Project 2013 carry huge burden

By Ajitpal Singh

THE future of Malaysian hockey will depend on how the Project 2013 squad fare in the Junior Asia Cup, which doubles up as a qualifier for next year's New Delhi Junior World Cup.
Coach K. Dharmaraj believes his players, who have been with him since 2009, will not let him down at the tournament scheduled for May 3-13 at Malacca's Bukit Serindit Stadium.
Except for India, who as hosts have qualified automatically for the Junior World Cup, the other seven teams will be vying for the two berths allocated by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
Malaysia have been drawn in Group A with South Korea, Japan and Iran while India, Pakistan, China and Sri Lanka make up Group B.
"I want my team to win this tournament. Anything less than that means I've failed. We, however, need to focus on reaching the final first before thinking about the title," said Dharmaraj yesterday.
"We have played all these teams and I believe we are good enough to do better than them. I have 32 players in training and all of them have improved since 2009. It will be tough for me to select only 18 for this event."
The team will bank on the experience of national players Firhan Ashaari, Amir Farid and the Saari brothers, Faizal and Fitri in the tournament.
"They will form the core but I also have 10 other players who have been in and out of the national squad of late," said the coach.
Dharmaraj will drop 10 players after today's friendly against South Korea before they leave for Malacca.
"We will play friendlies against an Australian county side in Malacca before I trim the squad to the final 18," he added.
Malaysia open their campaign against Iran on May 3.

Iran opener in Malacca..

7th Men’s Junior Asia Cup
Malacca, Malaysia – 3/13 May 2012
---------------------------------------------


Pool A Pool B
Korea Pakistan
Malaysia India
Japan China
Iran Sri Lanka


Date Match # Time Pitch Pool Match
Thu 3 May 12 01 17h00 1 A Korea v. Japan
02 19h00 1 A Malaysia v. Iran

Fri 4 May 12 03 17h00 1 B Pakistan v. China
04 19h00 1 B India v. Sri Lanka

Sat 5 May 12 05 17h00 1 A Japan v. Iran
06 19h00 1 A Malaysia v. Korea

Sun 6 May 12 07 15h00 1 B China v. Sri Lanka
08 17h00 1 B India v. Pakistan
09 19h00 1 A Korea v. Iran

Mon 7 May 12 10 15h00 1 B China v. India
11 17h00 1 B Pakistan v. Sri Lanka
12 19h00 1 A Japan v. Malaysia

The never-ending wait..

PIC: SHAABAN HUSSIN

MALAYSIAN Golf Association (MGA) turned out to be the biggest winners of the Maybank Malaysian Open, when they received a grant of RM2 million from the government for the development of junior golfers.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made the the announcement when he presented the Seagram Trophy to tournament winner Louis Oosthuizen on Sunday.
The fact that only Shaaban Hussin made the half-way cut in the Malaysian Open, while 21 others fell by the wayside, paints a perfect picture of the current local golf scene.
The smile on MGA president Tan Sri Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Nor’s face after hearing the announcement said it all, but he should know that getting the grant is just the beginning of a long uphill battle to produce a local champion.
MGA recently announced the formation of a Junior Club to register all juniors under 18 years old with the governing body and among some of the benefits or joining with a fee of RM20 are:

Free Handicap from the National Handicapping System.
Invitation to attend golf clinics conducted by MGA.
Invitation to attend National Golf Camps.
Be included in the Order of Merit to represent Malaysia in the local and international events.
Play at some MGA affiliated clubs at special rates.
. Special rates on golf apparels and equipment at selected shops.

That move to register all juniors under one umbrella is long overdue, and was refreshing considering that not a single Malaysian has won the Malaysian Open since its inception in 1962.
Even golfers from the Philippines, Ireneo Legaspi (1967) and Ben Arda (1970) have won the Malaysian Open. Not to mention, the six Japanese, three China, two South Korean Malaysian Open champions who showed that Asians can compete against the rest of the world.
Thailand golfer Thongchai Jaidee deserves special mention as he won back-to-back in 2004 and 2005.
History also has witnessed China’s Lu Hsi-chuen winning a hat-trick of titles in 1979, 81 and 84.
So, when Shaaban came close to tears after signing in his card at joint-57th, Malaysian golf fans were crying their hearts out at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
They have resigned to the fact that it is a near impossible task for a Malaysian to be atop the podium in the next decade -- and nasty jokes were flying around the greens as well as the many sponsors marquees.
Money is never a problem, as even the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour, in its infancy, has attracted 19 sponsored legs which offers a total of RM3 million in prize money.
But while the MGA money will go towards developing the youth, the rich PGM Tour might just make local golfers lazy to venture beyond our shores as the pickings are easier here.
Shaaban was spot on, when he blasted some golfers who were handed the Asian Tour cards on a platter but refused to get out of the local comfort zone.
“How are they going to improve their game if they do not venture abroad but keep on playing at home? lamented Shaaban.

