MSSSC FOR MJHL?

The Malaysia-Singapore Sikhs Sports Council (MSSSC) 1Malaysia Youth Under-16 hockey camp was held at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh recently.

At hand to officiate the four-day national camp was Raja Ashman Shah Sultan Azlan Shah.

"The camp will see 100 youth of all races from every state undergoing basic hockey training with the objective to not only groom our youth with hockey skills, but also moral values, psychological and motivational skills as well," said MSSSC president Datuk Sohan Singh.

The other objective of the camp was to select players for the MHF-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League which starts on Jan 9.

The Sikhs have always produced sterling hockey players for the country with the likes of former skippers DSP Mohinder Singh and Sarjit Singh.

Currently, Kevinder Singh and Baljit Singh are in the national training side.

CHANGES IN MJHL

The MHF Competitions Committee or rather Org Committee for the MHF-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League met briefly today and amongst what the decided was :

- that the format will not be changed to zonal and will retain its previous format of competition with two divisions.

- new teams will automatically play in the lower division.

- a subsidy of RM3,000 provided by Milo be given to the participating teams.

- increase in prize money.

- only top 4 teams in Division One will be seeded for knockout and an open draw be conducted.

- that the closing date is January 6 and league to commence by January 19.

- league to end by March so as to give the National Juniors a month to prepare for the Asia Junior Cup which has now been brought forward to 3-13 May.

More updates later.

RAMALINGAM TROPHY

The Selangor Veterans Open Carnival (SVOC) as an indoor hockey tournament, will be held on January 28th, 2012 at the Real Sport Arena, Klang.  The chosen venue features a full spec indoor court with sideboards available and a taraflex surface which makes it easier and safer to play on.

The teams taking part in the SVOC will be battling it out for the K.Ramalingam Challenge Trophy. The late K.Ramalingam held various positions in Selangor Hockey Association (SHA) & Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) and  his last undertaking was the Honorary Secretary of SHA. He directly contributed to and helped sustain the hockey growth in Malaysian hockey especially for the state of Selangor. His skills and distinct ability on and off the field, coupled with his great personality made him a friend to all, especially in the hockey circle. The K.Ramalingam Trophy is SHA’s way of honoring him for his contributions to Hockey.

Teams interested in participating can contact Kuganeson Poologasingam, Vice President SHA 016-5517100, or visit the SHA official website (www.sha.com.my) for more information

WHY ARE WE SILENT?

Having read the todayonline.com, a Singapore news website, I am particularly disturbed to find out the following:

Financing is also a key issue which Annabel Pennefather, president of the Singapore Hockey Federation (SHF), hopes the MCYS and the SSC can help address.

"2012 could be a big year for us as we have been approached by the FIH (hockey's governing body) to host the launch event for their new initiative, the World Hockey League, which is set to be their new qualifying route for future World Cups and Olympics," said Pennefather.

According to Pennefather, the SHF are unable to commit to hosting the 12-team event (six each from men and women) scheduled for next August due to uncertainty in funding.

"We did ask the SSC for assistance and were told to expect the answer in February," she said.

"In the meantime, we have agreed to hold the Asian Hockey Federation Cup for women next year which will cost at least S$100,000, with the cost of hiring the Sengkang Hockey Stadium from the SSC taking up the bulk of the cost."

It is indeed shocking that MHF or now MHC did not bid for the event which would have been held right after the Olympics. And here we are fighting for a change in qualifying format when we could have been on the forefront for change besides repairing our image in the eyes of FIH, especially three months before the FIH Congress in Malaysia in October next year.

INDIA MATCHES OFF, FRENCH INSTEAD

Well, for a particular journalist of a Malays daily that always looks at this blog and then carries stories from the MHF perspective and labeling this blog as "kritik", here is some news for you as all you seem to do is pick up my stories and do not do work.

Apparently the national team matches against India scheduled for this February are off and instead the team will play matches against France instead from the 20 - 27 of January.

These matches will be played after the Malaysia v China series that are scheduled from January 12 onwards.

Since the Azlan Shah matches have been called off, the national team was facing a dearth of matches to prepare for the Olympic Qualifiers from March 10.

And with India unable to accommodate the matches in February, there is a possibility that Poland could well save the day as they have indicated that they will be able to play a couple of matches before they go for the India leg of the Olympic Qualifiers.

Now back to this journalist, it is fine for you to pick up info from this blog, but to keep on implying that this blog is a critic speaks the volumes of your inability to generate stories on your own accord. That belittles your newspapers as it indicates that it is now a mouthpiece of certain officials within MHF who are not able to maintain their own website hence take the liberty to blow their own trumpet.

SOON KOOI TAKES OVER PENANG HA

Former Olympian and World Cupper Ow Soon Kooi is now the President of the Penang Hockey Association.

His appointment into the position was ratified at the AGM of Penang HA on December 17, the same day that saw the demise of the Malaysian Hockey Federation.

Soon Kooi who is also an appointed independent member of the MHF, takes over the mantle of President from Dato Seri Dr. Ibrahim Saad who stepped down in July following his work commitments as the Malaysian Ambassador to Philippines.

"I will likely decline the position of independent member should I be appointed for the MHC council," said Soon Kooi.

"This is to prevent others from perceiving that I may have vested or peculiar interest and wish to concentrate solely on Penang hockey.

" I have myself a term to improve hockey in Penang both in terms of performance and finances and hope that all involved will work alongside me."

