Malaysia back to old self

24/07/2003

Malaysia ...........2 Spain ...........3
South Korea ........2 England .........1
RANDBURG: Malaysia were back to their old selves as they allowed Spain to
seal the crucial Champions Challenge match in the first half at the
Randburg Hockey Stadium in South Africa yesterday.
Only birthday boy S. Kuhan, who turned 27 yesterday, had a good game,
tucking away two goals out of the three penalty corners that came
Malaysia's way.
The rest of the players were in no mood to play hockey, and the
Spaniards only had to bring out 50 percent of their capabilities to
collect three points.
It was perfect weather for hockey, but the Malaysians were not in the
game as they allowed Spain too much room to move and paid a price for it.
S. Kumar started between the posts for the third consecutive match, as
he had impressed with his agility in the previous two, but he was not in
his element yesterday, allowing two soft goals to past him before coach
Paul Lissek replaced him with Roslan Jamaluddin.
Spain held back and preferred to defend in the first 10 minutes and when
they had their machinery going it resulted in goal from an acute angle.
Santi Freixa was at the Malaysian goal line, and when he attempted to
hit the ball to the top of the semicircle, the ball touched the tip of his
hockey stick and a freak goal was the result.
The goal awoke a handful of players in the team, and five minutes later,
Malaysia received their first penalty corner. Kuhan found himself in an
awkward position, pushed the ball to the leg of a Spanish defender and the
umpire awarded another penalty corner.
This time, Kuhan's flick was clean and Malaysia were back in the match,
but not for long.
Back on snooze mode, unforced errors were committed by the Malaysian
defenders and Spain were back in the lead when Alberto Esteban took a soft
hit towards goal and Kumar again failed to stop it.
The Spaniards only tested Kumar twice, and both resulted in goals.
Lissek replaced him with Roslan and with 10 seconds left on the first
half clock, the experienced hand was beaten by Pol Amat and Malaysia went
into the dressing room with little hope of salvaging the match.
Malaysia had more than enough chances to seal the match after the
breather, but the forwards, Tajol Rosli especially, were a big letdown and
as the clocked ticked in the last quarter, a desperate push in the 57th
minute finally landed Malaysia the second penalty corner.
Kuhan took his time, and his well placed low flick crashed into the
board and Malaysia narrowed the gap.
But after the goal, the Malaysian players were back to their old selves
and Spain didn't have much defending to do in the remainder of the match.
* SOUTH Korea kept their hopes alive of reaching the final of the
Champions Challenge when they beat England 2-1 in the second match.
South Korea's prolific goal-getter Seo Jong Ho started the ball rolling
with a deft touch in the fifth minute, and just before the halftime
whistle, You Hyo Sik made it 2-0.
England narrowed the gap in the second half though Dave Matthews and
pushed forward but could not find the equaliser.
(END)

All six equally balances, says Hendriks

24/07/2003

THE Spaniards escaped by the skin of their teeth against New Zealand
yesterday, and only now, their coach Maurits Hendriks believes that all
six teams in the Champions Challenge are equally balanced.
After thrashing England 6-2 in the curtain raiser of the Champions
Challenge, Hendriks practically claimed the Champions Trophy ticket, but
after losing to South Korea and scoring the winning goal against New
Zealand with five seconds left on the clock, he has started seeing things
differently.
"All the teams in the Champions Challenge have improved tremendously,
especially Malaysia who I last took a keen interest in during the Sydney
2000 Olympics," said Hendriks.
Hendriks was coaching Holland during the Sydney Olympics, and now is
helping Spain get their act together for the Olympics and World Cup
qualifiers.
"The last tine I saw Malaysia in action was during the Kuala Lumpur
World Cup (2002) and comparatively, the team has improved tremendously,"
said Hendriks.
Hendriks, who is a long-time friend of national coach Paul Lissek, said
finally he could see the handiwork of the German in the Malaysian team.
"Malaysia had a very good defensive structure, but they always lacked
forwards. But from what I saw against England today (yesterday) the team
has finally started opening up.
"I can see a solid team in the making, as when the young forwards
mature, the goals will start coming easier," said Hendriks.
The Malaysian forwards struggled to find their footing in the first
match against South Africa, and this resulted in the defence cracking up
after facing tremendous pressure.
(END)

