Hawgood appointed as consultant...

AUSTRALIAN Neil Hawgood was finally accepted as a consultant, and will assist chief coach Tai Beng Hai in the Singapore World League Round Two on Jan 17-25.
  However, the National Sports Council (NSC) told Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) to hold their Annual General Meeting (AGM) and clean up their messy constitution before they can talk further about hiring Hawgood on a full-time basis.
  Hawgood's previous attachment was with the India women's team from July 2012, and under him, India won bronze in the 17th Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea, while the junior team won a first-ever bronze medal in the 2013 World Cup.
  Yesterday, MHC vice-president Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad met NSC director general Datuk Ahamad Shapawi to iron out the coach as well as constitution issues.
  MHC messed up their constitutional amendments at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EOGM) last year, and the International Hockey Federation (FIH) have offered suggestions on how to tighten it.
  "The NSC have agreed to the appointment of Hawgood as consultant for the World League but we need to rectify some issues in our amended constitution before they proceed with the next step of offering him a coaching contract," said Nur Azmi Ahmad.
  Beng Hai welcomed the news, even though its an 11th hour appointment as the team leave for Singapore today.
  "Finally there is some concrete news about a foreign coach with the help of the NSC. I welcome the appointment of Hawgood as consultant as every little help matters in a tournament of this nature," said Beng Hai.
  Malaysia have Oman (22nd), Ukraine (24th) and Singapore (36th) for company in Group A. In Group B are Japan (14th), Poland, (18th), Bangladesh (30th) and Mexico (35th).
  The top-three teams in Singapore will advance to the World League Semi-finals at either Argentina or Belgium where tickets to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics await.
  Malaysia are arranging for a friendly in Singapore on Thursday: "All the players are injury free and ready for the tournament," said Beng Hai as he tries to steer Malaysia to the top of the podium.
  For the record, Malaysia has a spartan record of winning an FIH tournament as their only gold was won when Stephen van Huizen coached the nation at a Paris Five-Nation.
  Van Huizen is now assistant to Beng Hai.
  And then there was the near miss at the 2009 World Cup Qualifier in Invercargill, New Zealand, where Malaysia won silver. Then, Malaysia took the lead, only to lose 2-1 and hand the New Delhi World Cup ticket to New Zealand.

Azlan Misron: I want gold..

SEASONED campaigner Azlan Misron (pic) is a man of few words, as he prefers to do the talking on the pitch, but yesterday he broke the taboo with a fired up message for his mates who will be playing in the World League Round Two in Singapore on Jan 17-25.
  Azlan, who has represented Malaysia for the last 14 years with a whopping 346 caps, wants his mates to give their all and erase all embarrassing 2014 records.
  "Coach (Tai) Beng Hai has selected the best players and the team is mantap (solid) and we will be out to erase our embarrassing 2014 record which saw many bickering and in-fights which led to poor results on the pitch.
  "I believe all the problems have been sorted out, and even though the MHC (Malaysian Hockey Confederation) has set a top-two target in Singapore, my personal target is a gold medal," said the 31 year-old Azlan
  2014 saw  the worst of Malaysian hockey on and off the pitch, as player-power, star players, bungling officials, fighting coaches -- all led to a string of disastrous tournaments with the climax being when they lost 4-2 to 29th ranked Trinidad and Tobago at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
  "That is all the past, and I am looking for a new beginning as the New Year is still fresh, to bring about drastic changes in the minds of our supporters by winning gold an the Singapore World League and qualify for the World League Semi-finals with dignity," said Azlan.
  Azlan will also break a Malaysian hockey caps record, as he looks set to play in all six matches in Singapore to take his tally to 350.
  Last year, the Perak-born played to form in the World Cup as well as the Asian Games, but was let down by some poor play from his mates.
  "This time around we have a very good understanding and by going into the tournament as top-seeds (ranked 13th in World) we need to keep our reputation intact and what better way than win the gold medal.
  "Having said that, we are not overconfident playing against lower ranked teams, but are confident with our own capabilities this time around," said Azlan.
   Malaysia only have Oman (22nd), Ukraine (24th) and Singapore (36th) for company in Group A. In Group B are Japan (14th), Poland, (18th), Bangladesh (30th) and Mexico (35th).
  The top-three teams in Singapore will advance to the World League Semi-finals at either Argentina or Belgium where tickets to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics await.

JOHN LENNON IMAGINE....

Poles make early claim..

POLAND are dead serious to claim the World League Round Two crown in Singapore on Jan 17-25.
  And they have left no stone unturned as before coming to Malaysia on Dec 27, as they played matches in Belgium and Spain and their youthful team did not disappoint manager Tomasz Cichy.
  "We want to win the tournament and have been to Belgium and Spain to play matches before heading to Malaysia for acclimatization. We have a team with an average age of 24, and they have been improving steadily.
  "Possibly, we will meet Malaysia either in the semi-finals of final, and we are ready for them," said Cichy.
  Three teams from the Singapore tournament will advance to the World League Semi-finals in either Belgium or Argentina. The Semi-finals offer three teams from each venue to qualify for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.
  But fourth or fifth placed teams in both the WL Semi-finals also have a chance to play in Rio, provided teams which have already qualified by winning their continental championships finish among the medallists.
  Malaysia, who finished fifth in the WL Semi-finals in Johor Baru, got the chance to play in the Netherlands World Cup on this continental clause.
  The stakes in Singapore are high as top seeded Malaysia, ranked 13th in the World, only have Oman (22nd), Ukraine (24th) and Singapore (36th) for company in Group A. Poland, ranked 18th, are in Group B with Japan (14th), Bangladesh (30th) and Mexico (35th).
  But Malaysia are well known to crumble when playing lower ranked teams like the 4-2 defeat in the hands of World No 29th ranked Papua New Guinea in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
  Malaysia played two friendlies against the Poles, and the result was not encouraging as the Poles greased the hosts to a 4-4 draw then a 4-3 win.
  However, Malaysia had more than 10 scoring chances in both the matches, and according to goalkeeper S. Kumar: "We should have won by a 10-goal margin if not for poor shooting in the semi-circle, and this is what we can't afford in Singapore."
  That, could be coach Tai Beng Hai's biggest challenge when he plots the downfall of minnows in the Group stages.
  All eight teams qualify for the quarter-finals, and if Malaysia play to their seeding, they should top Group A and play either Bangladesh or Mexico in the last eight.
  In the semi-finals, either Japan or Poland are expected to be the hurdle.

WORLD LEAGUE ROUND TWO
SINGAPORE -- JAN 17-25

GROUP A: Malaysia, Oman, Ukraine, Singapore.
GROUP B: Japan, Poland, Bangladesh, Mexico.


FIXTURES (Malaysian time):
  Jan 17: Group A: Malaysia v Ukraine (5.30pm), Oman v Singapore

(8pm); Group B: Japan v Bangladesh (9am), Poland v Mexico (3pm).
  Jan 18: Group B: Bangladesh v Mexico (3pm), Poland v Japan (5.30pm).
  Jan 19: Group A: Ukraine v Singapore (3pm), Oman v Malaysia

(5.30pm).
  Jan 20: Group A: Ukraine v Oman (5.30pm), Malaysia v Singapore

(8pm); Group B: Japan v Mexico (9am), Bangladesh v Poland (3pm).
  Jan 21: REST DAY
  Jan 22: Quarter-finals
  Jan 23: Fifth-Eighth
  Jan 24: Semi-finals
  Jan 25: Final and placing matches.