Mockery of a Goodwill Challenge

THE Champions Challenge I in South Africa is heading towards the history book as a mockery of a tournament, and suggestions have been put forward to change its name to Goodwill Challenge instead.
But at stake is an appearance in the Champions Trophy for the gold medallist, and that is no joke.
For how else can one explain the insignificance of the Group stages, as even if a team loses all three matches, they will still end up playing in the quarter-finals.
Malaysia lost to Canada 3-1, and drew 2-2 with Japan and their last match is against Argentina today.
And they can afford to fix their quarter-final match, as the champions in Group B play the last placed team in Group A, while the second placed team plays the third placed.
As it goes now, Malaysia have one point and a win against Argentina could see them placed in the second-third spot and they are likely to meet South Africa or Poland.
And if Malaysia want to play either India or Belgium in the quarter-finals, they should play to lose against Argentina today.
Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) secretary Maninderjit Singh feels the FIH should have a re-look at the tournament format in future.
"The FIH should have a re-look at the mode of competition because teams are taking it easy in the group stages and and all matches are being played at below par as there is no bearing, and all have qualified for the quarter-finals," said Maninderjit.
He also said teams can choose and pick their opponents: "It also makes it easier for teams to choose and pick their quarter-finals opponents by adjusting their points accordingly.
"This does not reflect the name of the tournament, and it is now a Goodwill Challenge, as it all boils down to one quarter-finals match which would decide if a team finishes among the top-four, or bottom four of the tournament," lamented Maninderjit.
And reading from the two games Malaysia have played, it looks like coach Tai Beng Hai has placed all his eggs in one basket, and it could see Malaysia play India in the quarter-finals, provided we lose against Argentina today.
India should beat Poland and top the group, as the Belgium-South Africa match is more balanced -- if teams play to their true strength, and not try and fix their quarter-final opponents.
TUESDAY: Group A: India v Poland (9pm), Belgium v South Africa (11pm).
Group B: Canada v Japan (5pm), Malaysia v Argentina (7pm).
NOTE: Malaysian time.

GROUP A

P W D L F A Pts
Belgium 2 1 1 0 10 6 4
India 2 1 1 0 10 7 4
SAfrica 2 1 0 1 7 8 3
Poland 2 0 0 2 4 10 0

GROUP B

P W D L F A Pts
Argentina 2 1 1 0 5 4 4
Canada 2 1 0 1 5 4 3
Japan 2 0 2 0 4 4 2
Malaysia 2 0 1 1 3 5 1

Under-14: KL upset Perak

KUALA Lumpur upset the form-book when they beat Perak 3-2 in the semi-finals of the Boys National Under-14 tournament at the KLHA Stadium yesterday.
They will meet Terengganu, who edged Kelantan 3-2, in the final today.
KL’s charge into the final was a sweet surprise, as they depended on home talent, while the other finalist has a handful of players from the Bukit Jalil and Bandar Penawar Sports Schools.
The KL goals were scored by Fallah Hassan (28th) and Ameer Mohamed (42nd, 66th). And the Perak scorers were Najme Ahmad (first) and Mohamed Noor Adha (56th).
In the other semifinals, Terengganu skipper Luqman Nul Hakim, with 13 goals to his credit, gave his team the lead in the seventh minute, and Wan Mohamed Azlan made it 2-0 in the 18th minute.
However, a strike from Iskandar Fahmi in the 21st minute injected some hope in the Kelantan team, only to see Khairul Helmy making it 3-1 in favour of Terengganu.
The Kelantan players then made a concerted effort to take the match into extra time, but they could only score one goal off Mohamed Zulfazrin in the 51st minute.
Terengganu coach Shamsol Ismail attributed their campaign to team work.
“We only trained for one week because rain and flooding interrupted our sessions, but still I can see that the players have a good understanding and teamwork is the reason we are in the final,” said Shamsol.
With players from Bukit Jalil and Bandar Penawar Sports Schools as well as from SMK Padang Midin on their side, Terengganu are the favourites to lift the title today.
“We might be the favourites on paper, but I believe we are the underdogs as there was very little preparation put into this side. It all depends if our top goal-scorer and skipper (Luqman) and his mates recover from the gruelling semi-finals in time for the final tomorrow (today).”
RESULTS: Semi-finals -- Terengganu 3 Kelantan 2, Perak 2 Kuala Lumpur 3.
TODAY: Final -- Terengganu v Kuala Lumpur (7pm); Third-Fourth: Perak v Kelantan (5pm).

