NO PLUS FOR STATES

While the Razak Cup enticed 100 Plus to sign as title sponsors for the next three years, there was not much joy for the states.

For no indication was given if the prize money will be increased nor was there any confirmation of any subsidies to be provided to the affiliates who will incur a high cost for participation as it will now take 10 weeks to complete the tournament.

The change in format will see five zones being created with four teams in each zone ( see below for groupings ).

In the past Razak Cup was contested over a ten day carnival with states been given a RM5,000 subsidy. And even then the states lamented over the fact that it cost them some RM15,000 to participate.

And with the carnival still being retained for the top ten teams, states will have to fork out more for the league matches as they will have to travel and train for a longer period.

100 Plus has committed RM200,000 in cash and RM300,000 in kind per year and with a bulk, RM80,000 going towards prize money and another RM90,000 as subsidies based on the current practice of giving RM5,000 per affiliate.

"This event produced many world class players and gave an opportunity for selectors to unearth new talents," said Tengku Abdullah.

"However it needs a face lift hence the introduction of the zonal format to ensure that hockey is played over two months instead of the current two weeks.

When asked if there will be an increase in prize money, Tengku Abdullah said that they will consider it and had yet to make a decision.

The Zonal Groupings

North- Perlis, Kedah, Penang, ATM

Central - Kuala Lumpur, Perak. Selangor, National Under 16

South- Johor, Singapore, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan

East - Terengganu, Kelantan, Pahang and PDRM.

West - Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan, Brunei.

ARE CHANGES NECESSARY?

The Malaysian Hockey Federation Council meets on Tuesday to deliberate changes to the constitution and the most important change, as some have perceived it, is the decision to appoint a General Secretary instead of electing a Hon. Secretary.

While having a full time Secretary has its merits, as it is the practice these days with most national sports associations having full time personnel, it is indeed baffling as to why MHF are taking this approach given the fact that they currently have a full time General Manager.

I say baffling for it will be better to give the General Manager executive powers within the constitution instead of making a drastic change in taking away the democratic process as adopted by the MHF since its formation years.

Clearly there has not been a demarcation of responsibilities between the Hon. Secretary and the General Manager and this has led to breakdown in certain areas and this could easily be resolved if the President had an able Deputy to assist him.

There is no denying that amendments to the constitution are necessary to ensure we keep up with times, but the constitution is a sacred document and if changes are made to satisfy certain individuals, then it must be opposed.

The President may mean well, but it is feared that he is being influenced by certain quarters who are clearly unhappy with the current administrative set-up within MHF. But Tuanku, the correct thing to do will be to allow the democratic process to continue and provide powers to the General Manager within the ambit of the constitution.

One confusion that the President could help defuse is if the post of General Manager is to be done away with upon the changes to the elective process of the Hon. Secretary taking place as it will be pointless having two paid officials running MHF.

While making changes, perhaps the Council would want to consider a change to have two Deputy Presidents instead of having one as now. That could reduce the number of Vice Presidents to four thus cutting off those who are merely warming the bench.

Talking about changes, there is one area that MHF needs to act on, and that is streamlining its domestic calendar while introducing a new regional tournament.

The time has come to introduce an Asia-Pacific League that comprises of clubs from Pakistan, India, South Korea, China, Japan, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. A league between top clubs within this region will not only boost the sport in terms of helping improve the playing standards but will be a tremendous way to increase finance as the television revenue alone could do wonders for the sport.

NPC RUN

THE National Press Club (NPC) will be organising a 1Malaysia NPC Media Run on Aug 1 (Sunday).

The flag-off is at 8am from the vicinity of the NPC clubhouse at 84, Jalan Tangsi, Kuala Lumpur. The event is aimed at fostering camaraderie and promoting a healthy lifestyle among members of the media and public.

The 5km run is open to all members of NPC, media and also open to public.
The run will be divided into two main events - comprising four open and four media categories.

The Open category will be divided into Men’s Open, Women’s Open, Men and Women’s Veteran (age 40 and above) while the Media category will comprise men's women's Open and men's and women's veteran (age 40 and above).

Entrance fee is RM10 per person. Participants will each receive a T-shirt and a souvenir medal. They will also be able to take part in the lucky draw.

