Singh Abdullah wants Dharmaraj sacked after the national team’s woeful performance in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The national team had, before heading for Glasgow, finished last in the 12-team World Cup in The Hague, Holland.
They began their Commonwealth Games Group B campaign with a 2-0 win over Canada but it proved to be just a temporary respite.
In their second match, the Malaysians were handed an 8-1 thrashing by England.
Then came the straw that broke the camel’s back as Malaysia suffered a humiliating 4-2 loss to minnows Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday, followed by another heavy loss – 6-1 to New Zealand on Thursday.
The loss to world No. 29 Trinidad was the worst ever for world No. 13 Malaysia.
It was the tiny Caribbean nation hockey team’s first win in the Games since making their debut in Manchester in 2002.
As much as Manjit wants Dharmaraj booted out, MHC senior vice-president Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad reasoned that it’s not as easy as that.
“Although Manjit wants Dharmaraj sacked, we cannot simply terminate his services,” said Azmi in a telephone interview on Friday.
“We have to study the two-year contract he signed in May just before the national team left for the World Cup in Holland.
“We will get our lawyers to study the contract and see if there’s any clause that says we can sack him without paying any compensation.
“We will have a meeting soon with MHC president Tengku Abdullah (Sultan Ahmad Shah) to discuss Dharmaraj’s future.
“During that meeting, we will also study the national team’s World Cup report.”
Nur Azmi admitted that the loss to unheralded Trinidad was unacceptable.
“We cannot stomach the humiliating defeat. It is really demoralising to MHC and the nation.
“We will meet Dharmaraj next week to find out the reasons for the team’s failure in the Games.”
Asked if there is a plot among the players to undermine Dharmaraj, Azmi said that he too had heard such talk.
“We need to talk with the players to know if they are indeed unhappy with Dharmaraj,” he said.
Dharmaraj was appointed national coach in January when South African Paul Revington resigned.
On Thursday, Dharmaraj hit out at his critics for condemning him and the team after their loss to Trinidad.
He had said: “We all tend to assume that Malaysia are a great team when, in actual fact, we are not.”
By K. Dharmmaraj (Mas chief coach)
As told to Vijesh Rai after Malaysia lost their final Commonwealth Games Group B match 6-1 to New Zealand yesterday. The team will play Scotland in the seventh-eighth playoff.
I WILL be slaughtered but the day will come when what we have done in the Commonwealth Games will be appreciated.
Yes, we shouldn't have lost to Trinidad & Tobago but it was not because we didn't try but because they are not as weak as people seem to think.
They have a drag flicker who is world class and he scored a hat-trick against us but this is not about Trinidad but about Malaysia.
When I decided to bring a mixed squad here, it was because most of the players were exhausted after a really tough calendar.
We played in the Azlan Shah Cup, Champions Challenge 1 and then the World Cup. Some of the players just couldn't play anymore and I recommended to the Malaysian Hockey Confederation that we send a squad consisting of players who were either making comebacks to the national team or were from last year's Junior World Cup.
My recommendation was supported but unfortunately, results have not gone our way here but the fact that we are here with 10 players from the Junior World Cup squad can only benefit Malaysia in the long run.
Australia, England and New Zealand are all in Glasgow with their best and if I was worried only about results, I would have brought our first team here.
But I wasn't as I had to think about the welfare of all the players - the seniors as well as juniors. The seniors had played too much hockey while the juniors had not played enough hockey and the Commonwealth Games was the perfect avenue to expose the young players.
I admit that the criticism after the World Cup hurt me and the players, especially as people seemed to forget just how we qualified.
We only went through because Pakistan didn't understand the qualification process but once through, expectations soared.
Some began to think that Malaysian hockey was right up there with the best but it isn't. If it was, we would have played in the last three World Cups.
Unfortunately, many have forgotten and have made huge demands on the players, which have severely affected them and me. Some are even thinking about whether they should continue playing, such is the situation. I am bordering on depression and so are some players.
As for allegations that there are players who are unhappy with me, all I can say is that this is news to me. No player has raised this with me and as far as I am concerned, the squad here and the one at home are like one family.
I know that my position as national coach is under threat and I will accept whatever decision is made but all that I ask is for it to be remembered that I was asked to help out the senior squad at a time of crisis.
The national coach (Paul Revington) had resigned and MHC asked me to fill in. I was supposed to assist until a replacement was found but instead was elevated to the senior job.
In my reply to the showcause letter (issued after a posting on social media), I apologised to MHC but also said that I was willing to be redesignated to the juniors or grassroots if deemed fit.
That still stands but as we (the team) are criticised, I am confident that our bold decision to field young players here will bring results.
COMMONWEALTH GAMES MEN'S HOCKEY ... Razie Rahim scores the consolation.. Lost 8-1 to England, lost 4-2 to Trinidad and Tobago.
