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PIC: SARJIT SINGH
KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) kept their bragging rights intact, while Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) are silently plotting for a Round Two comeback in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League.
The star-studded THT, with five Koreans on their side and a host of national players, went down 1-2 to four-time consecutive double champions KLHC, but have not given up hope of winning their first League title.
"Plenty of mistakes, and bungling a handful of sitters cost us the game, but the tournament still has six more matches to go, and we aim to keep a clean slate until we meet KLHC again in Round Two.
"The initial goal of winning our first League title is still in sight," said THT coach Sarjit Singh.
Terenggnau has pumped millions into the team, and Menteri Besar datuk Ahmad Razif was present to watch Sarjit and his men at the national stadium on Sunday.
After three convincing wins, THT were supposed to stream-roll KLHC, but their penalty corner battery was stopped by good runs.
"Congratulations to KLHC as they were the better team, but we aim to be the best at the end of the day," said Sarjit.
KLHC captain Razie Rahim, who nailed thw winner, lauded his teammates for playing their hearts out for the victory.
“It is an important victory for us because we were able to prove that we can still compete with THT despite them spending a huge sum of money on new players. For us, it was a team effort which made the difference."
KLHC and THT are tied on nine points, but the champions have one match in hand and will play Sapura tomorrow as their weekend match was washed away by rain.
"I have many things on my mind right now regarding the THT match, but i will keep it to myself and let my players do the talking on the pitch. Yes, we have a crucial week with three matches lined up, but that's the kind of challenge we thrive upon," said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
WEDNESDAY: KLHC v Sapura (6pm, Pitch II).
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
TERENGGANU 4 3 0 1 14 6 9
KLHC 3 3 0 0 11 5 9
TENAGA 4 2 0 2 8 7 6
SAPURA 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
MAYBANK 4 0 2 2 7 11 2
UNIKL 4 0 1 3 2 13 1
DANNY Chia, Nicholas Fung and Shaaban Hussin are among the twelve local players who have qualified to play at the Maybank Malaysian Open on Feb 5th-8th at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC).
The tournament will also see a increase of prize money from US$2.75 million to US$3 million.
The top Malaysian players on the Asian Tour as well as the Professional Golf of Malaysia Order of Merit and members of the Professional Golf Association of Malaysia, will join a field of 156 players consisting of the world’s leading golfers next year.
The 12 ranked Malaysian are not required to compete at the National Qualifiers on the Nov 18th19th at KLGCC.
The two-day National Qualifiers will see 100 golfers competing for four more slots.
The Maybank Malaysian Open offers the highest number of spots for Malaysian golfers in a co-sanctioned international golfing event in the country. As a joint initiative by the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA), Maybank and GlobalOne to provide Malaysian sportsmen the opportunity to compete in world class events.
Twenty-two spots up for grabs and these are divided among the ten players from the Asian Tour and PGM Tour; four winners from the National Qualifiers; three sponsors invite, one of which is the winner from the Maybank Tour Championship and the participation of four amateurs who are selected by MGA through their own merit.
Gavin Kyle Green has already secured his spot among the four amateurs. The final two invitational spots with the remaining three amateur spots are expected to be announced by mid January.
QUALIFIED Malaysians: Nicholas Fung, Danny Chia, Iain Steel, Shaaban Hussin and Ben Leong (from the Asian Tour); R. Nachimuthu, Airil Rizman Zahari, Sukree Othman, Khor Kheng Hwai, Kemarol Baharin (from the PGM Tour) and Arie Fauzi (Maybank invitee).
MALAYSIA Hockey League Premier Division champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) beat star-studded Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) 2-1 to keep a tight grip on the League title at the national stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
THT were supposed to pose a threat to double champions KLHC, but their First Round effort fizzled out and at the stands of the second pitch was the Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Razif, who unfortunately came when his team played lousy hockey after three consecutive wins.
"Im happy my players claimed the First Round victory over THT, but we will be playing three matches next week (including the midweek Sapura match) and we need to win all by keeping our feet on the ground. Also, we will be playing THT in Terengganu in the Second Round, and so, to celebrate early would be foolish," said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
KLHC were caught napping in the 26th minute when Kang Moon Kweon slotted in the lead for THT, after which, the fans only cheered for missed sitters as the two early favourites were blunt in the semicircle.