Soon Kooi was a product of Penang Free School and while is soft spoken he never holds back from stating his opinion on issues that affect Malaysian hockey, especially during MHF Management Committee meetings.

While it will be a loss for MHF, the fact that Soon Kooi is now President of an affiliate will give him more voice to raise issues as opposed to him being told by an MHF official that his "appointed" position was just that, and could not raise the well being of hockey at meetings.

EXCITED ABOUT DUBLIN

There is so much at stake in Dublin come March 2012 and it's not solely the fortunes of the national team that is the topic of discussion here.

It is the Olympic Qualifiers and while the players in the training squad are justifying their place in the final 18, another big battle is shaping up outside the pitch.

For Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah is contemplating taking some hockey officials on a junket for the qualifiers and already it is the talk of town, for the jostling for places has commenced.

To be honest, anyone worth their salt in saying that they love hockey and want to contribute towards hockey should pay out their own pocket to support the national team.

I have done so numerous times at my own expense, right from being at Invercargil for the World Cup qualifiers to the recent SEA Cup in Myanmar, not depending on the generosity of anyone to support my national side, and to report it from my perspective and not to please any quarters.

Coming back to this junket, before Tuanku gets the wrong idea, it is well within your right to take them to Dublin but in reality who should go seems to be the question.

Do you send deadwood who have not contributed and turn up for meetings just to agree with whatever is presented?

Do you send your office bearers who have obviously not delivered, some of whom who cannot even come for local competitions?

Do you send one person from every affiliate, meaning the likes of Johor, Sabah, Sarawak, Malacca, NS, Perak get two spots since some office bearers are from these states?

And what about the officials that are jostling to land that lucrative package to provide ticket and ground arrangements for the trip, making a quick buck or two from your coffers Tuanku?

And we claim that Malaysian hockey has improved, I agree totally, it has improved from the greed perspective.

There is this former Malaysian official Arul Selvaraj who coaches Ireland and maybe it's best Tuanku get someone to get in touch with him to sort out accommodation at a cost effective manner for the trip.

After all Arul is one of the few Malaysians who are supportive of the work I do in promoting and providing ideas for the betterment of hockey. And he was kind enough to offer me a place to stay in his humble home in Dublin for the qualifiers.

The same goes for George Brink in Johannesburg who offered me accommodation for the Champions Challenge II but I could ill afford the fare.

So while the battle rages on for a place on the place to Dublin, all I can say is Tuanku you have a big heart but let's hope it's not taken advantage of.

Merry Xmas everyone...

RIP COACH LEONG

It was with profound sadness that I learnt the death of long time Perak hockey official and coach Leong Hor Cheng.

It was only last night that I was talking to former national coach C. Paramalingam about Leong, and unknown to both of us Leong passed away at the age of 75 yesterday.

My association with Leong started when he was the instructor together with Param at the Level One Coaching Course of which I was a participant.

And Leong, knowing the fact that I was the then NS Hockey Association Secretary, refused to grant any favors.

It was during that period that I learnt of his exploits with playing cards, and he even told us the story of how he was banned from Genting.

Over the years our regular place to meet was the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium and it was in May that we caught up, though looking frail he was in good spirits.

Perak and Malaysian hockey has lost a knowledgable coach and I still have a coy of his syllabus that he used for the Level One courses.

The cortège will leave No.38 Jalan Sarawak, Sin Lok Garden, Ipoh at 10.00am on Saturday December 24 for cremation at the Paradise Memorial Park, Tanjung Rambutan.

Thanks for the memories and the laughter we shared not forgetting the coaching knowledge you imparted.

May his soul rest in peace and my condolences to the family.

REALITY DAWNS

For their mediocre performances at the Champions Challenge in Johannesburg, the national team was given RM4,500 each recently.

And one can only deduce that MHF is so starved of success that they even pay out healthy sums of money for finishing in a lowly fifth position.

For the bonus scheme is now no longer a motivation factor as proven by rewarding under achievers.

A win is worth RM1,000 and a draw RM500 so rightfully they ought to have been paid RM2,500 in total. But instead Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, against his better judgment opted to pay out another RM2,000 for meeting the target.

So below are the fixtures for the Olympic Qualifiers in Dublin. Only can only say that it is god sent as Malaysia opens out with relatively easy matches before taking on Korea and Ireland in the final two group matches that will decide their fate.

Olympic Qualifiers Fixtures
Dublin, Ireland

March 10th, 2012
12:00pm KOR - UKR
2:15pm IRL - RUS
4:30pm MAS - CHI

March 11th, 2012
12:30pm KOR - CHI
2:45pm UKR - IRL
5:00pm MAS - RUS t

March 13th, 2012
1:00pm UKR - MAS
3:30pm RUS - CHI
6:00pm IRL - KOR

March 15th, 2012
1:00pm RUS - UKR
3:30pm MAS - KOR
6:00pm CHI - IRL

March 17th, 2012
11:00am KOR - RUS
1:15pm CHI - UKR
3:30pm IRL - MAS

March 18th, 2012
12:00pm 5th in pool - 6th in pool
2:30pm 3rd in pool - 4th in pool
5:00pm 2nd in pool - 1st in pool

PARDON, MONEY GOES WHERE?

The Malaysian Hockey Federation will cease to exist once the Sports Commissioner accepts its dissolution as per the decision made at the AGM on December 17, 2011.

However when one reads the the constitution, it can be seen that correctly the resolution should have read that they money will be deposited with OCM before moved to MHC or whatever body as determined to govern hockey in the country.

So let us not be seen to ignore the constitutional requirements and be open to a challenge in the court of law.

