Argentina wins (Miss) World Cup!

Jennifer Scherman is posing during the "Miss World Cup 2010" contest on Friday evening, June 4, 2010, in Rust, southern Germany. The 17-years-old student representing Argentina won against 31 other competitors.

Journalists robbed at World Cup

BEIJING, June 10, 2010 (AFP) - An armed gang stole money and a camera from four Chinese journalists in South Africa to cover the World Cup, state media reported Thursday.
Several men attacked the journalists when their car stopped on the side of the road as they returned to Johannesburg after an interview, the reports said.
The thieves made off with a small amount of cash and a camera worth about 1,500 dollars, the Beijing News said.
“When you go out, you have to be careful, put all your valuables in the boot and no matter what happens, don’t open the windows,” one of the journalists was quoted as saying.
The paper said it was also trying to confirm a report that a Beijing journalist was robbed in South Africa ahead of the opening of the World Cup on Friday.
China’s consulate in Johannesburg has issued a warning to Chinese nationals attending the World Cup to remain alert and refrain from carrying large sums of cash, the newspaper said.
On Wednesday, an armed gang stole electronic equipment from a team of Portuguese journalists during a robbery at their lodge near Johannesburg, police and one of the victims said.
The gang broke into the lodge at Magaliesburg, northwest of Johannesburg, while three journalists covering the Portuguese team were sleeping.

JHL a top-heavy success

THE Junior Hockey League (JHL) was a top-heavy success, while the middle class and Division Two teams were a total flop.
The Bukit Jalil and Bandar Penawar Sports Schools senior sides, UniKL and Petaling Jaya City Council had put in much effort and to a certain degree, promising players could be spotted in their outfits.
However, the rest of the Division One teams were a yawn to watch, and the majority of their players did not even have the basics right yet.
The top three Division Two teams -- Sabah, Pahang and Ipoh City Council in that order -- looked comfortable beating their peers with impressive margins, but when given a chance to play in the quarter-finals against Division One teams, none of them progressed into the last four.
In fact, they were turned into punching bags, with BPSS hitting Ipoh 9-1, BJSS hammering four goals past Division Two champions Sabah, while UniKL beat Pahang 4-2.
Sabah were the biggest disappointment in the last eight, as they went on a scoring spree of more than 30 goals to become the Division Two champions, but could not score a single goal against BJSS who finished third in Division One.
The standard was evident to Sabah HA secretary Aftar Singh: “We took part in our first JHL since its inception, and it was an achievement to become the Division Two cham pions.
“However, our form is still far from satisfactory, as we were lost when pitted against a Division One side.”
But Sabah deserve praise as they have started a dedicated programme, even though it is long overdue, when they camped at the Pandamaran Stadium in Klang to train for the Razak Cup, the JHL and now for the Malaysia Games in Malacca.
“We have just started our journey, and have to chase established clubs who are miles ahead. It will be difficult, but not an impossible task to go on par with Division One teams in the near future if we continue our development pro grammes,” said Aftar.
More established teams like Pahang, Ipoh City Council, Tunku Besar Secondary School, Penang Frees and Johor were beaten by Sabah in their route to become champions, and more can be expected from them if they continue playing in the JHL.
Eighteen teams competed in the JHL, with nine in each division, and the national selectors can easily form two strong Under-19 training squads as talent was abundant.

UniKL a perfect venue to play, study and work

UniKL coach I. Vickneswaran with his charges.

