ONLY 18 under-20 players will not be able to play in this year’s Razak Cup, while others in the Junior World Cup training squad can represent their states in the Aug 2-10 tournament at the Tun Razak Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) competitions committee chairman Datuk Dr S.S. Cheema yesterday said the 18 will be selected soon by juniors coach V. Muraleedharan.
“The junior team have just returned from the Asia Cup (in Hyderabad, India) and we do not know if any of them are injured or unable to play in the Razak Cup,” said Cheema.
“That is why Muralee will select his 18 players soon and release the others to play for their respective states.”
The tournament will be played in a two-division format with Singapore as the only invited team. Last year, Johor won their second consecutive title while Perak were the runners-up.
Sixteen-time champions Kuala Lumpur took the Division Two title, and will be back in Division One for this edition.
“The rules are still the same, all players must represent the state they were born in and if any player wishes to represent another state he must get a release letter to be eligible,” said Cheema.
The Razak Cup is expected to be keenly contested this year as even senior national players, who will not see Beijing Olympics action, will be released to play for their states.
Monday, July 21, 2008
China Looking For A Break
(The field hockey game of the Daur ethnic group is a typical type of the traditional game and a unique item of Chinese sports. According to historical records, in the Tang Dynasty, there was a popular game called "ball game on foot" quite similar to modern-day field hockey. But as time went on, the game was almost lost among other ethnic groups of China than the Daur minority, in which it was carried on and further developed). -- www.wgma60plusworldhockey.comBy Sportswriter Zhou Huimin
Field hockey was first played as a men's competition at the Summer Games in London in 1908 with six teams from England, Ireland and Scotland, but it was not until the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928 it became a regular medal sport. Women's hockey first appeared at the Olympics in Moscow in 1980.
BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- China's hockey teams have obtained a direct entry to the Beijing Olympics as hosts, but it won't be easy for them to stand out in the tournament.
Since the Champions Trophy in May and June, the Chinese teams have whipped up form for the Olympics. The women's team have set sights on a long-awaited medal, while the men's side are seeking atop-eight breakthrough.
However, it's unlucky for both the Chinese men's and women's teams to be drawn to face powerful rivals.
The Chinese men's team are bundled with world championship runner-up Germany, fourth-ranked Spain and No. 5 South Korea. Rated 17th, China are currently the lowest-ranked in the men's tourney.
China's South Korean coach Kim Sang Ryul admitted it was impossible to win a medal, adding a top-eight finish was a realistic goal.
Likewise, the Chinese women, ranked sixth in the world, will face the world titlists the Netherlands, 2000 Olympic champions Australia and Asian powerhouse South Korea.
Coached by non-nonsense South Korean Kim Chang Back since 1999,the Chinese women qualified for the final stage at the Sydney Olympic Games for the first time and finished fifth.
They finished fourth at the Athens Olympics and won a gold medal at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
With the Chinese teams undergoing intense training, their powerful opponents, such as Germany, Australia and the Netherlands, have geared up for Olympic medals.
In the men's field, Germany hope to bounce back from June's defeat to win their first Olympic gold in 16 years.
The Germans lost their world top ranking to defending Olympic champions Australia when they finished fifth in the Champions Trophy in the Netherlands.
While Australia are looking to defend their title, the Netherlands, whose dream for their third straight Olympic gold was dashed by the Australians, are hoping for a comeback.
On the women's side, world champions the Netherlands hope to revenge the Athens Olympic final defeat to Germany, while a hard duel against the formidable Argentina will be inevitable.
Germany, the defending champions, hope to continue their gold dream. Australia, the winners of three golds in the last six Olympics, also want to repeat their glory.
Despite so-called home advantage, the Chinese teams have nothing else in their favor, said Kim Chang Back.
"Anyone can win. It's an open house in Beijing," said Pargat Singh, former captain of India, a dominant power on grass before the mid-1990s. "Being consistent will be the key."
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Police still investigating
POLICE are still in the midst of investigating match-fixing and bribery claims leveled at the national hockey players, hence, the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) have yet to activate their own investigation squad.
The MHF, as well as national coach Sarjit has lodged a police report at the end of June, after allegations of match- fixing, bribery, betting in the English Premier League and money-lending activities were were thrown at national play ers via anonymous e-mails.
“I have yet to get any feed-back from the police on the outcome of their investigations. And that is why, the MHF proposed three-man panel can’t start an internal inves tigation,” said MHF secretary Sgt Hashim Yusoff.
MHF have identified members for the panel, and among their duties is to check why Malaysian hockey is currently taking a beating on the pitch.
“Once police wind up their investigations, which I expect to be soon, the panel can start cracking.”
MHF president Tan Sri Admiral (rtd) Anwar Mohd Nor had said that they will not conduct an in-house investigation on the matter because they feel the police should be allowed to do their job first.
The panel will be made up of people not direcly involved with the MHF, but have a good knowledge of the sport in Malaysia. One member is expected to be from the National Sports Council.