Azlan Shah training starts

THE National senior team started their Azlan Shah Cup training yesterday, with 11 available players at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
The Azlan Shah Cup, on May 24 to June 3, will feature six teams who have qualified for the Olympics -- India, Australia, Great Britain, South Korea, New Zealand and Pakistan.
Only hosts Malaysia failed to make the grade in the Dublin Olympic Qualifier.
“Eleven players turned up for training today (yesterday) as five of them are involved with the Project 2013 side, while others could not get leave from their studies.
“We invited 24 trainees for the Azlan Shah Cup, and will most probably head for Ipoh to train at the blue pitch for a few days,” said national coach Tai Beng Hai.
The Olympics will use a blue artificial pitch and a yellow ball for the first time, and the six Olympians will benefit from the Azlan Shah Cup simulation.
Five Project 2013 players have been included in the Azlan Shah Cu list, which means if they get selected, they will play in the Junior Asia Cup in Malacca on May 3-13, and then another gruelling tournament 11 days later.
The Junior Asia Cup also doubles up as the 2014 Junior World Cup Qualifier, and two berths will be made available in Malacca, excluding hosts India.
AZLAN SHAH CUP TRAINEES: Roslan Jamaluddin (gk), S. Kumar (gk), Hairi Rahman (gk), Izzat Rahim, Amin Rahim, Marhan Jalil, Fitri Saari, Izwan Firdaus, Faizal Saari, Shahrun Nabil, Shukri Mutalib, Azlan Misron, Nabil Fiqri, Razie Rahim, Hafifi Hafiz Hanafi, Baljit Singh, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Azreen Rizal, Fitri Abu Bakar, Shahrin Mohamed, Faiz Helmi, Firhan Ashaari, Farid Fuzi, Azammi Adabi.

The Oosthuizen show

IT was a sobering experience for South African Louis Oosthuizen, as he not only avenged his Agusta defeat, but also pocketed a cool US$416,660 with came with his winning score of 17 under 271 in the Maybank Malaysian Open at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club yesterday.
There was never a doubt that he is going to slip, or that there will be a play-off to determine the winner, as the South African was fully focused at the task at hand.
Scotsman Stephen Gallacher carded a battling 70 for second place while American David Lipsky, winner of the Cambodian Classic last month, finished joint third and two shots back after a 70 alongside Danny Willett of England (71) and Spaniard Rafael Cabrera-Bello (71).
Former Asian Tour number ones Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa of India were the best placed Asians in tied 11th place in the US$2.5 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
"It was important for me to come here and put up a good fight after last week. Last week was tough and that kind of a result always takes abit out of you," said Oosthuizen.
And having his family along was just the right tonic he needed to overcome a 30-hour flight jet-lag.
"Having the family here this week was unbelievable. They were meant to fly to South Africa from Augusta but my wife said she she wanted to come here even though she knew she was in for a tough one with the kids!
"But it was just great, it always is. It is always nice to have your little girl waiting on you when you come off the 18th to give you a hug. And it doesn't matter if you have played good or bad, she just wants that hug," said Oosthuizen.
His wake-up call was when he missed a short putt for par on the sixth: "I kind of woke up again and refocused and started to make better shots and played really well on the back-nine."
Oosthuizen, who received the Seagram Trophy from Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Sri Najib Tun Abdul Razak and also the champion’s navy blue jacket, said: “It would have been better if I had the green jacket (laughter) but I’m a little bit surprise because I thought I would be tired. I played well and the game was there so it made it a lot easier. I had a good week.”
A distant four shots behind was Stephen Gallacher of Scotland, who was never really a worrying factor for the leader in the back nine chase.
"I'm pleased with myself, as I only had a couple of bogies this the week and even threw in a shot as well which wasn't there!," said Gallacher who signed for the wrong score in the morning third round, with a 69 when he had a 68 and it stood.
He paid tribute to the phenomenal show from the South African.
"It was a super show from Oosthuizen considering what he went through last week. I thought he might get tired today and obviously he isn't. He is a fit guy and fair play to him."