CATCH 22 FOR TM

It was more then a month ago that the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) was dissolved and the Malaysian Women Hockey Association (MWHA) followed suit a week later. For historical significance, the dates were December 17 and December 23 respectively.

However checks with the Sports Commissioner's Office in early January revealed that neither body had sent in the official forms citing the dissolution and hence it was surprising that the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) was calling for entries for the Junior Hockey League that is already at its halfway stage.

And while one continues to ponder on the status of MHF and MWHA, hockey activities are ongoing, albeit through the respective bodies, though on paper the men's body have started calling themselves as MHC.

Which leave a question mark on the legality of actions being undertaken by both bodies. And with a player in the MHC-MILO-NSC Junior Hockey League being shown a red card, it will be interesting to see what action and the composition of the Disciplinary Board should the matter be referred to the DB.

Another interesting issue is on the composition of the MHC Council for besides the President and Deputy President, there will be a total of 12 Vice Presidents, with two being accorded the status of Senior Vice Presidents.

MWHA has already decided on their composition of officials and what is interesting is that they have nominated their Secretary, Prof Dr. S. Shamala as the Senior Vice President in the new MHC line up.

That move was undertaken as the MWHA was fully aware that the highly qualified Shamala, who is an elected member of the Asian Hockey Federation may be reduced to the Assistant Secretary position given the fact that the current MHF Secretary's relationship with Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, the President of MHC. Thus MWHA has nominated a former player Nurfarha Hashim as the Assistant Secretary of MHC.

The other nominations from MWHA are Deputy President YM Raja Puan Sri Dato' Noora Ashikin bte Raja Abdullah, Vice Presidents (5): Jenniffer Williams, Maheswari Kanniah, Dato' Mary Ritchie, Nagula Sivasothy and Jeyadhevi Subramaniam.

For assistant treasurer MWHA has nominated Juriah Abdul Wahab Fenner while the two Independent Members Siti Patimah Hassan and Datin Noraini Jaafar.

It is learnt that Maninderjit together with Tengku Abdullah and influential Vice President Manjit Majid Abdullah held a discussion last Friday to discuss the composition of the 13 sub committees under MHC besides re-structuring the administration of the MHC office given that they two bodies will have a single administration.

Here is where the plot thickens as the likes of Manjit (coaching) Dato Nur Azmi Ahmad ( National Team Management), Dato Abdul Rahim Ariff (Competitions) and Ken Pereira (Development) hold vital committees which surely they will not be willing to let go.

The positions at sub committees at stake are Coaaching, Competitions, Development, Disciplinary, Finance, High Performance, Indoor, Legal and Special Projects, Marketing & Sponsorship, Medical, National Team Management Committee and Umpiring.

And the catch 22 situation for Tengku Abdullah will be the new MHC constitution that states - " Article 18.4.2 : Each Vice President shall be the Co-Chairman of at least one (1) Committee of MHC as decided by the Executive Board

FRAIL DEFENCE

Note: while other media may credit Razie for both goals, the lack of co-operation from team officials in Perth has made my task impossible as I have relied on information from hockey friends who watched the match and kept me abreast via SMS.

A defensive minded Malaysia were beaten 5-2 by Australia at the Perth Hockey Stadium in their second friendly match this evening.

Malaysia opted to have all their players in their own 25 for a large part of the match.

Perhaps the strategy adopted was to counter the strong Aussie side fielded by coach Ric Charlesworth.

Australia had the likes of three times FIH player of the year Jaime Dywer, Matt Ghodes, Christopher Cirello and Kieren Govers.

The team fielded was from a list of 28 Olympic hopefuls from their squad but they failed to get the better of a Malaysian side that opted for "parking the bus" in front of goal tactics.

Australia went ahead in the very first minute through Ghodes.

Although the Aussies were awarded penalty corners in the 17, 19 and 20th minutes, the combined efforts of Baljit Singh and Mohd Madzli Ikmar kept the score intact.

