China blow Malaysia away..

MALAYSIAN players looked more like they were preparing for the Razak Cup than the Olympic Qualifiers when they went down tamely to China 4-1 in their second consecutive defeat in two days at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
The national players, preparing for the Olympic Qualifier in Dublin in March, are involved in a five-match series against a visiting China side, and lost the opening match on Wednesday 2-1.
Yesterday, it was the same script as they were hammered after a listless display which looked like they were being forced to play hockey.
Faizal Saari gave Malaysia the lead off a field attempt in the seventh minute, but before the half-time hooter, China came back into the picture with a goal from Dong Yang in the 30th minute, while Ng Yu Liu made it 2-1 in the 33rd minute.
In the Dublin Olympic Qualifiers on March 10-18, Malaysia will play Chile, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea and hosts Ireland, with only the gold medallist advancing to the London Olympics.
The second half failed to bring out a better display from the national side, as they wasted more penalty corners and sitters which allowed China to grow more confident.
And China sealed their glory in the 64th minute, when a pass from outside the semi-circle was allowed into goal by goalkeeper S. Kumar, who failed to realise that Sun Long was right behind him to tuck in the third goal.
Malaysia were truly beaten, and China mounted another attack in the 67th minute, with Ng Yu Liu hammering in his brace, and China's fourth goal.
China, who will be playing in the Japan Olympic Qualifiers, took the first two friendlies seriously, while the national players just fooled around.
"There seemed to be no urgency in the game, and this led to the biggest defeat against China in recent times. The tempo of the players was also well below what they are capable of, and this must be arrested in the next three matches lined-up," said team manager George Koshy.
Today is a break, before the third match on Saturday where China must be beaten, or no team in the world is going to respect the Malaysian players in international tournaments.

Catch Kaymer's Malaysian flight

GERMAN Martin Kaymer and South African Charl Schwartzel will be among the big draws in the 51st Maybank Malaysian Open at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club on April 12-15.
In announcing the star players yesterday, Maybank chairman Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin Megat Nor said: "This marks the seventh year that Maybank is in association with the Malaysian Open and we are still as excited as we were back then at being part of this historic and significant tournament.
"It fills me with great pride that Maybank has not only done its part to elevate our prestigious Open to its current stature as one of the main fixtures on both the European and Asian Tours, but also increasing the profile and reach of the Royal and Ancient sport in Malaysia."
Gallery favourites world number four and 2010 US PGA Championship winner Kaymer and 2011 Masters Tournament champion and ninth-ranked Schwartzel will return to Malaysia in the US$2.5 million tournament.
“We are thrilled to welcome back Kaymer to the Maybank Malaysian Open. He was definitely a gallery favourite last year and is a proven winner, and I believe that the spectators will be delighted once again to witness the German's stellar long game and nifty touches around the greens.
"The presence of another Major winner Schwartzel is also a boost for the tournament and the Johannesburg native with his technically solid golf swing is a great player to watch,” said Megat Zaharuddin.
Also present at the press conference was rights holders Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) president Admiral (R) Tan Sri Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Nor.
Anwar said the Open has played a pivotal role in expanding the reach of the game in the country.
"The growth of the Malaysian Open is also indicative of how far golf has developed in Malaysia and how this tournament has played a part in the improvement of our local players over the years.
"The Open’s ability to consistently attract world-class golfers to our shores has not only motivated our local professionals to raise the level of their game but also inspire a new breed of young champions, who are given the opportunity to observe and learn the finer aspects of competing on the international stage,” said Anwar.
Twenty-two Malaysians, with Danny Chia and Shaaban Hussin continuing their roles as Maybank brand ambassadors, will also be among the hopefuls in April.

