Perak HA in dire straits

THE Perak Hockey Association has received a stern warning from the Sports Commissioner's Office to get its house in order as five of its nine affiliates have been inactive for a long time.
Perak HA was supposed to hold its Biennial General Meeting by December last year but the Commissioner's office told the association to sort out problems with its affiliates before holding elections.
"We have been in communication with the Commissioner's office who is unhappy because five of our affiliates have not been active but we are in the midst of re-activating the said affiliates," said Perak HA secretary Sallehuddin Mokhtar.
The Commissioner's office has set March as the deadline for Perak to hold its BGM.
"For sure we will be able to meet the March deadline as work is being done to get all the paperwork ready," added Sallehuddin.
The Perak HA president is Datuk Rahim Ariff.

Thumping win for KLHC

By Ajitpal Singh

KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) leapfrogged Tenaga Nasional (TNB) as the new Premier Division leaders of the Malaysia Hockey League after they thrashed hapless UiTM 10-0 at the KLHC Stadium in Pantai yesterday.
KLHC, the defending champions, collected 18 points, two more than TNB, from seven matches and are now primed to retain their title.
Ismail Abu scored a hat-trick in the fourth, 34th and 43rd minutes from open play while penalty corner specialist Razie Rahim added a brace in the 54th and 60th minutes.
Other goals were from Harvinder Singh (25th), Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Abdul Jalil (28th), Azli Misron (56th), Ahmad Anuar Sham Kamar (67th) and Muhd Amerullah Abd Aziz (69th).
Coach K. Dharmaraj said his players showed their true form in yesterday's match.
"We wanted goals and we got 10 today (yesterday). I instructed my boys to make the most of their chances and they did just that," said Dharmaraj at the KLHC Stadium yesterday.
"I would not say that it was an easy match as UiTM also had chances to score. We just took most of ours and it made the difference."
KLHC continue their campaign in the Premier League against Maybank at the USM Hockey Stadium on Friday.

KLHC poised to snatch mid-way lead

KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) are poised to take the half-way lead in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League when they play the rain-interrupted match against UiTM today.
The match was scheduled to be held on Friday, but was called off after 20 minutes of play because of torrential rain.
KLHC should get the better of the University side, as they have a star-studded national line-up.
“We will be looking to top the table tomorrow (today) to be in a good position at the half-way mark, to keep the League title in sight,” said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
KLHC signed the lion’s share of national players, while Tenaga Nasional took another big bite out of the national talent pool -- leaving the rest to make do with retired and foreign players.
This is a cause for concern, as the lack of talent forced Yayasan Negri Sembilan to hire 11 foreigners, while Nur Insafi have seven and UniKL four.
National assistant coach Tai Beng Hai, who recently be came an International Hockey Federation High Performance Coach as well as a Development Coach, lamented the fact that there is not enough talent to go around.
“This league is a good avenue for players to show their skills, but sadly, there are not enough good local players for clubs to hire, so they have to sign foreigners.
“In fact, even in the national outfit, we lack back-up players who can challenge the positions of established players,” said Beng Hai.
However, he sees a brighter future as many projects are being implemented right now to fill the void.
“The 1Mas and Project 2013 will chart our future, and hopefully it produces many talent to select from, so that those who are in the national team can’t take their positions for granted, and will continue to keep ahead of the competition,” said Beng Hai.
The national team came within a whisker of glory, but lost in two crucial finals, the World Cup Qualifiers and the Asian Games, and will now have to go through an Olympic Qualifier next year.
PREMIER DIVISION: Tuesday -- UiTm v Kuala Lumpur HC (Pantai Stadium, 7.30pm).

STANDINGS
PREMIER DIVISION

P W D L F A Pt
TNB 7 5 1 1 16 7 16
KLHC 6 5 0 1 26 10 15
UNIKL-TRC 6 4 1 1 9 9 13
YNS 6 4 0 2 24 14 12
NUR INSAFI 6 3 0 3 12 17 9
SAPURA 6 2 0 4 16 16 6
MAYBANK 6 1 2 3 4 9 5
ATM-AIROD 6 1 0 5 8 23 3
UITM 5 0 0 5 8 18 0

Azlan Shah unopposed, Beng Hai soars

SULTAN Azlan Shah has been returned unopposed as president of the Asian Hocey Federation (AFH), a post which he has held since 1994.
Also returned unopposed as AFH secretary was Tan Sri P. Alagendra, who has also held the post since 1994, while the elections today will fill up four vice presidents' and 10 council members' posts.
The term of office will be until 2014.
The congress meeting today will be followed by the presentation of the AHF awards.
The awards to be presented are the Sultan Azlan Shah Award for contribution towards Asian Hockey, AHF President's Award for Man and Woman, Order of Merit, Member of Honour, Best Player Award for Man and Women and Best Youth Player Award for Boy and Girl.
There was more good news for Malaysia as senior assistant coach Tai Beng Hai is now an International Hockey Federation (FIH) high performance coach as well as development coach. Former International Lim Chiow Chuan also qualified as a high performance coach.
FIH high performance committee secretary Tayyab Ikram, said: "It is indeed a proud moment for Malaysian hockey as these two coaches have shown that they have what it takes to reach a high level in their field."

Kumar recognised by AHF

MALAYSIAN No 1 goalkeeper S. Kumar yesterday broke new ground when he was named as Asia’s Best Player by the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) at its Congress in Kuala Lumpur.
The 32-year-old from Tampin, Negri Sembilan, became the first Malaysian to win the award as before this Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin was awarded the Best Youth Player award by AHF.
However, it came as no surprise as Kumar has been named as the Best Goalkeeper in eight international tournaments.
Last year Kumar lost his father, Subramaniam, in the midst of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, but he went on to represent the country at the Asian Games leas than a month later, and helped Malaysia win a silver medal, their first ever in the Asiad.
“It is indeed a honour that I will cherish forever. I dedicate this award to my late father who encouraged me right from the beginning,” said Kumar.
“Without the sacrifices of my father, I will not be here today.
“My dream is to play at the Olympics and I will do my best to keep the goals away when we play in the Qualifiers,” said Kumar.
Meanwhile, AHF held their elections yesterday to elect four vice presidents as Sultan Azlan Shah was returned un opposed as president, while Tan Sri P. Alagendra also retained his secretary’s post unposed.
The four veeps who were elected yesterday were Datuk Sri Muneyoshi Ueda (Jpn), Chaiyapak Siriwat (Thai), Narinder Bahtra (India), Qasim Zia (Pak), while the two nominated vice-presidents were Shun Jung Hee and Hong Moon Pyo, both from South Korea.
AHF PLAYERS AWARDS: Man -- S. Kumar (Malaysia); Women: Park Mih Yun (S Kor); Boy: Syed Kashif Shah (Pakistan); Girl: Zhao Yudiao (China).