Champions Challenge: Malaysia 2 Japan 2

MALAYSIA played a game of two halves to hold Japan toa 2-2 draw in the Champions Challenge I at the Randburg Hockey Stadium in Johannesburg yesterday.
The national players lost 3-1 to Canada in the opening match, and will meet Argentina on Tuesday. However, the three Group B matches have no bearing as the eight-team tournament has a quarter-finals fixture.
Japan scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the match when Hiroki Sakamoto (sixth) and Katsuyoshi Nagasawa (ninth) made sure with deft touches.
The national players looked like they forgot to check in basic skills and determination when they boarded the flight to South Africa and played like novices in the first 35 minutes.
But there was more effort put in into the second half, as Japan were forced to defend in the last 15 minutes of the match.
Malaysia’s fight back was started by Amin Rahim, who scored the solitary goal against Canada, when he pushed in a low flick to Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin to deflect in a 52nd minute penalty corner.
And then, Amin made sure with another powerful penalty corner flick in the 69th minute to give Malaysia their first point in the tournament.
Japan have two points in the tournament, as they drew their first match 2-2 against Argentina. The Japanese next play Canada on Tuesday.
RESULTS: Group B: Argentina 3 Canada 2, Malaysia 2 Japan 2.
TUESDAY: Group A: India v Poland (9pm), Belgium v South Africa (11pm).
Group B: Canada v Japan (5pm), Malaysia v Argentina (7pm).
NOTE: Malaysian time.

Pahang lift first RNA Cup

PAHANG lifted the Fifth Raja Noora Ashikin Cup when they defeated Armed Forces 2-1 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
It was the first win for the East Coast side since the inception of the tournament in 2000, and it was a hard-fought one in a steady drizzle.
Pahang took the lead off Fazzilla Slvester Silin in the eighth minuet, but Armed Forces refused to give up and equalised off Nadia Abdul Rahman in the 25th minute.
But they were not to be denied their glory, when Fazzilla nailed the winner for them 52nd minute.
In the bronze fight. Police beat KL Sukma 5-3, but the score does not tell the whole story as they had to come back from two goals down before winning.
The young KL side took the lead in the third minute off their skipper Nor Azlin Sumantri, but Police drew level in the seventh minute off Aida Fazriniza.
But KL Sukma then took control of the match to score two goals off Nur Farah Shahira (8th) and Fathih Hasni giving them a 3-1 lead.
Police fought back to reduce the deficit in the 39th minute through Aida and the inexperience begin to tell as KL Sukma wilted under pressure.
Che Inan Melati Ibrahim leveled the scores in the 56th minute and Angela Kais (68th) and Norhafizah Razali’s made sure the third spot.
RESULTS: Final -- Pahang 2 Armed Forces 1; Third-Fourth: KL Sukma 3 Police 5.
KUALA Lumpur reached the semi-finals of the National Under-14 in style when they hammered Malacca 5-0 at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium yesterday.
The win gave them the second spot in Group A on 10 points, and they will play Perak in the lest four today.
The other semi-finals will be between tournament favourites Terengganu and Kelantan.
RESULTS: Group A -- Kuala Lumpur 5 Malacca 0, Negri Sembilan 2 Perlis 3, Johor 3 Terengganu 6.
Group B: Selangor 5 Sabah 0, Kedah 2 Penang 5, Kelantan 2 Pahang 1.
TODAY: Semi-finals -- Terengganu v Kelantan (5pm), Perak v Kuala Lumpur (7pm).

Champions Challenge: Malaysia 1 Canada 3

South Africa celebrates a win at home in Johannesburg against Poland

(Photo: Duif Du Toit, Gallo Images)

MALAYSIA looked like they were on a safari holiday in South Africa when they went down meekly 3-1 to Canada in the Champions Challenge I at the Randburg Hockey Stadium yesterday.
And their lacklustre attitude could be because the first three group matches in the eight-team tournament does not matter at all, since the International Hockey Federation (FIH) drew a quarter-finals fixture for the Challenge.
All eight teams are already assured of playing in the last eight, and that could back-fire by lowering the standard of play in the group stages.
Team manager George Koshy summed up the game as sloppy, and not up to the normal standard of his players.
“It was a sloppy show from Malaysia, and well below what they are capable off. They gave away the ball too easily, and made many unforced errors,” said Koshy.
And what could be the reason for that: “They failed to settle down quickly, and needed the whole of the first half to gather themselves.
“That gave Canada the confidence they needed to win. However, I believe we will perform much better in our next match against Japan today (tomorrow),” said Koshy.
Malaysian coach Tai Beng Hai opted for a defensive approach in the first half, and Canada made inroads at will but failed to score numerous sitters until they won their firs penalty corner and converted.
Malaysia then drew level off their first penalty corner minutes from the half-time, when Amin Rahim flicked home.
But that was the only brilliant moment for Malaysia, as Canada took control of the second half and scored two more field goals for full points.
Malaysia next play Japan today, and it could turn out to be another safari excursion for Beng Hai’s men.
RESULTS: Group B: Canada 3 Malaysia 1, Argentina 2 Japan 2; Group A: India 3 Belgium 3, South Africa 3 Poland 1.
TODAY: Group A: Belgium v Poland (9pm), South Africa v India (11pm).
Group B: Argentina v Canada (5pm), Malaysia v Japan (7pm).
TUESDAY: Group A: India v Poland (9pm), Belgium v South Africa (11pm).
Group B: Canada v Japan (5pm), Malaysia v Argentina (7pm).
NOTE: Malaysian time.