DISSOLUTION

Rule 22          

The M.H.F. shall not be dissolved except with the consent of not less than ¾ of the number of persons who are entitled to vote in a General Meeting.

Rule 22.1       

In the event the M.H.F. is dissolved, all debts and liabilities incurred on behalf oh M.H.F. shall be fully discharged and the remaining funds shall be deposited with the O.C.M.

Rule 22.2       

The Minister of Sports, the Commissioner of Sports, the O.C.M., the N.S.C and other relevant bodies, both international and domestic shall be informed of the dissolution.

Rule 22.3       

In the event of deregistration by the Commissioner of Sports, clause 22.1 above shall apply with regard to funds of M.H.F. and in the event of a new governing body being established for promotion and development of the game of hockey in Malaysia, such funds shall be utilized by the new governing body under the supervision of O.C.M.

WHATS THE REAL DEAL?

When this blog first wrote about the so called partnership between Air Asia and the 1 MAS Project,  some within the system said that there was really nothing sinister behind it.

But the truth always hurts and try as they did to cover a deal that favoured Air Asia more then anyone else, the truth eventually prevailed and we will now share with the readers as to what the cost was to play in the Mickey Mouse competition down under.

The tournament was held from November 25 to November 27, making it a  three day event. And the team returned to Malaysia on Monday, November 28.

In all a total of 18n players and six officials made the trip to Perth, Australia.

So I was told that Air Asia gave a hefty discount on the travel cost, and it was something in the region of RM350 per person, which brings the total cost to RM8,400.

Now have a look at the summary with regards to the list of payments as was distributed at the lfinal MHF Council Meeting on Saturday, December 17.

The total cost for the trip was listed as RM105,281.00.

After deducting the cost of subsidised flights by Air Asia, the total cost comes to a whopping RM96,881 and if one was to divide that between the 24 players/officials making the trip, it will amount to RM4,036.00 per person, for a six day stay in Perth, thus the average cost per day will come to RM672.78.

That is not taking into account the selection camp for the Perth tournament that cost RM19,804.00.

Now this is TAXPAYERS money we are talking about so there ought to be a public disclosure of just why did participation in a six day event down under cost so much?

Just for the sake of comparison sake, the cost of the National Under 16 playing in the 4 Nation event in Manheim was RM102.520.

Let us not even touch the issue of the "blank" website that has incurred a total cost of RM23,065.25 listed as service provider fee while a further RM268.00 as domain fee.

Over to you Tuanku President...

GO ASK MHF

It seems that the Project 2013 squad are involved with some friendly matches against the Korean National Sports University team at the Bukit Jalil Hockey Stadium.

So far three out of the five matches have been completed with Malaysia losing the first and third match 2-3 and 1-7 respectively. Malaysia won the second match but I have no idea of the scoreline though.

What intrigues me the most is that MHF is devoid of ideas to even do the simplest thing, that is to list down their activities on their defunct website.

All MHF does is find fault with FIH and the attacks continue on cyber space via twitter.

Another thing I cannot understand is why the secrecy of playing these matches and putting up the results.

Want to know when the next two matches are played and the results, go to www.goaskmhf.com.

FLIP, FLOP MHF

The idea was discussed at a special seminar held in July by the MHF Competitions Committee. And it was subsequently endorsed at its Council Meeting.

Before I become flip flop like MHF, allow me to explain the subject matter.

It's was discussed and decided that the Malaysian Junior Hockey League will be played on a Zonal basis, the idea behind it was to broaden the participation and lessening the financial burden on teams which under the old format at times needed to travel the length and breath of the country.

Somehow along the way MHF forgot to discuss this with the stakeholders, that being the sponsors - NSC and MILO.

And presto, akin to pulling the rabbit out of the hat, MHF has now called for a meeting between teams to discuss the format tomorrow, and the icing on the cake is that even some teams from KL were not invited for the meeting.

So now clubs/schools can determine what kind of format they want and the decision of the Council means nothing in Malaysian Hockey.

Holding discussions with teams is healthy, but would it not have been proper to send out entry forms to all teams via the state HA and if the response was lukewarm, only then call for a meeting to review the format?

And these teams were not invited to the July seminar by god knows who.

All one can deduce from this scenario is MHF is flip flopped on decisions, saying one thing and doing another, as the proverb goes - cakap tak serupa bikin.

Anymore surprises after that Azlan Shah fiasco? Keep on reading as they will spring one surprise after another...

PASAR MALAM SQUAD TRIUMPHS AT SEA CUP

Malaysia emerged champions of the 2nd SEA Cup when they defeated Singapore 6-1 in the final at the Yangon Hockey Stadium in Myanmar.

And hosts Myanmar created history of sorts when they beat Thailand 3-0 in the match to determine third placing, thus earning their first international win as well as a podium finish in international hockey.

Dubbed as the "pasar malam" (night market) squad by an official, an obvious refernce to the fact that the composition of the team not being acceptable to certain quarters, the Malaysians did not need any motivation with some players dedicating the win to the official.

The final was as expected a battle between the Malaysian strikers and the Singapore defence, where the islanders opted for the parking the bus strategy, having all players behind the ball.

They held on well while it worked but lack of tactical discipline and not adhering to the game plan saw Malaysia exploiting the gaps in the Singapore defence with Ismail Abu and Chaua Boon Huat prising open the defence with their skill as well as one touch hockey.

With S. Shanker and Mohd Sallehin Abdul Ghani akin the rock of Gribaltar in defence, there was no way for the Singaporeans to trouble the Malaysian dfence.

