MALAYSIA'S Olympic campaign received an early blow when No 1 goalkeeper S. Kumar had to rush back due to a personal tragedy, but the rest of the players are determined the show must go on.
Kumar, who has saved Malaysia many times with his heroics antics, lost his three-year-old son due to illness and will be replaced by Hafizuddin Othman.
Now the only player in the team who has been to the Olympics, Roslan Jamaluddin, will be trusted to stand between the posts.
"It is a great loss not only to Kumar but also to the entire team because we are not only team-mates but also family. The only thing that I cam say now is that I will give my very best to make sure Malaysia qualify for the Olympics, a platform which Kumar really wanted to play in," said Roslan who is the last remaining member of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
There was a somber moment as the players lifted their gear and placed it onto the bus heading for a training session. Gone were the normal laughter and teasing and joking seen during other tournaments.
"Our hearts are very heavy and we still can't digest the bad news which has befallen Kumar. However, one thing is for sure, the entire team has a stronger resolution to qualify for the Olympics," said Kuamar's room-mate Baljit Singh Charun Singh.
The road to Rio de Janeiro is hinging on three matches for Malaysia. Its looks easy, and also rosy, but could also turn into a nightmare if they fall in the first hurdle.
China are first on the schedule, and a win here is must for Tai Beng Hai's men to keep the Olympic hope burning.
And the fixtures have been drawn akin a blessing as Ireland are a distant three rest days later and three points against the Irish will see Malaysia qualify for the quarter-finals on a better footing.
Belgium and Britain are the last two hurdles, but if both China and Ireland are tamed, Malaysia can afford to lose both the other matches and still finish third in Group B.
And if it goes as planned, the third placing will see Malaysia play either India or Pakistan in the last eight.
So in toal, only three matches needed to be won in the World League Semifinals for Malaysia to achieve their Olympic dream.
But if they crumble and finish fourth, mighty Australia will await them in the quarters. The worse case scenario in Belgium is finishing a disastrous fifth in Group B, which automatically shuts the door as there is no playoff here.
In Group A are Australia, India, Pakistan, Poland and France.
For the record, Malaysia played two friendlies against Brazil (won 3-2) and Netherlands Under-21 (lost 2-1) as their last warm-ups.
"Everybody wants to win but sometimes, we need to hold back to avoid injuries leading into an important tournament," said Beng Hai.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Barely 3-2 ...
MALAYSIA just did enough to beat China 3-2. But if they play like this against Ireland, we will not qualify for the Olympics.
Betting on sun to shine on Malaysia
SUMMER in Belgium is a week late, and even the locals are still in their jackets waiting for the sun to shine.
The famous outdoor bars in Antwerp still display empty chairs and tables, while its packed to the brim indoors, with everybody waiting anxiously for more heat this summer.
The World League Semifinals, an Olympic Qualifier, started yesterday with the women's teams and men's Group A matches, and the KHC Red Dragons stadium was ready in every aspect to host the multitude of teams -- all playing at one pitch only.
Malaysia's first recorded match against Belgium was at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the final score was 3-3, with 1-1 at half-time. The Malaysian heroes who scored then were C. Paramalingam (40th, 53rd) and Koh Hock Seng (32nd).
Belgium were better in hockey even earlier, in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics they finished seventh, Singapore eighth and Malaysia ninth among 12 teams.
However, in Melbourne Malaysia did not cross paths with Belgium, in a tournament which Kenya were 10th, Afghanistan 11th and USA 12th.
Hockey has always been a proud tradition here, and KHC Dragons alone has 1,800 members with 1,400 of them active players.
The Belgians, who speak Dutch in Antwerp, French in Brussels and English everywhere, are blessed to have borders with Germany, Netherlands and France as playing hockey with other nations is just a bus ride away.
Unlike Malaysia, who needs to take a flight to India, Pakistan, Japan or South Korea to play quality matches.
So its no surprise that Belgium are the most improved team in field hockey in the last five years as they finished fifth on three occassions -- the 2012 London Olympics and Champions Trophy in Melbourne, as well as last year's World Cup at the Netherlands.
Asian teams India, Pakistan, South Korea and Malaysia are now no match for the Belgians, and in the World League they are expected to be in the semi-finals and qualify for the Olympics.
As for Malaysia, they open their campaign against China today wearing a black arm-band and a minute of silence will be observed for the tragedy which befell our goalkeeper S. Kumar.