China, then Australia and finally Netherlands

THE National hockey team will start the year with five friendlies against a visiting China side to prepare for the March Olympic Qualifiers in Dublin.
Starting from Wednesday, the China series will be closely watched, after the team played to a dismal fifth in the Champions Challenge I in South Africa.
Project 2013, who lifted the inaugural Sultan of Johor Cup by beating Australia in the final, will also play one match against China.
“China, who are also preparing for the Olympic Qualifiers, should bring down their best players and it will be a good opportunity or our team to prepare for Dublin,” said team manager George Koshy.
The series were arranged after the Azlan Shah Cup, scheduled for February in Ipoh, was moved to the middle of the year after many teams turned down invitations due to a hectic Olympic year.
However, the team management is still uncertain if China would want 18 or 20 players fielded for the series.
“Since it is a friendly, we would discuss with the China coach whether to field 18 or 20 players per-match.
“And also, seven of our players would be involved with their University examinations during the period, and this could see some of them being not available for certain matches,” said Koshy.
And after the five matches, which end on Jan 18, the national team will travel to Perth and play against world No 1 Australia and the Netherlands.
“We managed to get four matches against Australia starting from Jan 29, and two more matches against the Nether lands in Perth.
“This is a golden opportunity to play against top-flight teams and further strengthen our Qualifier hopes,” said Koshy.
In the Dublin Olympic Qualifiers on March 10-18, Malaysia will play three relatively easy matches against Chile, followed by Russia and Ukraine and maximum points and goals will be the order of the day.
After that, the climb becomes steeper with matches against South Korea and finally hosts Ireland, and they need to win at least one match to play in the final of the Qualifier.
The Qualifier only offers one ticket to the London Olympics and China will be playing in the Japan Qualifiers in April.

TBSS looking for middle finish

TUNKU Besar Secondary School (TBSS) will play in Di vision One of the Junior Hockey League (JHL) starting on Jan 19, and they eye a place in the quarter-finals for starters.
The last national player to break out from the school is current No 1 national goalkeeper S. Kumar, and the school hopes some of their strikers will be noticed by selectors.
“This team has been playing together for the past five years and since we became the Division Two champions last season, we received a promotion to play with the big boys.
“However, we are setting ourselves a modest target as we do not have import players as all are from TBSS itself,” said team manager M. Vivekananda.
The bulk of the players are 18-years-old awaiting for their SPM results: “And we will be banking more on field play instead of penalty corners for goals, as we do not have a good battery.”
Last season, TBSS captured their first JHL title when they beat MSSP-USM 4-1 in the Division Two final.
“It was the first JHL title for the school, and we hope to build on it, but there are some excellent teams in Division One, and if nothing else, my players will get a chance to learn how to play better hockey this season.”
Twenty-five teams have registered for the JHL, with Ipoh City Council and Anderson forming a partnership this season instead of playing as two teams.
The teams to watch would be League champions UniKL Young Guns and Overall champions SSTMI-Thunderbolt as well as Bukit Jalil Sports School.
The top six teams in Division One will qualify for the quarter-finals with the two champions from Division Two A and B.
The price money has also increased from RM80,500 to a total of RM145,500.
DIVISION ONE -- Ipoh City Council/Anderson, Tunku Besar Tampin, SS Bukit Jalil, SS Bukit Jalil Juniors, SSTMI Thun derbolts, UniKL Young Guns, MSSPP-USM, Petaling Jaya City Council, Yayasan Pahang, Tunku Mahkota Ismail School.
Division Two A: Politeknik KPT, Nur Insafi, KHA-MSNK, MSSP-USM Juniors, Anderson Juniors, Sapura, Kelantan, Kelantan HA Juniors.
Division Two B: SMK Padang Midin, Tunas Pahang, MHS- MSSNM-MSN Melaka, Olak KPT, SMK Dato Taha, Johor HA, Kuala Lumpur Sport School.

MSSC Under-16 camp

Raja Ashman Shah Sultan Azlan Shah (third from left) sharing a light moment with the participants while State Culture, Arts Youth and Sports Exco Datuk Zainol Fadzi Paharuddin (left) looks on after the launch of the 1Malaysia Youth Under-16 hockey camp on Saturday. Pic by Ikhwan Munir.

IPOH: The Malaysia-Singapore Sikhs Sports Council (MSSSC) 1Malaysia Youth Under-16 hockey camp was officially launched at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh on Saturday.
At hand to officiate the four-day national camp was Raja Ashman Shah Sultan Azlan Shah.
"The camp will see 100 youth of all races from every state undergoing basic hockey training with the objective to not only groom our youth with hockey skills, but also moral values, psychological and motivational skills as well," said MSSSC president Datuk Sohan Singh.
The other objective of the camp was to select players for the Junior Hockey League which starts on Jan 9.
The Sikhs have always produced sterling hockey players for the country with the likes of former skippers DSP Mohinder Singh and Sarjit Singh as well as the Malaysian Hockey Confederation secretary general Maninderjit Singh.
Currently, Kelvinder Singh, Baljit Singh and Harvinder Singh are in the national side.