Lack of fresh talent quite telling

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

I WATCHED the recently concluded Razak Cup hockey inter-state tournament in Malacca, the oldest premier national hockey competition.
As expected, Kuala Lumpur (KL), with so many national players at its disposal, won again. Negri Sembilan won the Division Two championships.
The tournament was well organised by Malacca but unfortunately, the home team was last in Division One.
My congratulations to Pahang and Terengganu (and Perlis in Division Two) for playing good, exciting hockey and qualifying for the semi-finals. The experienced teams, like KL and Perak, were a letdown when it came to sportsmanship and discipline.
My daughter commented: "Why did the national players keep protesting to the referee each time something happened?"
As a qualified referee and player, I could sense that the players were "playing" with the referees to gain advantage. This is an unacceptable culture.
I was also disappointed that the news on the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) website was not updated and I had to rely on other blogs.
What about the contribution of Sabah and Sarawak to this tournament? More can be done by MHF to promote the game there. Sabah and Sarawak have produced talented sportsmen, but not in hockey. Why?
I dread to think of the future of Malaysian hockey. The same players are in every tournament, which says that our development efforts are not producing the right players.
The MHF must accept its weaknesses and move forward by engaging with the media and dynamic stakeholders. It should emulate structures of developed hockey nations like Australia, Germany and Holland to ensure collective responsibilities are placed on all stakeholders -- with measurements of performance and progress. This is especially so for state associations.
The MHF needs to be more dynamic, resourceful and transparent.

HARBAN SINGH
Johor Baru,
JOHOR

Three new GKs for Road to London

MALAYSIA will play a Five-Test series against Japan from Sunday to kick-start their Road To London Programme, with three new goalkeepers named into the training squad.
National chief coach Tai Beng Hai, on the recommen dations of former Pakistan national coach and goalkeeper Shahid Ali Khan, included Khairul Affendy of Armed Forces, Hairi Rahman of Johor, Safiuddin Sahrom of Bukit Jalil Sports School into the training squad.
Shahid was down in Malacca for the Razak Cup, and he conducted a few training sessions for goalkeepers and the best available were included into the Road to London Pro gramme.
There will be three Qualifiers for the London Olympics, and Malaysia’s group will only be decided after the Oceania Cup on Oct 5-9 which involves Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
The Oceania Cup offers two tickets each for the men and women’s tournament and Australia and New Zealand are the sure bets in this lop-sided Qualifier.
There were two other changes to the training list: “Rashid (Baharom) withdrew and was replaced by Fitri Saari while the injured Azri Hassan was replaced with Amir Farid,” said Beng Hai.
The coach will assess Amir in the Test matches against Japan at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
The next tournament for Beng Hai’s charges is the in augural Asian Champions Trophy on Sept 3-11 at the Mon golian city or Ordos.
Asian Games champions Pakistan, South Korea, India, China and Japan have confirmed for the tournament.
NATIONAL TRAINEES: S. Kumar (gk), Roslan Jamaluddin (gk), Razie Rahim, Baljit Singh, Madzli Ikmar, Amin Rahim, Azreen Rizal, Shahrun Nabil, Sukri Mutalib, Marhan Jalil, Nabil Fiqri, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Faizal Saari, Azlan Misron, Hafifihafiz Hanafi, Izwan Firdaus, Kelvinder Singh,
Azammi Adabi, Izzat Rahim, Fitri Bakar, Shahrin Mo hamad, Firhan Ashaari, Faiz Helmi.
Replacement under the Attachment Program: Amir Farid, Fitri Saari.
Goalkeepers Project: Khairul Affendy, Hairi Rahman, Safi uddin Sahrom.