The MHF, as well as national coach Sarjit has lodged a police report at the end of June, after allegations of match- fixing, bribery, betting in the English Premier League and money-lending activities were were thrown at national play ers via anonymous e-mails.
“I have yet to get any feed-back from the police on the outcome of their investigations. And that is why, the MHF proposed three-man panel can’t start an internal inves tigation,” said MHF secretary Sgt Hashim Yusoff.
MHF have identified members for the panel, and among their duties is to check why Malaysian hockey is currently taking a beating on the pitch.
“Once police wind up their investigations, which I expect to be soon, the panel can start cracking.”
MHF president Tan Sri Admiral (rtd) Anwar Mohd Nor had said that they will not conduct an in-house investigation on the matter because they feel the police should be allowed to do their job first.
The panel will be made up of people not direcly involved with the MHF, but have a good knowledge of the sport in Malaysia. One member is expected to be from the National Sports Council.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Act Now, Or Forever Regret
India players celebrate after beating South Korea 3-2 in the Junior Asia Cup final in Hyderabad, India.IF the alarms bells in the corridors of the Malaysian Hockey Federation were not ringing before, they should after the Junior Asia Cup in Hyderabad, India.
Forget the 3-1 defeat to Japan or the failure to qualify for the semi-finals for such is the state of the Malaysian game now is that we can’t even beat Singapore.
What makes the 2-2 draw even worse is that Singapore were subsequently whipped 5-1 by Oman to finish last in the eight-team tournament.
Yes, Malaysia were represented by an Under-20 squad but we shouldn’t forget that previously, this wasn’t a problem as the juniors were good enough to whip Singapore’s senior squad.
MHF coaching and development committee chairman C. Paramalingam has a reason for Singapore’s rise, if it can be called that. “Singapore have progressed well after competing in our Under-14, Under-16 and Razak Cup tournaments, while we are stuck in a quagmire,” said Paramalingam.
A meeting, said Paramalingam, will be held with chief coach V. Muraleedharan and his assistant K. Rajan upon their return to formulate strategies for next year’s Junior World Cup, which is being co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore.
Muraleedharan has already attributed the poor showing in Hyderabad to “misfiring forwards, silly mistakes by defenders and players being physically not up to the mark.”
But these seem rather simplistic reasons and the question here is have the right players been selected? If yes, what is the future of hockey, especially when the likes of Singapore are now holding their own against Malaysian teams.
MHF has to address the issues sooner rather than later, especially as at the senior level, Malaysia are unlikely to rise in the near future.
Spanish Women Cleared of Doping Scandal
SPANISH players after winning against Australia 1-0 in the Women's World Cup semi-final field hockey match in Madrid, 06 October 2006. AFP PHOTO LAUSANNE, Switzerland: The Spanish women's field hockey team was assured of its place in the Beijing Olympics on Friday when the International Hockey Federation cleared two players of alleged doping violations.
Gloria Comerma and another player, who was not identified, tested positive for banned substances after Spain won its qualifying match in April against Azerbaijan.
The FIH said Friday that Comerma committed a violation, but decided not to impose any sanction because it found "there was no fault or negligence on her part." The Spanish federation had claimed the team's food was tampered with in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital.
The federation's judicial commission said the second player did not commit a doping violation.
The sport's rules state that a country must be disqualified from a tournament if more than one member of a team tests positive.
The FIH said Friday that Comerma committed a violation, but decided not to impose any sanction because it found "there was no fault or negligence on her part." The Spanish federation had claimed the team's food was tampered with in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital.
The federation's judicial commission said the second player did not commit a doping violation.
The sport's rules state that a country must be disqualified from a tournament if more than one member of a team tests positive.
FIH Official Communication18 Jul 2008 08:26
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) advises as follows the outcome of the hearing of the FIH Judicial Commission regarding the anti-doping tests of two Spanish players which took place during the Women’s World Hockey Olympic Qualifier in Baku, Azerbaijan, in April 2008:
Player Gloria Comerma - tested on 18 April 2008The FIH Judicial Commission found that there was an anti-doping rule violation but that she established that there was no fault or negligence on her part so there is no requirement to impose a sanction.
Second Spanish player - tested on 20 April 2008The FIH Judicial Commission found that no anti-doping rule violation has been committed.
Following the decision of the FIH Judicial Commission, the FIH considers the cases as closed and no other communication will be made.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) advises as follows the outcome of the hearing of the FIH Judicial Commission regarding the anti-doping tests of two Spanish players which took place during the Women’s World Hockey Olympic Qualifier in Baku, Azerbaijan, in April 2008:
Player Gloria Comerma - tested on 18 April 2008The FIH Judicial Commission found that there was an anti-doping rule violation but that she established that there was no fault or negligence on her part so there is no requirement to impose a sanction.
Second Spanish player - tested on 20 April 2008The FIH Judicial Commission found that no anti-doping rule violation has been committed.
Following the decision of the FIH Judicial Commission, the FIH considers the cases as closed and no other communication will be made.
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