World League 3:Semifinals or bust..

MALAYSIA left for Netherlands Sunday night to play their final friendlies before heading for Belgium for a shot at the Olympics.
  And their only route to Rio de Janeiro next year is to finish among the top-four in the Belgium Qualifier.
  This change came about when the Argentina World League Semifinals concluded with Germany, Argentina and Netherlands grabbing three tickets to the Olympics.
  Canada were the surprise package when they finished fourth, while Spain fifth and New Zealand sixth. Asian teams South Korea and Japan could only finish seventh and eighth.
  In simple terms, if Malaysia enter the semi-finals, by virtue of being ranked higher than fourth placed Canada they will be the first choice to the Olympics when double qualification from continental tournaments occur.
  But if they finish fifth or sixth, the first and second choices would be Spain (11th) and New Zealand (7th) who are higher ranked than Malaysia (12th).
  Coach Tai Beng Hai's men will play low-key matches against Brazil and the Netherlands Under-21 team as warm-ups for the World League Semi-finals which starts on June 20 to July 5.
  Malaysia are in Group B of the World League with Belgium, Great Britain, China and Ireland. In Group A are Australia, India, Pakistan, Poland and France.
  A top-three finish will automatically see Malaysia play at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next year. But the World League format allows the fourth placed team to play in the Olympics, provided there are double qualifications.
  While Malaysia play low ranked Brazil; India, Belgium, Australia and Great Britain are involved in high stakes friendlies.
  Belgium beat India 2-1, while Great Britain shocked world no 1 Australia 3-1.
  "We will be gunning for the semi-finals, which will not be easy, but not impossible as well," said Beng Hai.
  Canada showed that impossible is nothing when they held New Zealand 0-0 and then beat the Kiwis in the penalty shoot-out to play in the semi-finals of the World League in Argentina.
  "Canada did the unthinkable and even though they finished fourth in the Argentina World League they still have a chance to qualify for the Olympics. We need to be in the semi-finals and then our higher ranking than Canada will see us through," said Beng Hai.
  Malaysia are ranked 12th in the world while Canada are 15th.
  In Belgium, Malaysia play China followed by Ireland after a three-day rest, and if they win both the matches, the quarter-finals is secured even before playing Belgium and Great Britain.
  "We need to beat China and Ireland, to be placed in the middle of the group leading into the quarter-finals. We have selected the best players in the country, and we will be leaving past behaviour of all the players back home to start afresh in our quest to play in the Olympics."
   For the record, Malaysia last played at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
   FIXTURES: June 20 -- Group A: India v France, Pakistan v Poland.
   June 21 -- Group A: Australia v France; Group B: Malaysia v China (6pm Malaysian time), Great Britain v Belgium.
   June 22: REST DAY
   June 23: Group A: India v Poland; Group B: Great Britain v Ireland, Belgium v China.
   June 24: Group A: Poland v France, Pakistan v Australia.
   June 25: Group B: Malaysia v Ireland (8pm Malaysian time), Great Britain v China.
   June 26: Group A: Pakistan v India, Australia v Poland; Group B: Ireland v China, Malaysia v Belgium (12 midnight Malaysian time).
   June 27: REST DAY
   June 28: Group A: Pakistan v France, India v Australia; Group B: Malaysia v Great Britain (8pm Malaysian time), Belgium v Ireland.
   June 29: REST DAY.
   June 30: REST DAY.
   July 1: quarter-finals.
   July 2: REST DAY.
   July 3: Semi-finals.
   July 4: REST DAY.
   July 5: Final, Third-Fourth and Fifth-Sixth.

Argentina and Germany check into Olympics

Host nation Argentina and Germany have reached the competition final of the men’s Argentina Hockey World League Semi-Final in Buenos Aires, claiming two of the event's three guaranteed tickets for the Hockey World League Final in India later this year.

As well as a ticket to the HWL Final, the two victorious nations also confirmed their places at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the process.

Goals from Gonzalo Peillat, Juan Gilardi and Ignacio Ortiz helped Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Pan-American rivals Canada in the first semi-final, while a late strike from Oskar Deecke gave Germany a 2-1 semi-final win over European rivals and 2013 Hockey World League champions the Netherlands at the Centro Nacional de Alto Rendimiento Deportivo (CeNARD) in Buenos Aires.

  Netherlands and Canada play for bronze, which also comes with a ticket to Rio de janeiro 2016.

Gurdwara Cup: Perak break duck after 64 years

Caption: Perak Boys Under-18 hockey team who finished third and earned the crucial one point to give their contingent the Overall title for the first time in 64 years.

