Looking for a blistering start in Dhaka...

TRAINING ... Malaysia having a feel of the field in Dhaka Friday.

NO 1 ranked Malaysia have no one to fear but themselves when they start their World League Round Two campaign against hosts Bangladesh in Dhaka Saturday.
  Even though the best players are not available for the pre-World Cup qualifier due to weddings, injuries and family commitments coach Stephen van Huizen's men pack enough power to beat every team assembled here.
  Malaysia are ranked 13th, while their Group A opponents Bangladesh (32nd), Oman (31st) and Fiji (not ranked) are way below.
  Group B is no better as China are 18th while Ghana, Egypt and Sri Lanka are not ranked among the world's 35 hockey playing nations.
  The national players had a sparring session with China and won 2-1 in two 15-minute halves, and they did not even hit 50 percent of their capabilities.
  Bangladesh had a worse outing as in their three friendlies against Ghana, they lost 2-0 drew 2-2 and won 2-1.
  "Training matches do not say anything about the strength of teams, its just for warm-up and teams do not push themselves. We have nothing to fear, even without some of our better players as our target here is to play in the final first to qualify for the World League semifinals and the second target is to win gold," said van Huizen.
  Both the targets should be easy to reach, if the players believe in themselves like they did in the last World League Round Two in Singapore where they hammered Poland 8-0 for the gold.
  Team manager Nasihin Nubli gave an 80 per cent thumbs up to the newly laid blue artificial pith at the 1971 built stadium.
  "Its well laid, but for certain parts where it is difficult for players to dribble as they can't drag the ball left to right to beat an opponent as its very coarse.
  "It (the pitch) also dries very fast as its very winds and humidity is high. But every team will experience the same and it should pose no problems in our campaign," said Nasihin.
  One of the most senior players in the team Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, debut in the 2005 Rotterdam Junior World Cup, said even though many players were not available for Dhaka, the replacements are equally good.
  "I would say that those who replaced players who could not make it here are no rookies, as they have played at many internationals before. The only problem i noticed when we played the China friendly was that the team had yet to get their act together.
  "This is because we were all playing or our clubs (in the Malaysia Hockey League) and arrived here two days after the final. We might start slow against Bangladesh, but I am confdent we will win," said Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin who scored a total of 13 goals in the MHL and was also pivotal in helping Terengganu Hockey Team win the TNB Cup.
  The confidence is also there as Malaysia only have 17 players in Dhaka now, and Faiz Helmi will arrive on March 5, to play against Fiji and hen the knock-out -- as he is getting married first.
  FIXTURES -- SATURDAY: Group A -- Oman v Fiji (3.45pm), Malaysia v Bangladesh (6pm); Group B: China v Ghana (11am), Egypt v Sri Lanka (1.30pm).
  SUNDAY: Group A: Oman v Malaysia (3.45pm), Bangladesh v Fiji (6pm); Group B: Ghana v Sri Lanka (11am), Egypt v China (1.30pm).
  MONDAY: REST DAY
  TUESDAY: Group A -- Malaysia v Fiji (11am), Bangladesh v Oman (6pm); Group B: China v Sri Lanka (1.30pm), Ghana v Egypt (3.45pm).
  Note: Malaysian time.  

THT win shoot-out in TNB Cup thriller...

THE Malaysia Hockey League TNB Cup final turned into an eight-goal thriller as Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) and Terengganu Hockey Team ended the game at 4-4 and the title had to be decided on a shoot-out at the Tun Razak Stadium yesterday.
  And in the shoot-out THT won their fourth consecutive TNB Cup with a slim 5-4 margin.
  "We really had to bring out our best and it was sweet as we managed to defend one title this season purely on determination. Or hero in this and the last season was Jang (Jong Hyun) who scored 28 goals and his hat-trick in the final was worth his weight in gold," said THT coach Sarjit Singh.
  KLHC coach Harun Al-Rashid said luck ran out from their side.
  "We had the match in hand but were unlucky in the shoot-out. We beat them 6-5 in the Charity Shield shoot-out, but luck was not on our side this time around. 
 The heavy rain turned into a drizzle minutes from the start, but still, there were many fans who braved it to watch the two top teams in the country slug it out for the Overall title.
  THT brought in bus-loads of fans from Terengganu, while KLHC a marching band which kept the Tun Razak Stadium terraces busy and noisy.
  KLHC had already won the Charity Shield and the League titles, while THT had the Alagendra Cup in their cabinet before the match.
  Anton Poul Fritz, from Germany, started the count with a well placed field attempt in the ninth minute to hand KLHC the Lead. It was his 11th goal of the season.
  However, MHL top-scorer Jang Jung Hyun nailed the equaliser off his first attempt in the 12th minute to take his tally to 26 goals.
  National player Razie Rahim then took centre stage in the 19th minute, with a powerful penalty corner drive to hand KLHC the lead again at 2-1.
  And Anton made it 3-1 with a penalty corner deflection in the 25th minute, and it looked like THT were also going to lose their TNB Cup title this season.
  But Jang narrowed the score yet again with another powerful penalty stroke drive to make it THT 2 KLHC 3 at the 35th minute.
  THT were a new side in the third quarter, as they pressed for the equaliser with urgency and Jang then gave THT the lifeline they needed with his hat-trick coming in the 49th minute -- with a shoot-out looming large.
  So tensed was the final, that a second penalty stroke was awarded in the match and this time it was for KLHC and Syamim Yusof flicked in for a 4-3 lead in the 53rd minute.
  And the night had more drama left, as with three minutes left on the clock THT equalised off a field goal from Nicolas Enrique to take the match into shoot-out.
  RESULTS -- TNB Cup final: Terengganu Hockey Team 4 Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club 4 (THT win shoot-out 5-4).

