KLHC dominate

Maybank’s Engku Abdul Malek Engku Mohamad (second from left) manages to block Sapura’s Meor Muhammad Azuan Hassan in their match in Bukit Jalil yesterday. Pic by Owee Ah Chun




By Ajitpal Singh

KL Hockey Club (KLHC) continued their unblemished record in the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division by notching their third straight win in spectacular fashion while Sapura and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) kept pressure with solid performances yesterday.
  KLHC were hardly troubled in their impressive 5-0 win over Nur Insafi-MBI courtesy of goals from Kelvinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, Razie Rahim, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Jalil and Ismail Abu, in Ipoh.
  The club lead the standings with maximum points from three matches, scoring 14 times and conceding only once.
  KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj was impressed with his team's performance but stressed they need to improve their penalty corner conversions.
  "We converted only two of our seven penalty corners. It is, however, a good result and we hope to build from this for the remaining matches," said Dharmaraj yesterday.
  Sapura, meanwhile, recorded their second win by overcoming a stubborn Maybank 4-2 in Bukit Jalil.
  Pakistan international Muhammad Waqas led Sapura with a brace in the eighth and 41st minutes while Muhd Marhan Mohd Jalil completed the rout in the 30th and 32nd minutes.
  Hairul Nizam Abd Rani (35th) and Hafifihafiz Hanafi (48th) replied for Maybank.
  "We did well only in spells but nonetheless, we played a good game and made few mistakes. Our penalty corner conversion was better with Waqas scoring a brace.
  "I believe he will improve as the league progresses," said Sapura consultant Stephen van Huizen.
  Faizal Saari scored a hat-trick to help TNB edge Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 3-2 in an ill-tempered match, which was handled poorly by the umpires.
  Faizal was on target in the 13th, 17th and 67th minutes to take his tally to eight goals.
  UniKL replied through S. Selvaraju's seventh minute reverse-stick strike and Muhd Noor Faeez Ibrahim's penalty corner conversion in the 61st minute.
  It was a tense match with TNB's Firhan Ashaari and Amir Farid Ahmad Fuzi, both internationals, guilty of rough play in the second half.
  Three players, two from UniKL, were sent to the sin-bin for fouls.
  As for UniKL, it was their third straight defeat, condemning them to their worst ever start since their debut in 2009.
  Results -- Premier Division: Nur Insafi-MBI 0 KLHC 5, Maybank 2 Sapura 4, UniKL 2 TNB 3.
  Today -- Division One: UITM v Politeknik-KPT (4pm), Johor HA v BJSS (Taman Daya Stadium; 5pm), Thunderbolts v Armed Forces (6pm)

* Matches at National Hockey Stadium (Pitch Two) unless stated.

Sports icon Hamzah Abu Samah passes away

KUALA LUMPUR: National sports icon and Olympic Council of Malaysia's Honorary Life President Tan Sri Hamzah Abu Samah passed away at 3.30pm Tuesday due to old age. He was 88.
Apart from being a Cabinet minister heading various ministries until his decision to quit in September 1980, Hamzah was the President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia from 1976 to 1998; Vice-President of the Islamic Solidarity Sport Federation (1985-1994); Vice-President of the General Association of the Asian Sports Federation (1988-1998); Vice-President of the Olympic Council of Asia (1982-1986); Vice-President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (1982-1998); Honorary Life President of the Southeast Asian Games Federation since 1977.
He was also President of the Football Association of Malaysia (1976-1983); Honorary President of the Football Association of Malaysia since 1983; President of the Asian Football Confederation (1978-1994); Honorary President of the Asian Football Confederation since 1994; Vice-President of FIFA (1982-1990); Honorary Executive Member of FIFA since 1990; President of the Malaysian Cricket Association (1969-1990); President of the Malaysia Taekwondo Association (1987-1999).
He was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1978 to 2004 and was appointed Honorary Member since 2004. - Bernama

Bangladesh wins World League R1 in Singapore

The key meeting in the R1 event was between Bangladesh and Singpore, pictured here (Photo: TILT Pte Ltd)