Malaysia opened scoring in the 23rd minute when Kevin Khartik, who later was named as the man of the match, sent his attempt past a despairing dive by Singapore custodian Ng Wan Chiang.

With the barrier broken it was just a matter of time when the floodgates would open and it duly happened in the 26th minute with Dedy Ariyadi side stepping Ng after being put through by Ismail Abu to give Malaysia a 2-0 lead.

Ismail then got onto the scoresheet himself scoring the third in the 39th minute after robbing the ball of Singapore defender Harjeet Singh. It was his seventh goal of the tournament and he went on to win the top scorer award.

Muhammad Amerullah scored in the 52nd minute to make it 4-0 and although Singapore scored in the 53rd minute via Silas Abdul Razak, it was just a minor setback for the Malaysians.

Goals by Chua Boon Huat ( 64th minute) and Muhammad Redzwan (69th minute) sealed the win and the title for Malaysia.

In the match to decide the third spot, Myanmar opened scoring in the 38th minute Than Htut Win.

And three minutes later Hein Min Zaw converted a penalty corner to double their advantage.

 The confirmed their third place when Thein Htaik Aung scored in the 51st minute and the crowd were already celebrating in the stands.

They were immediately rewarded with USD1.200 by the Vice President of Myanmar Hockey Federation KK Liang.

SEA CUP: MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE FINAL

 

Malaysia will take on Singapore in the final of the 2nd SEA Cup in Yangon on Saturday and should have no problem defending the title based on their current form.

The defending champions showed their class when they trashed Myanmar 12-1 while Singapore too were in rampant mood, trashing Thailand 5-0 to book their place.

"We ought to win the title given the fact that we are far superior then the other teams in the tournament," said team manager M. Gobinathan.

"Having said that we are not taking things for granted as we treat all teams with respect and Singapore have been playing well.

"I am impressed with the commitment from the players who remain focused at the task at hand and give it their all in the matches played."

The toast of the Malaysian side was skipper Ismail Abu who scored five goals in the match. Not only did he show that he was a clinical finisher but Ismail played an inspiring role, often setting up his teammates and spurring the younger set of players on with words of encouragement.

Malaysia opened scoring in the 8th minute through Ismail who then doubled the advantage in the 11th minute.

Ganeisha Tamil Chelvam then increased the lead, putting the finishing touches after Ismail had burst through the right in the 16the minute.

Four goals in the space of 10 minutes saw Malaysia surge to a 8-0 lead with Kevin Khartik (22nd minute PC), Dedi Ariyadi (24th minute FG), Chua Boon Huat (25th minute FG) and Muhammad Redzhwan (32nd minute FG) putting their names on the scoresheet.

Upon resumption Ismail scored in the 38th minute to make it 9-0 before Than Htut Win scored for Myanmar off a penalty corner in the 50th minute.

Ismail then scored two quick goals in the 53rd and 56th minutes before Muhammad Amerullah rounded up the scored by scoring the 12th in the 64th minute.

Fixtures:

3/4th Placing

1.30pm - Myanmar v Thailand

Final

3.30pm - Malaysia v Singapore

CHARLESWORTH - AUSTRALIA NEVER SAID YES

The saga of the Azlan Shah Cup 2012 continues as Australian coach Ric Charlesworth has confirmed that they had declined the invite to participate in the tournament.

 

Thus the question of them confirming participation and then withdrawing does not arise at all. And this now raises the question who had advised the MHF President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah that the team from Down Under had agreed to participate.

 

Below is the email received from Charlesworth with regards to this issue: 

 

" Since I have been the coach of Australia we have been delighted to play against Malaysia at every opportunity.
 

" You have a very spirited and skillful team. Indeed we have played Malaysia more than any other team...twelve times!
 

" We only received the invitation a couple of weeks ago and declined because for more that 6 months we have had a series planned with Argentina and Netherlands in Perth. The dates are Feb 7-19. I assume that is why both these teams are not available also! As soon as we received the invitation we declined.
 

" Our programme has been in place for more than six months. We are playing against NZ in June. At the beginning of May we are in Europe. In March we will play Japan and another team...we were to play korea but their qualifier caused them to cancel. We would be keen to find a place for Malaysia as they are a quality team, our closest neighbour and always generous hosts.
 

"The new dates...I have not heard of these... could be of interest to us but would be unlikely to attract interest from the Europeans so close to the Olympics."

AZLAN SHAH CUP POSTPONED?

Worldwide Exclusive

It is being kept under wraps, for reasons known best to certain officials from the Malaysian Hockey Confederation and the Organising Committee.

But it is almost certain that the 2012 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will not be held on the dates scheduled earlier, that being from the 2-12 February 2012.

For at a discussion held in Kuala Lumpur which was attended by HRH Sultan Azlan Shah, Organising Chairman Dato Abdul Rahim, national coaches Tai Benng Hai, Nor Saiful Zaini, NTCC Stephen van Huizen and outgoing MHF Secretary Hashim Mohd Yusof, it was decided that the event now be held from May 24 to June 4, some 50 days before the 2012 London Olympics gets under way.

The reasoning for the shift of dates is due to the fact that MHC could not entice the likes of Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Germany and Holland to participate in the tournament.

The three teams that confirmed their participation were Spain, South Africa and Pakistan with Malaysia making up the fourth team.

Now while India were not invited as they will be involved in the Olympic Qualifier of their own later in February, South Korea who are in the same pool as Malaysia in the Dublin qualifier were also left out of the invite list.

