PENANG Girls are on course to winning the National Under-16 title for the third consecutive year when they beat Malacca 2-0 to top Group A with maximum points at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil Thursday.
Mimie Zulaikha Zaini gave the champions the lead with a 49th minute penalty corner, while Nur Hafizah Maznan scored the second off a field attempt in the 61st minute. Penang did not drop a single point in five matches and will meet either Negri Sembilan or Kuala Lumpur in the semi-finals.
Penang beat Negri Sembilan 3-1 in last year's final, with Mimie scoring a brace while Nur Hafizah scored the other goal. Mimie was aptly named as the Best Player of the final then.
Negri and Kuala Lumpur square off in the final girls Group B match today, and while KL, on nine points, need an outright win, Negri have 10 points going into the match and need only a draw to advance.
Selangor girls top Group B on 15 points, and their match against Pahang today is just a warm-up before they face Kedah in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Penang coach Leo Vincey have taken his charges to two titles, and is looking forward to a hat-trick: "We have yet to drop any points and the confidence among my players is very high as we look forward to claiming our third consecutive title. We have to wait another day to see who we meet in the semi-finals (Negri or KL) but it does not matter who we play, as long as my girls play their normal game, our chances of playing in the final are there."
RESULTS: Boys' Group A: Perlis 1 Penang 1, Johor 4 Terengganu 1, Selangor 0 Malacca 1; Group B: Kedah 5 Sabah 1, Negri Sembilan 1 Pahang 5, Perak 5 Kuala Lumpur 2.
Grils' Group A: Perak 2 Kedah 4, Penang 2 Malacca 0; Group B: Pahang 1 Negri Sembilan 6, Terengganu 1 Selangor 3.
FRIDAY: Boys' Group B: Kelantan v Sabah (4pm, Pitch I), Perak v Kedah (4pm, Pitch II), Negri Sembilan v Kuala Lumpur (6pm, Pitch II).
Girls' Group B: Negri Sembilan v Kuala Lumpur (7.30am, Pitch I), Terengganu v Sabah (8am, Pitch II), Selangor v Pahang (9.30am, Pitch I).
(All matches at National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil)
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Monday, March 23, 2015
Pahang boys whip KL 4-0
NATIONAL Under-16 Boys' silver medallists Kuala Lumpur were whipped 4-0 by Pahang at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil Monday.
KL, who had edged Sabah 4-2 in their first match, went crashing to a hat-trick of penalty corners executed by Muhammad Idris in the
35th, 44th and 54th minutes. The other Pahang goal was scored by Nazrey Din off a field attempt in the 18th minute.
RESULTS: Boys' Group A: Penang 1 Malacca 3, Terengganu 2 Perlis 2, Selangor x Johor x; Group B: Kuala Lumpur 0 Pahang 4, Kedah 5 Negri Sembilan 5, Perak x Kelantan x.
Girls' Group A: Penang 7 Johor 2, Kedah 3 Malacca 2; Group B: Pahang 1 Kuala Lumpur 4, Sabah 0 Selangor 2.
TUESDAY: Boys' Group A: Perlis v Selangor (4pm, Pitch I), Malacca v Johor (6pm, Pitch II), Terengganu v Penang (8pm, Pitch II); Group B: Perak v Negri Sembilan (4pm, Pitch II), Kuala Lumpur v Kelantan (6pm, Pitch I), Pahang v Sabah (8pm, Pitch I).
Girls' Group A: Perak v Penang (7.30am, Pitch I), Malacca v Johor (7.30am, Pitch II); Group B: Sabah v Pahang (9.30am, Pitch I), Kuala Lumpur v Terengganu (9.30am, Pitch II).
Note: All matches at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
KL, who had edged Sabah 4-2 in their first match, went crashing to a hat-trick of penalty corners executed by Muhammad Idris in the
35th, 44th and 54th minutes. The other Pahang goal was scored by Nazrey Din off a field attempt in the 18th minute.
RESULTS: Boys' Group A: Penang 1 Malacca 3, Terengganu 2 Perlis 2, Selangor x Johor x; Group B: Kuala Lumpur 0 Pahang 4, Kedah 5 Negri Sembilan 5, Perak x Kelantan x.
Girls' Group A: Penang 7 Johor 2, Kedah 3 Malacca 2; Group B: Pahang 1 Kuala Lumpur 4, Sabah 0 Selangor 2.