GRITTY Perak finally laid their hands on the coveted Gurdwara Cup Overall title when they edged Kuala Lumpur by one point at the Penang Sports Club last weekend.
  The Gurdwara Cup and Sikh Festival of Sports was at its 64th edition, and it was the first time in 64 years that Perak won the Overall title.
  Nine contingents from Johor, Perak, Kedah, Royal Malaysian Police Sikhs Sports Association, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Singapore and hosts Penang competed in this annual event.
  Kuala Lumpur have been in total domination of the event and their only other defeat in the Overall title was in 2001 when Singapore dethroned them.
  And amazingly, the one point was delivered late into the tournament by Perak's Under-18 Boys' hockey team.
  Perak Sikh Union president Gurjeet Singh said: "It is real wonderful moment for Perak as its our first Overall title in 64 years and I credit all the players in every event who gave their best to achieve this milestone. The boys under-18 team finished third and were a little disappointed, but in the end, it was their one point which saw us edge Kuala Lumpur to the title."
  Perak accumulated 20 points while Kuala Lumpur had 19. The Gurdwara Cup will be held in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, next year.
  On hand to give moral support for Kuala Lumpur was the country's  Asian Games gold medallist ACP (rtd) Datuk Nashatar Singh.
  The highlight of the championship was the senior men's hockey final at the Penang Sports Club ground where debutant Royal Malaysian Police Sikhs Sports Association were sent packing 6-1 by Kuala Lumpur.
  Organising committee chairman Dr Terlochan Singh said for the first time the Royal Malaysian Police Sikhs Sports Association has been invited to participate in the Gurdwara Cup, one of the oldest sporting events in the country.

  Roll of Honour:
  Overall champions: Perak
  Best Sikh Sportman 2014: Navraj Singh Randhawa (athletics).
  Most Promising Sikh Sportman 2014: Jasraj Singh Dhanoa (cricket), Shaunvinder Singh (cricket) and Ishaan Singh (tennis).
  Hockey Fair Play Trophy (senior): Johor
  Football Fair Play Trophy (senior): Perak
  Netball Fair Play Trophy: Penang 


  RESULTS - Badminton: Final: Negri Sembilan 2 Perak 0; 3rd-4th: Selangor 2 Kuala Lumpur 0.
  Football (juniors) Final: Perak 3 Kuala Lumpur 0; 3rd-4th: Selangor 3 Singapore 0.
  Seniors Final: Kuala Lumpur 1 (4) Perak 1 (2); 3rd-4th: Negri Sembilan 0 (3) Selangor 0 (0).
  Golf: 1 Perak (304 pts), Singapore (309), 3 Selangor (314).
  Hockey (juniors) Final: Kuala Lumpur 4 Negri Sembilan 1; Bronze: Perak.
  Seniors Final: Kuala Lumpur 6 Royal Malaysian Police Sikh Sports Association 1; 3rd-4th: Perak 0 (6) Selangor 0 (5).
  Netball Final: Selangor 25 Kuala Lumpur 22; 3rd-4th: Penang 23 Perak 21.

Top eight confirmed in Buenos Aires

Spain, Korea and Japan join the Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Argentina and Canada in the quarter-finals at the Argentina Hockey World League Semi-Final in Buenos Aires.

Argentina are back on top of pool B. The Leones defeated the Olympic champions Germany in an entertaining match with 4-3 thanks to a late goal from FIH rising star Gonzalo Peillat. Spain beat Austria 4-1 to secure a top four position in the pool. Earlier, Nick Haig’s last-minute goal had secured his Blacksticks a 1-1 draw against the pool A leaders from the Netherlands with Egypt missing out on the knock-stage after a 7-3 loss to Korea.

Match 13: Egypt v Korea 2-7 (2-2)

Egypt, who lost their first three matches in Buenos Aires, were fighting hard to avoid another defeat but their effort has not paid off. The Egyptians kept the match open for quite some time, but Korea eventually sealed the 7-2 victory in the last quarter.

Captain Amr Elhady opened the scoring on 8 minutes but the advantage was short-lived. Korea recovered quickly and equalised in the same minute through a penalty corner goal from Nam Hyunwoo before turning the score around with a beautiful field goal from Jang Jonghyun (13’). Egypt struck back through Mohamed Essam (26’) before halftime to level the contest at 2-2 at the break.

Hamad Atef (34’) put Egypt ahead 3-2 but Korea responded 10 minutes later when Nam (44’) scored from a penalty stroke. However, the Koreans saved their best performance for the last quarter, adding more goals through Lee Namyong (46’), Lee Jung Jun (50’), Kang Moonkyu (57’) and You Hyosik (58’) - the 7-3 win demonstrating their superiority.

Match 14: New Zealand v Netherlands 1-1 (0-1)

Nick Haig’s last-minute strike secured New Zealand a thrilling 1-1 against the Netherlands. As the match finished tied, both teams remain unbeaten at the Argentina Hockey Champions Trophy in Buenos Aires with the Dutchmen leading the pool because of the better goal difference.

The first half of action in Buenos Aires didn’t see many scoring opportunities for either side. However, the current Olympic and World Cup Silver medallists were first on the scoreboard when Jeroen Hertberger (21’) netted following a beautiful pass from Robbert Kemperman.

