Maninderjit Singh apologises to FIH

By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nstp.com.my

THE International Hockey Federation (FIH) have asked Malaysian Hockey Confederation Secretary General Maninderjit Singh to apologise to them for sending them an e-mail criticising on Spain’s back-door qualification to the Olympics.
Maninderjit had written to the FIH asking for an explanation after reports, online and on television, had said that since South Africa had failed to reached their federation’s target of reaching the final of the Champions Challenge I, they will forfeit their Olympic ticket and play in the Japan Qualifier.
The reports had said that South Africa’s African Nation’s Olympic ticket will now be given to the highest ranked Qualifier, which is Spain.
Maninderjit was peeved with the swap between South Africa and Spain, and had written a strongly worded e-mail to the FIH after India and Belgium qualified for the Champions Challenge I final.
“This scenario is simply mind boggling, as this private deal was never communicated or circulated to all teams who will be playing in the Olympic Qualifiers in India, Ireland and Japan,” said Maninderjit Singh in an earlier Timesport article.
However, the e-mail from Maninderjit to the FIH also read: “And I believe that FIH should be hard on the reasoning for Spain to get this berth and it is also that we all know that the current FIH President is from Spain. More so, FIH have to be more vigilant with the approach on such matter.”
The FIH CEO Kelly Fairweather wrote an e-mail to Maninderjit Singh stating: “The reference in your e-mail to our president is completely unacceptable. I trust that with time to reflect you will understand how serious the implications carried by your comments are.
“I ask that you immediately contact the president by e-mail to apologise for your comments and that you unconditionally withdraw them from the public arena.
“The immediacy and extent of your apology and retraction will inform the nature of any further action to be taken by the FIH.
“For your information, at the time of writing no decision has been taken with regards to any replacement for South Africa as the FIH is following the process outlined in the Qualification system.
“It is really unfortunate that you have either deliberately chosen to ignore the aforementioned Qualification system ot have written what you have in total ignorance of the published system.”
When contacted by Timesport, Manindersjit said he has written an apology to the FIH and considers the matter closed.

Ajitpal Singh ties the knot...

HISTORIC, Malaysian Sikh Sportswriters (from left) Devinder Singh (New Straits Times), Satwant Singh Dhaliwal (http://www.malaysianhockey.blogspot.com), Haresh Singh Deol (Malay Mail), Ajitpal Singh (New Straits Times), Jugjet Singh (New Straits Times), Aftar Singh (TheStar).
The Sikh sports chaps attended Ajitpal Singh's wedding yeaterday. He was born in 1975 and named after India skipper Ajitpal, who lifted the 1975 World Cup Trophy in Malaysia.
Ajitpal's father Harnek was a 1975 World Cup trainee for Malaysia.

By Kongster

MY colleague, Ajitpal Singh, is very excited to be tying the knot tomorrow. But he didn't see the trouble coming -- which was tying his turban, known as the dastaar.
Ajitpal's turban woe came to light when I asked Jugjet Singh, another NST employee, why he was in a hurry to leave the office the other day.
Jugjet said he had to rush to Ajitpal's house in PJ to help him wear his maroon turban for the biggest day of his life.
I got excited too, and soon I was phoning up Ajitpal and demanding to know what's happening.
"What's the problem with your wedding?" I asked.
"I'm having a headache, tying my wedding turban," admitted Ajitpal who was wrestling with a piece of cloth over his head all day.
Thinking it was as easy as the shampoo girl making a turban of my head with a towel in the salon, I said: "Is it really that difficult? Haven't you worn a turban in your life before?"
Ajitpal replied: "I'm not a turban man... not even when I was a boy."
"So, you're the modern type, the 'no turban' urban Singh," I quipped.
"Yes, you can say so," said Ajitpal who revealed that he called in four friends to help him put on his headgear.
The four who answered Ajitpal's SOS were Satwant Singh, a media consultant; Aftar Singh, a hockey umpire; Surjit Singh, and Jugjet.
Ajitpal has good reason to be worried about his turban after it turned out to be a "disaster", in his own words, during his engagement to his beloved Baljit Kaur, a secretary, in February.
"Somebody tied the turban for me but it was not well done and looked really flat. It should be sharp and pointed in front of my head," said Ajitpal.
With the turban as his crown, Ajitpal wants to be as regal as the Maharajah of Punjab when he becomes "Raja Sehari" (king for a day) tomorrow.
Tying a turban, with its twists and turns in many variations, I am told, is an art.
It is a daily ritual that takes an average of 25 minutes to wrap one's head. Usually, a Sikh wears a turban in the fashion as taught by his father.
To the seasoned turban wearer, it is always easier for one to wrap a piece of cloth around his own head than someone else doing it for him. But for the inexperienced Ajitpal, it seems to be the hardest task in the world.
But it is all worth the trouble for Ajitpal is going to have a lovely and caring wife, whom he first met on Jalan Cyber through Facebook.
The NST wishes Ajitpal and Baljit a blessed and happy marriage.

FIH: South Africa yet to withdraw from Olympics

By http://www.malaysianhockey.blogspot.com/

Following some confusion with regards to the qualifying system adopted by FIH, this blog took the liberty to write to FIH and seek clarification on the matter as well as the automatic qualification of Malaysia for the 2012 Champions Challenge I.

And we are fortunate that the FIH, through Martyn Gallivan Competitions Manager has graciously replied to the email and below is the reply to the questions posed.

Question: When was the decision made on Spain taking over South Africa's spot?

At this moment in time South Africa has not declined its invitation to enter the Men’s Hockey Competition of the London 2012 Olympic Games. If any National Olympic Committee should decline to take part in the Olympic Games, that team will be replaced in accordance with the Qualifying System jointly agreed and published by the IOC and FIH.

