Razak Cup: Police, Malacca check into semis..

RAZAK Cup Division One champions Malacca notched another emphatic win when they hammered Johor 5-1 in Group A at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil Monday.
  This came at the back of a 3-1 win over Pahang, and now they will square off against Police tomorrow to decide group champions, as both teams have already qualified for the semi-finals.
  Police beat Pahang 4-3 yesterday and also have six points from two matches.
  The Malacca goals were scored by Asyraf Zuhry (15th), Amirrullah Zainol (22nd, 46th), Dedy Ariyadi (56th) and  Firdaus Omar (60th). The Johor consolation was scored by Syafiq Mohamed Zain in the 44th minute.
  In Division Two, Sabah beat neighbours Sarawak 3-1 at Pitch 1 to stay top of the Group B while Armed Forces beat Kelantan 5-2.
  The results see Sabah stay top of the group on six points from two matches while Kelantan and Armed Forces are second and third respectively with three points each. Sarawak are fourth after two losses.
Patrick Ningkan Joseph put Sarawak ahead in the 19th minute but it was all Sabah after that.
Captain Maxhans Christi pulled Sabah level in the 23rd minute from a penalty corner while Muhajir Abdu Rauf made it 2-1 in the 29th minute. Maxhans then bagged his second of the night in the 50th minute to make it 3-1.
Sabah coach Hasrul Jidih was glad that both sides kept their cool and stayed focus on the match.
"Some of the boys from the Sarawak squad are also from the Sabah Sports School, so there is healthy rivalry there.
"They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses as well because they train together. So I told my boys to go on the offensive and hit them on the counter and my team did just that," added Hasrul.
  RESULTS: Men's Division One - Group A: Pahang 3 Police 4; Johor 1 Malacca 5; Division 2 - Group B: Sarawak 1 Sabah 3; Kelantan 2 Armed Forces 5;
Women's Group A: Police 1 Pahang 3; Johor 1 Selangor 2; Group B: Armed Forces 3 Kuala Lumpur 2; Terengganu 1 Sabah 1; Group C: Perak 3 Kedah 1; Penang 0 Malacca 1.

TUESDAY: Men's Division One:- Group B: Negri Sembilan v Terengganu (8pm, Pitch 1); Kuala Lumpur v Perak (8pm, Pitch 2); Division 2 - Group A: Selangor v Penang (6pm, Pitch 1); Kedah v Perlis (6pm, Pitch 2); Group B: Kelantan v Sabah (4pm, Pitch 1); Sarawak v Armed Forces (4pm, Pitch 2);
  Women's Group A: Selangor v Police (9.30am, Pitch 1); Sarawak v Pahang (9.30am, Pitch 2); Group B: Sabah v Armed Forces (7.30am, Pitch 1); Negeri Sembilan v Kuala Lumpur (7.30am, Pitch 2); All Matches at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Razak Cup: Silver medallists Perak hammer Negri 5-2