New Zealand worked hard to come back and the effort paid off when they won their first penalty corner with two minutes remaining. Nick Haig (60’) took responsibility and scored. The Black Sticks were close to adding another goal but a second penalty corner taken by Nick Hayward went wide. 

Match 15: Austria v Spain 1-4 (1-3)

Spain have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Argentina Hockey World League in Buenos Aires after beating Austria 4-1 in a key encounter. The world’s number 22 finished bottom of pool B having lost all four matches. Austria will now play off in Thursday’s 9th/10th classification match against Egypt.

The match started with high intensity and both teams enjoying possession. Spain won an early penalty corner which was superbly converted by Pau Quemada (6’) after the ball was deflected from the post. Andres Mir (17’) doubled the lead at the beginning of the second quarter before the Austrians pulled one back through a penalty corner goal from Dominic Uher (26’).

Xavi Lleonart (29’) added another penalty corner goal just before halftime to secure a convincing 3-1 lead at the break. In the third quarter Quemada (43’) increased the Red Stick's lead to 4-1. Austria fought hard in the last quarter but could not bridge the gap.

Match 16: Argentina v Germany 4-3 (2-2)

Argentina maintained their unbeaten streak on home soil at the Argentina Hockey World League Semi-Final in Buenos Aires. The Leones defeated the Olympic champions Germany in an entertaining match with 4-3 thanks to a late goal from FIH rising star Gonzalo Peillat. Argentina are now back on top of pool B.

The Leones were on fire in the first quarter scoring on 8 and 13 minutes. Pedro Ibarra put Argentina ahead with a penalty corner goal before Juan Gilardi doubled the lead with a penalty stroke goal. The Olympic champions leveled the score to 2-2 before halftime thanks to goals from Florian Fuchs (21’) and Christopher Zeller (24’). Zeller received a superb flick from Martin Häner and started a solo run to score a beautiful equaliser.

Play got hectic towards the end with both sides looking for the winner in the sold-out CeNARD stadium. Peillat put his Leones ahead 3-2 when he converted a penalty corner on 53 minutes. However, it took Germany just one minute to strike back through a penalty corner goal from Tobias Hauke (54’). The game-winning goal arrived with two minutes remaining. Argentina won another penalty corner which was fired home by Peillat to secure the 4-3 win.

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Malaysia's 18 Olympic hopefuls...

NATIONAL chief coach Tai Beng Hai finally named his final 18 for the World League Semi-finals, with three players having less than 30 caps.
  The WL Semifinals, on June 20-July 5 in Antwerp, Belgium, is an Olympic Qualifier with the top-four assured of making the trip to Rio de Janeiro next year.
  However, the young trio ahve played in many international tournaments before and are not wet behind the ears.
  Meor Azuan (29 caps), Shahril Saabah (29 caps) and Haziq Shamsul (17 caps) will carry a heavy burden of making sure Malaysia do not miss the Olympics again -- a platform the country last played in Sydney 2000.
  "Although the three have very few caps, they have played in the World Cup, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games before and they made the squad on merit," said Beng Hai.
  Haziq, Meor and Shahril played in the last Junior World Cup in New Delhi where Malaysia finished fourth, while Shahril also played in the Netherlands World Cup. Meor has also played in the Commonwealth Games.
  Malaysia are in Group B with China, Ireland, Great Britain and Belgium. While in Group A are Australia, Pakistan, India, France and Poland.
  Only four teams from each group play in the quarter-finals, and Malaysia must beat China and Ireland (their first two games) to be in a comfortable position and avoid Australia in the last-eight if they want to play in Rio de Janeiro.
  China are already in Europe playing friendlies, and yesterday they beat France 3-1. India also left for Europe yesterday.
  "We will leave for Europe on June 14 and play a few friendlies with the Dutch under-21 side as well as Brazil for warm-up and acclimatisation.
  "On China who are our first opponents, I believe they have improved much but still, we will be looking for our opening three points against them on June 21," said Beng Hai.
  And Malaysia have plenty of rest after China, as their next match against Ireland is three days away -- on June 25.   And Malaysia have plenty of rest after China, as their next match against Ireland is three days away -- on June 25. Malaysia play Belgium the next day and Great Britain on June 28.
  Controversial striker Faizal Saari, who went Awol for a month after the Singapore World League Round Two, was given another chance by the new management in the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC).
  He was not included in the Australian and Europe Tours, but Beng Hai said his fitness level is still good.
  "We did a fitness test on Sunday, and all the 18 showed good results," said Beng Hai.
  MALAYSIA: S. Kumar (gk), Roslan Jamaluddin (gk), Baljit Singh Charun, Razie Rahim (captain), Izwan Firdaus, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Faizal Saari, Izad Hakimi, Marhan Jalil, nabil Fiqri, Azlan Misron, Firhan Ashaari, Shahrun Nabil, Sukri Mutalib, Faiz Helmi, Meor Azuan, Shahril Saabah, Haziq Shamsul.