Forms can be collected from the NPC clubhouse at 84, Jalan Tangsi, KL or call Aftar Singh at 016-245 3839, Muharyani Othman at 012-285 9647 or Norul Huzanna at 017-3110187
 

The closing date for entries is July 30, 2010.

PROJECT 2013 DRAW POLAND

Below is the report from Mirnawan Nawawi from Poland, had no time to edit due to limited Internet access.


Poland
1st Test VS Poland U 21
Update match number 8

Project 2013 vs Poland U 21
6.00pm
Sroda Sports And Recreation Centre

Result: Project 2013 4 - 4 Poland U 21

Sroda is located about 30km from Poznan by bus.

1st half: In the 4th min, a move started from the Skipper Mohd Nor Faez everhead ball find Amir Farid who beat the Polish keeper and cooly pass to Firhan Ashaari to score the 1st goal. The Polish equalise in the 20th min via their 1st PC. However the Project's taken the lead again in the 21st min via 1st PC by Mohd Sabri. The Polish again scored the equaliser in the 24th min thru a FG.The Project's have the oppurtunity to take the lead again when they won their 3rd PC thru Syamim Yusof but Mohd Nor Faez fail to convert from direct attempt.

1st half PC - Project 3 PC's opposed to Polish 2 PC's

2nd half: The Project's started with the attacking mode and won their 4th PC's thru Syamim Yusof and Moh Sabri again scored the 3rd goal 2nd his personal with a top net direct attemp. However the Project's again let the Polish comeback to the game when they scored the equaliser in the 43rd min thru PC.The Project's won 3 PC's in 50th and 52nd but failed to score. The Polish too won a PC in 47th min but good goal keeping by Shahrul Azaddin denied the Polish. In the 57th min the projects gain the lead for the 4th time thru PC set pieces finished by Hizzat Hakimi Jamaluddin. The projects have the oppurtunity to add the score however attemp by Firhan Ashaari hit the post eventhough the Polish Keeper was beaten. In the 62nd min the Polish manage equal the score for the 4th time when they score thru a PC goal melee.

2nd half PC - The Project 4 opposed to Poland 3.

In considering the age factor and experience of the Polish, overall the team played well especially the forward Amir Farid, Firhan Ashaari and Syamim Yusof creating a lot of chances and creating PC's for the team. However they need to sharpen up their goal scoring skills in which only Firhan Ashaari so far has been scoring in most of the games. Positioning in receiving passes from the ball carrier in the D must be improve

The midfield exccept for Fitri Shaari and Joel Van Huizen need to buck up. Need to be more compose and be more stronger with the ball especially when facing the much more physical Polish. Need to cut down unforce error.

In defence need to be more tighter and taking their man fast. Need to stop giving some easy PC's to the opponent. The Polish scored their 3 goals thru PC.

Lastly need to learn how to keep the lead and do not allow the opponent to get back into the game not once, twice, third but fourth time.

The pitch too actually is one of the reason coz it's new and quite bouncy and slippery. Resulted the players late in settling down.

So far no serious injury to the boys.

Our team personal target is to win the 3 test series against the Polish eventhough we know that the Polish are U 21 and more experience. They are in the midst of prepairing for the U 21 European Championship in Poland starting 24th July and are in a good condition. We have set a high benchmark but it is possible to achieve. We have told the players that we need to win trow match if we would want to win the series. We want to see how they handle the pressure to win games.

We were host by the Polish Hockey Federation for a dinner after the game just now and again there will be an official dinner trow host by the Mayor of Sroda after the game. So far the Poland Hockey Federation has been nice to us. And we should take note of that for future reference.

Trow the 2nd test is at 6pm at the same venue.

CHIOW CHUAN QUITS SINGAPORE

Former international and once Project Manager of hockey for Doha 2006, Lim Chiow Chuan has quit as Chief Coach of the islanders , the report below refers.

Although it is not stated where the Malacca born and USM educated is headed, it is learnt that he might take up the position of Head Coach for the 1Emas program , headed by Ken Pereira and whose consultant is former national coach and manager R. Yogeswaran.