With a perfect 3-0 record, Bangladesh won the Hockey World League Round 1 tournament hosted by Singapore. Bangladesh netted a pair of 6-1 wins against Hong Kong and Thailand, but it was yesterday’s 4-2 win against host Singapore that was ultimately the deciding match.
   In the key meeting, the two teams were deadlocked at two at the half, but a pair of second-half goals coming from Mohammad Moinul Islam and Rashel Mahmud Jimmy pulled Bangladesh through to the 4-2 victory. Jimmy was the key for Bangladesh throughout the tournament, he finished the event with five goals.
  The tournament victory means that Bangladesh will move onto the Hockey World League Round 2. Bangladesh is the only team from the quartet that will go onto the next round. Singapore ended the tournament in second place with six points and Hong Kong and Thailand rounded out the standings.
  The best player award for the tournament went to Singpore's Saifulnizam Md Seftu and the best goalkeeper was Thailand's Authachai Soh-Tree.
  Hockey World League Round 1 action continues next weekend with three tournaments. A men’s tournament will be hosted in Cardiff, Wales, while Accra, Ghana will host both a men’s and women’s tournament. All three events will run from September 7-9.
FIH

Honeymoon period over

By Ajitpal Singh

TALL ORDER: New coach Revington has a substantial challenge on his hands

NATIONAL coach Paul Revington watched, for the first time, Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) matches last weekend but the holiday will soon end as the South African will need immediate results to keep local critics silent.
  His predecessors were sliced and chopped like minced meat in the past for failure to elevate the status of local hockey and if he does not succeed in making positive changes, he too could face a similar fate.
  Revington's first task in charge will be the Champions Challenge I in Argentina on Nov 24-Dec 2 and then the Asian Champions Trophy in Doha on Dec 14-22.
  "Results are very important for a team and their players to earn recognition and respect.
  "I definitely want Malaysia to win every match but at the same time play good hockey," said Revington at the National Hockey Stadium on Sunday.
  "My job is to bring some level of consistency in terms of play and results. It will help create opportunities for locals to ply their trade with foreign clubs, especially in Europe."
   The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) made it clear to Revington, before he penned his contract last week, that it wants to see Malaysia qualify for the 2014 World Cup and then the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
   It will be a tall order for Malaysia as they have not featured in either competition for a long time but Revington's arrival definitely gives the local game new hope and a breath of fresh air.
  Revington, who is on a four-year contract, also praised the quality of the local league.
  "There are many quality players in the MHL. They are world class but, of course, need to improve on some aspects of their game which will be done during national training," he said.
  Revington intends to call up between 25 and 30 players for centralised training after the MHL final on Oct 10.
  "I will evaluate the performance of everyone singled out during the league before naming my core players.
   "But I will keep my options open as there could also be quality players in the Razak Cup which starts four days after the MHL," he said.
   On whether he will keep an open mind in player selection, Revington said those who perform, regardless of their experience and caps, will be considered for trials.
  "I do not want to name anyone who has impressed me so far just yet as I've just watched one weekend of matches. I will get a better perspective after a few weeks.
  "I will need to sit down with those concerned for at least two days after the league before naming the national squad. I will only pick the best," Revington added.

Is Paul Lissek Hockey India's HPM choice?

By Uthra Ganesan Chaturvedi

Hockey India has announced the appointment of a High Performance Manager by the end of next month. Even though they have insisted that they are yet to shortlist the candidates – the person appointed would be responsible for development of a complete structure for hockey in India with all the coaches, including national coach Michael Nobbs, reporting to him -- sources claim that German Paul Lissek is a clear favourite.
    Lissek spent almost a decade in Malaysia as their technical director with mixed results. Though Malaysia won their first-ever bronze in Asian Games and Commonwealth Games when he was the coach, subsequenty he could not produce much as a coach.
  Lissek may have been assistant to Ric Charlesworth for London Olympics but his contribution to modern hockey and the teams he has been with has been nothing of note. In fact, he came on Ric’s team only in the final year of preparation, by which time the Australian team was almost settled for the Games. Lissek was also considered and rejected by the Pakistan Hockey Federation, mainly because of his inability to understand the subcontinental style.
  It will also have to be seen whether his defensive style would gel with Nobb’s preference to play attacking hockey. A strong personality like Ric may have been able to get his way, mainly because Ric was in charge in Australia. Here, Lissek will be in charge, which means more tussles.
  Most importantly, the concept of a high performance manager (HPM) itself is tricky. Countries that have the position – like Germany, Holland or New Zealand – have a proper structure in place, clearly-defined roles and a set hierarchy, with the federation not interfering in sporting matters. The technical director handles technical and management issues, including stuff like getting technological support, laying the turf and other such logistical matters. In these countries, he doesn’t interfere with the coaching or selection issues.
  Here, Nobbs will be answerable to Lissek with the latter having final say on contentious issues. The only time that happened was when New Zealand Cricket appointed Charlesworth as HPM – and they had to end the association abruptly in less than a year after the players protested against his high-handedness!
  Under these circumstances, it looks Indian hockey is in for more churning.
Stick2Hockey.com