Ace of Aces at KRAT..

ARMED Forces Recreational Golf Club (KRAT) will hold a unique Ace of Aces tournament at their club in Sungai Besi on Saturday.
The tournament will see KRAT members who have achieved hole-in-one over the years competing to nail a car at a designated hole.
“The Ace of Aces tournament was mooted to recognise the achievements of this select band of golfers. Throughout the years since 1962, KRAT have had about 200 members (including 2 ladies) who have achieved a hole-in-one. Their achievement is recorded for posterity, on a special plaque, at the club.
“And so we want to honour their achievements by holding a tournament for all KRAT members who have aced, ir respective of where they had achieved their hole-in-one,” said organising chairman Ujie Badry.
The challenge trophy is donated by KRAT patron, Veali Vagi, who is the High Commissioner of Papua New Guinea.

Maybank looking good at the turn..

THE Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division will  complete its first round in Kuantan today, with Maybank  import Shakeel Abbasi confident his mates will not disappoint.
    Maybank are just one point adrift of double champions  Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC), and are good for three  points against Nur Insafi today; while they will have to play  above par to beat Tenaga on Sunday.
    “We have only lost KLHC (3-4) so far, and that was mainly  because there was still some loose understanding between  the local and foreign players then.
   “However, we have overcome that after a few matches and  it showed during our last match against UniKL (Maybank  won 4-1) and I believe we will be stronger in Kuantan and  also the return leg,” said former Pakistan skipper Shakeel.
   The other Pakistan signings in Maybank are Muhammad  Irfan, Muhammad Waqas and Shafqat Rasool.
    And for league leaders KLHC, even though they lost six key  players to Terengganu, their encounter today will be re garded as ‘just another match.’
    The six, Azlan Misron, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Shahrun  Nabil, Ismail Abu, Fitri Saari and Ameerullah Aziz left KLHC  to better deals in Terengganu, but have not ben able to  produce results as the East Coast side has only one win and a  draw to show after four matches.
    “Off the field we are all friends and what is vital is the three  points. We are focused on getting the points and it will not be  easy as Terengganu will ge out to redeem themselves," said  KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
    “I expect a close match as they have players who can cause  havoc if allowed to dictate terms. On the positive note, my  team has developed a good understanding (foreign and local)  despite a limited period of training together,” said Dharmaraj.
   TODAY: Premier Division -- Terengganu v KLHC (6pm),  Maybank  v Nur Insafi  (6pm), Sapura v UniKL  (8pm).
   Saturday: Nur Insafi  v TNB  (6pm).
   Sunday: Sapura  v KLHC  (6pm), Terengganu  v  UniKL  (6pm),  Tenaga v Maybank  (8pm).
    Note: Matches at Pitch I and II of the Kuantan Hockey  Stadium.

STANDINGS
PREMIER DIVISION

                   P  W  D  L  F  A   Pts
KLHC          4  3  1  0  19  6    10
Maybank    4  3  0  1  14  9      9
TNB            4  1  3  0  13  11    6
Sapura        4  1  2  1  10  10    5
Tgganu       4  1  1  2  12  11    4
UniKL         4  1  0  3  5  14      3
N Insafi      4  0  1  3  3  15      1

Terengganu find they grey matter..

IT turned out to be a Pakistan weekend in the Premier  Division of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL), while million- ringgit team Terengganu finally realise their folly after four  matches.
    Sapura, Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club and Maybank all  relied on their imports to deliver the goals, while Terengganu  fell yet again.
   Terengganu had gone on a buying spree before the MHL  started and netted national players Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin,  Fitri Saari, Azlan Misron and Shahrun Nabil while Ismail Abu  and Ameerullah Aziz were also good buys.
   However, after a 4-4 draw against Tenaga, they lost 1-2 to  Maybank, 2-4 to Sapura with their only win being 5-1 against  a struggling Nur Insafi.
   The fault was that Terengganu failed to secure a high- caliber coach to direct their powerful signings.
    Terengganu team manager and secretary of Terengganu  HA Saberi Salleh said that they were in the process of looking  for a consultant to help the team in the coaching aspect.
    “But that does not mean we have lost faith in coach Nik  Rozemi (Nik Mohammad), only we prefer to have someone  advise on tactics as well as provide a fresh impetus to the  team,” said Saberi.
    "We have a good side, no doubt, and although there is a gap  in terms of experience between the youngsters and the more  senior players, that is no excuse.
   “Already there is a big margin between us and the top two  teams in the MHL and we cannot allow it to widen. Therefore  we feel that the presence of an experienced person, who has  knowledge of teams in the MHL, will help us plan our strategy  better.
   “We are learning on how to run a team in the MHL and need  all the help we can get. We have identified a candidate and  are talking to him.”
     And while Terengganu languish at the bottom bracket, the  other teams are enjoying their foreign signings.
    On Sunday, Sapura beat Terengganu with goals from  Pakistan’s Khasif Ali and Muhammad Zubair. KLHC powered  past Nur Insafi 7-0 with Australian Timothy James, and  Pakistanis Umar Bhutta and Muhammad Imran (two goals)  playing a major role.
    As for Maybank, they would have lost to UniKL instead of  winning 4-1, if not for goals from Pakistan’s Shafqat Rasool,  Muhammad Waqas and Muhammad Imran.
   The only team which has six Pakistan players but have yet  to win a match is Nur Insafi.
    RESULT: Division One -- Bukit Jalil SS x Sunday 2030 x.

