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CHUA BOON HUAT
ROSLAN JAMALUDDIN
MALAYSIA will open accounts against Pakistan in the World League Semi-finals in Johor Baru on Saturday, with tradition favouring the men in green.
Pakistan have never failed to play in a World Cup since its inception in 1971. And from their 12 appearances, they are the most successful side with four titles won in 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994.
The Netherlands have won three titles, and Germany and Australia have each won two titles with India lifting the trophy once.
“We have never failed to qualify for the World Cup and aim to keep the proud tradition intact in Johor Baru. We are here to qualify, and will not be looking towards the Asia Cup as a back-up,” said Pakistan head coach Akhtar Rasool.
The other teams in Group B are England and South Africa. The top-three teams in Johor Baru qualify for the World Cup in the Hague, Netherlands, next year.
Malaysian assistant coach Arul Selvaraj, however, aims to keep a winning momentum from the start -- and that means a win against Pakistan.
“Even though all eight teams play in the quarter-finals, we aim to keep a winning momentum in the group stages as well to give the players a boost ahead of the knock-out fixtures.
“Pakistan have some hard-running and skilful players, but the fact that we held them (2-2) in the Azlan Shah Cup means that they are not unbeatable,” said Arul.
The present squad has seen more downs than ups, except two senior players who have been successful in steering Malaysia past a qualifier, be it for the World Cup or the Olympics since 2000.
And goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin and striker Chua Boon Huat aim to utilise their experience in guiding their teammates negotiate their way past a host of top teams in Johor Baru.
Roslan and Chua played in the Osaka Olympic Qualifiers in 2000 where Malaysia made it on merit to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. After that Malaysia played in the 2002 World Cup as hosts and have never made it past the qualifiers to the two top events.
Roslan was left out of the national team after the 2006 Doha Asian Games and made a return in 2010 when coach Stephen van Huizen recalled him for the 2010 Commonwealth Games ( New Delhi) and Asian Games ( Guangzhou).
“Playing and getting through a qualifier gives a player a sense of satisfaction. The feeling is totally different and that is what I hope to share with the rest of the team,” said Roslan who competes against S. Kumar for the goalkeeping job in matches.
His views were echoed by Chua, who also like Roslan was in the wilderness from 2009 until recalled by coach Paul Revington when the South African took over the reins of the national team.
“I can still remember that day, and it was a fantastic feeling. And I aim to do my best here in Johor Baru to relive that feeling,” said Chua.
GROUP A: Germany, South Korea, Argentina, Japan.
GROUP B: England, Pakistan, South Africa, Malaysia.
June 29: Group A -- Germany v Argentina (3pm), Korea v Japan (5pm),
Group B: Pakistan v Malaysia (7pm), England v South Africa (9pm).
June 30: Group A: Argentina v Japan (3pm), Korea v Germany (5pm).
Group B: Pakistan v England (7pm), South Africa v Malaysia (9pm).
July 1: REST DAY
July 2: Group A: Germany v Japan (3pm), Argentina v Korea (5pm).
Group B: England v Malaysia (7pm), South Africa v Pakistan (9pm).
July 3: REST DAY
July 4: Quarter-finals.
NOTE: Malaysian time.
THE South Koreans will rely on experience and fitness in the World League Semi-finals starting in Johor Baru on Saturday.
After finishing second to Argentina in the Champions Challenge, the Koreans left behind three players as they played in tournaments and Tours, but have included them back into the squad to inject experience.
The highly experienced and deadly trio are Lee Nam Yong, Jang Jong Hyun and Oh Dae Keun -- all three of whom were missing from the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup where Malaysia beat them 3-2.
While Nam Yong and and Dae Keun joined the team after their commitments in the Dutch League, Jong Hyun was a late inclusion, only joining the squad after their Tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Jong Hyun is an ace penalty corner flicker and has a total of 197 international caps while Nam Yong has 206 to his credit and Dae Keun 104.
Nam Yong is best known for his goal seven seconds from time against Ireland in the Olympic Qualifiers in Dublin last year that saw Korea make it to London Olympics.
"We are a better side now compared to the Azlan Shah Cup (bronze finish) as the inclusion of these three players has added depth into the squad and we are more balanced," said South Korean coach Shin Seok Kyo.
"While Nam Yong and Dae Keun joined us in Perth, we decided to include Jong Hyun after the New Zealand matches.
"We are a more balanced side now and while consistency is a factor, it is two matches that will decide the fate of all eight teams here in Johor Baru."
Shin said that the quarter-finals and semis are two matches that are vital and the group matches will just be sparring sessions for teams as they plan their way into the knockout stages.
"The focus of every team would be on the knock-out matches, and ours is no different," said Shin.