However both China and Japan were not invited based on the recommendations of the national coach so it seems.

The funny thing is that in November it was reported that FIVE teams had CONFIRMED their participation.

Now lets go back and read what was reported in The Star on Monday, November 21, after the MHF Council Meeting, an event where this blog was not invited:

The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) held their last council meeting yesterday and endorsed the calendar for 2012. The tournament will be held from Feb 2-12 in Ipoh and it will be a seven-nation meet.

MHF president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said after the meeting that the dates were fixed after consultation with the national team management.

“There will be a one-month gap between the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and the qualifiers. We believe that the team know what they are doing as they made the request to hold the tourney in February,” he said.

When asked if the national team can perform well in the Cup as it is so close to the qualifiers, Tengku Abdullah said: “Like I said, they made the request and as such we respect their decision. They know the dates involved and they must be confident that it will not affect their performance in the qualifiers in Dublin.”

He also said that five teams have so far confirmed their participation in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Besides Malaysia, the others are Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and Belgium. Germany have declined the invitation while the MHF are waiting for a reply from Holland.

The MHF have also put on stand by Argentina and Britain as possible replacements if the Dutch decline the invitation as well.

So having read that, it appears that Australia, New Zealand and Belgium have since withdrawn. Or did they confirm their participation in the first place? That is intriguing as the MHF President could well have been misled into naming the teams despite no confirmation obtained.

Having said that it is told that Australia and New Zealand withdrew as they have a tri-nation event during that period with the other participant being Argentina.

But that still does not explain if they had entered and withdrew, and if that is the case they should not be invited for the rescheduled dates.

And what is the story behind Belgium?

Let's now talk about the rationale of holding an event just after the Junior Asia Cup in Malacca that has been scheduled for may 11 to 20. This tournament serves as the qualifier for the 2013 Junior World Cup that will be held in India in November that year.

So will we see the battle between Beng Hai and the junior side assuming we make it to the London Olympics? Has anyone thought about that or is it that the dates were fixed with the thought that we will not be in London 2102?

And will the teams come in the first place given the fact that its only 50 days to the Olympic, for that matter will Beng Hai send the Malaysian team to an event in South America 50 days before the Olympics?

Food for thoughts and answers sought, but besides just admonishing this blog with words like insignificant, what else can these officials say but carry on boycotting this blog.

By the way, why so quiet about the MHF, 1MAS Websites? Malaysian news hardly there and even though I have started the activities at www.hockey-asia.com, the silence at the corridors of power at Bukit Jalil are deafening.

KLHA LEAGUE

Unknown to many, despite it being almost the end of the year, the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association activities continue with the KLHA Division One League at the halfway stage.

A total of six teams are battling it out for honours and UniKL A and TNB are the front runners with 4 wins and a defeat each, after UniKL A beat the electricity side 7-5 last week.

However UniKL A suffered a 2-4 defeat at the hands of Sapura who in turn had lost 4-5 to TNB earlier, Thus there is everything to play for and the fixtures for the second round are below.

SEA CUP: MALAYSIA,SINGAPORE REGISTER WINS

Despite efforts to call and SMS, nothing was obtained from the Malaysian team officials at the SEA Cup.

However Malaysia got off to a winning start at the SEA Cup in Yangon when they defeated Thailand 6-0 in the opening match this evening.

In another match, Singapore defeated Myanmar 4-1.

Malaysia opened scoring through Kavin Kartik who converted a penalty corner. And Thailand did well to restrict the fancied Malaysians to a single goal lead at halftime.

However the floodgates opened and Malaysia went on to score another five goals through the efforts of Kavin (PC), Ismail Abu (PC), Dedy Aryandi (FG), Chua Boon Huat (PC) and Ganeisha Tamilchelvam (PC).

Malaysia will take on Singapore on Wednesday while Myanmar play Thailand.

Results:


Tuesday, Dec 13

Malaysia 6 Thailand 0
Malaysian Goalscorers:
Kavin Kartik 29th min (PC),43rd minute (PC), ismaill Abu 50th minute (PC), Dedy Aryandi 53rd minute (FG), Chua Boon Huat 60th minute (PC), Ganeisha Tamil Chelvam (65th minute (PC)

Singapore 4 Myanmar 1
Singapore Goalscorers
Harjeet Singh 5th min & 30th minute (PC), 46th minute (PS), Ian James Valencia 63rd minute (FG) 
Myanmar Goalscorer
Hein Min Zaw - 57th minute (FG)

Standings

                        P    W    D    L    G    A    PTS

Malaysia          1     1     0    0     6     0      3

Singapore        1     1     0    0     4     1      3

Myanmar         1      0     0    1     1     4      0

Thailand          1      0     0     1     0     6     0

Note: Neither MHF.MHC,AHF provided results for the tournament.

ONE RUNG UP, BIG DEAL

The FIH today released its updated Men’s World Ranking following the conclusion of the Champions Trophy and Champions Challenge 1 tournaments in early December.

Malaysia moved one rung up, from 14 to 13 but before those at Bukit Jalil start thumping their chests, please note that only 3 points separate the two spots as Canada are in the 14th spot with 1116 points and Malaysia in 13th with 1119 points.

And mind you Canada defeated Malaysia 3-1 at the Champions Challenge.

So rankings will count for nothing if we do not qualify for London 2012 and to do that we need to win matches from the start and not depend on a format which MHF made a joke of and then relied to achieve their target of 5th. More on that in the next posting.

