Van Huizen: Wait your turn Faizal

HE was once listed among the most talented players in the world by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) but Faizal Shaari loaded his ego gun and shot himself in the foot real bad.

  And he is still limping around, waiting for his ban to play in international matches to end on June 20, while his team-mates played in the Azlan Shah Cup and will be going on a Tour of Japan on June 5-16.

  Fazial was banned from playing in international matches after he skipped training without any reason, and the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) executive board even came up with a new code-of-conduct in their meeting in December.

  MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal had said then: "Under the new code of conduct, players who skip national training without valid reasons will be suspended for six months. This is a warning to all the players in the national set-up, from the juniors to the seniors at all levels."

  This came about after the MHC Discipliniry Committee had only let him off with a warning, together with Syamin Yusof, for indiscipline.

  National coach Stephen van Huizen watched Faizal play in the Razak Cup where he top-scored with seven goals to hand Terengganu only their second title in Division One. The first was won in 2012. He scored two goals in their 3-0 win over Police in the final.

  "Firstly, his ban only ends on June 20, while we will be travelling to Japan on June 5 for two Test and four friendlies. And then, his fitness was also not up to mark as he has been out of training since December.

  "It will not be fair to select him immediately after the ban ends, as he needs to prove himself further... especially show that he will not become a problem in the team once we select him.

  "He has not spoken to me about making a comeback, and I have only read in the newspapers about his intent to re-joing national training.

  "If he is really interested, work on his fitness, and then come and meet us (coaching set-up) and have a talk. We will need to underline certain criteria and rules for him to follow, if it is agreed that he returns to national training," said van Huizen.

  The coach also believes other youth have overtaken him by giving their best in training.

  "We can't just bring him in and drop other players who have been giving their best in training over the months. Hockey is a team sport where discipline is utmost, and if he returns and starts to behave the same way like he did before the ban, it would be disruptive for the national team."

  For now, it looks like even though Faizal door into the national team is not closed, as Subahan said earlier, but its not wide open for him to just walk in. There is just a crack of an opening, and he will have to prove himself on his own, by working on his fitness -- and attitude as well.

Japan Tour: Chance for others to shine..

NATIONAL coach Stephen van Huizen picked a young squad for the Japan Tour on June 5-16, as the seniors are either down with injury, have exams, drafted into the Police Force and have personal commitments.
  Looking at the positive side, van Huizen said this is a golden chance for others to show their prowess.
  "We will be playing six matches against Japan, four of which are friendlies and two are Tests. Even though many of the seniors are not available for this Tour, I believe it gives an opportunity to our younger players," said van Huizen.
  Goalkeeper S. Kumar is still nursing his thigh injury, 
Faiz Helmi and Fitri Saari have examinations and Shahril Saabah has family commitments.
  National skipper Razie Rahim and Nabil Fiqri are back with Police training after getting a brief release to play in the Razak Cup.
  "In their place, 19-year-old players and also those who did not play in the Azlan Shah Cup like Baljit Singh and Harvinder Singh have been called up. This is a golden opportunity for them to shine.'
  Razak Cup top scorer Faizal Shaari will have to sit out the Tour, as his ban from playing in international tournaments only ends on June 20.
  Terengganu Hockey team goalkeeper Hazrul Faiz, 22, and Syafiq Sumantri, 19, are among those who will be under the spotlight in Japan.
  The Tour will be used to prepare the team for the Asian Champions Trophy in Kuantan, which offers ranking points for the top-three teams for the first time.
  Umpire Rais Zakaria will be accompanying the team to officiate in both Test and he will also be officiating at the upcoming Sultan of Johor Cup.
  JAPAN TOUR: Goalkeepers: Hairi Rahman, Hazrul Faiz; Defenders: Shukri Mutalib, Izad Hakimi, Baljit Singh, Najmi Farizal, Najib Hassan, Firdaus Omar, Marhan Jalil, Meor Azuan, Joel Samuel Van Huizen, Azri Hassan, Harvinder Singh, Firhan Ashaari, Norhizzat Sumantri, Ramadan Rosli, Rashid Baharom, Haziq Samsul, Nik Aiman Rozemi, Nor Syafiq Sumantri.

Hunt begins for Indian talents...

PLANS are afoot to help Indian hockey players get more exposure, in the same style as the Malaysian Indian Football Association (MIFA) are doing in soccer.
  MIFA president T. Indran said they started by fielding a team in the last Junior Hockey League, and hope to play a bigger role in promoting hockey among the Indians in the country.
  "We fielded MISCF-UFL in Division Two of the recent JHL with 18 Indian boys and even though the results were not encouraging, its a first step towards helping Indian players get back into the top level of hockey," said Indran.
  The team, from Mentakab, finished seventh out of eight teams in Group B of the JHL
  MIFA, with Malaysian Indian Sports Council, have a team in the FAM League are are currently second in Group A.
  "Over the years Indian players, which include Punjabis, have slowly moved away from Soccer and hockey and if nothing is done, the community will be in the losing end," said Indran.
  Currently, only Baljit Singh and S. Kumar are in the national seniors team, while no Indians are in the junior side.
  "The players need to be given more chances to play, like we did in the JHL. Even though the team only won one and drew one in seven matches, they received invaluable exposure in the JHL," said Indran.
  Towards that, MIFA will also work with Selangor to train an Under-18 team for the Sukan India Malaysia (Sukim) carnival in Negri Sembilan on July 14-17.
  "Seven sports will be held during the Sukim in Negri, and we will be helping Selangor to form a hockey team. It is a small step, but hopefully in the long run, there will be more Indian players playing hockey for the country,' said Indran.
  Selangor hockey held an open selection last weekend under coach K. Ravi, were 18 hopefuls were selected for Sukim.

