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Pic: Maxhan Cristhi (gripped fist) celebrates after scoring for UniKL in the JHL
SEVEN juniors will be heading for a 10-day stint in the Netherlands, as preparations start early to defend Malaysia's Junior Asia Cup gold medal, which comes with a ticket to the 2016 Junior World Cup.
Malaysia were champions in the last tournament in Malacca, and went on to finish fourth in the last Junior World Cup which was also held in New Delhi.
The Junior Asia Cup will be held in Kuantan, and is slated for Nov 12-22.
"Three goalkeepers and four penalty corner flickers will head for Netherlands on March 25th and return on April 1. They will train under goalkeepers' specialist coach Martijn Drijver and penalty corner coach
Toon Siepman," said Project 2016 team manager Mirnawan Nawawi.
The three goalkeeepers are Ridzwan Azmi, Adi Fazri and Amirul Afiq Azhar. The budding penalty corner flickers are Aminuddin Zain, Najmi Farizal, Syed Shafiq Cholan and Sabahan Maxhan Cristhi who was named as the best player in the recently concluded Junior Hockey League.
Maxhan played for UniKL Young Guns in the JHL, and the 18-year-old promising lad is from Keningau.
"Our best junior penalty corner flicker Shahril (Saabah) will remain home and train with the senior side which is preparing for the Azlan Shah Cup. Former internationals Amin Rahim and Jivan Mohan will accompany the seven to Netherlands," said Mirnawan.
The Project 2016 side will then head for Australia on April 16-26 to play a series of friendlies against the WAIS side.
"We decided to send goalkeepers and penalty corner flickers for specialist training as these are the two main departments that can determine if a team performs or fails in major tournaments. The seven will be coached by experts and hopefully they pick up pointers which will will help Malaysia win gold in the Junior Asia Cup, which is a qualifier for the Junior World Cup," said Mirnawan.
Pic: SSTMI Cobra
THE Selangor Open Hockey 5s was a huge success as 66 teams battled for honours in four categories over the weekend at the Ministry of Education pitch in Kuala Lumpur.
Hockey 5' is an explosive short format played on a
half-regulation size pitch and Selangor Hockey Association is the first state to organise it.
In the Men's category, JLJ Army team edged Dolphins on a solitary goal scored by Shafiq Yacob. And in the women's category SSTMI beat SUKMA KL to emerge champions.
Selangor HA also plans to organise a League as well as introduce an indoor hockey league to help promote the sport.
Roll of Honor:
School Boys':
Champion: STAR Klang (RM 1,000)
Runner-up: St John B (RM 500)
Third: Bandaraya Boys (RM 250)
School Girls':
Champion: SSTMI Red (RM 1,000)
Runner-up: SSTMI BlueRM (RM500)
Third: KL Sports School A (RM250)
Women's Open:
Champion: SSTMI Cobra (RM1,500)
Runner-up: SUKMA KL (RM1,000)
3rd Place: KL Ladies (RM500)
Men's Open:
Champion: JLJ Army (RM1,500)
Runner-up: Dolphins (RM 1,000)
Third: Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh (RM500)
Best Goalkeepers:
Boys: Haziq Hairul (St John B)
Girls: Nor Sophia (SSTMI Red)
Women's: Priyanka Jayaraja (SSTMI Cobra)
Men's: Razain Ramli (JLJ Army)
Best Players:
Boys: Mohd Nizam B. Mohd Isa (STAR Klang)
Girls: Zarifah bt Abdul Aziz (SSTMI Blue)
Women's: Nor Aslinda bt Zaid (SSTMI Cobra)
Men's: Shafiq Yacob (JLJ Army)
A RECORD 30 teams competed in the just concluded MHC-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League, and Tenaga Nasional are already planning to add two more next season.
JHL, since its inception in 1995 by the then National Sports Council director general Datuk Mazlan Ahmad and the late secretary of the now defunct Malaysian Hockey Confederation S. Satgunam, is the most successful junior development programme in the country.
There were only 11 teams in 1995, and it has seen tremendous growth with clubs clamouring to prepare teams and scouting for next season players in mid-season itself.
Thunderbolts, a product of Tenaga Nasional, fielded two teams this season and both entered the semi-finals of the Milo Cup. SSTMI Thunderbolts became the double champions for the fourth consecutive season, while their sister club SSP-MSP Thunderbolts finished fourth.
Former national skipper and now in charge of the Thunderbolts development programmes, Nor Saiful Zaini is planning to field two more Thunderbolts next season.
"You can see the progress made by both the Thunderbolts and we are in the midst of planning for two more for the next season because there are so many good players out there who are in need of support to shine," said Nor Saiful.
The other successful club is UniKL Young Guns, who have a sound development programme but have been unlucky at the final hurdle for five seasons.
UniKL ropes in national players and coaches every weekend to train, at least a hundred youth below 16, every weekend at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil under collaboration with the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC).
No fees are charged, and everyone is welcome to attend. There is even a goalkeepers' clinic conducted by national goalkeepers coach M. Nadarajan, who uses the latest techniques to teach children as young as 12.
Formed in 2010, UniKL have surprisingly played in six JHL finals todate because of the tiring efforts of a group of dedicated coaches and support staff led by their general manager Amir Azhar Ibrahim.
Petaling Jaya City Council (PJCC) are another solid example of dedicated coaches like Azlan Saufi Ahmad and and team manager Zainal Abidin who keep pushing their players to new levels, but were unlucky to finish third in League and Milo Cup.
The JHL will not be complete without the mention of Olak-PKT, a team which has only missed one season because they lacked financial support, but team manager Joseph de Silva passed the hat around and found a loyal supporter in PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd.
The funding force behind Olak is PKT CEO Datuk Michael B.Y. Tio: "With his support we have managed to secure some good players this season, but have bigger plans for next year as PKT also provides study scholarships for our players," said De Silva who is planning to rope in players from Division Two outfits Nur-Insafi PHA and Tunku Besar Secondary School, for next season.
The man who started the JHL Datuk Mazlan is proud that his legacy is now the talk of town: ""I think JHL is continuously serving it's purpose. One simple reason is that it attracts more teams. It's very encouraging to see junior teams, states, and schools expose their players at this platform."
"Competition, not just training, is an important ingredient in development. Fortunately JHL has very loyal sponsors who believe in youth. It made aspirations possible.
MILO have been the title sponsor of the JHL since its inception, and their commitment towards the tournament has increased over the years with significant funding made available not only for the JHL but also other age group tournaments such as the National Under-14 and Under-16 for boys' and girls'.
"JHL is an important component in grassroot development. There are always new faces who shine every season, and it offers a chance to Primary School children to watch competitive matches and aspire a bigger group to take up the sport," said Ng Ping Loong, Sports Sponsorship Manager of Nestle Products.
From the organisational aspects MHC did a great job as the JHL ran without hitches.
"We are grateful to the Technical Committee led by Jusvir Singh and Secretariat managed by Hashim Yusof for managing the tournament well," said MHC Competitions Committee Chairman M. Gobinathan.