Last minute champs...

KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) scored a last minute penalty corner to beat Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) 3-2 and claim the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division League title yesterday.

  THT only needed a draw to win their fourth consecutive League title, and were 2-2 until a penalty corner was awarded to KLHC with five seconds on the clock.

  National No 1 drag flicker Razie Rahim made the attempt, which was deflected into goal by Anton Poul Fritz in the 60th minute to lay their hands on the RM100,000 prize money.

  THT, who lost their first match in the League yesterday, received RM60,000.

  The other KLHC goals were scord by Dedy Aryadi (seventh) and Nabil Fiqri (43rd).

  THT's goals were scored by Jang Jong Hyun (ninth) and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (51st).

  Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) finished third in the Premier Division when they edged Tenaga Nasional 1-0.

  Tenaga only had themselves to blame as they squandered eight penalty corners with two in the final three minutes of the match despite having former national penalty corner flicker Amin Rahim as their coach.

  UniKL pocketed RM40,000 for third, as they played a good tactical and disciplined game to outwit the more experienced Tenaga side.

  Najmi Farizal Jazlan was the hero for UniKL as he converted the winner off a penalty corner attempt in the 12th minute.

  "It is a good win and one that I hope will boost the confidence of the players as we head for the semis," said UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj.

  "Credit must go to the players for their determination and our our defenders too played a key role"

  UniKL were without defender Baljit Singh who had a sore hamstring and was rested for the semi-finals.

  Also left out was Pakistani defender Aleem Bilal who was down with fever and flu.

  RESULTS: Tenaga Nasional 0 UniKL 1, Kuala Lumpur HC 3 Terengganu HT 2, SSTMI 2 TNB Thunderbolts 1, Maybank 3 UiTM-KPT 1.

  WEDNESDAY: Semi-finals First Leg: KLHC v Tenaga (Tun Razak, 6pm), THT v UniKL (Tun Razak, 8pm).

  FRIDAY: Semi-finals Second Leg: UniKL v THT (Tun Razak, 6pm), Tenaga v KLHC (Tun Razak, 8pm).

FINAL STANDINGS 

             P  W  D L  F  A  Pts

KLHC         14 11 3 0  61 21 36

T'GGANU HT   14 10 3 1  73 14 33

UNIKL        14 8  2 4  36 19 26

TENAGA       14 7  4 3  45 20 25

MAYBANK      14 6  1 7  32 39 19

THUNDERBOLTS 14 4  1 9  24 44 13

SSTMI        14 1  2 11  9 69 5

UITM-KPT     14 0  2 12 16 70 2

Classic Sunday Showdown...

LION .. KLHC's Harvinder Singh in action against a UniKL player recently...

MILLION-RINGGIT teams Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) and Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) will battle for the Malaysia Hockey League Premier Division title Sunday, with little to separate them.
  Both teams ended day tied on 33 points after 13 matches, and No 14 will decide who is the unlucky one.
  THT have a 21-goal cushion over KLHC and can afford a draw, while the Charity Shield holders need a clear win.
  KLHC won the Charity Shield when they beat THT 6-5 on shoot-out after both teams played to a 2-2 draw in the MHL curtain raiser.
  But the return leg encounter Suday is expected to have a clear winner in 60 minutes.
  The battle for third will be between Tenaga Nasional and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) who incidentally will also play their last game against each other Sunday.
  Tenaga only need a draw, while UniKL must win to grab the third spot.
  “My players know how crucial Sunday’s game is going to be against THT in our chase for the title. We are almost there and knowing that THT have a 21-goal advantage over us so the only way to the title is to win three points,” said KLHC coach Harun Alrashid Samri.
  And the good news for THT is that one of their top-scorers Faizal Shaari will be back in action after a hamstring injury.
  Faizal scored eight goals before getting injured: "We will be registering Faizal and also Shakeer Butt for the last match as they have recovered from their injuries," said THT coach Sarjit Singh.
  In the first leg encounter, Faizal and Jang Jong Hyun scored for THT. Jang, from South Korea, is the Premier Division top-scorer with 22 goals while another THT player Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin is second on 11 goals.
  Last season, Jang also top-scored with 16 goals, while Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin was second on nine goals.
  "Like in the Charity Shield, I again expect a close game tomorrow (today) but we will be playing to keep our League title, and extend the streak to four consecutive years, so we have our strategy ready," said Sarjit.
  THT were League champions in 2014, 2015 and 2016 while before that, KLHC were eight-time consecutive winners.
  As Ernst and Young, they won three titles from 2006, 2007 and 2008 -- and after changing their name to KLHC they won five more times before THT took over in 2014.
    TODAY: Tenaga Nasional v UniKL (KLHA, 6pm), Kuala Lumpur HC v Terengganu HT (KLHA, 8pm), SSTMI v TNB Thunderbolts (SSTMI, 5pm), Maybank v UiTM-KPT (Malacca, 6pm).


STANDINGS 

             P  W  D L  F  A  Pts
T'GGANU HT   13 10 3 0  71 11 33
KLHC         13 10 3 0  58 19 33
TENAGA       13 7  4 2  45 19 25
UNIKL        13 7  2 4  35 19 23
MAYBANK      13 5  1 7  29 38 16
THUNDERBOLTS 13 4  1 8  23 42 13
UITM-KPT     13 0  2 11 15 67 2
SSTMI        13 0  2 11  7 68 2

Celebration time...

PICTURES (by MHC) during and after the Ninth Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Executive Board meeting yesterday.
  The MHC feted their men, women and a group or orphans to lunch and contribution.