TAI Beng Hai looked shell-shocked when he was named as the national seniors coach by Malaysian Hockey Confederation vice president Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad.
What was supposed to be a Team Management Meeting to chart next year's plans turned out to be a veto decision taken by the MHC president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah as even the Coaching Committee did not meet to decide on this matter.
And while the MHC are still on the hunt for a foreign coach, former national coach Beng Hai will sit on this ongoing coaches' musical chair.
"Beng Hai has been named by our president to coach the national seniors for the World League Round Two in Singapore, and Arul Selvaraj will now concentrate on the juniors," said Nur Azmi.
The Round Two will be held from Jan 17-25 and Malaysia, the top seed, must finish among the top-three to qualify for the World League Semi-finals which offers entry into the Rio De Janeiro 2016 Olympics.
Beng Hai, who is coaching Sapura in the Malaysia Hockey League, will only have his men when the MHL ends on Dec 14. Fitness could be his main problem.
"All the national players are in the MHL and I believe their respective clubs also conduct physical training and they should be ready when to report in good shape at the end of the MHL.
"Although I will only have one month for centralised training, I will also be approaching MHL teams to release their players at lease once a week to train with me," said Beng Hai.
Arul, who wore three hats before yesterday, is pleased that he will be able to fully concentrate on the juniors for the Junior Asia Cup at the end of next year.
He is also free to coach UniKL in the MHL as his contract allows it.
"As I said before I am ready to coach any level, and now that I have been fully entrusted with the juniors, my focus will be much more specific," said Arul.
In the World League Round Two Malaysia, ranked 13th in the world, will play Bangladesh, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Oman and Ukraine. One more team will be the winner of the last Round One tournament which will be played in Suva, Fiji from Dec 6-13. The teams involved are Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
Malaysia need to finish in the top three to make the semis cut and play either in Belgium or Argentina.
On another note the MHC have yet to submit the minutes of the EOGM held during the Sultan of Johor Cup to the Sports Commissioner's office and this could delay the elections slated for early next year.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Explosive MHL weekend..
TERENGGANU Hockey Team's five South Koreans finally arrived to help their cause in a crucial Malaysia Hockey League Premier Division weekend.
Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC), with two wins each, are the early favourites, and will go head on this Sunday to decide who is the best in Round One action.
But before that, THT must overcome Maybank, while KLHC face Sapura today.
"We have been playing with 14, as Engku Malek was injured, while the Koreans only arrived today (yesterday) and we had light training in the evening. Now, my bench is much stronger and I believe we will take the advantage going into the Second Round if we win six points this weekend.
THT after demolishing UniKL 7-0 to put to the grind by Tenaga and could only play to a narrow 2-1 win.
The Koreans - Kang Moon Kyu, Seo Jong Ho, Kang Moon Kweon, Bae Jeong Seok, and Jang Jong Hyun, are expected to give Maybank a torrid time.
Defending champions KLHC are growing in strength as they beat Tenaga 5-3 in Charity Shield and then a convincing 4-1 win over Maybank last Sunday.
“We went into the match (against Maybank) just looking for three points and we did not expect to get an easy win. We were fortunate to take an early lead and pushed on from there,” said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
Today, winless Tenaga and UniKL will be going for their first points: "I think overall the team played well against THT last Sunday. It was a tight match and we had many good chances, I’m very happy with the way my team performed. But the thing that we have to work on is our ability to finish off our chances in front of goal,” Saif Tenaga coach Nor Saiful Zaini.
FRIDAY: Sapura v KLHC (6pm, Pitch I), UniKL v Tenaga (6pm, Pitch II), Maybank v Terengganu HT (8pm, Pitch II).
SUNDAY: Maybank v UniKL (6pm, Pitch I), KLHC v Terengganu HT (6pm, Pitch II), Tenaga v Sapura (8pm, Pitch II).
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
TERENGGANU 2 2 0 0 9 1 6
KLHC 2 2 0 0 9 4 6
SAPURA 2 1 1 0 4 3 4
MAYBANK 2 0 1 1 3 6 1
TENAGA 2 0 0 2 4 7 0
UNIKL 2 0 0 2 1 9 0
Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC), with two wins each, are the early favourites, and will go head on this Sunday to decide who is the best in Round One action.
But before that, THT must overcome Maybank, while KLHC face Sapura today.