Australia defended its top spot in the World Ranking after claiming the gold medal at the Owen G. Glenn FIH Champions Trophy in Auckland, New Zealand. In fact, the first change to the updated ranking isn’t until the fourth position, which England took over from Spain.

Belgium moved up once place from 12th to 11th after winning the FIH Champions Challenge 1 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Belgium took over the 11th spot from Canada, which was the biggest mover in this edition of the ranking, falling three places to #14 after a last-place finish in Johannesburg.

FIH Men's World Ranking

Below are the current World Ranking positions for the men's teams.

The FIH World Ranking is updated after any major international events -- approximately 3-4 times per year.

The latest update to the World Ranking was on November 1, 2011 following the conclusion of the Continental Championships.

1 Australia 2188
2 Germany 1988
3 Netherlands 1855
4 England 1662
5 Spain 1650
6 Korea 1490
7 New Zealand 1395
8 Pakistan 1315
9 Argentina 1292
10 India 1288
11 Belgium 1150
12 South Africa 1130
13 Malaysia 1119
14 Canada 1116
15 Japan 865
16 Ireland 839
17 China 830
18 France 751
19 Poland 729
20 Russia 661

UNSUNG HEROES

The Malayan Hockey Council with the Amateur Athletics Union of Malaya met at the PWD Sports Club in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur on Aug 15, 1953 at 11.20am. The meeting ended 35 minutes and the Federation of Malaya Olympic Council was formed.

But come this Saturday, the founder member of OCM, a body formed before the country gained independence,will be dealt a final blow, in other words cease to exist.

For it was in 1947 in Kuala Lumpur, delegates from the Hockey Associations of Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor and Singapore met where Singapore HA President Sir George E.N. Oehlers formally proposed, “That a body governing the game of Hockey in the Federation of Malaya and in the Colony of Singapore be formed and that such a body be called the Malayan Hockey Council”. Sir George was elected the first president.

The Malayan Hockey Federation, with Singapore going their separate way, was formed in 1954 with Herman Marie De Souza was elected president and Kandiah Aryaduray the secretary. Sir Gerald Templer, the supremo of Malaya and Sir Donald MacGillivray the High Commisioner of the Federation of Malaya, were roped in as Patrons.

Malaya were ready for their first international outing, the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and have never looked back since.

Sadly when delegates of the current Malaysian Hockey Federation meet this Saturday to vote at the extra ordinary general meeting to dissolve MHF and let Malaysian Hockey Confederation take over the running of the sport, none of those who initiated the formation of MHF or kept it alive all these years have been invited to attend the meeting as guests.

It is sad the way MHF is being buried so as to safeguard the interest of some, but the blatant disregard to invite those who stood by MHF through thick or thin have been forgotten as Malaysian Hockey supposedly heralds a new era.

Personalities in the likes of Tan Sri Alagendra, Dato G. Vijinathan, S.Perampalam, Tan Sri Noordin Hassan, Dato Mohd Nor Ismail, and even past presidents in the likes of Sultan Azlan Shah, Raja Nazrin, and Tan Sri Anwar have been left out.

Was it a mammoth task for the current set of officials to invite the older generation, the elder statesman who served diligently, without fear or favour to witness this historic moment?

It is sad that we tend to forget the contributions of the founder members as we rush blindly into doing something to please the Caucasian and in the process neglect our own.

And if one was to remember correctly, Sultan Azlan Shah and Tan Sri Alagendra were unanimously elected as the lifetime honorary President and Deputy of the old MHF. Guess that honor too will be buried when the death blow is delivered this Saturday.

RIP MHF for the true hockey lovers will never forget who the men that made hockey count in this great nation of ours.

Presidents of Malaysian Hockey Federation from 1957 to current:

1. Tun Abdul Razak (1957-1976)

2. HRH Sultan Azlan Shah (1976-2004)

3. DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah (2004-2006)

4. Admiral Tan Sri Dato' Seri Mohammad Anwar Mohammad Nor (19th. Dec 2006-1st. Nov 2008)

5. KDYTM Tengku Abdullah Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (1st. Nov 2008-current)

APOLOGISE OR ELSE...

Lifted with permission from www.jugjet.blogspot.com

THE International Hockey Federation (FIH) have asked Malaysian Hockey Confederation Secretary General Maninderjit Singh to apologise to them for sending them an e-mail criticising on Spain’s back-door qualification to the Olympics.

Maninderjit had written to the FIH asking for an explanation after reports, online and on television, had said that since South Africa had failed to reached their federation’s target of reaching the final of the Champions Challenge I, they will forfeit their Olympic ticket and play in the Japan Qualifier.

The reports had said that South Africa’s African Nation’s Olympic ticket will now be given to the highest ranked Qualifier, which is Spain.

Maninderjit was peeved with the swap between South Africa and Spain, and had written a strongly worded e-mail to the FIH after India and Belgium qualified for the Champions Challenge I final.

"This scenario is simply mind boggling, as this private deal was never communicated or circulated to all teams who will be playing in the Olympic Qualifiers in India, Ireland and Japan,” said Maninderjit Singh in an earlier Timesport article.

However, the e-mail from Maninderjit to the FIH also read: “And I believe that FIH should be hard on the reasoning for Spain to get this berth and it is also that we all know that the current FIH President is from Spain. More so, FIH have to be more vigilant with the approach on such matter.”

The FIH CEO Kelly Fairweather wrote an e-mail to Maninderjit Singh stating: “The reference in your e-mail to our president is completely unacceptable. I trust that with time to reflect you will understand how serious the implications carried by your comments are.