Faizal's Shaari's moment ....

FAIZAL Shaari's brace handed Terengganu their second Division One Razak Cup title last night, as Police went down 3-0 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil Sunday.
  National player Faizal also won the top-scorers award with seven goals, and the man-of-the final award.
 He was benched for indiscipline from playing international matches for six months by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC), and his ban will be ending soon.
  There was an electric atmosphere at the stadium, as Police brought in five bus-loads of recruits, while fans in four buses travelled from Terengganu to support their team.
 A band, by police, kept made it into a carnival final, which was also witnessed by the former Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) deputy president Tan Sri P. Alagandra.
 Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman, and Police Director of Management datuk Sri Zulkafli Abdullah were also on the stands.
 Police played a tactical two quarters by slowing down the game and only moving up in counter attacks, while Terengganu's young players were made to run circles.
  There was not a single penalty corner awarded to both the teams in two quarters, as the defenders played very clean hockey.
  However, Police opened up the match right after the third quarter started, with overhead passes thrown by Razie Rahim. They won the first penalty corner in the 35th minute, but poor trapping saw the score remain 0-0.
 The match opened up after that, and Terengganu won their first penalty corner in the 41st minute, and Faizal made it count with a top-of-the-net drag flick.
  Faizal was the toast of Terengganu, as in the 52nd minute, his reverse stick shot made it 2-0 and handed his state only the second Division One title. The first was won in 2012. The third goal was scored by Akhimullah Anuar, 16, in the 57th minute.
  "I am very proud of my players discipline, as they did not let the big match atmosphere rattle them. Thirteen of them are eligible to play in the Malaysia Games in Kuching, and this augurs well for the developmen of youth in the state," said Terengganu coach Sarjit Singh.
 As for Police coach Gurmit Singh: "I am very proud of my players who rose from Division Two last season to become Division One silver medallists tonight.
 "Even though it would have been nice to lift the title, but still, a silver is a very good reward for my players determination in this tournament."
 In the men's Division Two final, Penang and Perlis played to a 4-4 draw, but Penang gained promotion by winning the shoot-out 3-2.
 And Pahang, last in Division One, will play in the lower division next year.
  For Penang, Jiwa Mohan (30th), Izwan Firdaus (42nd, 58th) and Hafizhuddin Zaidi (47th) delivered. The Perlis scorers were Najmi Farizal (35th, 49th), Azhad Akmal (36th) and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (39th).
 Meanwhile, in the women's final, Pahang won the inaugural title when they hammered Armed Forces 4-0. The Pahang scorers were Nuraini Abdul Rashid (22nd, 47th), Noorain Arshad (23rd) and Wan Nor Faiezah (40th).
  RESULTS: Division One: Division One Final: Terengganu 3 Police 0.
  Division Two Final: Penang 4 Perlis 4 (Penang win shoot-out 3-2) .
  Women's Final: Pahang 4 Armed Forces 0; Third-Fourth: Kuala Lumpur 2 Selangor 4; Fifth-Sixth: Malacca 1 Perak 1 (Perak win shoot-out 2-1); Seventh-Eighth: Terengganu 1 Johor 2; Ninth-10th: Sarawak 5 Penang 3; 11th-12th: Kedah 1 Sabah 1 (Sabah win shoot-out 4-2).

Pahang women win inaugural title...

RAZAK CUP 2016

In the men's Division Two final, Penang and Perlis played to a 4-4 draw, but Penang gained promotion by winning the shoot-out 3-2.
 And Johor, last in Division One, will play in the lower division next year.
  For Penang, Jiwa Mohan (30th), Izwan Firdaus (42nd, 58th) and Hafizhuddin Zaidi (47th) delivered. The Perlis scorers were Najmi Farizal (35th, 49th), Azhad Akmal (36th) and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (39th).
 Meanwhile, in the women's final, Pahang won the inaugural title when they hammered Armed Forces 4-0. The Pahang scorers were Nuraini Abdul Rashid (22nd, 47th), Noorain Arshad (23rd) and Wan Nor Faiezah (40th).
  RESULTS: Division One: Division One Final: Terengganu v Police x.
  Division Two Final: Penang 4 Perlis 4 (Penang win shoot-out 3-2) .
  Women's Final: Pahang 4 Armed Forces 0; Third-Fourth: Kuala Lumpur 2 Selangor 4; Fifth-Sixth: Malacca 1 Perak 1 (Perak win shoot-out 2-1); Seventh-Eighth: Terengganu 1 Johor 2; Ninth-10th: Sarawak 5 Penang 3; 11th-12th: Kedah 1 Sabah 1 (Sabah win shoot-out 4-2).