RAZAK CUP Division One silver medallists Perak got off to a super start in Group B when they thrashed Negri Sembilan 5-2 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil Sunday.
  And in another Group B match, Terengganu beat Kuala Lumpur 3-2.
  Perak took a 5-0 lead with goals from Riduan Nasir (first), Hafifi Hafiz (18th, 29th), Zulhamizan Awang (27th) and Ashran Hamsani (32nd). Negri woke up late to score off G. Kavin Kartik (36th) and Sabri Mohamed (55th).
  Meanwhile, in Division Two Perlis survived a late charge to upset Selangor 2-1.
  Selangor, who beat Kedah 8-0 on Saturday, came to life in the final 15 minutes, but only managed to score one of the four penalty corners that came their way in the final quarter of the match.
  The other Group A match saw Penang beat Kedah 3-2 to go top of the group.
  The hard fought win or Perlis came at the back of a 7-3 defeat in the hands of Penang in their opening fixture.
  Former national player Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin opened scoring for Perlis in the 15th minute through a field goal while Afiq Ishak made it 2-0 in the 35th minute before Selangor's Noor Faez Ibrahim pulled one back in the 59th minute.
  Perlis coach Badrisham Che Yob was pleased that his players took the fight to Selangor as a loss would signal an end to their hopes of advancing to the semi-finals.
  "I told my players before the match to go all out, as this is a do-or-die match. Out next match is against Kedah and a win might see us in the semi-finals.
  "Our ex-national Tengku Ahmad and national junior Najmi Farizal led by example today (yesterday), but it was my junior players from the Malaysia Games squad that really deserve the praise," added Badrisham.
  Selangor coach S. Velappan believes his side were over confident after their big win against Kedah.
  "I think today my boys were overconfident as they didn't play well against Kedah but still managed to score eight. Now we face a must-win match against Penang".
  RESULTS: Division One: Group B: Perak 5 Negri Sembilan 2, Kuala Lumpur 2 Terengganu 3.
   Division Two: Group A: Kedah 2 Penang 3, Selangor 1 Perlis 2.
   Women: Group C: Malacca 1 Perak 0, Penang 4 Kedah 2; Group A: Sarawak 3 Johor 3, Pahang 3 Selangor 3; Group B: Negri Sembilan 0 Terengganu 10, Kuala Lumpur 5 Sabah 0.
  MONDAY: Division One: Group A: Pahang v Police (8pm, Pitch I), Johor v Malacca (8pm, Pitch II).
  Division Two: Group B: Sabah v Sarawak (6pm, Pitch I), Kelantan v Armed Forces (6pm, Pitch II).
  Women: Group A: Police v Pahang (7.30am, Pitch I), Johor v Selangor (7.30am, Pitch II); Group B: Arned Forces v Kuala Lumpur (9.30am, Pitch I), Terengganu v Sabah (9.30am, Pitch II); Group C: Perak v Kedah (4pm, Pitch I), Penang v Malacca (4pm, Pitch II).

Razie, Baljit rescue Police

DEFENDING champions Malacca got off to a good start in Division One of the 54th Razak Cup when they beat Pahang 3-1 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
    And in another Division One match, newly promoted Police edged Johor 3-2, with a brace from national skipper Razie Rahim who joined Police training on May 8.
  The Malacca goals were scored by Nur Asyraf (38th) and Amirullah Zainol (53rd, 60th). Skipper Ismail Abu scored for Pahang in the 59th minute.
   As for Police, they were down 0-2 before Baljit Singh Sarjab scored in the 39th minure, and Razie gave them the three points off penalty corner attempts in the 40th and 41st minutes.
   The johor goals were scored by Izzwan mohamed in the 23rd and Azammi Adabi in the 33rd minute.
    Meanwhile in Division Two Group B, Sabah began their campaign in the TNB Razak Cup with a convincing 5-0 win over Armed Forces.
    And in the other men's Division Two matches played yesterday, Selangor thrashed Kedah 8-0 while Penang beat Perlis 7-3 in Group A. In the other Group B match, Kelantan trounced Sarawak 6-2.
   In women's Group A, Selangor defeated Sarawak 5-2 and Johor edged Police 2-1 while in Group B, Sabah were 4-1 winners over Negri Sembilan and Armed Forces walked away with a 3-1 victory over Terengganu.
    Sabah started the match on a cautious note, but began to assert themselves as the half progressed and raced to a 3-0 lead before the break as their speedy forward line began to dominate the Forces defence.
    They went ahead through a Dodi Musa field goal in the 21st minute and were 2-0 up a minute later when Forces keeper Khairul Afendy Kamaruzaman's poor clearance allowed Shello Selverius to pick up the loose ball and smash it into the back of the net.
Captain Maxhans Christi made it 3-0 with a well taken penalty stroke in the 26th minute. Dodi got his brace in the 36th and Shello wrapped the win in the 54th minute.
Sabah coach Hasrul Jidih, who drafted seven players from Sabah's Junior Hockey League squad, was happy with the result and the way his young team performed.
"The boys played well and performed much better than expected because a 5-0 win against a strong opponent like Armed Forces is something to cherish.
"We have a young squad and the target is to make the semi-finals," added Hasrul whose charges will play Sarawak next on Monday.
RESULTS: Division One: Group A: Malacca 3 Pahang 1, Johor 2 Police 3.
   Division Two: Group A: Selangor 8 Kedah 0, Perlis 3 Penang 7; Group B: Kelantan 6 Sarawak 2, Armed Forces 0 Sabah 5.
   Women: Group A: Sarawak 2 Selangor 5, Police 1 Johor 2; Group B: Negri Sembilan 1 Sabah 4, Armed Forces 3 Terengganu 1.
   TODAY: Divison One: Group B: Perak v Negri Sembilan (8pm, Pitch I), Kuala Lumpur v Terengganu (8pm, Pitch II).
   Division Two: Group A: Kedah v Penang (6pm, Pitch I), Selangor v Perlis (6pm, Pitch II).
   Women: Group C: Malacca v Perak (7.30am, Pitch I), Penang v Kedah (7.30am, Pitch II); Group A: Sarawak v Johor (9.30am, Pitch I), Pahang v Selangor (9.30am, Pitch II); Group B: Negri Sembilan v Terengganu (4pm, Pitch I), Kuala Lumpur v Sabah (4pm, Pitch II).