"We have been playing with 14, as Engku Malek was injured, while the Koreans only arrived today (yesterday) and we had light training in the evening. Now, my bench is much stronger and I believe we will take the advantage going into the Second Round if we win six points this weekend.
THT after demolishing UniKL 7-0 to put to the grind by Tenaga and could only play to a narrow 2-1 win.
The Koreans - Kang Moon Kyu, Seo Jong Ho, Kang Moon Kweon, Bae Jeong Seok, and Jang Jong Hyun, are expected to give Maybank a torrid time.
Defending champions KLHC are growing in strength as they beat Tenaga 5-3 in Charity Shield and then a convincing 4-1 win over Maybank last Sunday.
“We went into the match (against Maybank) just looking for three points and we did not expect to get an easy win. We were fortunate to take an early lead and pushed on from there,” said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
Today, winless Tenaga and UniKL will be going for their first points: "I think overall the team played well against THT last Sunday. It was a tight match and we had many good chances, I’m very happy with the way my team performed. But the thing that we have to work on is our ability to finish off our chances in front of goal,” Saif Tenaga coach Nor Saiful Zaini.
FRIDAY: Sapura v KLHC (6pm, Pitch I), UniKL v Tenaga (6pm, Pitch II), Maybank v Terengganu HT (8pm, Pitch II).
SUNDAY: Maybank v UniKL (6pm, Pitch I), KLHC v Terengganu HT (6pm, Pitch II), Tenaga v Sapura (8pm, Pitch II).
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
TERENGGANU 2 2 0 0 9 1 6
KLHC 2 2 0 0 9 4 6
SAPURA 2 1 1 0 4 3 4
MAYBANK 2 0 1 1 3 6 1
TENAGA 2 0 0 2 4 7 0
UNIKL 2 0 0 2 1 9 0
Monday, November 3, 2014
MHL: More action off the pitch..
THE Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Pemier Division is just a weekend old, but two glaring issues need to be adressed before the situation gets out of hand.
One is that national juniors and seniors coach Arul Selvaraj coaching club-side UniKL, and the other is the declining standard of umpiring.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) vice-president Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad was asked the question of Arul wearing three hats during the Sultan of Johor Cup, and his answer was: "Its my personal opinion, but I feel a national coach should not be coaching a club side. But this has been happening for a while now, and I will try and sort it out before the MHL starts."
But there was no solution forthcoming and the MHL has started, and now Negri Sembilan coach S. Chandran and Old La Sallian Association of Klang team manager Joseph de Silva are questioning his selection methods.
"Negri were the silver medallists in last year's Malaysia Games and only one player was selected for national juniors training and he was dropped. I watched the Sultan of Johor Cup, and as a long-standing development coach, I know that the best players in the country were not at the SOJC and that is why we finished fifth.
"The SOJC players were mainly from Kuala Lumpur, and now instead of scouting for talent from the stands during the MHL, national coach Arul is coaching UniKL which I believe is not the right thing to do.
"The perception is quite bad, and I think instead of giving coaches to select players for national juniors and seniors training squad, an independent panel needs to be formed, like previously, to make sure players from all over the country are selected, and not from one or two clubs exclusively," said Chandran.
The MHL has always been the final frontier for a player to shine, before he is called up for national training.
Joseph also feels it is not right for Arul to be the judge, jury and executioner.
"I am finding the situation a bit comical, but its not hilarious as the country will suffer in the end if the national coach is allowed to also coach a club side. There is bound to be conflict of interest when selection is done. And currently, there are better players around the country than what we have in Kuala Lumpur," said Joseph.
As for umpiring, Supara are fuming mad with the standard of umpiring even though they beat UniKL 2-1 on Sunday, but were involved in a walk-out threat: "The Chairman of the Umpires Committee (Faithal Hassan) is nowhere to be seen during the first week of matches. Is he above or too good for all the participating teams?
"The MHC must make sure he is around to address any potential problems. Team officials need someone on match-day to answer and address critical situations. Right now, there seems to be no communication between teams and the Umpiring Committee," said Sapura assistant manager S. Kuhan, who was a former national skipper.
FRIDAY: Sapura v KLHC (6pm, Pitch I), UniKL v Tenaga (6pm, Pitch II), Maybank v Terengganu HT (8pm, Pitch II).