STANDINGS
PREMIER DIVISION

                   P  W  D  L  F  A   Pts
KLHC          4  3  1  0  19  6    10
Maybank    4  3  0  1  14  9      9
TNB            4  1  3  0  13  11    6
Sapura        4  1  2  1  10  10    5
Tgganu       4  1  1  2  12  11    4
UniKL         4  1  0  3  5  14      3
N Insafi      4  0  1  3  3  15      1

DIVISION ONE
                         P  W  D  L  F  A   Pts
TNB T'bolts     4  3  1  0  14  3  10
UiTM               3  3  0  0  13  4    9
Uniten KPT     4  2  0  2  7     6    6
MBI                 4  1  1  2  11  11   4
Sunday           3  1  0  2  5     9     3
SSTMI            4  0  0  4  4    21    0
BJSS               0  0  0  0  0    0      0

KLHC whip Warriors, Maybank close in..

KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) consolidated their position at the top of the Premier Division when they beat Nur Insafi 7-0 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
  The win took their tally to 10 points in the Malaysia Hockey League, while Maybank closed the gap with nine points after they beat UniKL 4-1 yesterday.
  KLHC opened scoring with an opportunist goal from Australian Timothy James in the 22nd minute, and increased the lead in the 29th minute through the effort of Harvinder Singh.
  After the breather, Pakistani Umar Bhutta increased the lead in the 40th minute, while nine minutes later Nabil Fiqri made it 4-0 with a field attempt.
  Muhammad Imran then completed the route by scoring KLHC's fifth goal off penalty corner attempt.
  Imran scored his second and KLHC's sixth in th 58th while Najib Abu Hassan (61st) nailed the last goal.
  "It looks like Maybank have some good Pakistan buys and even though we beat them 4-3 in the first round, we can't take them lightly in the second round as they are improving after every match," said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
  At the adjacent pitch, UniKL took an early lead off Noor Faeez Ibrahim in the sixth minute, but Maybank hit back with three goals before the break.
  Pakistan import Muhammad Imran started the fightback with a penalty corner goal in the 23rd minute, before Shafqat Rasool gave them the lead in the 33rd minute, while Muhammad Waqas made it 3-1 in the 35th minute.
  And Maybank's Dick Cheny, from Sabah, then scored the fourth in the 66th minute to complete UniKL's misery.
  "We have to cut down on the costly mistakes in the remaining matches for UniKL to salvage their season. It was the same script against Tenaga (lost 4-2) and we can't afford to drop more points," said UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj.
  RESULTS: Premier Division -- KLHC 7 Nur Insafi 0, Maybank 4 UniKL 1, Terengganu v Sapura x.

Under-16 void of exciting talent..

NATIONAL Juniors coach K. Dharmaraj did not spot any exciting talent in the just concluded National Under-16, as most of the players were just above average.
  Perak and Malacca upset the formbook to reach the final, and the Silver State then lifted the title with an edgy 2-1 victory on Saturday.
  "I watched for myself and also spoke to come coaches, and the consensus was that there were no exciting talent to draft into the juniors training squad.
  "Previously, one could see at least one or two players who could walk into the juniors side in a years time, but there were none this year," said Dharmaraj.
  The Junior World Cup coach pointed out that: "There were no Faizal Saari, Fitri Saari or Firhan Ashaari in this edition, as these were some of the outstanding players in age-group tournaments a few years back, and are now making their names at the national and senior club levels."
  Twelve teams competed in the National Under-16, with Kelantan given the boot mid-way because they staged a walk-out when playing against Malacca.
  There were 12 teams with 18 players in each side, and from a total pool of 216 players, the grassroots report card was damning.