KL hammer Pahang

24/05/08

KUALA Lumpur opened their MHF- Milo Under-16 hockey tournament on a winning note, when they thrashed Pahang 4-0 in a Group C match at the Muazam Shah Sports Complex in Alor Star yesterday.
Mohamed Zukhairi Hashim opened the scoring for Kuala Lumpur in the 12th minute off a penalty corner set-piece.
Six minutes later, Mohamed Syamin Mohamed Yusof added the second from a field attempt.
Syamin was on target again with a penalty corner de flection in the 51st minute for Kuala Lumpur’s third goal.
Mohamed Fitri Affendi made sure of a convincing win with the fourth gaol in the 64th minute from a field attempt.
"It is a good start and we able to try our all our reserves in the game as well. We wanted to get off with a win and were not looking for a big margin win. The important thing for us was to try and make sure our playing combinations got their move s right," said Kuala Lumpur team manager Lokman Yahaya.
Kuala Lumour will face Singapore tomorrow and a win will ensure them a spot in the quarter-finals.
Earlier, Penang hammered Kelantan 8-2 in a Group D match.
Mohamed Noor Hazwan, Mohamed Rashid Baharom, Mo hamed Khairul Naim and Mohamed Safwan Sazali each scored a brace for Penang while Kelantan goals were scored by Mohamed Nadzmi Hamzah and Mohamed Shafiq Che Muda.
Both teams will have a rest day today.
In another match, Johor defeated Terengganu 2-1 in a Group B match.

Results
Group B: Johor 2 Terengganu 1
Group C: KL 4 Pahang 0
Group D: Penang 8 Kelantan 2
Fixtures
Group A: Perak vs Selangor (3.00pm)
Group B: Perlis vs Kedah (5.00pm)
Group C: Singapore vs Sabah (9.00am)
Group D: Malacca vs Sarawak (7.30am)

Under-16 from today

POWER PACKED: Song Quing Ling of China and Anneke Boehmert of Germany in action during the Women's Champions Trophy in Germany. The German ladies won 2-0.

23/05/08
THE National Under-16 hockey tournament starts today in Alor Star, with defending champions Perak starting as the early favourites.
Perak beat Johor 2-1 in the final last year, and the Silver State has Selangor and Negri Sembilan for company in Group A this year.
The top two teams from each group advances into then quarter-finals, and Perak will have it easy, because their group has only three teams.
Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) coaching chairman C. Paramalingam said scouts will be on the lookout for new talent from the Under-16.
"We need more goalkeepers from this age group, because we do not want to be stuck like the present situation, where there is a limited choice for national call-ups.
"Shahid (Ali Khan) will be on the look out for goalkeepers, and we hope to select as many as possible and start training them from now," said Paramalingam.
Shahid, from Pakistan, is the national goalkeepers coach, and has been retained by the MHF until the Asia Cup next year.
"I have also appointed a few development coaches, and they will select a pool of talent from the Under-16," said Paramalingam.
Group A: Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan; Group B: Johor, Perlis, Terengganu, Kedah; Group C: Kuala Lumpur, Pahang, Singapore, Sabah; Group D: Penang, Kelantan, Malacca, Sarawak.
TODAY: Group D -- Penang v Kelantan (8am); Group C: Kuala Lumpur v Pahang (3pm); Group B: Johor v Terengganu (5pm).
TOMORROW: Group D: Malacca v Sarawak (7.30am); Group C: Singapore v Sabah (9am); Group A: Perak v Selangor (3pm); Group B: Perlis v Kedah (5pm).

Courting a striker

SAD STATE .. Defender and penalty corner drag-flicker Amin Rahim of Malaysia scored two goals in the Japan Qualifier, and he again scored five of Malaysia's nine goals in the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh.

22/05/08

NATIONAL chief coach Sarjit Singh is courting a world class striker, but not to join the team as a player, but to coach his blunt forwards.

And the striker is expected to start his work after the Beijing Olympics.

The Malaysian forward-line has only scored a total of 10 goals in both the Japan Olympic Qualifiers and the Azlan Shah Cup, and a foreign coach is badly needed to sharpen their skills in the semi-circle.

“Yes, I have a striker-coach in mind, but I can’t release his name yet because I need to consult the (MHF) Coaching Committee, as well as the National Sports Council for endorsement first.