But that did not prevent the Australians for doubling their advantage via Simon Orchard.

Off Malaysia's first foray into the opponents semi circle they were awarded a penalty corner in the 23rd minute.

The attempt by Mohd Razie Abdul Rahim sailed into goal, deflected off a defenders stick.

Australia had another penalty corner but Baljit denied them a clear shot at goal and the halftime score stood at 2-1 in favour of Australia.

Dwyer made it 3-1 in the 44th minute before Ghodes scored his second and Australia's fourth in the 50th minute.

Liam de Young made it 5-1 in the 53rd minute but Malaysia reduced the deficit when Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Jalil pounced on a penalty corner rebound in the 55th minute to reduce the deficit to 5-2.

DEFEAT AGAINST SECOND STRINGERS

Malaysia, as expected, lost 3-1 to Australia at the Perth Hockey Stadium, the first of their four match series against the hosts in preparation for the Olympic Qualifiers that will be held in Dublin in March.

However it was not the top Australian team that Malaysia lost against as the hosts fielded players from their Australian A side, which as a matter of fact comprises of players that are not amongst the top 28 currently preparing for the London Olympics.

Only four players that are in the squad of 28 players named by Australian coach Ric Charlesworth took the field against Malaysia. They are Eddie Ockenden, Rob Hammond, Matthew Swann and keeper Nathan Burgers.

It was Ockenden that gave Australia the lead before Malaysia equalized through Izwan Firdaus as the two teams were tied 1-1 at halftime.
Two goals by Tim Bates, in the 37th and 57th minutes sealed the win for the Australian A side and the next match is scheduled for tomorrow (Monday).

“Malaysia did relatively well in the match and they can only get better. It was a good performance and I expect them to improve in the coming matches,”
commented former Malaysian coach Paul Lissek who is now a consultant with the Australian squad.

“They created many goal scoring chances but failed to make them count. And although they had 3 penalty corners, they failed to make them count.”

While Malaysia are preparing against second rung players from Australia, Ireland who their biggest threats besides South Korea played two matches against Great Britain and came of with draws (1-1 and 2-2) in both clashes over the weekend.

Great Britain opened the scoring in the second minute when Barry Middleton tapped in at the back post from a by-line. Ireland drew level 7 minutes later with a Timothy Cockram drag flick.

Great Britain took the lead again in the 41st minute with a Simon Mantell goal from a penalty corner drag flick. Ireland piled on the pressure and were awarded a number of short corners but failed to take their opportunities and it was not until after the final hooter that they scored their equalising goal once again from a Timothy Cockram drag flick.

Going by statistics, Malaysia has a fairly decent chance of making it to the Olympics for the first time since Sydney 2000. South Korea who won silver in 2000 have played in 5 Olympics while Malaysia has played in 9, their last being in Sydney.

But it is pertinent to note that the last time Malaysia safely negotiated their way past an Olympic Qualifier was in 1999 in Japan and it has been two consecutive failures since then, 2004 in Madrid and 2008 in Japan.

And the script was the same for the World Cup as Malaysia made the 1998 World Cup on merit, making it through from the qualifiers they hosted in 1997.

While they played as hosts in the 2002 edition, Malaysia failed to make it to the 2006 German and 2010 New Delhi World Cups.

SAPURA CONTINUE WINNING STREAK

Sapura enhanced their position at the top of Division Two A when they defeated PHK-MSS Kelantan 6-0 in the MHC-MILO-NSC Junior Hockey League match at the KL Hockey Stadium this evening.

In Division One, SSTMI-Thunderbolts hammered Petaling Jaya Municipal Council 6-1 at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Baru to consolidate their position at the top of the standings.

At the Ministry of Education Stadium, MBI-Anderson defeated Bukit Jalil Sports School Juniors 4-2.

 

Read more...www.mjhl.com.my

FIRST BLOOD TO AUSTRALIA

Australia defeated Malaysia 3-1 in the first of the four friendly matches played in Australia at the Perth Hockey Stadium this morning.

