Good start for boys and women

THE National Under-18 side got-off to a perfect start in the Sea Cup hockey tournament when they thrashed Thailand 'A' 6-0 in Bangkok yesterday.
Nor Faeez Ibrahim was the Under-18 side's hero when he scored a brace.
Mohd Fitri Saari, Amir Farid, Syamim Yusof and Sabri Mohamed were the other goal scorers.
In another match, Singapore whipped Thailand 'B' 11-0.
The Under-18 side, coached by K.Dharmaraj, will face Singapore today.
Team manager Mirnawan Nawawi said his boys played their hearts out yesterday.
"The match with Singapore will likely be a pre-final. The boys' will not hold back as another victory will boost their confidence ahead of the final," said Mirnawan.
The Sea Cup is being held to make up for the December's Sea Games, where host Laos dropped hockey.
Result - Men: Singapore 11 Thailand 'B' 0, Malaysia 6 Thailand 'B' 0.

Two gold medals, for sure

THE Malaysian boys and women’s hockey teams are poised to win gold medals in the Sea Cup hockey tournament which will start in Bangkok, Thailand tomorrow.
The opposition for both the boys and women’s teams are Singapore, Thailand A and Thailand B, and nothing but gold medals are expected in both the categories.
In fact, the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) and the Malaysian Women’s Hockey Federation (MWHF) will be using the open tournament to expose their youth.
MHF sent their Under-18 outfit, while 70 per cent in the women’s team are Under-21.
“The girls and boys left for Bangkok yesterday and for us, the target is winning gold. We have sent a relatively young side, but are confident of winning gold,” said MWHA sec retary S. Shamala.
Indonesia were also supposed to send a team but pulled out at the eleventh hour, and hosts Thailand then fielded two teams. The tournament is being held to compensate the fact that Sea Games hosts Laos will not be hosting hockey at the end of the year.
The women’s team, ranked 24th in the world, is coached by Yahya Atan, while K. Dharmaraj is the boys coach.
FIXTURES: Tuesday -- Men: Malaysia v Thailand A; Wom en: Thailand A v Thailand B, Singapore v Malaysia.
Wednesday: Men -- Thailand A v Thailand B, Malaysia v Singapore; Women: Singapore v Thailand B, Thailand A v Malaysia.
Friday: Men -- Thailand B v Malaysia, Singapore v Thai land A; Women: Malaysia v Thailand B.
Sunday: Finals.

Maybank banking on budget

THE Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier League might receive another jolt, as Maybank’s participation hangs on the approval of their budget which will be tabled next week.
The Premier League was rocked when last season’s double champions Ernst and Young confirmed that they will not be competing this season, and if Maybank is floored by their budget, it will be a handicapped league.
“We have every intention of playing in the Premier League, but I can’t confirm our participation right now, because our budget has yet to be approved.
“We will know for sure next week, when the management decides,” said Maybank team manager Abdul Rahim Musa.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) have slated the Premier League to start on Dec 4 and end in January, with six teams playing in the first round, while Division One cham pions UiTM and runners-up ATM Airod are supposed to join in at the knock-out quarter-finals.
But if Malaysia qualify for the World Cup next year, the Premier League will surely have to be postponed, as clubs will lose their best to national duty.
However, Sapura, another big name in the MHL, has already started light training and will field a team.
“We have started recruitment and some light training and will play in the Premier League, however, I am a little worried about the format, as Ernst and Young’s withdrawal will see only seven teams competing,” said Sapura team manager Abdullah Yunus.
The other teams who have been invited by the MHF to play in the Premier League are Tenaga Nasional and Nur Insafi of Penang.
The MHL was incepted in 1987, and at its heydays stadiums used to be packed with spectators.
But in recent years, not only have the fans disappeared but many teams have also vanished for good, and even though the MHF have tried to re-brand it several times, it is heading towards a slow death.

Ernst and Young out, MHL crippled

FLASHBACK: Ernst and Young players chairing their team manager George Koshy after winning the TNB-Malaysia Hockey League title at the TLDM Hockey Stadium in Lumut yesterday. – STARpic by SAIFUL BAHRI

ERNST and Young dropped a crippling bombshell on the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division when team manager George Koshy confirmed that they will not be fielding a team this season.
In fact, it looks like last year’s double champions Ernst and Young will now be remembered in the annals of history, as George said “Enough is enough.”
The outfit revolved from Andersen Sports Club in
2003, and has been the playground of national players for many years, but after a string of League titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008, they only nailed the double last year with the help of 12 national players, but that too on penalty strokes.
“I have made it known in the hockey circle that Ernst and Young will not be competing this season, as enough is enough,” said George.
There has been plenty of rumblings among the hockey fraternity that the club, which has a healthy budget, always monopolises national players, but George declined to com ment on that.
And among the problems that might arise is that many national players are in contract with Ernst and Young until the end of the year.
Will they be released to play for other clubs?
“I will not comment much on that issue (contract) other than say that a decision will be made after the World Cup Qualifiers in New Zealand.
“The priority for me now (George is also the national team manager) is to prepare a team for the Qualifier, and re alistically, we have as good a chance as any of the other five hopefuls to win gold.
“And what will happen to the Premier League if Malaysia qualifiers for the New Delhi World Cup? Will it still run from December 4 to the end of February when the World Cup is also in February?,” questioned George.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) had said that they will be inviting six teams, including Ernst and Young, for the Premier League while Division One champions Airod Armed Forces and runners-up UiTM will join the tournament at the quarter-finals stage.
But with the top hockey club in the country pulling out, and the future of their contracted players hanging in the balance, the Premier League looks like it is heading for a disastrous outing months before the first whistle.

India finally grow up...

_{Published by: Sudhir Kumar}
^{Published: Sun, 20 Sep 2009 at 16:37 IST}

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Bhopal: The selection trials for the under-18 Men's Indian Hockey team for the Asia Cup, has re-started at the Regional Centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) here.
"The final selection trials re-started yesterday and will continue till this evening," under-18 Men's Indian Hockey team Chief Coach A K Bansal told PTI today.
He said that the selection was being done under the six member committee of Hockey India headed by former Indian Hockey team skipper Ajitpal Singh and includ hockey Olympian Jaffar Iqbal and former Indian Women's Hockey captain Madhu Yadav.
After 30 players - 10 in reserve are chosen, a 50-day camp will be put up for the team before it plays the Asia Cup Hockey Championship in Myanmar from November 14 to November 22, officials said.
In the first week of this month, the selection trial of the under-18 Men's team had got embroiled in a controversy and was deffered after 48 players out of the total of 53 picked up after initial selections trials were found overage in digital bone x-ray tests carried out on them.
Under the trials underway, the players have been asked to bring their digital bone x-ray tests, which are going to be cross-checked, a source close to the selectors said.