“We have a good set of strikers, but they run out of ideas when in the semi-circle, and this needs to be arrested before the Asia Cup next year,” said Sarjit.

The Asia Cup will double-up as a qualifier for the 2010 Delhi World Cup.

MHF Coaching Chairman C. Paramalingam said since the council had agreed to hire a short-term strikers coach, he will wait for Sarjit’s recommendation.

“Yes, we have skilful strikers, but they lack composure in the semi-circle, and they don’t know which strokes to pick. They need to be coached on when to hit, push, flick, or just tap the ball in when the situation warrants,” said Paramalingam.

Paramalingam is also of the opinion that since the Malaysian strikers have a large number of circle penetrations in both the tournaments, only a little fine-tuning is needed to get them scoring more goals.

“We can’t wait anymore, because there is a very important assignment in the Asia Cup, where failure is no longer an option.

“If we start training them from this year, I have a feeling we will do well in future tournaments,” said Paramalingam.

Meanwhile, goalkeepers’ coach Shahid Ali Khan and a few development coaches will scout for players during the national Under-16 tournament in Alor Star starting this Saturday.

Satgunam six-a-side

THE late S. Satgunam (pic), a former Malaysian Hockey Federation secretary, who was a world class administrator.

THE Second S. Satgunam six-a-side challenge will be held at the Seremban II Hockey Stadium on June 21-22.

Last year, 36 teams competed in the tournament, in honour of the late Satgunam who was a former Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) secretary.
Negri Sembilan is honouring the hockey stalwart, as he was also the NSHA secretary.
Invitations this year have also been extended to clubs in the Asian region, and the closing date for local teams is May 30, with an entry fee of RM100.
The prize money of RM3,000, RM2,500, RM2,000 and RM1,500 will be awarded to the top four teams respec tively.
For information, contact NSHA secretary P. Tamil Selvan at 019-3650303 of fax 06-6011205.

World Cup not in striking distance

Argentina players celebrate with the Azlan Shah Trophy after beating India 2-1 in Ipoh.

Sultan Azlan Shah presenting a momento to Argentine skipper Juan Manuel Vivaldi, who is their 28-year-old goalkeeper with 84 caps.

MALAYSIA will not qualify for the 2010 Delhi World Cup, if the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) coaching committee does not inject drastic changes into the forward-line.

The statistics of the past two tournaments — the Japan Olympic Qualifier and the Azlan Shah Cup — are damning on the forwards.

In Japan, Malaysia scored 16 goals and let in 14. The strikers who delivered were Chua Boon Huat (three goals), Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (three) and Razie Rahim (two). Defenders Jiwa Mohan (two goals), Amin Rahim (two goals), Shahrun Nabil (two goals) and midfielder Kelvinder Singh (two goals) were the other scorers.

At the Azlan Shah Cup, five of Malaysia’s nine goals were scored by defender Amin Rahim from penalty corners while midfielders Kelvinder Singh and Azlan Misron had one each. And only two goals, by S. Selvaraju and Chua Boon Huat, were scored by forwards.

The defenders let in 16 goals, and Malaysia finished last on their own turf. That means in 12 matches, the strikers have only scored 10 goals, with Ismail Abu among those who fired blanks in both the tournaments.

Coach Sarjit Singh’s report after the Japan Qualifier, presented to the MHF council by the coaching committee, showed there were a total of 143 circle penetrations in six matches, while the highest was 43 against Italy, who only entered the Malaysian semi-circle 11 times, but scored four goals in the 4-4 draw.

With Malaysia out of the Olympics, there are no assignments for the seniors this year, but they have a tough Asia Cup next year which doubles up as a qualifier for the 2010 World Cup. The MHF council has agreed to bring in foreign consultants to train the strikers and defenders, while Pakistan’s Shahid Ali Khan trains the goalkeepers.

But the MHF must also bring out it whip, dust it of cobwebs, and drop those who have not been consistent this year. The situation today is that once you cement your place in the national squad, you are assured of a place even though you fail to deliver consistently.

Drop the non-performers, and this lesson will spur the rest to do much better. If not, we can even kiss goodbye to whatever hopes Malaysia have of playing in the 2012 London Olympics.