Men and Women set for first tango

THE Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHF) and their women’s counterpart will hold an EGM this Saturday in an effort to finally merge into one body.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) have given Malaysia a deadline until December to merge both bodies into the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHF).
India, who have failed to merge, have received the full brunt of the FIH force when the Champions Trophy was snatched away from New Delhi and handed to Auckland.
“We have sent in the MHC constitution to the FIH and told them that the EGM has been set on Oct 8. MHF requested that the FIH revert on the matter by Oct 4 (tomorrow), in order for the MHF EGM to be realised,” said MHF secretary Manin derjit Singh.
But even before the MHC could become a reality, six affiliates have started questioning its validity as the MHF have only invited 10 affiliates each from the men’s and women’s sections.
“Out hands are tied on that matter because when the MHC constitution was drafted and approved in 2006, it stated that only 10 affiliates from the men’s and women’s would make up MHC.
“MHF and MWHA have 16 affiliates each, but letters could only be sent to 10 affiliates each, after consultation with our president (Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah), and this has resulted in six of them feeling slighted.
“However, Tengku Abdullah has said that he will meet with representatives from all 16 affiliates before the EGM and explain the situation.
“After which, the 16 will select which 10 affiliates will attend the MHC EGM, while six will turn up as observers,” explained Maninderjit.
And immediately after the EGM, the members will propose to amend the MHC constitution to state that all stakeholders of MHF and MWHA are members of the MHC.
“Our hands are tied right now, and this is the only solution that could clear the matter and in future, the MHC con stitution would be much more affiliate friendly and have 32 members (16 each from the men and women) as del egates.”
The MHC EGM is subject to FIH approving the constitution that was sent to them by tomorrow.

Duo test posivite

By Jugjet Singh

THE TNB-Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) has been hit with a doping scandal after two players tested positive for a recreational drug (methamphetamine) during random testing.
The A sample was sent to the National Dope Testing Laboratary in Delhi on Sept 27 and it returned positive. The players have requested for the B sample to be tested.
However, the team concerned have taken their own action by suspending the two players who are not in national or Project 2013 squad.
In a statement released to the media, Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) secretary Maninderjit Singh said the results are inconclusive.
"At this stage of the matter, I would not or could not provide any statements because the athletes concerned had sought for the B sample to be tested to reconfirm the results and in which could lead to prejudice to the matter."

Sapura level with KLHC

SAPURA beat UiTM 5-2 to move level with TNB-Malaysia Hockey League favourites Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC), but still trail by six goals.
And interestingly both the leaders, square on 15 points, will meet in the final League match on Oct 9.
Yesterday, Sapura took the lead in the 12th minute off Marhan Jali and doubled their advantage three minutes later when Noor Khairul Azraain scored.
Azreen Rizal made it 3-0 in the 37th minute before goals from Jiwa Mohan (39th) and S. Kuhan (52nd) made it 5-0.
However UiTM fought back by scoring two goals in the closing stages of the match through Sheraz Ali (62nd) and Ahmad Amirul Alias (67th).
In another Premier Division match, UniKL played to their fourth draw when they held Nur Insafi to a 3-3 draw.
Having drawn three earlier matches, against Uitm, Tenaga Nasional and Maybank, their fourth draw has placed them in a good position to make it to the knock out stage.
Nur Insafi took the lead in the 31st minute off Damandeep Singh but UniKL drew level in the 35th minute through a penalty corner goal by Izad Hakimi.
Prem Kumar put Nur Insafi 2-1 ahead in the 41st minute but Ramadhan Rosli equalised in the next minute.
And in the 45th minute Nur Hrsikesa gave Nur Insafi a 3-2 lead but it lasted for a few seconds as Noor Faeez Ibrahim put his team on level terms again.
"We played well to lead 5-0, but then complacency crept in and we let in two goals which brought down our goalcount. Now we have to plan for a very tough match, as we meet Tenaga Nasional next (Wednesday)," said Sapura coach I. Vickneswaran.
Then it is YNS and followed by KLHC to complete their fixtutes.
RESULTS -- Premier League: Sapura 5 UiTM 2, UniKL 3 Nur Insafi Penang 3, YNS 2 Maybank 1, TNB 5 Armed Forces Airod 0.
Division One: Ipoh City Hall 3 UNIMAP 1, SSTMI-Thunderbolt 3 BJSS 3.
Premier Division

