Juniors lose 2-1 to Australia

MALAYSIA’S hopes of playing in the final of the Australian Olympic Youth Festival mathematically went up in smoke yesterday, when they lost 2-1 to Australia at the Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre.
India qualified for the final when they hammered Great Britain 6-1. India, who had beaten Australia 2-1 on Wednesday, have an unassailable six point lead, with a match against Malaysia tomorrow.
Australia wrap-up their fixtures against Great Britain, and are almost assured of the other final spot.
Malaysia will now have to beat India, and hope Australia lose to Great Britain to squeeze into the final.
Nor Hafiq Ghaffar handed Malaysia the lead in the first half, and Malaysia were looking good for an upset, but two soft goals off goal-mouth melees in the second half, saw the juniors fall on their face again.
“Now we have a mathematical chance if we beat India, which is not impossible. We were the better team against Australia and also Great Britain, but lost out because of some silly mistakes in defense,” said Juniors coach K. Rajan.
Rajan said this tournament has shown some flaws in the team, which he will work to rectify before the Junior World Cup in the middle of the year.
“The players have shown improvement in every match, but they lose concentration in the last 15 minutes. This must be rectified before the World Cup.”
RESULTS -- India 6 Great Britain 1; Malaysia 1 Australia 2.
FIXTURES: Tomorrow -- India v Malaysia, Great Britain v Australia.


STANDINGS

P W D L F A Pts
INDIA 2 2 0 0 8 2 6
AUSTRALIA 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
MALAYSIA 2 0 1 1 5 6 1
BRITAIN 2 0 1 1 5 10 1

MHF invite Spain and South Africa

ONLY five teams confirmed their entries at the closing date of the Azlan Shah Cup yesterday, prompting the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) to send invitation to another two.
India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Korea and Malaysia are the confirmed teams, while the MHF have invited South Africa and Spain to complete the cast.
The Azlan Shah Cup will be held in Ipoh on April 3-12.
Last year’s champions Argentina, Australia, Belgium Canada and England were among those who declined MHF’s invitation.
“Argentina could not make it because they will be playing in another tournament, while Australia said they have league commitment.
“We will invite Spain and South Africa, as we are looking for a seven-team tournament,” said MHF secretary Hashim Yusoff.
The team is being coached by Tai Beng Hai, while the MHF intensify their hunt for a foreign coach, with an eve to qualify for the 2010 India World Cup via the Asia Cup in Dubai, on May May 8-15.
In the last edition, Argentina beat India to the title, while the hosts ended at the bottom of the pool.

Costly last five seconds...

By Ajitpal Singh
ajitpalsingh@nst.com.my


THE National Juniors were five seconds away from victory against Great Britain but a freak goal allowed their op ponents to steal a point in their 4-4 draw on the opening day of the Australian Olympic Youth Festival hockey competition at the Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre yesterday.
The Juniors were actually in the driver’s seat six minutes from time when they led 4-2 before the late fight back by Britain.
Mohd Hasami and Harvinder Singh gave them a 2-1 led at half time before Mohd Nor Hafiq Hamid added the third and fourth, both off penalty corner set-pieces in the second half.
The juniors, however, could not keep their healthy lead and with six minutes to go, Britain pulled one back.
With five seconds left on the clock, Britain earned a free hit just outside the circle.
Everyone in the circle missed the ball but fortunately for Britain the ball rebounded off the Malaysian post onto Martin Scanlon path, who pushed the ball into the empty net.
Coach Rajan said his charges played their best match since he took charge last year.
“There is progress but my boys’ need to work on their focus and composure. My charges’ cannot afford to let in goals in crucial stages of a match,” said Rajan when contacted in Sydney yesterday.
“Anyway, it’s good that I’m aware of this now as it will give me enough time to work on their weaknesses before the Junior World Cup.”
The juniors will take on hot favourites Australia today and Rajan believes victory is not impossible.
Australia, will be on full throttle against Malaysia, after their shocking 2-1 loss to India yesterday.

WAIS lesson for Juniors

THE National Juniors lost 4-0 to a senior Western Aus tralian Institute of Sports (WAIS) team in the run-up to the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) in Sydney from Jan 14-18.
This was their second match against the WAIS team, and they lost 2-0 previously. The Juniors also lost 3-1 to the Australian Under-20 team.
But coach K. Rajan is not worried: “I have 26 players here, and fielded a mixed team in the first half, and we were 3-0 down at the hooter.
“Then I fielded our best in the second half, and they held on well and only conceded one goal.”
Malaysia will play against India, Australia and Great Britain in the AYOF.
“GB has been down for the last 10 days, and have put in some serious training. India (who drew 2-2 with Australia) are also a good side.
“We have taped our opponents, and my judgement is that al the teams here are almost of the same standard, and the tournament will be a tough-and-go affair.”
The Malaysian juniors will use AYOF as a training ground for the Junior World Cup on June 7-21.

Fitness on the rise

Malaysia’s Baljit Singh Charun Singh and Australia's Smith Andrew, during the Champions Trophy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007.
Malaysia's Kelvinder Singh, left, battles the ball with Australia's Bevan George during the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament Final in Ipoh, Malaysia, Sunday, May 13, 2007.

THE National seniors underwent a fitness test yesterday, and all 30 surpassed the benchmark, while there were a handful of surprises for coaches Tai Beng Hai and his assistant Nor Saiful Zaini.
The benchmark of 13, was no longer a problem, while Kelvinder Singh and Baljit Singh Charun Singh are at the 15 level.
And it was indeed a surprise, as the players had only re- grouped for one week after playing in the Malaysia Hockey League.
“The players start at 6am, with fitness in the the morning session and set-pieces in the evening. I am happy to see that there is a marked improvement, not only in the physical aspect, but also a more positive attitude towards training,” said Nor Saiful, a former skipper.
And the old hands in the team, like Chua Boon Huat, Madzli Ikmar, S. Kumar and Amin Rahim were among the leaders in the fitness test.
Nor Saiful is working to improve Malaysia’s penalty corner battery, by training two hitters. He was a terror during his playing days, and scored many international goals with his dipping shots which sailed over the goalkeeper but hit the board nevertheless.
“I am training Ismail (Abu) and Engku (Malek) to hit during penalty corners, and even though it has only been a few days, but both the players are getting the hang of it.
“We just can’t rely on flickers in a match, and Ismail and Engku should be ready in two months time,” said Nor Saiful.
Baljit Singh Sarjab Singh, whose performance has been on the slide, has also showed a marked improvement.
“Baljit now has a more positive attitude, and has shown some improvement in his flicks. He is now training to keep the ball between the posts, and after this, we will concentrate to improve on his power,” said Nor Saiful.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) are still in the hunt for a foreign coach, but the two locals they have chosen as an interim measure, have achieved much in a short span.
Fitness, especially when national players are re-called after the MHL, have always been a problem over the years, but the players have shown that they are ready to give their best this season.