And KLHC were lucky when a comical situation, where the entire THT defense stood rooted for 10 seconds, saw Syamim Yusuf slot in the equaliser with a slow-motion attempt.
National player Razie Rahim, the best penalty corner flicker in the country, then gave KLHC the lead when he perfected a drive in the 40th minute.
THT won 5 penalty coners after that, but were unable to crack former national skipper Roslan Jamaluddin and the defending champions walked away with three crucial points.
In another match, UniKL won their first point of the league when they held Maybank to a 1-1 draw. UniKL took the lead off Phillipp Stahr (39th) while Jiwa Mohan saved Maybank with a 45th minute effort.
RESULTS: Maybank 1 UniKL 1, KLHC 2 Terengganu HT 1, Tenaga 1 Sapura 0.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
TERENGGANU 4 3 0 1 14 6 9
KLHC 3 3 0 0 11 5 9
TENAGA 4 2 0 2 8 7 6
SAPURA 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
MAYBANK 4 0 2 2 7 11 2
UNIKL 4 0 1 3 2 13 1
TERENGGANU Hockey Team's (THT) coach Sarjit Singh believes his charges received a timely wake-up call from Maybank before their big game against defending champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) in the Malaysia Hockey League Premier Division today.
THT were 2-3 down at one point, before they turned the tables on Maybank and won 4-3.
"The Maybank wake up call was timely, and I think it is what we needed before playing KLHC. Maybank showed us what can happen if we take our feet off the pedal, and we can't afford anymore lapses, especially against KLHC today as we aim to wrest the title from them by keeping a clean record in the First Round," said Sarjit.
THT were a jaded side, despite fielding five South Koreans for the first time in the MHL, and were saved by bungling Maybank forwards who missed at least three sitters.
"Maybank played very well and I think that they at least deserved one point from the match, and we can't afford the same against KLHC” said THT coach Sarjit Singh.
KLHC are one match behind, as their Sapura encounter on Saturday was washed away by rain and they will play the return during midweek.
Tenaga Nasional, the only all-local outfit in the MHL, will face Sapura today and skipper Madzli Ikmar said: "Although our management asked us to hire local talent, our coaching set-up declined because we believe in helping pur local talent grow.
"It is sad to see some budding talent not playing in the MHL, as their spot has been taken over by foreign imports. We have many youth in this current team, and I believe in three years time, we will be at our very best.. better than teams which rely on imports," said Madzli, a former international.
Tenaga, three points after three matches, will meet undefeated Sapura today.
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 3 3 0 0 13 4 9
KLHC 2 2 0 0 9 4 6
SAPURA 2 1 1 0 4 3 4
TENAGA 3 1 0 2 7 7 3
MAYBANK 3 0 1 2 6 10 1
UNIKL 3 0 0 3 1 12 0
TERENGGANU Hockey Team struggled to beat Maybank 4-3 in the Malaysia Hockey League Premier Division at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
South Korean import Jang Jong Hyun, who only arrived Thursday, nailed a hat-trick of penalty corners in the 21st, 37th and 58th, while the other goal was scored by Firhan Ashaari (47th).
Maybank's goals were scored by Amirullah Zainol (28th), Syafiq Zain (38th) and Jiwa Mohan (45th).
In another match,Tenaga Nasional notched their first win when they beat UniKL 3-0 with goals from Shahril Saabah (12th), Izad Hakimi (35th) and Ramadan Rosli (47th).
"Realistically speaking, we have lost the League title fight and hopefully this win will spur us to play much better in the Second Round which will prepare us for the knock-out stages," said skipper Madzli Ikmar.
UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj was also looking forward to the Second Round: "Even though we are at the bottom of the six-team pool with three defeats, I feel my players are improving with every game, and we will be mych better prepared for the Second Round."
UniKL lost their penalty corner flicker Jonas Weinhardt, from Germany, to hamstring and will be out for at least two weeks.
Meanwhile, a waterlogged Pitch I caused the Sapura-Kuala Lumpur HC match to be abandoned to midweek.
RESULTS: Sapura v KLHC (match abandoned, rain), UniKL 0 Tenaga 3, Maybank 3 Terengganu HT 4.
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 3 3 0 0 13 4 9
KLHC 2 2 0 0 9 4 6
SAPURA 2 1 1 0 4 3 4
TENAGA 3 1 0 2 7 7 3
MAYBANK 3 0 1 2 6 10 1
UNIKL 3 0 0 3 1 12 0
