Perak boys check into 2nd round

PERAK boys checked into the second round of the National Under-14 hockey tournament in Malacca when they beat Pahang 4-1 Monday.
  Perak are on nine points after three matches, while defending champions Pahang lost both their matches.
  Pahang took the lead off Muhammad Syamim in the 35th minute, but Perak came back strongly after the breather with goals from  Afiq Iqbal (41st), Syazwan Syafiq (52nd), Affiful Najmi (56th) and Fahmi B Khalid (62nd).
  In the Girls' tournament, defending champions Sabah claimed their second win when they hammered Kedah 5-1.
  RESULTS: BOYS': Group A: Terengganu 1 Johor 2, Pahang 1 Perak 4; Group B: K Lumpur 2 Negri 1, Penang 1 Selangor 5.
  GIRLS': Group A: Selangor 4 Perak 2, Kedah 1 Sabah 5; Group B: Terengganu 1 Negri 6, Penang 2 K Lumpur 3; Group C: Perlis 1 Pahang 5, Singapore 1 Malacca 3.
  TUESDAY: Boys' Group A: Terengganu v Pahang (MBMB Pitch I, 3pm), Johor v Kedah (MBMB Pitch II, 3pm); Group B: Negri v Kelantan (MBMB Pitch I, 4.45pm), K Lumpur v Penang (MBMB Pitch II, 4.45pm); Group C: Sabah v Malacca (MBMB Pitch I, 6.30pm), Perlis v Singapore (MBMB Pitch II, 8.15pm).
   Girls' Group A: Kedah v Selangor (STM, 7.30am), Sabah v Perak (MBMB Pitch II, 9.15am); Group B: Johor v Penang (MBMB Pitch II, 7.30am), Negri v K Lumpur (MBMB Pitch II, 7.30am); Group C: Pahang v Singapore (STM, 9.15am), Malacca v Perlis (MBMB Pitch I, 9.15am).
  WEDNESDAY: Boys' Group A: Perak v Terengganu (MBMB Pitch I, 6.30pm), Kedah v Pahang (MBMB Pitch I, 8.15pm); Group B: Selangor v K Lumpur (MBMB Pitch I, 4.45pm), Kelantan v Penang (MBMB Pitch II, 4.45pm).
  GIRLS' Group B: Penang v Terengganu (MBMB Pitch I, 7.30am), K Lumpur v Johor (MBMB Pitch II, 7.30am).
  Note: All matches in Malacca.

U14: Champions Sabah off to great start

NATIONAL Under-14 Girls' champions Sabah got of to a roaring start when they hammered Selangor 4-0 in Malacca Sunday.
  Sabah upset Kuala Lumpur 2-1 in last year's final and look good to defend their title.
  Sufiamira Basri started the rout with a 12th minute field goal, while Syunita Manap (21st), Kersimah Kauran (22nd) and Aina Ruzana Azlan (68th).
  RESULTS: BOYS': Group A: Johor 2 Pahang 0, Perak 4 Kedah 1; Group B: Negri 4 Penang 0, Selangor 8 Kelantan 1; Group C: Perlis 0 Sabah 7, Malacca 2 Singapore 0.
  GIRLS': Group A: Perak 5 Kedah 0, Sabah 4 Selangor 0; Group B: Terengganu 1 K Lumpur 7, Johor 2 Negri 3; Group C: Perlis 1 Singapore 1, Malacca 3 Pahang 2.
  MONDAY: BOYS': Group A: Terengganu v Johor (MBMB Pitch I, 4.45pm), Pahang v Perak (MBMB Pitch II, 4.45pm); Group B: K Lumpur v Negri (MBMB Pitch I, 6.30pm), Penang v Selangor (MBMB Pitch II, 8.15pm).
  GIRLS': Group A: Selangor v Perak (MBMB Pitch I, 7.30am), Kedah v Sabah (MBMB Pitch II, 7.30am); Group B: Terengganu v Negri (STM, 9.15am), Penang v K Lumpur (MBMB Pitch II, 9.15am); Group C: Perlis v Pahang (STM, 7.30am), Singapore v Malacca (MBMB Pitch I, 9.15am).
  Note: All matches in Malacca.

U14: Kelantan beat KL 2-1

KELANTAN boys beat Kuala Lumpur 2-1 in the National Under-14 hockey tournament in Malacca Saturday.
  Kelantan's Asrulhisyam Abdullah Pakri scored a field goal in the 25th minute and Muhammad Syahmi increased the lead with another field attempt in the 32nd minute.
  Zulhafizi Aiman scored in the 44th minute to narrow the socore, but Kelantan held on for three points.
  Sunday, boys defending champions Pahang will play against Johor, while the girls gold medallists Sabah will open accounts against Selangor.
  RESULTS -- BOYS': Group A: Perak 1 Johor 0, Kedah 1 Terengganu 3; Group B: Kelantan 2 Kuala Lumpur 1, Selangor 4 Negri Sembilan 3; Sabah 7 Singapore 0, Malacca 3 Perlis 2.
  GIRLS': Group B: Johor 6 Terenggnau 0, Negri 0 Penang 2.
  SUNDAY: BOYS': Group A: Johor v Pahang (MBMB Pitch I, 4.45pm), Perak v Kedah (MBMB Pitch I, 8.15pm); Group B: Negri v Penang (MBMB Pitch I, 3pm), Selangor v Kelantan (MBMB Pitch II, 3pm); Group C: Perlis v Sabah (MBMB Pitch II, 4.45pm), Malacca v Singapore (MBMB Pitch I, 6.30pm).
  GIRLS': Group A: Perak v Kedah (STM, 7.30am), Sabah v Selangor (MBMB Pitch II, 9.15am); Group B: Terengganu v K Lumpur (MBMB Pitch I, 7.30am), Johor v Negri, (MBMB Picth II, 7.30am); Group C: Perlis v Singapore (STM, 9.15am), Malacca v Pahang (MBMB Pitch I, 9.15am); 
  Note: All matches in Malacca.