P W D L F A Pts
KL HC 5 5 0 0 29 8 15
Sapura 5 5 0 0 21 6 15
TNB 6 4 1 1 23 6 13
UniKL 6 1 4 1 14 14 7
Nur Insafi 6 2 1 3 12 21 7
YNS 5 2 0 3 7 17 6
Maybank 5 1 1 3 9 11 4
UiTM 5 0 1 4 6 21 1
Airod 5 0 0 5 7 24 0

Division One
P W D L F A Pts
T’bolt 6 3 3 0 18 14 12
Ipoh CH 6 3 2 1 12 14 11
BJSS 6 1 3 2 13 9 6
UNIMAP 5 1 1 3 8 10 4
Uniten 5 0 3 2 7 11 3

MHF deny releasing dope statement

As MHF Secretary, I would like to reiterate my and MHF position that I/we did not communicate nor provided any of the facts as stated in The STAR newspaper today - http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2011/10/2/sports/9617781&sec=sports

At this stage of the matter, I would not or could not provide any statements because the athletes concerned had sought for the Sample B to be tested to reconfirm the results and in which could lead to prejudice to the matter.

Any statement released by MHF must be fair and not be bias or damaging towards the club concerned and players involved.

MHF will make the official announcement of the matter after fulfilling the procedures in accordance to the ADAMAS and MHF/FIH Anti Doping Regulations undertaken by teams and officials for the TNBMHL2011.

Should there be any official release/statement to the press, we will communicate via the Media Officer of the event as we have done for all the releases.

Maninderjit Singh

Secretary

Malaysian Hockey Federation

Sapura need goals to challenge KLHC

SAPURA will get their chance to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) in the Premier Division of the TNB_Malaysia Hockey League.
KLHC, Charity Shield and front-runners for the League and Overall title, have a rest day today, while Sapura meet UiTM after which they will be on level terms with KLHC on 15 points.
However, after five matches KLHC already have a 21-goal advantage, so Sapura need to go on a double-digit goal hunt against UiTM.
Sapura coach I. Vickneswaran said: “I’m aware that we lag the leaders in goals, but right now the focus is to win three points off UiTM who have five Qatar players in their team.”
Last season, Sapura were down 2-0 to UiTM before beating them 3-2 and this is still fresh in the coaches mind.
“We can’t take any team lightly as this could end up in an upset result. Nobody felt that UniKL had the capacity to hold Tenaga and they did just that (3-3).
“That is why the focus is on three points first, and if the goals follow, it would be a bonus,” said Vickneswaran.
Only KLHC and Sapura are unbeaten in the Premier Division, and to make matters more interesting, the fixtures will see them play on the final day of the League on Oct 9.
“We have four more matches to go, and we need to keep the winning momentum until the last match against KLHC. Only then will we know what we need to do in that crucial match, until then, we will be looking for clean wins only and respect all our opponents,” said Vickneswaran.
The other interesting match is between UniKL and Nur Insafi, who have six foreign players but have lost three out five matches.
“Somehow, we have never managed to beat Nur Insafi in the MHL and I believe it will be another bruising encounter. The team is looking good in defense and midfield, but the forwards waste more than convert and this is what we can’t afford against Nir Insafi,” said UniKL manager Amir Azhar.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian women’s hockey team finished fifth in the Under-18 Asia Cup, which took place at the Queen Sirikit National Hockey Stadium in Thailand.
They beat Singapore 4-0 in the fifth-sixth placing match. In the Group stages, Malaysia beat Sri Lanka 10-1, lost to China 3-1, beat Kazakhstan 16-0 and lost to India 4-1.
TODAY -- Premier League: Sapura v UiTM (4pm, Pitch I NHS), UniKL v Nur Insafi Penang (5pm, Pitch II NHS), YNS v Maybank (6pm, Pitch I, NHS), TNB v Armed Forces Airod (8pm, Pitch I, NHS).
Division One: Ipoh City Hall v UNIMAP (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5pm), SSTMI-Thunderbolt v BJSS (Taman Daya, 5pm).

Premier Division
P W D L F A Pts
KL HC 5 5 0 0 29 8 15
Sapura 4 4 0 0 16 4 12
TNB 5 3 1 1 18 6 10
UniKL 5 1 3 1 11 11 6
Nur Insafi 5 2 0 3 9 18 6
Maybank 4 1 1 2 8 9 4
YNS 4 1 0 3 5 16 3
UiTM 4 0 1 3 4 16 1
Airod 4 0 0 4 7 19 0

Division One
P W D L F A Pts
T’bolt 5 3 2 0 15 11 11
Ipoh CH 5 2 2 1 9 13 8
BJSS 5 1 2 2 10 6 5
UNIMAP 4 1 1 2 7 7 4
Uniten 5 0 3 2 7 11 3