The solitary Malaysian goal was scored by Izwan Firdaus after the Aussies had taken a 1-0 lead. Two goals by Tim Bates in the second half sealed the win for the Aussies.

The two teams square off against each other at 5.30pm tomorrow at the same venue.

BIG WINS FOR SSTMI AND MBI

SSTMI-Thunderbolts won their third successive match in the MHC-MILO-NSC Junior Hockey League when they trounced Bukit Jalil Sports School Juniors 9-0 in a Division One match at the Ministry of Education Stadium in Pantai.

And in Ipoh, MBI-Anderson gave Tunku Besar Secondary School Tampin the "blues" on the newly laid blue pitch of the Sultan azlan Shah Stadium, winning 8-2.

Bukit Jalil Sports School meanwhile almost squandered a chance to back on the winning trail for they threw away a 3-0 halftime lead as Petaling Jaya City Council scored thrice to draw level but got the winner two minutes from time to win 4-3, at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Read more...www.mjhl.com.my

OLAK SECURE SECOND WIN

Olak-PKT secured their second consecutive win in the Division Two B of MHC-MILO-NSC Junior Hockey League when they came back twice to defeat KL Sports School 3-2 at the KL Hockey Stadium this evening.

The match was called off five minutes from time but the result stood as per the tournament regulations governing rain affected matches.

 

Read more...www.mjhl.com.my

ANOTHER QUALIFIER PULLS OUT

USA Field Hockey on Wednesday announced to withdraw its men's national team from the Olympic qualification tournament to be held in New Delhi, India, from February 18-26. Injuries, job conflicts and player retirements have led to this decision. 

"The decision has been made strategically with the very best outcome for our programme in mind," high performance technical director Terry Walsh said.

"Unavailability of many of the senior players has left the men's programme in a position where our best assembled team has a performance potential well below that required to be competitive in a tournament of this calibre.

"This course of action will be in the best interest of the long-term progress of our national programme."

The USA men's team was selected to attend the first of three Olympic qualifiers after finishing fifth at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. However, employment conflicts has resulted in player unavailability.

Officials did not want to field a largely junior squad with most of the Pan American line-up absent.

"In finding that we have experienced serious erosion within the men's programme due to various team member circumstances, we reluctantly made the difficult decision to withdraw the team from the Olympic qualifiers," USA Field Hockey executive director Steve Locke said.

"Attending a tournament that will feature the world's top ranked teams will only hinder the confidence and development of our junior men.

"In another 12 months, we will see these players begin to flourish and I look forward to seeing the team prepared and engaged with upcoming FIH events in 2012 and 2013."

KLANG EMERGE CHAMPIONS

Klang District emerged as champions after a nail biting match against their main rival Petaling District in the Finals of Sukan Selangor played at National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

The lack of playing hockey stadiums in Selangor saw all the matches the men's hockey played at the  at Bukit Jalil from Jan 13-16.

"We are thankful to be able to work with MSN Selangor to organize it here, while it is a shame the turfs had not been replace despite the many attempts by SHA since 2009 to raise awareness and address the issue", said  Organizing Chairman Kuganeson Poologasingam

The Under 20 , 7 team tournament which act as a development and selection event for the coming SUKMA Malaysia  saw a lot of upsets in which the defending gold medalist Gombak was shown the exit at the group stages as Kuala Langat topped the table and Sabak Barnam pipped Gombak to the semifinal spot.  The players were also inspired by the chance to play at the National Hockey Stadium which lifted their game.

Klang who easily edged Petaling 2-1 in the group stages, saw a different team altogether as an attacking minded Petaling had Klang defense marshalled by Helmi Sazrin Tamami working overtime to keep Klang in the game.

Klang caught a break on the 23rd minute from a penalty corner set piece Farid Afiq Mohammad pounce on a loose ball deflected off the Petaling keeper to slam it home. At the second half it was all Petaling as they piled on the pressure looking for the equalizer. Klang Goalkeeper Muhd Faris Rozmi was in top form as he foiled Petaling attempts to search for an equalizer.