TUESDAY: Boys' Group A: Perlis v Selangor (4pm, Pitch I), Malacca v Johor (6pm, Pitch II), Terengganu v Penang (8pm, Pitch II); Group B: Perak v Negri Sembilan (4pm, Pitch II), Kuala Lumpur v Kelantan (6pm, Pitch I), Pahang v Sabah (8pm, Pitch I).
Girls' Group A: Perak v Penang (7.30am, Pitch I), Malacca v Johor (7.30am, Pitch II); Group B: Sabah v Pahang (9.30am, Pitch I), Kuala Lumpur v Terengganu (9.30am, Pitch II).
Note: All matches at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Something smells rotten...
SOMETHING is very wrong with the grassroot development of hockey.
Schools, states, clubs and 1Mas development programmes have failed to unearth even a single Sikh, Chinese or Indian to represent Malaysia in the 2016 Junior World Cup which will be held in New Delhi.
Yes, the only good news when the April training squad of Project 2016 was released yesterday by team manager Mirnawan Nawawi was Sabah-born Maxhans Christi.
The other 24 players were all Malay.
And the ongoing National Under-16 tournament is no better, as even though 13 states are competing and there are a total of 234 players, there is only one Sikh boy playing for Kuala Lumpur and six Indian boys -- three from Negri Sembilan, two from Kedah and one from Perak.
In the Girls' Under-16 where 11 states are competing, there are only four Indian girls -- two from Kedah, and one each from Pahang and Selangor.
The Chinese are nowhere to be seen, while Sabah has 18 boys and 18 girls competing.
Former national coach K. Dharmaraj, who is attached with the National Sports Council now, is the main scout for the Under-16 tournament where he plans to select 30 to 35 players and form Project 2020.
This will be the start-up to Dharmaraj's personal dream of winning the Junior World Cup in 2020, after he and his charges claimed the fourth spot in the 2013 New Delhi World Cup.
Coming back to the Project 2016 which will play at the Kuantan Junior Asia Cup in November, which is a Junior World Cup qualifier, Mirnawan said there are no excellent players of other races coming out of the current development programme.
Mirnawan, who has played with a multi-racial team in World Cups as well as the Olympics, said he would like to see other races coming out of the woodwork, but it is too late for the next World Cup.
"I would love to see all the races representing Malaysia like a decade ago, but at the moment, not many non Malays play hockey. Even at the ongoing Under-16 one can count the number of non-Malays with one hand.
"My wish is that in Project 2020, we need to develop more excellent players from the other race group. Curently, from the 25 playuers in training in Project 2016, only Maxhans is the odd one out."
Six new players were added to the Project 2016 after the conclusion of the Junior Hockey League, and the scouts could not even find one Sikh, Indian or Chinese from the 30 teams, comprising a total of 540 players, which competed in the two JHL divisions.
Something is really wrong with the development of the sport in the country.
Clubs like UniKL Young Guns are doing the right thing by having open training sessions every weekend where everybody is invited to join in, and even those who can hardly hold hockey sticks properly are coached with patience by former and current national players.
But something must be very wrong at the schools as well as the 1Mas programme at the state levels, which has funding to the millions, when they can't even produce one Chinese to replace the late Chua Boon Huat.
Baljit Singh is the last Sikh, while S. Kumar is the last Indian standing at the senior level, and going by current form, there will be none in the 2016 Junior World Cup, while 15-year-old Pavandip Singh Gurdip will most likely be the only non-Malay in the 2020 Junior World Cup as he has shown form in the ongoing National Under-16.
Something is very wrong at the grassroot as suddenly, non-Malays are no longer interested in a sport which they used to excel in, at World Cups and Olympics.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Tengku Abdullah endorses Subahan..
THE Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Extraordinary General Meeting (EOGM) went smoothly yesterday, and the only big news was that the secretary general will be replaced by a Chief Executive Officer.
Elections have been set for May 13, and the delegates amicably voted minor changes to tighten up their constitution in the EOGM.
The amended constitution followed International Hockey Federation (FIH) guidelines, and there will be two deputy presidents' -- one a woman and the other a man.
MHC were embroiled in a constitutional crisis with the FIH when their earlier amended constitution was rejected because it was not gender friendly.
"The EOGM went smoothly and there will be two deputy presidents' (one woman and one man) and the person which receives the highest vote will be known as the senior deputy president," said MHC outgoing president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
Tengku Abdullah will not seek re-election on May 13: "In the earlier nomination, only Subahan (Datuk Sri Subahan Kamal) was nominated for the president's post and I believe it will be the same when nominations closed."