SUNDAY: Maybank v UniKL (6pm, Pitch I), KLHC v Terengganu HT (6pm, Pitch II), Tenaga v Sapura (8pm, Pitch II).
One is that national juniors and seniors coach Arul Selvaraj coaching club-side UniKL, and the other is the declining standard of umpiring.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) vice-president Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad was asked the question of Arul wearing three hats during the Sultan of Johor Cup, and his answer was: "Its my personal opinion, but I feel a national coach should not be coaching a club side. But this has been happening for a while now, and I will try and sort it out before the MHL starts."
But there was no solution forthcoming and the MHL has started, and now Negri Sembilan coach S. Chandran and Old La Sallian Association of Klang team manager Joseph de Silva are questioning his selection methods.
"Negri were the silver medallists in last year's Malaysia Games and only one player was selected for national juniors training and he was dropped. I watched the Sultan of Johor Cup, and as a long-standing development coach, I know that the best players in the country were not at the SOJC and that is why we finished fifth.
"The SOJC players were mainly from Kuala Lumpur, and now instead of scouting for talent from the stands during the MHL, national coach Arul is coaching UniKL which I believe is not the right thing to do.
"The perception is quite bad, and I think instead of giving coaches to select players for national juniors and seniors training squad, an independent panel needs to be formed, like previously, to make sure players from all over the country are selected, and not from one or two clubs exclusively," said Chandran.
The MHL has always been the final frontier for a player to shine, before he is called up for national training.
Joseph also feels it is not right for Arul to be the judge, jury and executioner.
"I am finding the situation a bit comical, but its not hilarious as the country will suffer in the end if the national coach is allowed to also coach a club side. There is bound to be conflict of interest when selection is done. And currently, there are better players around the country than what we have in Kuala Lumpur," said Joseph.
As for umpiring, Supara are fuming mad with the standard of umpiring even though they beat UniKL 2-1 on Sunday, but were involved in a walk-out threat: "The Chairman of the Umpires Committee (Faithal Hassan) is nowhere to be seen during the first week of matches. Is he above or too good for all the participating teams?
"The MHC must make sure he is around to address any potential problems. Team officials need someone on match-day to answer and address critical situations. Right now, there seems to be no communication between teams and the Umpiring Committee," said Sapura assistant manager S. Kuhan, who was a former national skipper.
FRIDAY: Sapura v KLHC (6pm, Pitch I), UniKL v Tenaga (6pm, Pitch II), Maybank v Terengganu HT (8pm, Pitch II).
SUNDAY: Maybank v UniKL (6pm, Pitch I), KLHC v Terengganu HT (6pm, Pitch II), Tenaga v Sapura (8pm, Pitch II).
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Terengganu scrape past Tenaga
STAR-STUDDED Terengganu Hockey Team (THT)narrowly beat Tenaga Nasional 2-1 in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
And five-goal hero Faizal Saari, in their 7-0 demolition of UniKL, was again the toast for THT when he nailed the winner.
THT took the lead when Baljit Singh Sarjab scored off a penalty corner attempt in the 20th minute, only to see Tenaga Nasional draw level off a Shahril Saabah penalty corner in the 43rd minute.
The match was then separated by Faizal's 46th minute penalty corner goal, and THT held on tightly to the lead until the final whistle.
In another match, Sapura and UniKL played a robust game where walk-outs and umpire protests were plenty, before the University side were subdued.
Pakistan import Khasif Ali was the deciding factor in the match as he opened scoring in the 48th minute, before UniKL German import Phillipp Stahr equalised also off a penalty corner in the 56th minute.
Kashif then nailed the winner off a penalty stroke attempt in the 57th minute.
RESULTS: Tenaga Nasional 1 Terengganu HT 2; Sapura 2 UniKL 1; KLHC 4 Maybank 1.
And five-goal hero Faizal Saari, in their 7-0 demolition of UniKL, was again the toast for THT when he nailed the winner.
THT took the lead when Baljit Singh Sarjab scored off a penalty corner attempt in the 20th minute, only to see Tenaga Nasional draw level off a Shahril Saabah penalty corner in the 43rd minute.
The match was then separated by Faizal's 46th minute penalty corner goal, and THT held on tightly to the lead until the final whistle.
In another match, Sapura and UniKL played a robust game where walk-outs and umpire protests were plenty, before the University side were subdued.