“I ask that you immediately contact the president by e-mail to apologise for your comments and that you unconditionally withdraw them from the public arena.

“The immediacy and extent of your apology and retraction will inform the nature of any further action to be taken by the FIH.

“For your information, at the time of writing no decision has been taken with regards to any replacement for South Africa as the FIH is following the process outlined in the Qualification system.

“It is really unfortunate that you have either deliberately chosen to ignore the aforementioned Qualification system ot have written what you have in total ignorance of the published system.”

When contacted by Timesport, Manindersjit said he has written an apology to the FIH and considers the matter closed.

FIH CLARIFIES

Following some confusion with regards to the qualifying system adopted by FIH, this blog took the liberty to write to FIH and seek clarification on the matter as well as the automatic qualification of Malaysia for the 2012 Champions Challenge I.

And we are fortunate that the FIH, through Martyn Gallivan Competitions Manager has graciously replied to the email and below is the reply to the questions posed.

      Question: When was the decision made on Spain taking over South Africa's spot? 

      At this moment in time South Africa has not declined its invitation to enter the  Men’s Hockey 

      Competition of the London 2012 Olympic Games. If any National Olympic Committee should

      decline to take part in the Olympic Games, that team will be replaced in accordance with the

      Qualifying System jointly agreed and published by the IOC and FIH. 

    A copy can be found on the FIH web site and the web link is http://www.fih.ch/files/Sport/Event%20Management/Qualification%20Criteria%20for%202012%20Olympic%20Summer%20Games.pd

         Question: Who will replace Egypt and will pools be changed?

 

The Egyptian National Olympic Committee has declined the invitation to enter the Olympic Qualification Tournaments. It will be replaced in accordance with the Qualification System mentioned in 1 above, namely Egypt will be replaced by the next highest ranked team in the FIH World Rankings that has not qualified for the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. 

I would emphasise again that this procedure has been agreed between FIH and IOC and was also the same procedure that was used for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. In the event of any team withdrawing from a Qualifying Tournament, in accordance with the agreed Qualification System, that team will be directly replaced by a new one and there will be no adjustment to the composition of the other qualifying tournaments. However, there may be an adjustment to the Match Schedule of the affected Qualifying Tournament, depending on the ranking of the incoming team.

Question: How were the pools determined by FIH for the qualifiers?

The teams that are eligible to take part in the Qualifying Tournaments are given in the above mentioned Qualifying System and dependent on the results of the various continental championships played in 2010 (Asian Games) and 2011. The teams are placed in pools dependant on their position in the World Ranking at the time that the venues and dates of tournaments that were announced. 

By way of explanation, if 1 represents the highest ranked team for the Qualification Tournaments, 2 the second highest ranked and all the way down to 18, the 18^th highest ranked the three pools are composed as follows

1             2          3

6             5          4

7             8          9

12           11         10

13           14         15

18           17         16

Question:  On Champions Challenge for next year as well as Champions Trophy, which will the teams be and what is the selection criteria? Is it true that teams that finish 2-5 at Johannesburg will qualify automatically, not taking into consideration the rankings after the Olympic qualifier results as well as Olympic results?

The Qualification System for next year’s Champions Trophy and Champions Challenge 1 (there will not be a Champions Challenge 2 in 2012) is also on the FIH web site. The web link is http://www.fih.ch/files/Sport/Event%20Management/CT%20and%20CC%20Qualification.pdf  

I trust that this information is of assistance to you.

Martyn Gallivan

Competitions Manager

NEW WEBSITE

It is with great pleasure and pride that I wish to inform you that I will now be administering the website www.hockey-asia.com.

This website was developed by Jaap Syuk and he has handed over the site for me to maintain and further develop. And I am grateful and indebted to him for having the faith and confidence in letting me take over the site without any cost involved.

In order to develop the site, I will need to fund it and hopefully there will be sponsors who will back me up. And I hope to merge my blogs into the tie to make it a one stop site for hockey fans.

At a time hockey administrators in my own country lack faith in my ability, it's good to note that foreigners are willing to hand over years of hard work of their own for me to explore or the benefit of hockey in Malaysia and Asia.

I hope to start updating the site from this Monday and the Sea Cup in Myanmar next week will be provided coverage as I intend to be there, with or without sponsors secured.

On another note please log on to www.malaysianhockey.blogspot.com where there are two articles on the Olympic Qualifiers process as well as the next Champions Challenge 1. The articles provide insight on issues raised in the main stream media of late.

Read on and thank you.

TWO WEEKS LATER 1 MAS AWAKES

Well some say it's better late then never. But the reality is that people paid to do their jobs just do not do what they are paid to do.

Some two weeks after the win at a tournament in Perth, news was sent to the media, that too selected media as was the case in June when they had the 1MAS camp in Seremban, and history repeated itself as this blog- deemed insignificant - was not sent a release.

And the news finally has made print. So now they will sit and celebrate that they have done their jobs.

But with 6 officials in Perth, not counting some others who were there in an unofficial capacity , it is a wonder that in this modern era news only was shared by those paid to do so some two weeks later.

Perhaps they still use the old method of having a messenger run from Perth back to Malaysia or the postman on the horse.

Anyway as this insignificant blog had reported two weeks ago, read the news in the NST today.

And another point to note, this blogger has now been entrusted by the owner and the man who developed the www.jockey-asia. com, Jaap Syuk, to take over and run the website.

So from being insignificant, we are slowly but surely moving ahead....