A win for malaysia, finally

23/07/2003

Malaysia...............4 England................1
Spain..................3 New Zealand............2
RANDBURG: Malaysia displayed great determination to outclass England 4-1
in the Champions Challenge at the Randburg Hockey Stadium in South Africa
yesterday.
With the win, the hopes of a good finish were raised. There was tension
in the air as Malaysia adopted an open game and started attacking from the
onset.
There were plenty of good passes into the England semi-circle but there
were no takers, as the ball whizzed all across the field. England
goalkeeper Jimi Lewis was under constant pressure in the first five
minutes, while Malaysian goalkeeper S. Kumar, fielded for the second time
in South Africa, had nothing much to do except direct his team-mates from
the back.
England looked comfortable in defence, and relied on long balls to get
to their forwards. And in the sixth minute, a long ball into the Malaysian
semi-circle earned them a penalty corner, which was cleanly tucked in by
Brett Garrard.
The Malaysian runners were a little slow out of the goalmouth and
Garrard's low push rolled past Nor Azlan Bakar and into the goalmouth.
Malaysia earned their first penalty corner in the 16th minute, but
stopper Nor Azlan could not trap the ball but the forwards fought back and
won the second consecutive penalty corner.
This time, skipper S. Kuhan failed to lift the ball off the artificial
pitch, but he recovered and made a pass to Jiwa Mohan, who slammed the
ball past Lewis.
Malaysia received their fifth penalty corner in the 40th minute, and
Kuhan's powerful flick grounded goalkeeper Lewis but Jiwa was slow to pick
up the rebound and the English survived.
The men in yellow swamped the English goalmouth and in the 49th minute,
K. Keevan Raj finally got the penalty corner set piece right and Malaysia
were in the lead.
Jiwa Mohan won the penalty corner and Kuhan pushed the ball to Keevan
who sent it crashing to the top of the English net.
Malaysian team pressed harder and were rewarded again in the 59th
minute.
Off a well-planned counter attack, the ball met Azlan Misron's stick and
he coolly slotted it in.
And with two minutes remaining, Riduan Nasir and Tajol Rosli perfected a
one-two with Tajol getting the last touch for Malaysia's fourth goal.
* SPAIN came back from a goal down to beat New Zealand 3-2 and kept
their hopes alive for a medal finish.
The Kiwis shocked the Spaniards with a sixth minute goal through Umesh
Parag but Xavi Ribas equalised 18 minutes later.
In the second half, Bevan Hari again gave New Zealand the lead with a
39th minute goal but it was cancelled a minute later by EduardTubau. And
when the match looked like it was heading for a draw, Rodrigo Garza nailed
the winner.
(END)