Pakistan import Khasif Ali was the deciding factor in the match as he opened scoring in the 48th minute, before UniKL German import Phillipp Stahr equalised also off a penalty corner in the 56th minute.
Kashif then nailed the winner off a penalty stroke attempt in the 57th minute.
RESULTS: Tenaga Nasional 1 Terengganu HT 2; Sapura 2 UniKL 1; KLHC 4 Maybank 1.
CIMB Classic Final Round Scores
FINAL ROUND SCORES KLGCC:
271 Ryan Moore (US) 68-69-67-67.
274 Gary Woodland (US) 71-70-66-67, Kevin Na (US) 69-68-67-70, Sergio Garcia (SP) 69-68-68-69.
276 Cameron Smith (Aus) 70-69-69-68, Sang-Moon Bae (S Kor) 71-68-68-69.
277 John Senden (As) 72-68-69-68.
278 Rory Sabbatini (SA) 70-72-70-66, Davis Love III (US) 68-71-71-68, Prom Meesawat (Thai) 68-71-70-69, Angelo Que (Phil) 67-72-69-70, Billy Hurley III (US) 67-67-71-73.
279 Jonas Blixt (Swe) 69-69-75-66, Danny Lee (NZ) 69-69-73-68, Brian Stuard (US) 67-72-72-68, Lee Westwood (Eng) 72-65-74-68, Kevin Chappell (US) 69-68-70-72, Brendon de Jonge (Zim) 70-73-65-71.
280 Scott Stallings (US) 69-76-67-68, Charl Schwartzel (SA) 74-70-68-68.
281 Heath Slocum (US) 71-73-70-67, Mike Weir (Can) 73-68-72-68, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 70-70-72-69, Jonathan Byrd (US) 70-74-69-68, Nicholas Thompson (US) 69-73-70-69.
282 Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn) 69-71-73-69, Michael Putnam (US) 71-72-72-67, Jhonattan Vegas (Ven) 74-71-70-67, Jason Dufner (US) 74-70-69-69, Greg Chalmers (Aus) 75-68-68-71, Patrick Reed (US) 70-70-68-74, Kevin Streelman (US) 68-68-71-75.
283 Pat Perez (US) 72-73-69-69, Retief Goosen (SA) 74-70-69-70, Kyle Stanley (US) 76-71-69-67, Jeff Overton (US) 68-69-71-75.
284 Billy Horschel (US) 72-68-73-71, Paul Casey (Eng) 73-68-71-72.
285 David Lingmerth (Swe) 68-72-73-72, Charlie Wi (S. Kor) 72-70-72-71, Chris Stroud (US) 70-74-71-70, Rikard Karlberg (Swe) 65-76-75-69, Luke Guthrie (US) 73-68-71-73, Marc Leishman (Aus) 74-72-71-68, Seung-Yul Noh (S Kor) 68-69-72-76.
286 Jason Knutzon (US) 72-70-72-72, Steven Bowditch (Aus) 71-73-74-68.
287 Stephen Lewton (Eng) 74-69-70-74.
288 Trevor Immelman (SA) 74-70-71-73, Matt Every (US) 69-73-74-72, J.B. Holmes (US) 75-77-70-66.
289 Will MacKenzie (US) 69-73-71-76, Anirban Lahiri (IND) 74-72-70-73, Tim Wilkinson (NZ) 68-79-71-71, Matt Jones (AUS) 81-69-69-70.
290 Troy Merritt (US) 72-75-70-73, Brice Garnett (US) 70-75-73-72, James Hahn (US) 74-77-68-71, Tim Clark (SA) 72-74-74-70, Stewart Cink (US) 74-73-73-70.
291 Morgan Hoffmann (US) 72-74-73-72, Roberto Castro (US) 77-74-71-69.
292 Robert Allenby (Aus) 73-73-73-73, Will Wilcox (US) 75-74-72-71.
293 Danny Chia (Mas) 75-74-72-72, Nicholas Fung (Mas) 73-74-75-71, Ricky Barnes (US) 71-77-74-71, Carlos Ortiz (Mex) 76-72-75-70, Chesson Hadley (US) 75-75-74-69.