The last 5 minutes Petaling were camped in the Klang half as the Klang team defended furiously. 4 back to back penalty corners were awarded to Petaling faield to convert leaving Klang to emerged as Gold Medal Winner.

Kuala Langat emerged at bronze medalist after defeating Sabak Bernam 3-2

Prizes to the winners were presented by SHA President Dato Salamon Selamat and Executive Director of MSN Tuan Nor Zamri Ishak

District Hockey sports association need to be revived

Organizing Chairman Kuganeson said its important to work in tandem with the PBT and MSN-Selangor to help revive the district level sports association. In Selangor the district sports association have slowly died off and replaced with hockey clubs. Only Gombak District is affiliated to SHA and Klang District are in the process revival. District Association have automatic voting rights in SHA and we have always encourage the revival of there associations and are willing to assist in anyway.

For Selangor Hockey Association Competition Committee the next event will be the K.Ramalingam Trophy for the Selangor Veteran Open Carnival to be held on Jan 28 at Real Sports Arena in Klang. The tournament will take place on an indoor surface, the lack of playing facilities has forced to seek new alternatives and indoor hockey is growing fast in Malaysia

The late Kandiah Ramalingam was an Ex-survey Department Official, married to Mdm.Rajesh and blessed with two sons. He was a former national football referee, a Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union (MAAU) official, a hockey player, Umpire, Technical Official, held various positions in Selangor Hockey Association (SHA) & Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF), his last undertaking was Hon. Secretary of SHA. The K.Ramalingam Trophy is SHA’s way of honoring him for his contributions to Hockey.

SSTMI TEAMS RECORD A DOUBLE OVER BJSS

The two teams from SSTMI recorded identical wins over their counterparts from Bukit Jalil in the MHC-MILO-NSC Junior Hockey League matches at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Baru this evening.

SSTMI Thunderbolts defeated BJSS 5-1 and on the adjacent pitch the scoreline was the same for SSTMI who defeated BJSS Juniors, thus putting a dent early on the aspirations of the city teams in the chase for honours in Division One.

And in Seremban, Petaling Jaya City Council went on a goal scoring spree, trashing Tunku Besar Secondary School Tampin 7-0.

Read more...www.mjhl.com.my

UNIKL CONTINUE WINNING WAYS

UniKL Young guns registered their second consecutive win in the MHC-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League when they defeated Tunku Besar Secondary School 4-0 at the Seremban 2 Hockey Stadium.

And two Group B matches of Division Two, one in Kuala Lumpur and the other in Kuantan had to be called off due to a downpour.

 

Read more...www.mjhl.com.my

UNIKL STRUGGLE FOR WIN

UNIKL STRUGGLE FOR A WIN

Thursday, 19 January 2012 10:43 |

Defending league champions Unikl Young Guns opened their campaign of the MHC-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League with a 2-1 win over Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MBPJ) at the KL Hockey Stadium this evening.

And at Taman Daya Johor Baru, defending overall champions SSTMI-Thunderbolts registered a 7-1 win over their junior counterparts SSTMI.

Bukit Jalil Sports school too got off to a winning start as they hammered BJSS Juniors 6-0 in a match at the Ministry of Education Stadium in Pantai.

 

Read more...www.mjhl.com.my

FREDDIE IS BACK

Fredrick Tham, the psychologist nicknamed "psycho" is back in action to help the national hockey team prepare mentally in their bid to qualify for the London Olympics.

Fred was the Director of the Penang Sports Council and quit the job to take up a posting as the Deputy Director in his home state in Sarawak early this month.

And straight away the National Sports Council has made the attempt, successfully one might add, to get Fred to work his magic on the national team who are in the midst of preparing for Olympic Qualifiers in Dublin from the 10th to 18 March.

That is not all for Fred is willing to help national badminton ace Lee Chong Wei in his quest for badminton gold in London.

