Subahan: Lets build on Youth Olympics gold..

By Jugjet Singh

October 15, 2018 @ 4:26pm

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Under-18squad has opened up a can of opportunities, as they did the unexpected and delivered a gold medal in the Youth Olympics Hockey 5s in Buenos Aires Monday.
  It was a sweet 4-2 win over India in the final, as hockey made its debut in the Third Youth Olympics and nobody expected them to travel the distance and return with gold.
  Vivek Sagar Prasad gave India the lead in 2nd minute, but Firdaus Rosdi equalised in the fifth.
  Vivek again gave India the lead, but goals from Akhimullah Anuar Esook (14th, 18th) and Amirul Hamizan Azahar (17th) handed Malaysia a well fought gold medal.
  For the record, Akhimullah scored a total of 22 goals in the tournament.
  "This is a monumental achievement for our youth, as frankly, when they qualified for the Youth Olympics we waved them on their journey by telling them to do their best.
  "But they achieved a marvellous milestone not only for themselves, but made the whole country proud with a fantastic display," said Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal.
  Subahan gave credit to the 1Mas Programme for building a strong foundation for this group of players.
  "Most of the boys are from the 1Mas Programme initiated by Tunku Abdullah (Sultan Ahmad Shah) and we would like to thank all the coaches involved in nurturing this batch of youth.
  "Credit goes to the Education Ministry for giving these boys a leeway whenever we needed them, and also the National Sports Council (NSC) for their undying help towards hockey," said Subahan.
  MHC have changed the 1Mas structure by introducing a new youth development programme, and hope the NSC give them a leg up.
  The toast of the team, coached by Wallaca Tan and Megat Azrafiq, is Akhimullah Anuar Esook who scored a total of 22 goals to almost single handedly snatched the gold medal.
  "These boys have tremendous potential and are our future to lead in qualifying for the 2021 Junior World Cup. Akhimullah, for one, has shown great potential and even Technical Director Terry Walsh feels the same," said Subahan.
  Akhimullah is a product of Sekolah Sukan Tunku Mahkota Ismail and in 2016, as a 16-year-old, played with the Malaysia Blue in the Australian Hockey League.  

Youth Olympics Hockey 5s: Malaysia v India final

PIC: Akhimullah -- 20-goal hero.

NOTE: In the Bangkok 5s YO Qualifier final, Malaysia 4 India 4. India win shoot-out gold 2-1.

KUALA KUMPUR: The Malaysian men's under-18 team romped into the Youth Olympics final when they beat Zambia 7-4 in Buenos Aires Sunday morning.
  They will play India for gold, after the Asian masters beat Argentina 3-1 in the other semifinals.
  And yet again, Akhimullah Anuar Esook was Malaysia's super-hero as he scored a hat-trick to take his personal tally to 20 goals.
  Akhimullah scored his first 30 seconds after the start, then in the eight minute and to cap a fine day, got his hat-trick 30 seconds from the end of time.
  The other goals were scored by Firdaus Rosdi (third, sixth), Muhibuddin Moharam (11th) and Syarman Mat Tee (12th).
  Zambia had upset Australia 6-4 in the quarter-finals, and were the revelation of the tournament.
  At the group stage, Malaysia had only lost to Argentina 4-2, while India had only lost to Australia 4-3.
  Assured of a medal, Malaysia must now play for gold in their maiden Youth Olympics appearance.

Youth Olympics: Malaysia v Zambia semi-finals

KUALA LUMPUR: Akhimullah Anuar Esook took Malaysia into the semi-finals of the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires when he scored a brace in the 2-0 win against Austria Friday.
  Malaysia will now play Zambia, who beat Australia 6-4 in the other quarter-finals. It was a big surprise as Australia had topped Group B while Zambia had finished fourth in Group A and barely made the quarter-finals.
  Akhimullah scored in the 11th and 19th minutes, and Malaysia now have a good chance of advancing to the finals.
  For the record, Malaysia had beaten Zambia 7-2 in Group A.

SOJC; Juniors exact revenge.. but too late too little

KUALA KUMPUR: The Malaysian juniors exacted sweet revenge when they beat Japan 1-0 in the Sultan of Johor Cup at the Taman Daya Stadium Friday.
  And the winner was scored in the 58th minute by Muhajir Rauf, who connected home a floating reverse stick shot from Abu Kamal.
  The juniors did what the senior Malaysian side could not do at the Asian Games, where Japan came back from the dead to level the score at 6-6 with 20 seconds remaining, and then won gold on shoot-out.
  However the win came too little too late, as Malaysia ended with four points in the tournament and will play in the fifth-sixth playoff against New Zealand/Australia.
  "I hope the boys take home a good lesson from this match as we did almost everything right except score an early goal. Like I said before, we played for pride while Japan for a slot in the final and victory was ours.
  "It's never easy to play at the bottom placing matches, but I am sure my players will give their best again to avoid the last spot.
  The final will be between India and Britain, and in yesterday's last pool match, Britain edged India 3-2 to claim their spot.
  It was India's first defeat in the tournament and coach Jude Felix was furious as his boys were leading 1-0 and then 2-1 before collapsing.
  "We let Britain back into the match afer taking a lead twice, and we can't afford this attitude in the final," said Jude.
  In the eight editions, India has made the final five times and became champions twice in 2013 and 2014.
  RESULTS: India 2 Britain 3, Malaysia 1 Japan 0, Australia 4 New Zealand 0.
  SATURDAY -- Final: India v Britain (8.30pm); Third-Fourth: Japan v Australia (6pm); Fifth-Sixth: Malaysia v New Zealand (3.30pm).

OMAN ACT: Oltmans sets semis as early target..

KUALA KUMPUR: The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) will field a mixed squad for the Asian Champions Trophy in Oman on Oct 18-28.
  The other teams in the fray are India, Pakistan, Oman, Japan and South Korea.
  Malaysia, who ended with a bronze in the last edition, will be coached by Roelant Oltmans who feels that even though penalty corner flicker Razie Rahim and midfielder Fitri Shaari are not on the list, there is no reason not to do well.
  "Even though Razie is out with a hamstring while Fitri wants to attend his University convocation, it has opened up an opportunity for others. We have a balanced squad and we are heading to Oman to give a good fight to all the other teams," said Oltmans.
  Malaysia will open accounts against Asian Games champions Japan, and Oltmans has set semifinals as an early target.
  "We will begin with a tough match against Japan, and it will be like the Asian Games final. We will first play to reach the semi-finals, and from there aim higher," said Oltmans.
  MALAYSIA -- S. Kumar (gk), Hairi Rahman (gk), Shukri Mutalib, Syed Syafiq Syed Cholan, Faiz Helmi, Najib Hassan, Nabil Fiqri, Marhan Jalil, Azri Hassan, Meor Azuan, Joel Samuel, Norsyafiq Sumantri, 
Firhan Ashari, Amirol Aideed, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Faizal Saari, 
Nik Aiman, Shahril Saabah.
  Malaysia's fixtures: Oct 18: Malaysia v Japan (10.55pm); Oct 20: Malaysia v Oman (1.10am); Oct 22: Malaysia v South Korea (10.55pm); Oct 24: Malaysia v India (1.10am); Oct 25: Malaysia v Pakistan (10.55pm).