Revington names 20 for South Africa Tour..

NATIONAL chief coach Paul Revington will be taking his charges back to his home turf in South Africa for a Four Test series from June 2 to prepare for the World Hockey League Semi-finals.
    Malaysia will open their World League accounts against Pakistan on June 29 in Johor Baru, while the other teams in Group B are England and South Africa.
    In Group A are world no 1 Germany, South Korea, Argentina and a yet to be named team, which will be confirmed after the end of the Round 2 which ongoing in Russia now.
    All eight teams progress to the quarter-finals stage, and one win at the last eight will take Malaysia into the World Cup in the Netherlands next year.
   The English have also named their 20 for Johor Baru, which consists of six London Olympics players.
    Among the notable names that were missing from the South Africa Tests were national No 1 goalkeeper S. Kumar and seasoned defender as well as penalty corner flicker Amin Rahim.
    “Kumar was left out of the squad due to travel fatigue as he just returned from Netherlands after a one-week goalkeepers training. His place will be taken over by Kairulnizam (Ibrahim),” said Revington.
   Kumar will train under goalkeepers coach M. Nadarajan in Kuala Lumpur.
    Roslan Jamaluddin, the No 2 goalkeeper, had also attended the Netherlands training but he is game to travel to South Africa.
   As for Amin: “He opted out for personal reasons, but will be considered for the World League selection at a later date,” said Revington.
   Also left behind but still within a fighting chance for the World League are Azreen Rizal, Jivan Mohan, Ramadan Rosli, and Norhizzat Sumantri.
   The national team is currently involved with a four-match series with China’s Liaoning club where they won 2-1 and 4-2. The other two matches will be today (7pm) and tomorrow (6pm) at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
   Goalkeepers: Kairulnizam Ibrahim, Roslan Jamaluddin.
   Defenders: Ahmad Kazamirul, Azlan Misron, Baljit Singh, Sukri Mutalib, Izad Hakimi, Razie Rahim.
   Midfielders: Faiz Helmi, Meor Muhamad Azuan, Fitri Saari, Shahrun Nabil, Azammi Adabi, Marhan Jalil, Nabil Fiqri Mohamed Noor.
    Forwards: Chua Boon Huat, Faizal Saari, Izwan Firdaus, Firhan Ashaari, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin.

England name their 20 for Johor Baru...

Ahead of the World League Semi Final in Johor, Malaysia, England Men’s Head Coach Bobby Crutchley has named a squad of 20 athletes who will fly out to Malaysia next month to prepare for the new FIH competition. The final 18 man squad will be announced closer to the event which runs from 29 June – 7 July.

The line-up sees six London 2012 Olympians returning to action, plus several other athletes who bring a wealth of experience to the squad. Alongside them, Crutchley has also named a number of less experienced athletes, three of whom will be looking to secure international debuts.

 Back from a season playing for Dutch side HGC, England Captain Barry Middleton is ready for the new challenge ahead, “I am really looking forward to the tournament as it gives the squad a good chance to see where we stand right now in World Hockey.  We have a new group with a good mix of youth and experience and there’s a real desire to get out there and challenge ourselves against the best sides in the world. It’s exciting to see the young talent we have coming through our development pathways.”

 Alongside Middleton, Olympians Nick Catlin (Reading), Dan Fox (Hampstead & Westminster), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead), Harry Martin (Beeston) and Richard Smith (Royal Racing Club Brussels) have all been named in the squad, which will face some strong opposition out in Malaysia.

England (FIH #4) have been drawn in Pool B and will face South Africa (FIH #12), Pakistan (FIH #5) and Malaysia (FIH #13) in the group phase of the tournament. South Africa and Pakistan are no strangers to the six London Olympians as they faced them last Summer in the group stages under the guise of Great Britain.

The results from those fixtures saw a dominant 4-1 win over Pakistan and a 2-2 draw with the team ranked twelfth in the world. Ashley Jackson will look to continue some of the same form he showed in those games, contributing four out of the six goals for Great Britain. England’s other opponents, Malaysia, will be on home turf and have enjoyed some good results against some of the best sides in the world, including a 3-3 draw with Great Britain at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup last May.