294 Boo Weekley (US) 75-72-74-73.
295 K.J. Choi (S Kor) 71-74-71-79, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 72-72-74-77.
296 Brian Davis (Eng) 71-75-75-75.
297 Tian-Lang Guan (am, Ch) 76-71-72-78.
299 David Lipsky (US) 74-73-77-75.
301 Charlie Beljan (US) 76-75-74-76.
303 Seuk-hyun Baek (S Kor) 81-72-77-73.
271 Ryan Moore (US) 68-69-67-67.
274 Gary Woodland (US) 71-70-66-67, Kevin Na (US) 69-68-67-70, Sergio Garcia (SP) 69-68-68-69.
276 Cameron Smith (Aus) 70-69-69-68, Sang-Moon Bae (S Kor) 71-68-68-69.
277 John Senden (As) 72-68-69-68.
278 Rory Sabbatini (SA) 70-72-70-66, Davis Love III (US) 68-71-71-68, Prom Meesawat (Thai) 68-71-70-69, Angelo Que (Phil) 67-72-69-70, Billy Hurley III (US) 67-67-71-73.
279 Jonas Blixt (Swe) 69-69-75-66, Danny Lee (NZ) 69-69-73-68, Brian Stuard (US) 67-72-72-68, Lee Westwood (Eng) 72-65-74-68, Kevin Chappell (US) 69-68-70-72, Brendon de Jonge (Zim) 70-73-65-71.
280 Scott Stallings (US) 69-76-67-68, Charl Schwartzel (SA) 74-70-68-68.
281 Heath Slocum (US) 71-73-70-67, Mike Weir (Can) 73-68-72-68, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 70-70-72-69, Jonathan Byrd (US) 70-74-69-68, Nicholas Thompson (US) 69-73-70-69.
282 Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn) 69-71-73-69, Michael Putnam (US) 71-72-72-67, Jhonattan Vegas (Ven) 74-71-70-67, Jason Dufner (US) 74-70-69-69, Greg Chalmers (Aus) 75-68-68-71, Patrick Reed (US) 70-70-68-74, Kevin Streelman (US) 68-68-71-75.
283 Pat Perez (US) 72-73-69-69, Retief Goosen (SA) 74-70-69-70, Kyle Stanley (US) 76-71-69-67, Jeff Overton (US) 68-69-71-75.
284 Billy Horschel (US) 72-68-73-71, Paul Casey (Eng) 73-68-71-72.
285 David Lingmerth (Swe) 68-72-73-72, Charlie Wi (S. Kor) 72-70-72-71, Chris Stroud (US) 70-74-71-70, Rikard Karlberg (Swe) 65-76-75-69, Luke Guthrie (US) 73-68-71-73, Marc Leishman (Aus) 74-72-71-68, Seung-Yul Noh (S Kor) 68-69-72-76.
286 Jason Knutzon (US) 72-70-72-72, Steven Bowditch (Aus) 71-73-74-68.
287 Stephen Lewton (Eng) 74-69-70-74.
288 Trevor Immelman (SA) 74-70-71-73, Matt Every (US) 69-73-74-72, J.B. Holmes (US) 75-77-70-66.
289 Will MacKenzie (US) 69-73-71-76, Anirban Lahiri (IND) 74-72-70-73, Tim Wilkinson (NZ) 68-79-71-71, Matt Jones (AUS) 81-69-69-70.
290 Troy Merritt (US) 72-75-70-73, Brice Garnett (US) 70-75-73-72, James Hahn (US) 74-77-68-71, Tim Clark (SA) 72-74-74-70, Stewart Cink (US) 74-73-73-70.
291 Morgan Hoffmann (US) 72-74-73-72, Roberto Castro (US) 77-74-71-69.
292 Robert Allenby (Aus) 73-73-73-73, Will Wilcox (US) 75-74-72-71.
293 Danny Chia (Mas) 75-74-72-72, Nicholas Fung (Mas) 73-74-75-71, Ricky Barnes (US) 71-77-74-71, Carlos Ortiz (Mex) 76-72-75-70, Chesson Hadley (US) 75-75-74-69.
294 Boo Weekley (US) 75-72-74-73.
295 K.J. Choi (S Kor) 71-74-71-79, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 72-72-74-77.
296 Brian Davis (Eng) 71-75-75-75.
297 Tian-Lang Guan (am, Ch) 76-71-72-78.
299 David Lipsky (US) 74-73-77-75.
301 Charlie Beljan (US) 76-75-74-76.
303 Seuk-hyun Baek (S Kor) 81-72-77-73.
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