Death mars League restart

THE Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) will resume today after a three-week break on a sombre note following the death of a Nur Insafi player in an accident, which also resulted in four other players being hospitalised.

Sixteen-year-old Mohamed Fadhirul Razmin died in the accident, while Mohamed Hanif Kasman, Mohamed Azrul Fazrin, Sabir Ismail and Mohamed Fadil Zabidi have been hospitalised.
The five were on the way to a training session on Wednesday when their car was involved in an accident near Kulim.
As a mark of respect, the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) has postponed the Nur Insfi-Selangor match which was supposed to be held today in Sungai Petani.
Nur Insafi top the Division Three table with an unbeaten record.
Meanwhile, Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS) will lock horns with Tenaga Nasional today, and the outcome will decide which team have the power to challenge for the Division Two title.
Favourites Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) should have it easy against Setapak High School, and could even re-claim the top spot if BJSS lose to Tenaga.
TODAY -- Division Two: Bukit Jalil Sports School v Setapak High (Tun Razak Stadium, 6pm), Malacca v BPSS Juniors (Malacca, 5pm), Olak v Kijang Mas (Pandamaran Stadium, 5pm), Bandar Penawar Sports School v Tenaga Nasional (Bandar Penawar, 5pm), Anderson v BJSS Juniors (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5pm), Batu Pahat v Petaling Jaya City Council (Batu Pahat, 5pm).
Division Three: Kuala Selangor v Penang (Pandamaran Stadium, 3pm), Temerloh v TBSS-Tampin (Kuantan Stadium, 5pm), Datuk Taha v Perlis (Tampin, 5pm).

Target to reach final

Madzli Ikmar (pic)has been named captain.

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation selected its squad for the Azlan Shah Cup with a dual target of qualifying for the final and to avoid injuries.

The Azlan Shah Cup will be held in Ipoh on April 5-12, and after that it's do-or-die in the Asia Cup scheduled for May 9-15 in Kuantan.
"We will play for a berth in the final, of course, but the players have also been told not to take unnecessary risks in the Azlan Shah Cup as they have a bigger task in the Asia Cup," said team manager George Koshy after naming the 22 for Ipoh.
Malaysia will be up against New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Egypt in the Azlan Shah Cup.
The Asia Cup only offers one ticket to the 2010 New Delhi World Cup.
"We will trim the squad to 18 after a friendly with New Zealand on April 2 as we still need to see how some injured players respond to treatment before finalising the squad," Koshy added.
Not on the list is prolific striker Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, who picked up a shin splint but should be ready for the Asia Cup.
The Azlan Shah squad -- Goalkeepers: S. Kumar, Khairulnizam Ibrahim, Fairul Wanasir.
Defenders: Madzli Ikmar (capt), Engku Malek, Amin Rahim, Baljit Singh Charun Singh, Baljit Singh Sarjab Singh.
Midfielders: Kelvinder Singh, Sukri Mutalib, Shahrun Nabil, Nabil Fiqri, Jivan Mohan, Azlan Misron.
Forwards: Ismail Abu, Chua Boon Huat, Hafifi Hafiz, Amerullah Aziz, S. Selvaraju, Megat Azrafiq, Herwan Pami, Fekri Basaar.

Selvaraju boost for Azlan Shah Cup

By Ajitpal Singh

S. SELVARAJU is back in training after an injury scare and his return will be a plus point for the national team in the Azlan Shah Cup on April 6-12 and the Asia Cup on May 9-16.
Selvaraju suffered a right knee and hamstring injury during training last month. The 24-year-old was subsequently left out from the tour of South Korea, early this month.
National coach Tai Beng Hai said Selvaraju is an important entity and his presence will boost the team's chances in both tournaments.
"Selvaraju was in rehab and he only started light training when the national team were on tour. He is doing fine in training and will likely be in the Azlan Shah Cup squad," said Beng Hai.
Meanwhile, Beng Hai feels home ground advantage in the Asia Cup will spur his players further in doing their best.
The champions in the Asia Cup, to be held in Kuantan, will gain automatic qualification to the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi.
"There are pros and cons when playing at home. Of course, it will spur the players but it could also be added pressure.
"If the players do their best and play according to instructions, the home ground advantage will benefit them."
He also said both the Azlan Shah and Asia Cup will be equally important in terms of achieving different goals.
"According to my training programme, the players should be 80 per cent focused and ready for the Azlan Shah and in peak condition for the Asia Cup.
"It is also important that they do reasonably well in the Azlan Shah Cup to gain confidence."
In Korea, Beng Hai tried out some players in different positions.
"Overall the players did well in their new positions. Those who can adapt to different positions will hold an advantage in the team."
Malaysia won three out of their seven matches against university and clubs teams in Korea.

State's want coach to select more

NATIONAL Under-16 coach K. Dharmaraj (pic) was in Seremban to watch the age-group tournament which ended on Saturday, and only selected two new faces to beef-up his training squad. The other 20 players had already been shortlisted earlier leading state coaches to cry foul as they believe 10 more should be included in the training squad.
"During the tournament, I spoke to several state coaches and they felt my training squad should have 32 and not 22 because many more players have shown promise," said Dharmaraj.
"But my hands are tied because the NSC (National Sports Council) is only funding 22 players. I will speak to the NSC officials tomorrow (today) and can only increase the number if they agree to fund a larger group." This batch of players are being groomed for the 2013 Junior World Cup.

"The two players I have selected are both goalkeepers as I need a bigger pool to keep them challenging each other. I have no qualms about training a bigger group, but it all depends on funding, and only the NSC can make this decision," added Dharmaraj.
On the tournament, Dharmaraj felt that playing seven matches in a row made the gold and bronze matches jaded affairs.
"Seven matches in a row is a bit too much even for older players, as such, both the finalists were struggling in the title decider.
"My suggestion for next year is that there should at least be a break of one day after the semi-finals to allow the boys to recover." Eleven states and Singapore competed in the National Under-16 tournament with Kuala Lumpur retaining their crown with a 3-1 win over Perak.

Goalkeeper S. Kumar ties the knot

NATIONAL No 1 hockey goalkeeper S. Kumar married L. Parimala in Tampin, Negri Sembilan, on 21-03-09.
Best wishes to the newly-weds.
Kumar will be back between the posts in the Azlan Shah Cup on April 5-12, and then the Asia Cup in May, which Malaysia are highly touted to host after Dubai pulled out.