Hopefully, the sun will smile on the Malaysian team today and there will be sunshine moments which will eventually take the nation into the Olympics after being in the grey shades of winter for the past 16 years.
The famous outdoor bars in Antwerp still display empty chairs and tables, while its packed to the brim indoors, with everybody waiting anxiously for more heat this summer.
The World League Semifinals, an Olympic Qualifier, started yesterday with the women's teams and men's Group A matches, and the KHC Red Dragons stadium was ready in every aspect to host the multitude of teams -- all playing at one pitch only.
Malaysia's first recorded match against Belgium was at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the final score was 3-3, with 1-1 at half-time. The Malaysian heroes who scored then were C. Paramalingam (40th, 53rd) and Koh Hock Seng (32nd).
Belgium were better in hockey even earlier, in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics they finished seventh, Singapore eighth and Malaysia ninth among 12 teams.
However, in Melbourne Malaysia did not cross paths with Belgium, in a tournament which Kenya were 10th, Afghanistan 11th and USA 12th.
Hockey has always been a proud tradition here, and KHC Dragons alone has 1,800 members with 1,400 of them active players.
The Belgians, who speak Dutch in Antwerp, French in Brussels and English everywhere, are blessed to have borders with Germany, Netherlands and France as playing hockey with other nations is just a bus ride away.
Unlike Malaysia, who needs to take a flight to India, Pakistan, Japan or South Korea to play quality matches.
So its no surprise that Belgium are the most improved team in field hockey in the last five years as they finished fifth on three occassions -- the 2012 London Olympics and Champions Trophy in Melbourne, as well as last year's World Cup at the Netherlands.
Asian teams India, Pakistan, South Korea and Malaysia are now no match for the Belgians, and in the World League they are expected to be in the semi-finals and qualify for the Olympics.
As for Malaysia, they open their campaign against China today wearing a black arm-band and a minute of silence will be observed for the tragedy which befell our goalkeeper S. Kumar.
Hopefully, the sun will smile on the Malaysian team today and there will be sunshine moments which will eventually take the nation into the Olympics after being in the grey shades of winter for the past 16 years.
Case of missing Azerbaijan and Malaysia's missed chance...
THE Malaysian women's hockey team missed a chance of a lifetime to play in the World League Semifinals in Belgium after Azerbaijan went missing on transit at Turkey.
Their non arival in Belgium made the International Hockey Federation press the panic button to call up reserve teams from the World League Round Two and the Malaysian women were among the five teams offered as replacements on Friday 7am.
The Malaysian women had finished third in the WL Round Two in New Delhi and are ranked 21st in the world, but declined due to time constrain. They had recently won gold at the Sea Games but travelling and recovering from jet lag at the 11th hour invitation was the reason Malaysia had to give up a chance to play in Belgium.
France, ranked 24th, took up the offer and crosed over the border in two hours to replace Azerbaijan. France will now have the opportunity to play for one of the three guaranteed tickets to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games available in Belgium
Meanwhile, in the men's Group A matches played late Saturday, Asian giants India and Pakistan could only scrape past lower ranked European teams.
India struggled to beat France 2-1 while Pakistan posted the same score against Poland
Their non arival in Belgium made the International Hockey Federation press the panic button to call up reserve teams from the World League Round Two and the Malaysian women were among the five teams offered as replacements on Friday 7am.
The Malaysian women had finished third in the WL Round Two in New Delhi and are ranked 21st in the world, but declined due to time constrain. They had recently won gold at the Sea Games but travelling and recovering from jet lag at the 11th hour invitation was the reason Malaysia had to give up a chance to play in Belgium.
France, ranked 24th, took up the offer and crosed over the border in two hours to replace Azerbaijan. France will now have the opportunity to play for one of the three guaranteed tickets to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games available in Belgium
Meanwhile, in the men's Group A matches played late Saturday, Asian giants India and Pakistan could only scrape past lower ranked European teams.
India struggled to beat France 2-1 while Pakistan posted the same score against Poland
Thursday, June 18, 2015
My deepest condolences to Kumar
THE first news I received when I reached Belgium was that Kumar lost his 3 year old son to illness.
I met the team and coach beng hai and there was sadness all around.
Kumar is not just a friend he is brother and lives opposite my house in Tampin.
As a writer this is the first time Ive failed to write.. take care brother and be strong.
I met the team and coach beng hai and there was sadness all around.
Kumar is not just a friend he is brother and lives opposite my house in Tampin.
As a writer this is the first time Ive failed to write.. take care brother and be strong.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