In the other Pool, Olympic Champions Germany (FIH #1) will face Korea (FIH #8), Argentina (FIH #10) and one additional team that will be named at the end of this week following the completion of the final World League Round 2 tournament in Russia.

Speaking about the selected squad and the tournament ahead, England Head Coach, Bobby Crutchley said, “We know this will be a tough environment to jump into, but it’s a challenge we’re relishing and we have some good young players coming into the team. We travel to Belgium and Germany over the next couple of weeks to play some practice matches so it will be great to gauge where we stand against two very good sides. The less experienced athletes are making progress in training, so it will be great to play these five matches before we head out to Malaysia.”

Two Olympians currently missing from the line-up are Rob Moore and Iain Lewers. Iain Lewers continues to be monitored as he recovers from surgery on his knee earlier this year. Rob Moore currently has work commitments and therefore will not make the trip to Malaysia.

England’s first game is against South Africa and will take place on Saturday 29 June at 13:00 (UK time). There will be live streaming of all the matches from the FIH website. Further information will be released closer to the tournament.

One week earlier England’s Women will be playing in the Investec World League Semi Final on home turf in London from 22-30 June 2013. Click here for more information about the event.

England Men’s Squad for the World League Semi Final (20 athletes have been named, this number will be reduced to the final 18 closer to the tournament).

Name                      Current Club                            Position  

Ben Arnold              Beeston                                      Forward

James Bailey           Reading                                      Goalkeeper

Tom Carson             Reading                                      Forward

Nick Catlin                Reading                                      Midfielder/Forward  

Darren Cheesman   Reading                                      Forward 

David Condon          Loughborough Students            Midfielder

Adam Dixon             Beeston                                     Midfielder/Defender

Dan Fox                   Hampstead and Westminster     Defender

Mark Gleghorne       East Grinstead                           Forward

Michael Hoare          Beeston                                     Defender 

Ashley Jackson       East Grinstead                          Midfielder 

Simon Mantell           Reading                                    Forward 

Harry Martin             Beeston                                    Midfielder

Barry Middleton        Holcombe                                 Midfielder/Forward

George Pinner          Beeston                                    Goalkeeper 

Phil Roper                 Sheffield Hallam                        Forward

Dan Shingles            Southgate                                 Midfielder

Richard Smith           Racing Club Brussels               Defender

Henry Weir               Loughborough Students          Midfielder/Defender

Oliver Willars            Beeston                                    Defender

Korean lesson for Dharma's boys..

THE Project 2013 squad will receive a South Korean lesson from Wednesday onwards as coach K. Dharmaraj prepares them for the Junior World Cup in December.
    With about 180 days left to the New Delhi Junior World Cup, on Dec 6-15, Dharmaraj wants to give his fringe players a chance to cement their spots, or make way for others.
   “We are taking 18 players for the Korean Tour where they will play eight to nine matches and the objective is to strengthen the bench.
   “I have left behind some of the regulars, and added many from the training pool to give them a chance to play some grueling matches and prove themselves,” said Dharmaraj.
    During the Tour, Dharmaraj’s charges will play against Korean Juniors, the Korean National Sports University sides and also Armed Forces.
    Malaysia qualified for the Junior World Cup when they became champions in the Junior Asia Cup in Malacca last year.
    The other sides that have qualified are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, Spain, Egypt, France, Germany, India, South Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
   “During the Qualifier in Malacca, even though we becanme the champions, I had problems with a weak bench and had to keep playing the same players and substitution was at a minimal.
    “This was done as not to disrupt the tempo on the matches, but it also made many of the regulars overworked and tired by the time they reached the final.
    “To avoid the same scenario, the Korean tour will attempt to strengthen the substitutes while the regulars rest after playing in the just concluded Malaysia Hockey League,” said Dharmaraj.
    Korea Tour Squad: Hazrul Faiz, Hafizuddin Othman, Najib Abu Hassan, Nor Azarul Rahman, Rashid Baharom, Kavin Kartik, Azwar Rahman, Hafiz Zainol, Nor Aqmal Gaffar, Shazril Irwan, Dangerous Lee, Haziq Samsul, Syafiq Zulzairin, Zulhairi Hashim, Aminudin Zain, Syamim Yusof, Azri Hassan, Shahril Saabah.