"I have been asked to help prepare the psychological aspects of the hockey team for the qualifiers," said Fred when met at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil at the sidelines of the Malaysia and China friendly.

"The last time I worked with the hockey team was the World Cup Qualifiers at Invercargil in 2009.

"I know most of the players and will do my very best to help the team make it to the Olympics."

On Chong Wei, the psychologist who worked with the world number one until the World Championships in Paris said that it all depends on the Badminton Association of Malaysia.

"Really the question should be directed at BAM as I am here to serve Malaysian sports," said Fred who flew in to attend the Chong Wei book launch.

" If they ( BAM and NSC ) feel that my services can help Chong Wei then surely I will be honored to help."

In addition to Chong Wei, Fred is also willing to look into helping doubles pair Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong regain their confidence following a slump of late.

ROYAL REBUKE

Watch the video captured by yours truly where His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah, the life president of the Malaysian Hockey Federation takes the national coaches to task on the performance of the team in the match against China, which incidentally Malaysia won 2-0.

Rather then write about it, I leave it to the readers to make their own assumptions, from issues ranging to coaching methods, them declining help and also not having the winning mentality.

I must add that it was indeed rare to get HRH to speak on the fortunes on the team but when he speaks his mind, its earth shattering.

And talking about MHF, it was sad that no MHF official was present at the stadium to receive HRH Sultan Azlan Shah.

Although HRH may have decided at the last hour to witness the match, the fact that only K. Krishnan, a  staff of the MHF office was present. He was accompanied by Lt. Kol B. Muthukumar  in receiving Tuanku, the other office bearers of MHF missing.

A quick phone call by the Tuanku's aide to NSC Director General Dato Zolkples Embong saw the DG leaving a meeting to attend to Tuanku, a noble act given that MHF officials and the office was empty at 5.00pm, sans Krishnan.

MJHL-THE UNTOLD STORY

Finally commonsense prevailed as the Milo Malaysian Junior Hockey League fixtures were amended, taking into consideration the fact that teams from the same school/state should play ahgainst each other first, to avoid repeating a situation that occurred a couple of years ago.

If you are wondering why the www.mjhl.com.my is not active yet with the MJHL just four days away, let me refresh your memory.

The MHF/MHC, the so-called custodians for hockey, are the owners of the MJHL. Hence they were offended when it was highlighted that the news for MJHL was nt being disseminated fairly and adverse comments were passed.

Hence I decided to step aside and let the MHF/MHC take the lead in providing information with regards to the MJHL as they are capable of doing a "great" job as evident from their website.

So what will happen to www.mjhl.com.my? Well for starters teams taht desire a website to highlight their performances can contact me and buy advertising space, which in turn will ensure that their matches are covered. Since it is a commercial venture, only teams that engage services will see reports of their matches highlighted.

And on our part, we hope and pray that MHF/MHC will be able to provide all readers news and match reports and results of the competition.