The announcement came on July 2: The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) had overturned their original decision, allowing the Republic's hockey men to play at the Guangzhou Asian Games from Nov 12 to 27.

But even before the news had filtered through and celebrations could begin, the Singapore team had already taken a hit: Lim Chiow Chuan, the coach who guided the men to second spot in the seven-team Asian Games qualifiers in Dhaka from May 7 to 16, had already submitted his resignation just days before the SNOC declaration.

Lim was distraught when, on May 31, SNOC denied hockey a spot at the Games despite the team having qualified on merit - the snub being the last straw for the Malaysian.

"Even before the qualifiers, I was contemplating leaving but was certain I would only leave after the Asian Games, if we qualified.

"But when the SNOC decided not to send us to the Asian Games, I knew I had to move on and I wasn't going to change my mind even after they changed theirs," he told MediaCorp yesterday.

Lim has already accepted an offer from Malaysia but declined to furnish details due to confidentiality issues. His new employers will announce his appointment next month.

The Singapore Hockey Federation (SHF) will appoint an interim coach to ensure the men's team continues to training in the run up to the Games, while sourcing for a full-time coach.

"The most satisfying thing in my four years here is seeing the players improve. We were pretty good at the Men's Junior World Cup last year, turning in very consistent performances," he said,
adding that a silver-medal showing at last year's SEA Cup and the Asian Games qualifiers were some of his major achievements.

After hearing of Lim's impending departure, some players in the Games squad had contemplated quitting the sport but Lim is adamant they stick with the team.

"The boys must not stop playing, it would be very silly. The Asian Games are a big competition and they have to play for themselves and their country," said the 44-year-old Olympian.

The squad have not trained since their return from the Dhaka qualifiers and their 3-1 defeat to Sri Lanka was Lim's last game in charge. He will head to Kuala Lumpur for the Asean Schools competition on Monday with Singapore's under-18 side.

Said Lim: "My wish for Singapore hockey is that they get more funding and that hockey players carry on in the sport."
Lim joined the SHF on Sept 1, 2006, and he will relinquish his role on Aug 31 this year after serving out a two-month notice, four years to the day he was installed as head coach.

Today online

PROJECT LET IT SLIP

The Project 2013 squad let victory slip from their grasp when they conceded an equaliser deep into stoppage time to end up drawing 2-2 against the Spanish U21 side at the Teressa Hockey Club.

Malaysia took the lead twice, but on both occasions let the Spanish, who had six players from last year's Junior World Cup, back into the game.

Mohd Sabri gave Malaysia the lead in the 39th minute when he converted a penalty corner. Ironically that was the sole penalty corner the Malaysians gained in the match.

Spain drew level in the 50th minute but Firhan Ashari put the Malaysians ahead in the 64th minute. Though Spain forced two penalty corners in the closing stages of the match, the Malaysian penalty corner defence held firm.

However victory was denied as Spain scored the equaliser after 75 minutes of play, according to team manager Mirnawan Nawawi.

"Based on our time keeping the match should have been over. But it was not and we paid the price for complacency," said Mirnawan.

"Overall the palyers played hard and manage to compete with the Spanish in every department. Shahrul Azaddin (GK) played extremely well to deny many attempts by the Spainish forwards as well as keep out the penalty corner attempts.

"The forwards need to work on creating penalty corners as we have been scoring off them. Overall we need to work and learn how to keep possesion and to keep the lead."

The Project side play the Spanish again today at 6.00pm local time.

BELGIUM GET THE BETTER OF PROJECT 2013

The Project 2013 were given a lesson in penalty corner finishing as they went down 6-2 to the Belgium U 21 side at the Terressa Hockey Club in Barcelona last night.


The Belgians scored three out of their six goals from penalty corners to hand the Project squad their first defeat in the European Tour.

Belgiums scored as early as 3rd minute before Firhan Ashaari scored the equaliser in the 10th minute. Belgium went into the halftime leading 2-1.

Although Mohd Sabri scored off the only penalty corner in 38th minute to draw level, Belgium scored four goals to collect all three points.

"Belgium is an experienced side with nine players from the 2009 Junior World Cup. They even beat the Spanish U-21 side 4 - 0 and 5 - 2 respectively," said Team Manager Mirnawan Nawawi.