54th Razak Cup: Police the team to beat..

MALACCA will be out to defend their Division One Razak Cup title starting this weekend, but first, they have to shoot down favourites Police.
  Police, who won the Division Two title last season, won not only promotion but also gained national skipper Razie Rahim and midfielder Nabil Fiqri.
  Both of the joined Police training on May 8, but have received release letters to play in the Razak Cup.
  Police will also have former national players Baljit Singh Sarjab, who scored 17 goals last season, Kelvinder Singh, Jivan Mohan and Megat Azrafiq.
  "With the inclusion of the country's No 1 drag flicker Razie, I believe we have a good chance of finishing top-four in Division One," said former national player Gurmit Singh who will be coaching Police.
  Police are in Group A with defending champions Malacca, Johor and Pahang. In Group B are Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Terengganu and Negri Sembilan.
  ‘Malacca Hurricanes’, as they are better known, won the Razak Cup in 2005, repeated the feat in 2009 and defeated Perak 1-0 in the 2015 final for only their third title. They open their Division One campaign against Pahang Saturday which also sees Johor playing Police.
  Malacca skipper B. Namasivayam said: “Our early target is to qualify for the semi-finals. There are no easy matches as every team is geared up strongly for the Razak Cup.”
  “The Police team is also in our group and we are certainly expecting tough matches ahead," said Namasivayam.
  In the men's Division Two Group A are Penang, Selangor, Kedah, Perlis and in Group B are Armed Forces, Kelantan, Sarawak and Sabah.
  The prize money for Division One is RM10,000 for the champion, RM7,000 for runner-up and RM5,000 for finishing third. Division Two winner gets RM5,000, runners-up RM3,000 and third-placed team RM2,000.
  The women's Razak Cup will make its debut, 53 years after the men's tournament was incepted in 1963.
  A total of 12 state teams alongside Police and Armed Forces will compete in the inaugural women's league, bringing the total number of teams to 14 divided into three groups. Only Kelantan and Perlis have opted out.
  Pahang, Sarawak, Police, Johor and Selangor are in Group A. Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan, Armed Forces, Terengganu and Sabah are Group B while Malacca, Perak, Penang and Kedah are in Group C.
  The women’s champions will receive RM5,000, runners-up RM3,000 and RM2,000 for finishing third.

AHF confirm Kuantan, ranking points for ACT

THE Asian Hockey Federation (AHF), in a meeting in Dubai yesterday, confirmed Malaysia as the hosts for the Fourth Edition of the Asian Champions Trophy.
  The tournament will be held in Kuantan on Oct 20-30, and will award International Hockey Federation (FIH) ranking points for the first time.
  Malaysia will be up against defending champions India, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, China, and Bangladesh. The top-three teams will receive ranking points.
  For the record, Malaysia finished fourth in all three earlier editions.
  The AHF meeting was chaired by president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, and it was also decided that countries which do not compete in the Asian Games, Asia Cup and Asian Champions Trophy will not be allowed to play in the relevant qualifiers for the World Cup and Olympics.
  The Asian Games and Asia Cup will remain as a qualifier for the World Cup and Olympics.
  The women's Asian Champions Trophy will be held in Singapore on Oct 29-Nov 6, and coach K. Dharmaraj's ladies will compete against India, South Korea, China and Japan.
  October if set t be a 'hockey fest' as the Sultan of Johor Cup will be held a day after the Asian Champions Trophy in Johor Baru.
  The junior invitational, on Oct 31-Nov 6, will showcase teams which has qualified for the New Delhi Junior World Cup. Malaysia, the only odd one out who did not qualify, will be up against Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan and England.
  All the three Malaysian teams competing in these tournaments will be playing in the Australian National League in September/October.