Under-16 lads whipped in cold Mannheim..

THE National Under-16 team received a whipping lesson in the Four-Nation Whitsun Tournament in Mannheim, Germany last weekend.
    Coach S. Prakash blamed it on biting cold, as his charges went down 4-3 to Germany, 6-2 to Netherlands and 3-0 to Belgium to end at the bottom of the pool.
    “The only good match that we had under fair weather was against Germany where we were leading 3-1 until the 60th minute, but collapsed in end play.
   “The other two matches were played during minus weather, and the biting cold was just too much for my charges to handle,” said Prakash.
    Netherlands were the eventual champions: “The gap between Malaysia and Belgium as well as Germany is not too big at this age group.
    “However, the Dutch are a class above and will be the players to watch in the near future.”
    There were some matters raised when the team were selected as some state officials claimed that the best were not named.
    However, Prakash defended his selection and said that the pool of coaches had chosen the best available, but the weather was not kind to his charges.
   Forward Luqman Hakim  was named as the Best Player of the  Tournament.
  The players: Amirul Hakim, Zairie Nizam, Najme Ahmad, Badrul Amin, Ramdan Ariffin, Syazly Ibrahim, Noor Adha Fadzil, Ahmad Najme, Mohamed Aiman Zahari, Muhammad Aiman Zahari, Aliff Syazwan, Luqman Hakim, Suhayl Ainol, Adrian Andy, Khairul Helmy,  Abdul Khaliq,
Ahmad Farhan, Hafiz Aziz.

KLHC, Tenaga a class act..

KLHC's Chua Boon Huat and Tenaga Nasional's Madzli Ikmar (right) in action in the TNB Cup final.

KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) won both the titles at stake in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL), while Tenaga Nasional the accolades and praises.
    Both side are now joint record holders with 12 MHL titles each, with Tenaga having seven Overall and five League titles, while  KLHC four Overall and eight League titles.
    Tenaga, an-all local outfit, surprised the pundits as they were the only Premier Division side which forced KLHC to share points in a thrilling 3-3 draw.
   And they defeat in the final was also a narrow 2-1, considering KLHC had nine players who had either played at the World Cup or Olympics level.
    Sapura, Maybank and Nur Insafi also had six foreign players or more each, but Tenaga still manged a laudable second in Overall and third in the League.
    “We see it as our responsibility to the nation. If all the teams start to rely on foreign players, who is going to give budding youth and also the local players a chance in the MHL?
   “Even though we might lose a little in the early years, but once our young players become comfortable playing in the MHL, the results will follow suit,” said Tenaga manager Nor Saiful Zaini.
    Nor Saiful, a former national skipper, has held onto many MHL titles since the Kilat days.
    However, Nor Saiful agreed that if he faced an exodus of players the next season to a rich team, he might have to source for foreign players like KLHC.
     “The feeling is like watching ‘Batman Returns” as when six of my players left for Terengganu, I had to scramble around looking for players,” lamented KLHC manager and pillar George Koshy after the final on Sunday.
    Soaked in sweat, like his players, relief was painted all over the face of the most successful manager in the MHL.
    “When six players left us because of better offers (to Terengganu HC), many had written us off for the season. And frankly speaking, even I was a little apprehensive. And after we won the League title, I did not expect my players to win the Overall title as well because my foreign players  hardly had enough time to setle down before the first match,” said George.
   George picked his players during the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, and his Pakistan and Australian signing proved that they are a class above the rest of the foreign signings in the MHL.
    As for the MHL itself, there was no new exciting talent that was spotted in both the divisions, and teams might have to rely on foreign players for at least another five years before there would be enough local juniors to fill their shoes.
    Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin showed up for the TNB Cup final, a first for a sports minister, and the grandstand was fileld to the brim for the first time this season.
   In all the previous matches, hardly any Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) officials bothered to watch.