U14: No clear favourites

THE Boys' and Girls' National Under-14 hockey tournament will start Saturday at the Malacca Stadium, with no clear favourites.
  For the record, Pahang are the boys champions, while Sabah won the girls title last year. Singapore will make their debut in both the categories.
  SATURDAY -- BOYS': Group A: Perak v Johor (3pm, Pitch I), Kedah v Terengganu (3pm, Pitch II); Group B: Kelantan v Kuala Lumpur (4.45pm, Pitch I), Selangor v Negri Sembilan (4.45pm, Pitch II); Sabah v Singapore (6.30pm, Pitch I), Malacca v Perlis (8.15pm, Pitch I).
  GIRLS': Group B: Johor v Terenggnau (7.30am, Pitch I), Negri v Penang (7.30am, Pitch II).
  Note: All matches at Malacca Stadium.

MHC: We love our women, too

HOCKEY LETTER

To all hockey enthusiasts, fans and members of the distinguished hockey community,
  We have just concluded Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) and Despite several setbacks and challenges, the general response received was positive.
  In spite of the extremely short preparatory period, the 
Competitions Committee along with hockey's stakeholders and 
administrators have delivered a truly exciting and well-received 
tournament. For this we congratulate everyone.
  The MHL has unearthed several talents. Two of which are 
Kirendeep Kaur - a 12-year-old girl who scored two goals in the League and J. Priyangga, a 17-year-old goalkeeper which we nominated as the Best Goalkeeper of the women's MHL.
  The coaching setup is well aware of these players and will 
feature them in our development and elite programmes. We advocate talent identification and will do our utmost to present the best possible avenue for any player to showcase their ability.
  One such case is having Kavin Kartik - a player who is not in the official men's senior training squad list - attend and undergo the ongoing training programme.
  This is merely to see if he has the required ability, tenacity and mindset to one day don the national colours.   Just like how we provide everyone with the desire and required skill level a chance at one day playing for the country, we plead for you to give us the same in matters concerning the governance of hockey.
  This is a stepping stone for the development of hockey. Come 
mid-November 2015, we will be in our 6th month of administration. We believe we are headed in the right direction. Our sponsors and stakeholders are confident that our approach, although not necessarily popular, is accurate.
  We are single-minded in our pursuit for progress. However, our focus is not entirely on Men's hockey. Our Blue Print, recently launched at the National Sports Council and witnessed by all key stakeholders and numerous representatives from the media, indicates our desire to raise the profile of the game, both for men's and women's hockey. We treat everyone equally.
   Our recent MOU with Hockey Australia is also centered around the 
development of women's hockey. Australia, in my many conversations with their extremely capable CEO, Cam Vale, is as confident as we are that our women players can one day become world beaters. Hence, the equal emphasis for exposure and development to both genders.
  In our blue print, we have stipulated the key goals for our women's and men's team at every perceivable milestone. The targets/goals as below:

1 2016 - Junior World Cup, India (Top 8 Finish) - Men
2 2017 - To qualify for the 2018 World Cup - Men and Women
3 2018 - India World Cup (Top 10 Finish) - Men
- Asian Games (Podium Finish) - Men
- Asian Games (Semi-finalists) - Women
4 2019 - To qualify for Tokyo Olympics - Men
- To qualify for World League Round 3 - Women
- To qualify for 2020 JWC - Men
- 2019 Junior Asia Cup (Semi-finalists) - Women
5 2020 - Tokyo Olympics (Top 8 Finish) - Men
- Men's Ranking - Top 10
- Women's Ranking - Top 16
- Junior Men to finish Top 6 in JWC

  Specific to Women's hockey, MHC Technical Director Terry Walsh is working closely with head coach Nasihin Nubli, to develop a long-term training programme which will look at improving key areas that require urgent attention. 
  These specific areas include physiological development, tactical 
awareness and skill acquisition. The programme is designed to 
accommodate key requirements that will form the foundation of our impending progress.
  We are already in talks with Hockey Australia and several other key hockey nations to amalgamate our calendars and 2016 will see our programmes kick-off with the required structure and purpose.   Sustainable plans must be implemented to ensure desired results are obtained.
  We will neither stand behind nor support any short term plan with unclear goals. We will also not place goals which are clearly unattainable. Our key focus is sustainable growth and progress.
  MHC is committed in ensuring that hockey in its entirety will develop. 
  Our way may not provide the desired results instantaneously, but with positive support coming from all stakeholders, we will get there.
  We thank you once again for all your support, critical or otherwise. 
Only through your passion and belief, will we one day return amongst the upper echelon of world hockey.


K. Logan Raj
CEO
MHC