HAVE WE QUALIFIED?

News reports in Malaysia before and after we had defeated Poland to finish 5th at the Champions Challenge I indicated that we had secured a place in the next Champions Challenge I in 2012.

However looking at the criteria, it is obvious that reports were misleading.

Read on and understand better...

Qualification Criteria for Champions Trophy and Champions Challenges 2012

Champions Trophy (8 teams)

The teams qualified for the FIH Champions Trophy 2012 will be as follows

T1 The host

T2 The teams placed 1st – 5th in the FIH Champions Trophy 2011

T3 The winners of the FIH Champions Challenge 1 2011

T4 One or two places to be nominated by the FIH Executive Board

Champions Challenge 1 (8 teams)

The teams qualified for the FIH Champions Challenge 1 2012 will be as follows

C1.1 The host

C1.2 The teams placed 6th – 8th in the FIH Champions Trophy 2011

C1.3 The winners of the FIH Champions Challenge 2

C1.4 The teams that finish 2nd – 4th in the FIH Champions Challenge 1 2011

C1.5 Should the host qualify by virtue of criteria C1.2, C1.3 or C1.4 above, the additional place will be allocated to the team that finished 5th in the FIH Champions Challenge 1 2011.

C1.6 Should a team(s) qualify for the FIH Champions Trophy 2012 under T1 or T4 above and having finished 6th, 7th or 8th at the FIH Champions Trophy 2011, the additional place(s) in Champions Challenge 1will be allocated to the team(s) that finished 5th (in the case of one Executive board nomination) or 5th and 6th in the case of two Executive Board nominations. If that/those team(s) qualifies under C1.1 above, the additional place(s) will be allocated to the team(s) that finished 6th or/and 7th respectively in the FIH Champions Challenge 1 in 2011.

Champions Challenge 2 (8 teams)

The teams qualified for the FIH Champions Challenge 2 2012 will be as follows

C2.1 The host

C2.2 The teams placed 5th – 8th in the FIH Champions Challenge 1 2011

C2.3 The team that finishes 2nd in the FIH Champions Challenge 2 2011.

C2.4 The 2 highest ranked teams in the FIH World Ranking at the completion of the 2011 Champions Trophy and Champions Challenge tournaments that did not play in any of those tournaments in 2011.

C2.5 Should the host qualify by virtue of criteria C2.2, C2.3 or C2.4 above, the additional place will be allocated to the team that finished 3rd in the FIH Champions Challenge 2 2011.

C2.6 Should a team(s) qualify for the FIH Champions Trophy 2012 under T1 or T4 above and having finished 6th, 7th or 8th at the FIH Champions Trophy 2011, with the consequent allocation of additional places to the FIH Champions Challenge 1 2012 under C1.6 above, those additional place(s) will be allocated to the team(s) that finished 3rd (in the case of one Executive Board nomination) or 3rd and 4th (in the case of two Executive Board nominations) at the FIH Champions Challenge 2 2011

C2.7 If the team(s) that finished 3rd or/and 4th at the FIH Champions Challenge 2 2011 has qualified under C2.5 and/or C2.6 above, the available additional place(s) will allocated to the team(s) that finished 5th and/or 6th in the FIH Champions Challenge 2 in 2011

C2.8 The teams that finish 7th and 8th in the FIH Challenge 2 2011 will not take part in the FIH Champions Challenge 1 or 2 2012 irrespective of their World Ranking position.

C2.9 If for any reason the Champions Challenge 2 is not played in 2012, the teams that will qualify to the next time the tournament is played will the 8 highest placed National Associations in the FIH World Ranking at the end of 2012 and not qualified for the Champions Trophy and Champions Challenge 1 in that year.

IS MHC RIGHT OR WRONG?

Just read this, taken from the FIH website and decide for yourself if MHC was justified in its complaint to FIH as reported by NST on Monday.


F. Reallocation of unused quota places


REALLOCATION OF UNUSED IF QUOTA PLACES

If an NOC withdraws a qualified team, the qualification place will be reallocated to the next highest ranked NOC, not yet qualified, in accordance with the FIH World Ranking List at the date of withdrawal.



REALLOCATION OF UNUSED HOST COUNTRY PLACES

If the host nation does not wish to use its allocated quota place(s), it/they will be reallocated to the next highest ranked NOC, not yet qualified, in accordance with the FIH World Ranking List at the date of the withdrawal.

NS EMERGE VETERANS CHAMPS

 

 

Negeri Sembilan emerged champions of the National Veterans Hockey Tournament when they edged Perak 1-0 in the final held at the Hijau Kuning Sports Complex in Alor Star.

A total of 10 teams, a record of sorts for the championships participated in the tournament that was organized by the Kedah Hockey Association.

Prior to the final, a friendly match between Mahkota United, led by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and a Kedah Veterans XI was held. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.

 

 

In the final a goal by former RMR player Balbir Singh in the 14th minutes was enough to seal the title for Negeri who had the services of Mohd Nor Hussain, Surinder Singh, Derek Fidelis and MHF vice president K. Gobinathan.

In the match for the bronze medal, Kuala Lumpur trashed PDRM 6-1 with goals from Prem Singh, Lt. Col Inderjit Singh, Satvinder Singh, K. Murali and Harbinder Singh who netted a brace.

PDRM got their consolation via Adzli Abu Shah.

Negeri had defeated PDRM 1-0 in the semi final while Perak edged Kuala Lumpur 3-2 on penalty strokes after the match ended in a 2-2 draw.