A copy can be found on the FIH web site and the web link is http://www.fih.ch/files/Sport

/Event%20Management/Qualification%20Criteria%20for%202012%20Olympic%20Summer%20Games.pd

Question: Who will replace Egypt and will pools be changed?

The Egyptian National Olympic Committee has declined the invitation to enter the Olympic Qualification Tournaments. It will be replaced in accordance with the Qualification System mentioned in 1 above, namely Egypt will be replaced by the next highest ranked team in the FIH World Rankings that has not qualified for the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

I would emphasise again that this procedure has been agreed between FIH and IOC and was also the same procedure that was used for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. In the event of any team withdrawing from a Qualifying Tournament, in accordance with the agreed Qualification System, that team will be directly replaced by a new one and there will be no adjustment to the composition of the other qualifying tournaments. However, there may be an adjustment to the Match Schedule of the affected Qualifying Tournament, depending on the ranking of the incoming team.

Question: How were the pools determined by FIH for the qualifiers?

The teams that are eligible to take part in the Qualifying Tournaments are given in the above mentioned Qualifying System and dependent on the results of the various continental championships played in 2010 (Asian Games) and 2011. The teams are placed in pools dependant on their position in the World Ranking at the time that the venues and dates of tournaments that were announced.

By way of explanation, if 1 represents the highest ranked team for the Qualification Tournaments, 2 the second highest ranked and all the way down to 18, the 18^th highest ranked the three pools are composed as follows

1 2 3

6 5 4

7 8 9

12 11 10

13 14 15

18 17 16

Question: On Champions Challenge for next year as well as Champions Trophy, which will the teams be and what is the selection criteria? Is it true that teams that finish 2-5 at Johannesburg will qualify automatically, not taking into consideration the rankings after the Olympic qualifier results as well as Olympic results?

The Qualification System for next year’s Champions Trophy and Champions Challenge 1 (there will not be a Champions Challenge 2 in 2012) is also on the FIH web site. The web link is http://www.fih.ch/files/Sport/Event%20Management/CT%20and%20CC%20Qualification.pdf

I trust that this information is of assistance to you.

Martyn Gallivan

Competitions Manager

1Mas Under-16 champs Down Under

THE 1Mas Hockey development program of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) tasted its first success when the Under-16 team won the FHE Cup held in Perth, Australia.
The Malaysian development team was on top of their game when they defeated Western Australia Under-16 team 3-2 in the final.
The tournament saw six other teams competing and they were Western Australia, Japan, South West Academy of Sports, New South Wales Bushranger, Western Australia Under-15 State Team and New South Wales Golden Thun derbolts.
Lim Chiow Chuan, the Project Director of 1Mas Hockey program said: “The result was what we have been looking for, and I hope that the players will build on this and continue to improve.”
And as a further step to improve hockey in the country, a 1Mas Under-12 camp will be held on 9-13 Dec at the Ministry of Education pitch in Kuala Lumpur.
“The camp is a gathering of the 1Mas Under-12 pro gramme whereby centres will be able to meet other family members throughout the country and showcase their skills after 12 months of training at their respective centres. This camp will include fitness and basic skills tests and a tour nament amongst the training centres,” said Chiow Chuan.
On the Under-16 1Mas team, coached by Maidin Mo hammad of Negri Sembilan and Wan Noor Zuhari of Ke lantan, their progress was a pleasant surprise, as the players were selected in June, and from the initial 40 short-listed, the team was further reduced to the final 16 after a week’s training camp in October.
The FHE Cup started in Australia in 2007 as a junior event and focused around the under 16 tournament.
James Charles Lawson, Deputy Principal of the Clontarf Aboriginal College and a coach in Western Australia said: “I am ,astonished with the talent and discipline of the Malaysian players in the competition. The players not only performed well on the pitch but also earned the respect of everyone with their behaviour off the field.
“I hope that the 1Mas Hockey program will continue to flourish and produce quality players that will eventually represent the country in the near future.”
Group results: Malaysia 2 WA U-16 School Boys 0, Malaysia 2 Japan U-16 National Team 2, Malaysia 3 South West Academy of Sports 1, Malaysia 4 WA U-15 1, Malaysia 1 NSW Kelly Blues 1, Malaysia AirAsia 6 NSW Golden Thunderbolts 0.
Final: Malaysia 3 WA U-16 School Boys 2.
MALAYSIA: Adi Fazri Rahim, Danial Zafrin, Rozaini Ba harom, Izaidi smail, Abdul Muhaimin, Rahimi Iskandar, Jamil Johari, Ikwan Ishak, S. Devamoorthy, Syabariq Sham suri, Faid Farhadh, Ashraf Mohamed Noor, Fahad Naim, Khairul Ikhwan, Hafizi Roslan and Mawardi Hamirin.

Egypt pull out of Olympic Qualifier

Times of India

JOHANNESBURG: India's Olympic Qualifier hockey tournament for men will feature a team less as Egypt have pulled out of the event due to financial problems caused by political strife in the county.
Seif Ahmed, president of Egypt's hockey federation, said Egypt had intimated to the International Hockey Federation ( FIH) that it would not be playing in the qualifying competitions.
Egyptian men's hockey team finished second behind South Africa in the All-Africa Games, where a victory would have secured them a direct spot in the Olympic lineup.
Out of 12 teams to feature in the Olympic Games, nine places have already been allocated, and the remaining three will come from three Olympic Qualifiers to be played in India, Ireland and Japan.
Eight-time gold medalists India will play at home in the New Delhi qualifier, where the other contenders for the lone Olympic Games spot will now be Canada, France, Poland and the United States.