Home away from home

23/07/2003

WAN Abdullah is the unofficial mayor of Johannesburg. The Malaysian, from
Kelantan, decided to try his luck in South Africa 15 years ago, and today,
his WGS store in Village Walk, Sandton, can be considered as the "Malaysia
Hall."
WGS (Wan's Gems Store) is a cosy little place, where discounts await
every Malaysian - with a touch of Malaysian hospitality.
The Malaysian journalists covering the Champions Challenge in Randburg,
South Africa, first heard about Wan on board a Malaysia Airlines flight.
Salleh, the head steward, recommended WGS if we were looking for bargain
stones and stone trees.
Even though we forgot to ask Salleh for the shop address, it was not
hard to find.
Hungering for some spicy food on the third day in South Africa, we
walked into a Cape Town Malay shop at the Sandton Shopping Complex and
asked the manager for Wan.
He immediately retorted: "Wan Batu? Yes, I know him." And after
shuffling through his calling card rack, he handed us Wan's card.
We called his handphone, with some reservation, but were greeted by a
warm voice at the other end. And that night itself, Wan arrived at our
hotel and took us to his shop. Talk about Malaysian hospitality.
We were given a quick tour of his shop, as it was nearly closing time,
after which we sat down for coffee, with Wan becoming our tour guide.
Every question about Johannesburg was answered sincerely, and he even
gave us helpful tips on how to survive in this crime-ridden country.
"When I came here 15 years ago to try my luck, the situation was much
worse. Now, it is much safer but still, make sure you plan your excursions
properly. There are plenty of nice places to visit here, but make sure you
guys go with a licensed tour operator, because they will take care of
you," said Wan.
Wan keeps a visitors' journal in his shop, and flipping through its
pages, names of various Malaysians, some famous, have been jotted down.
Datuk Dr Siti Hasmah's picture was on the wall, with various other
Malaysians who have walked into Wan's store.
After the journalists had picked out their favourite stones, and a good
discount given, we started talking about hockey and Wan found out that the
Malaysian players had no one to cheer them on at the Randburg Hockey
Stadium.
It was decided there and then, that the Malaysia Airlines cabin crew,
led by head stewrd Salleh, that was housed at an adjacent hotel, would
come and cheer the Malaysian boys in the crucial match against England.
Salleh promised about 17 crew members as cheerleaders - but we still had a
problem. Where to get Malaysian flags?
Not a problem for Wan though!
He phoned his friend at the Malaysian Tourism Centre in Joburg, and
within 30 minutes, the flags were delivered to WGS, which by now was quite
crowded with Malaysians as more Malaysia Airlines cabin crew had walked in
and joined us.
(END)

England can be beaten

22/07/2003

RANDBURG: Malaysia can beat England today, as they will be under a
character microscope at the Randburg Hockey Stadium because they have
everything else under their belt.
Fitness is at its peak, skills they have, and motivation to do the
country proud in the Champions Challenge is left to be displayed.
"After South Korea beat Spain, and England beat South Africa, the
tournament has been thrown wide open. We have the players to beat England
and there are no two ways about it," said national chief coach Paul
Lissek.
That is if the team does not adopt a defensive technique, like they did
against New Zealand in the first half on Sunday.
Malaysia defended well, but with only Jiwa Mohan, Azlan Misron and
Fairuz Ramli upfront, the wall finally cracked after constant attack from
the Kiwis.
Ismail Abu, 19, saved the day for Malaysia with a well-placed reverse
stick shot, but before the goal, he was a nervous wreck.
"I was a little edgy in the first half, because it was very cold and my
fingers became numb. I also found it harder to breathe as the cold air
burned my lungs.
"It is very hard to play hockey in this kind of weather (about five
degrees) but the goal has set the fire burning in me, and I hope I can
help my team-mates achieve a good finish in the Champions Challenge," said
Ismail.
Tajol Rosli, among the most hardworking in the squad, let his team-mates
down when he missed four sitters, which could have ended the Kiwi fight
early in the match.
"I normally do not miss such easy opportunities, but yesterday (Sunday)
I was in a dreamlike mode and my actions became slower as the match
progressed because I could not breathe well in the chilly weather. But we
still have a fighting chance, and we must beat England to keep our hopes
alive," said Tajol.
England were whipped 6-2 by Spain, but made a remarkable recovery to
edge hosts South Africa 2-0 in the next match. But the English are far
from impressive, as they struggle to rebuild a team for the Olympics and
World Cup Qualifiers.
Skipper S. Kuhan has had an exceptional tournament, and his confidence
is fast latching itself onto K. Gobinathan and Amin Rahim at the backline.
"The Champions Challenge has brought out the best in most of the
players, and even though we have only a draw and a defeat to show after
two matches, the team, as a whole, has shown tremendous progress.
"(S.) Kumar, who is normally a little shaky in goal, displayed a very
cool attitude when fielded against New Zealand. And the young forward line
of Tajol, Ismail and Azlan (Misron) no longer hold back when they come
face-to-face with burly defenders.
"They have started using their speed to get around, and I am sure we
will have a very good time in the Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur (in
September)," said Lissek.
(END)