By Jugjet Singh
COMMENT

UNIKL (Universiti Kuala Lumpur) is here to stay, and with a strong backing from their Chancellor, hockey players now have another dedicated club to play, study and work for.
UniKL spent half a million this season playing in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) and the Junior Hockey League (JHL), and with Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah as their Chancellor, the sky seems to be the limit.
In their MHL debut UniKL, with an average age of 21, finished at the bottom of the six-team pool in the Premier Division. But in the quarter-finals, they held Maybank 3-3 in the first leg, but lost 2-0 in the return leg.
In the JHL, they were runners-up in the League and Overall champions.
Success did not come cheap for them, as a total of RM500,000 was spent in both the MHL and JHL, and yesterday, the management held a meeting with coaches I. Vickneswaran, K. Embaraj and Saiful Azhar -- all former internationals -- to chart the future of the newcomers.
The interesting part about UniKL is that they are the first University side to get seriously involve in the sport, and have hired four players as staff, and two more will be enrolled soon to study there.
The idea was, naturally, mooted by Tengku Abdullah, and when he presented the Overall medals to the UniKL players on Sunday, he was heard saying: “You guys have made your Chancellor very proud.”
Chief coach Vickneswaran knows it would be difficult for UniKL to hold onto some of their promising players, as richer clubs like Sapura and Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club have the resources to snatch them with lucrative contracts.
But the new club is not overly worried, because they know that if they can become a ‘breeding’ ground for young talent, they would achieve MHF’s aspirations, as Tengku Abdullah had said that he will work to elevate the standard of clubs after he was elected as president.
Much has been achieved in the first season itself, but more will be expected from UniKL in the years to come as they dethroned former Overall champions Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) and denied Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS) Thunderbolt the double.
The fact that UniKL beat both the sports schools in the Overall title chase has also sent tongues wagging, as the schools are supposed to be the front-liners after systematic coaching and development for years.
BJSS can be excused as they relied on Under-16 players, but BPSS were a letdown as most of their players had trained, stayed and studied together for six years but still could not play as a team.
The local league season is over, and now it would be interesting to see how MHF keep the upcoming pool of players, including the Under-16 boys who finished second in a Four-Nation in Germany, busy and not lose them to the schooling system, or worse still, to other vices with come with success.

UniKL zap Thunderbolt!

UNIKL shocked favourites Bandar Penawar Sports School Thunderbolt 2-1
to be crowned the MHF-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League Overall
champions at the Tun Razak Stadium yesterday.
Runners-up in the league, UniKL showed great composure to wait for
the right moments to mount counter attacks, and it was their second giant
killing feat after beating Bukit Jalil Sports School in the semi-finals.
UniKL received RM20,000 while runners-up Thunderbolt RM10,000.
"It was a super display from my players, and a coach can't ask for more
from his players who finished runners-up in the League and Overall
champions in their first JHL season itselt," said UniKL coach I.
Vickneswaran.
Thunderbolt coach Wan Roslan Rahman was disappointed with the
outcome: "We missed too many sitters and paid the price for it. However,
overall, it has been the most successful season for us."
The first half turned out to be a drab affair, with both sides missing
sitters and play was concentrated in the midfield.
Thunderbolt won two penalty corners, but both were wasted when the
stopper failed to make a dead stop, and the second one cost them a goal.
It was in the 31st minute, and Thunderbolt's bothced penalty corner was
turned into a counter attack by UniKL players, and Amir Farid tucked in
the ball from close range and then held onto the lead until the breather.
Thunderbolt were the more agressive side after the breather, and in the
41st minute, a penalty corner was turned into a penalty stroke after it hit a
defender's body.
National senior team player Faizal Saari stepped up to the spot and beat
goalkeeper Shahrul Azadin to throw a life-line to the League champions.
Thunderbolt took control of the match after that and had plenty of
chances to seal the match, but a diving Faizal and bungling forwards saw
the score remain tied.
However UniKL, who were contended with defending, finally mounted a
serious attack in the 61st minute, and Aminuddin Abu gave them the lead
again with a field attempt.
And the JHL newcomers played gallantly after that to hold onto the lead,
and become the Overall champions in their first attempt itself.
Meanwhile, in the bronze medal decider, Bukit Jalil Sports School
(BJSS) beat Petaling Jaya City Council (PJCC) with goals from Ahmad
Termidzi (11th, 45th), Fahed Saifulah (51st), Kavin Kartik (64th), and
Faridzul Afiq (67th).
The PJCC goal were scored by Hafiz Nawi in the 59th minute.
BJSS received RM7,000, while PJCC took home RM5,000 for finishing
fourth.
ROLL-OF-HONOUR: Best player of the Tournament: Firhan Ashaari
(Thunderbolt); Best Player of the Final: Aminuddin Abu (UniKL); Best
Goalkeepeer: Hazrul Faiz (BJSS); Top Scorer: Faizal Saari (Thunderbolt,
16 goals); Fairplay: Kelantan.
FINAL: Bandar Penawar Sports School Thunderbolt 1 UniKL 2; Third-
Fourth: Petaling Jaya City Council 1 Bukit Jalil Sports School 5.