"It is a very good learning process for the players since the four matches in Spain are competitive matches."

"On the positive note, we scored from the solitary penalty corner awarded. The effort by the players was good and we manage to create a few chances to score but again the forward let us down."

"We managed to match the more experience Belgians in the first 40 minutes but lack of concentration and this resulted us in conceding four more goals."

The Project 2013 squad will play the Spanish in two games Wednesday (5.50pm local time) and Thursday (6pm) before taking on Scotland on Friday (9pm).

"We expect the players to perform much better for the up coming games before leaving to Poland on Sunday," added Mirnawan.

THIRD WIN IN A ROW

The Project 2013 team registered their third win in as many matches in their European Tour when they defeated Suisse Selection 4-0 at the Richmont Hockey Stadium.

Goals from Joel Van Huizen in the 3rd minute, Mohd Sabri who converted a penalty corner in the  5th minute, and Amir Farid in the 28th minute gave them a 3-0 lead going into the breather. Firhan Ashaari netted the  third 50th minute.

And to cap it, Ramesh Ramanathan was named as the best player for the three match series in Geneva by the organisors.

While the results were good, the  team has a serious problem with regards to their penalty corner conversion rates. In this match alone the Project squad were awarded 9 penalty corners but only found the net once.

Overall the team only managed to convert  4 penalty corners from the 22 they were awarded in the three matches played.

"That is a poor conversion rate and something that the coaches are looking into seriously. We need to improve in this department and increase the rate to at least 50 per cent," said team manager Mirnawan Nawawi.

"The team had three good warm up matches and based on their performance they are ready to face the better teams in Barcelona."

PROJECT SQUAD CONTINUE WINNING WAYS

The Project 2013 squad continued their winning ways in the European Tour, this time handing Lyon Football Club Hockey Team a 8-0 trashing at the Richmont Hockey Stadium

They led 6-0 at halftime thanks to a brace by Mohd Nor Faez who converted a penalty corner in the third minute and added a second in the 15th minute. In between his goals, Mohd Sabri converted a penalty corner in the 6th minute. Rashid in the 18th minute, Mohd Nor Izzat 31st minute and Amir Farid 33rd minute ensured a healthy lead for K. Dharmaraj's boys.

Several changes were made in the second half but still the Project side managed to score twice throug hRashid in the 39th minute and Syamim Yusoff who completed the scoring in the 60th minute.

The Project squad were awarded eight penalty corners and converted three while the opponents were awarded three penalty corners.

"Overall the team played better compared to the performance in the first match as there was more urgency, cohesion, determination and great teamwork," said Team Manager Mirnawan Nawawi.

"Our percentage of penalty corner conversions is getting better and the forward were more sharper in semi circle as evident from the five field goals."

The team will play against the Suisse Selection at 11am on Sunday before wrapping up the Swiss part of the tour and hence they will move to Barcelona, Spain on the 5th of July where they will participate in the  4 Nation Tournament with Spain, Scotland and Belgium U 21 teams.

"So far it been great to come to Geneva to have warm up matches be the crunch in Spain," added Mirnawan who keeps this bog updated with news via Facebook

WINNING START FOR PROJECT 2013

The Project 2013 side got off to a winning start for their European tour when they defeated Geneva Selection 3-2 at the Richmont Hockey Stadium.

Victory however was not easy as Geneva took a 2-0 lead in the first half through goals in the 32nd and 34th minutes.

The Project squad hit back in the second half, scoring three goals via Amir Farid in 45th (FG) and 70th minutes (FG) with Firhan Ashaari netting the other in the 61st minutes.

The Project team earned five penalty corners as opposed to one for Geneva.

"The overall performance was not so convincing especially in the first  half because the players looked rather lethagic and had trouble getting used to the European environment and weather," said Team Manager Mirnawan Nawawi.

"However in the second half the boys picked up their game and manage to score the three goals. We had at least six clear chances to score but lacked sharpness and goal scoring ability.

"But I am impressed with the great figting spirit and character of the players which was the tonic towards winning the game. Tomorrow we will play against Lyon Football Club Hockey Team at 2pm."