Australian Sporting Visa snag for Faizal & Shukri

NATIONAL hockey players Shukri Mutalib and Faizal Saari returned from Australia yesterday, after their sojourn with Southern Hotshots was cut short due to a visa problem.
Shukri and Faizal had helped Southern Hotshots into the quarter-finals of the Australian Hockey League (AHL) before returning home to play in the Razak Cup last week.
However, when they went back to Australia on July 29, they were stopped at the Australian immigration.
“The snag here is because Faizal and Shukri only had the normal six months visa and not Sporting Visa as required under Australian law.
“This came about after their club only requested from the MHF (Malaysian Hockey Federation) a release letter and from the chief coach (Tai Beng Hai), a no-objection letter to skip a Europe Tour,” said MHF secretary Maninderjit Singh.
The club paid for their tickets, while the players obtained visas on their own.
Maninderjit also said there was some miscommunication among the players and immigration officials upon their arrival in Australia for the knock-out stage.
“The players failed to explain that they do not receive a salary from the AHL Club to play for them, but only allowance from the National Sports Council and also allowance from Southern Hotshots for coaching children there.
“However, the immigration still allowed them in and the MHF were in the process of helping them get the Sporting Visa when we discovered that it takes two weeks to apply for one.
“And since Southern Hotshots were not sure of reaching the semi-finals and finals in the AHL, MHF decided that instead of loitering around for another two weeks in Aus tralia, the players will be recalled to play in the friendlies against Japan from Saturday,” said Maninderjit.
Faizal enjoyed a good run with Southern Hotshots where he scored three goals in five matches. And while playing in the state-level Adelaide League, he scored seven goals off three matches for Forestville.

Sarjit gets 10 years and RM5,000 fine

FORMER national skipper Sarjit Singh and his son Manraj Singh received strong reprimands from the Malaysia Singapore Sikh Sports Council (MSSSC) for their involvement in a brawl during the Gurdwara Cup in Ipoh in June.
The MSSSC Disciplinary Board yesterday handed Sarjit a ban from playing hockey for 10 years and a fine of RM5,000.
His son, Manraj Singh who is a budding national juniors and club player, was banned for three years.
The incident happened during a Johor-Selangor match, and Sarjit and Manraj were playing for Johor. Sarjit and his son did not attend the MSSSC Disciplinary Board hearing yesterday.
Johor team manager Harmail Singh was banned for two years, while Selangor team manager Ragbir Singh received six months.
Selangor players Harmesh Singh and Jagwinder Singh received 18-months and six-months bans respectively.
Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) secretary Maninderjit Singh said since the tournament is sanctioned by them, either the competitions committee or council will look into the report.
“Since the tournament was sanctioned by MHF, we will wait for the report and then either discuss it in a competitions committee or council meeting. And if it is endorsed, then the ban will encompass every MHF sanctioned tournament,” said Maninderjit.
However, Maninderjit said there is still avenue for an appeal: “Normally, the appeal should be sent in 14 days after the decision is taken and the MHF will consider every angle before we endorse the MSSSC decision, including their competition rules, which could be likely during our council meeting on Aug 20.

Malaysia will welcome Qualifier...

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) might just get their wish to host a leg of the Olympic Qualifier next year, as the International Hockey Federation (FIH) handed India an ultimatum on Friday.
The FIH said in a statement that it would withdraw the rights for India to host the Champions Trophy and the Olympic Qualifier if an ongoing row between two hockey bodies is not resolved.
“The FIH recognises Hockey India (HI) as the governing body for hockey in India, responsible as a member of the FIH for running Indian hockey in accordance with the objects of and subject to the rules and regulations set out in the FIH Statutes. The FIH does not recognise the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and has not done so since 2000.
“The FIH Executive Board is obliged to uphold the Olympic Charter and the FIH Statutes. The FIH President has there fore written to the Indian Sports Minister, calling for an urgent meeting, involving the Presidents of HI and the IOA, to discuss the FIH’s concerns and the ramifications of the current proposal for India’s role in world hockey.
“In the meantime, the FIH Executive Board has decided that it is neither possible nor appropriate to continue with the discussions with HI to host tournaments in India over the next 4 year cycle, particularly the FIH Men’s Champions Trophy (December 2011), and the FIH Men’s & Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (February 2012),” read the state ment from FIH.
MHF secretary Maninderjit Singh said if the FIH ap proaches Malaysia, the Qualifier will be welcomed with open arms.
“It has always been our aspiration to host a leg of the Qualifier and we did put in a bid for it. But we lost, because FIH had wanted a host country which can accommodate both the men’s and women’s tournaments but we had only bid for one.
“And if the FIH approach us to host a leg, and India can’t resolve their issues, we are ready to grab it, and also host the women’s leg if that if what FIH wants,” said Maninderjit.
The National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil is also ready to host the tournament, as refurbishment work has been completed.
“The national stadium is ready and will host a series of matches between Malaysia and Japan (on Aug 7-15),” said Maninderjit.
The only problem to iron out now is the merger between the men’s and women’s hockey bodies in Malaysia into the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHF).
“We have received a letter from the FIH to merge by the end of this year, and we are confident to achieve the given deadline.”