When asked if Tengku Abdullah endorsed Subahan as president: "Well I endorse him as he was the only candidate earlier and the best person to replace me. However, if the delegates feel otherwise and nominate a challenger, may the ballot decide who is the best."
The front-runner to be elected as the men's deputy is Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad, while incumbent deputy president Raja Puan Sri Noora Ashikin Raja Abdullah is set to take charge of the women's section.
On another issue, controversial national striker Faizal Saari will return to training today, after boycotting it due to unsolved bonus payments. If Faizal does show up, it will be his first day of training since he went missing right after the Singapore World League Round Two.
"Faizal is a good player, but his destiny is in his own hands. It is what he wants in life, and nobody should force him to return because then he will not give his best. If he feels he does not wan't to represent the country any more, lets move on and concentrate on the players who show up for training," said Tengku Abdullah.
Elections have been set for May 13, and the delegates amicably voted minor changes to tighten up their constitution in the EOGM.
The amended constitution followed International Hockey Federation (FIH) guidelines, and there will be two deputy presidents' -- one a woman and the other a man.
MHC were embroiled in a constitutional crisis with the FIH when their earlier amended constitution was rejected because it was not gender friendly.
"The EOGM went smoothly and there will be two deputy presidents' (one woman and one man) and the person which receives the highest vote will be known as the senior deputy president," said MHC outgoing president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
Tengku Abdullah will not seek re-election on May 13: "In the earlier nomination, only Subahan (Datuk Sri Subahan Kamal) was nominated for the president's post and I believe it will be the same when nominations closed."
When asked if Tengku Abdullah endorsed Subahan as president: "Well I endorse him as he was the only candidate earlier and the best person to replace me. However, if the delegates feel otherwise and nominate a challenger, may the ballot decide who is the best."
The front-runner to be elected as the men's deputy is Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad, while incumbent deputy president Raja Puan Sri Noora Ashikin Raja Abdullah is set to take charge of the women's section.
On another issue, controversial national striker Faizal Saari will return to training today, after boycotting it due to unsolved bonus payments. If Faizal does show up, it will be his first day of training since he went missing right after the Singapore World League Round Two.
"Faizal is a good player, but his destiny is in his own hands. It is what he wants in life, and nobody should force him to return because then he will not give his best. If he feels he does not wan't to represent the country any more, lets move on and concentrate on the players who show up for training," said Tengku Abdullah.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Nat Under-16: Perak edge Sabah 3-1
PERAK beat Sabah 3-1 in Group B of the Boys' National Under-16 tournament at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil Saturday.
Defending champions Selangor, in Group A, open their campaign against Terengganu today.
RESULTS: Boys' Group B: Perak 3 Sabah 1, Kedah 1 Pahang 7, Negri 2 Kelantan 0.
Girls' Group B: Negri 1 Sabah 1, Pahang 1 Terengganu 6.
SUNDAY: Boys' Group A: Selangor v Terengganu (4pm, Picth II), Penang v Johor (4pm, Pitch II), Perlis v Malacca (8pm, Pitch II).
Group B: Perak v Pahang (4pm, Pitch I), Kuala Lumpur v Sabah (6pm, Picth I), Kedah v Kelantan (8pm, Pitch I).
Girls' Group A: Kedah v Johor (7.30am, Pitch I), Perak v Malacca (7.30am, Pitch II); Group B: Selangor v Kuala Lumpur (9.30am, Pitch I), Negri Sembilan v Terengganu (9.30am, Pitch I).
Defending champions Selangor, in Group A, open their campaign against Terengganu today.
RESULTS: Boys' Group B: Perak 3 Sabah 1, Kedah 1 Pahang 7, Negri 2 Kelantan 0.
Girls' Group B: Negri 1 Sabah 1, Pahang 1 Terengganu 6.
SUNDAY: Boys' Group A: Selangor v Terengganu (4pm, Picth II), Penang v Johor (4pm, Pitch II), Perlis v Malacca (8pm, Pitch II).
Group B: Perak v Pahang (4pm, Pitch I), Kuala Lumpur v Sabah (6pm, Picth I), Kedah v Kelantan (8pm, Pitch I).
Girls' Group A: Kedah v Johor (7.30am, Pitch I), Perak v Malacca (7.30am, Pitch II); Group B: Selangor v Kuala Lumpur (9.30am, Pitch I), Negri Sembilan v Terengganu (9.30am, Pitch I).
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