With the haze clearing fast as the tournament day nears, the Korean coach had another complaint, that the the fixtures were rather unfair to teams in Group A which made up of Germany, South Korea, Japan and Argentina.
"We play all our matches in the early afternoons and it can get pretty hot here in Malaysia. So there should have been some matches at night for us. But then again I guess we cannot complain much as fitness is our forte and we can capitalise on this," added Shin.
In Group B are Malaysia, England, South Africa and Pakistan.
BY FIH
Hockey World League Semi-Final Johor Bahru 2013 23 June 2013
Pollution and Air Quality Situation in Johor Bahru
As has widely been reported, smoke from large-scale forest fires in Indonesia has been drifting east and negatively affecting the air quality in Malaysia and Singapore.
With a view to the Hockey World League Semi-Final event starting in Johor Bahru on Saturday, the International Hockey Federation is closely monitoring the situation and developments in co-operation with the Malaysian Hockey Confederation, Malaysian government agencies and FIH Tournament Director Björn Isberg who has already been on the ground in Singapore for several days.
At this stage, our information is that the situation has been improving over the last two days, with the PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) dropping below 100 in Johor Bahru after peaking over 300. The forecast for the coming days is positive with an expectation for north-west winds and precipitation, which will contribute to further alleviate the situation but the possibility of sudden changes in wind direction remains, affecting the predictability of the development of the situation.
FIH is receiving updates on pollution and air quality data every four hours and is evaluating the situation and developments on an ongoing basis. Per the recommendation of the FIH Medical Committee, FIH's policy indicates that a match may be started or proceed if the PSI does not significantly exceed 100 for a prolonged period of time, but no match may be started or proceed at readings of 150 or above.
This policy is in line with the recommendations of the Malaysia Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment as well as the widespread consensus amongst government agencies worldwide which consider
• PSI values below 100 to indicate no to moderate pollution levels with few or no health effects for the general population,
• PSI values of 101-150 to have harmful impacts on sensitive groups of the population, and
• PSI values of 151-200 to have harmful impacts on sensitive groups of the population and cause transient symptoms of irritation e.g. eye irritation, sneezing or coughing in some of the healthy population.
FIH President Leandro Negre said, “The FIH is firmly committed to taking all measures necessary to protect the health and safety of athletes and officials participating in the upcoming Hockey World League Semi-Final event in Johor Bahru and to ensure a suitable high performance environment for a fair competition. Contingency plans are in place for the case that pollution in Johor Bahru returns to unhealthy to hazardous levels, including the possibility of relocating the event to a different city.”
FIH will continue to monitor the situation and will keep participating teams informed of all developments in due course.
THE Hockey World League Semi-finals looks set to stay in Johor Baru, as the haze conditions have shown tremendous improvements with rain around the Taman Daya Stadium bringing some relief yesterday.
The Malaysian juniors, South Korea and Argentina trained at the tournament venue yesterday, and according to juniors coach K. Dharmaraj, conditions at present are playable.
“While travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Baru con ditions along the highway were bad a few days back, but when we reached Taman Daya, there was hardly any haze and we got a chance to play a friendly against the Argentina side (on Sunday),” said Dharmaraj who is preparing his team for the Junior World Cup in India in December.
The Malaysian juniors got a chance of their life-time, as many teams will be using them to spar in the run-up to the World League.
“Even though we lost 3-1 to Argentina, the Argies did not look too impressive but maybe it is because of jet-lag and acclimatisation. We will be playing a friendly against South Korea next and then Japan which is a fantastic opportunity for my charges to toughen themselves ahead of New Delhi,” said Dharmaraj.
Organising secretary Manjit Majid Abdullah said there was heavy rain in Pasir Gudang, and a drizzle in Taman Daya and the forecast for the next few days looks good.
“I spoke to the tournament director (Bjorn Isberg of Sweden) and we have a contingency plan in place. If the haze disrupt any match, we have three rest days and can utilise them.
“Also, the conditions around Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan are worse off than Johor Baru, and moving the tournament is not feasible at the moment,” said Manjit.
Yesterday, a total of RM640,000 was handed over by sponsors to the Johor Hockey Association in a simple cer emony that marks the countdown of an event where three more teams will qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Holland.
Present to receive the sponsorship was Johor State Ex ecutive Councillar for Youth and Sports Datuk Zulkarnain Kamisan. Also present was JHA President Jais Sardy and Malaysian Hockey Confederation vice president M. Gob inathan.
Eight teams will compete in Johor Baru on June 29-July 7. Group A comprises of Germany, South Korea, Argentina and Japan while Group B has England, Pakistan, South Africa and Malaysia.
A total of 12 teams will play in the 2014 World Cup where hosts Netherlands are automatic qualifiers while Belgium and Australia qualified after finishing one-two respectively in another World League Semi-finals which ended at the The Hague on Sunday.