Thursday, 19.01.2012
MN	TIME	DIV	VENUE	TEAMS
1	1700hrs	1	TMN Daya JB 1	SSTMI Thunderbolt	vs	SSTMI
2	1700hrs	1	KPM	BJSS	vs	BJSS JR
3	1700hrs	1	KL	UniKL	vs	MBPJ
4	1530hrs	2 (A)	Alor Star	KHA Jr	vs	KHA-MSNK
5	1700hrs	2 (A)	Alor Star	Politeknik KPT	vs	Nur Insafi
6	1700hrs	2 (A)	Ipoh	Anderson Jr	vs	PHK-MSSK
7	1600hrs	2 (B)	Kuantan	Tunas Pahang	vs	MSP-YP
8	1700hrs	2 (B)	Malacca	MHS	vs	MPBP-PHJ
9	1700hrs	2 (A)	USM	MSSP-USM Jr	vs	Sapura
Friday, 20.01.2012
MN	TIME	DIV	VENUE	TEAMS
10	1700hrs	1	Seremban	TBSS	vs	UNIKL
11	1700hrs	1	Ipoh	MBI Anderson	vs	USM-MSSPP Jr
12	1530hrs	2 (A)	Alor Star	Politeknik KPT	vs	KHA Jr
13	1730hrs	2 (A)	Sg. Petani	Nur Insafi	vs	KHA-MSNK
14	1700hrs	2 (A)	Ipoh	Anderson Jr	vs	Sapura
15	1700hrs	2 (A)	USM	MSSPP-USM Jr	vs	PHNS
16	1700hrs	2 (B)	Terengganu	SMK Padang Midin	vs	Tunas Pahang
17	1630hrs	2 (B)	Kuantan	MSP/Yayasan Pahang	vs	SMKDMT
18	1700hrs	2 (B)	KL	KLSS	vs	Olak-KPT
Saturday, 21.01.2012
MN	TIME	DIV	VENUE	TEAMS
19	1700hrs	1	TMN Daya JB 1	SSTMI Thunderbolt	vs	BJSS
20	1700hrs	1	TMN Daya JB 2	SSTMI	vs	BJSS Jr
21	1700hrs	1	Seremban	TBSS	vs	MBPJ
22	1700hrs	2 (A)	Ipoh	PHK-MSSK	vs	PHNS
23	1700hrs	2 (B)	KL	KLSS	vs	MPBP
24	1700hrs	2 (B)	Terengganu	SMK Padang Midin	vs	SMKDMT
25	1700hrs	2 (B)	Bukit Jalil	Olak-PKT	vs	MHS

MALACCA TO LOSE HOSTING RIGHTS?

Malacca who were awarded the hosting rights for the Junior Asia Cup may not get to play hosts after all.

Having won the bid at the AHF Council meeting held on the sidelines of the 2011 Azlan Shah Cup, Malacca have failed to get things moving, especially with regards to the stadium facilities.

Malacca we're to improve the facilities by providing two additional changing rooms as well as a proper media room besides making significant changes to the grandstand on the main pitch.

However nothing seems to have got off the ground despite Malacca Hockey Association having submitted the proposals to the state government.

And AHF are not at all amused at the turn of events given that the Junior Asia Cup that serves as the qualifiers for the 2013 Junior World Cup is scheduled to be held from May 3 to 13.

It will be a shame if Malacca loses the rights given the fact that the two key officials in the Malaysian Junior side are from Malacca in the likes of manager Mirnawan Nawawi and coach K. Dharmaraj.

Malaysian Hockey Federation Deputy President Dato Nur Azmi Ahmad however feels that the Malacca government will get the upgrading works completed and the event will be staged in Malacca.

"We will send a note to the state government to call for an urgent meeting to resolve the issue and ensure that all requirements of the AHF are adhered to," said Azmi.

"There is an option of moving it to Bukit Jalil but let us not consider that option just yet."

A WIN - BIG DEAL

In the words of the national coach, the two Chinese wins over Malaysia were no big deals.

And the same can be said about Malaysia's 4-2 win over China in the 3rd match of the five match series at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil this evening.

Malaysia may have registered a win but their performance was far from impressive as the desire to win matches was still missing and the team capitalized on some poor umpiring decisions and China's inability to control their anger.

If only Malaysia had nine other players with the passion of Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin and Azlan Misron which will make them safe bets to negotiate their way safely past the opponents in the Olympic Qualifiers next March in Dublin.

Instead they have a fiery coach who cringes and becomes defensive at the slightest criticism, unable to look into the positive side of any critical analysis made.

But putting the egoistic person aside, the players are capable of playing good hockey if they put their minds to it, as evident in the last 15 minutes of the match.

Perhaps the fact that the Juniors hammered China 6-2 the previous day awoke some players from the slumber but what was more interesting was watching the activity on the bench where Stephen can Huizen was seen making the substitutions at regular intervals, talking to players that came off the pitch most of the time.

China opened scoring through a penalty corner in the 23rd minute with Lu Yixian finding the mark from a low flick.

The halftime score was in favour of the visiting team but it all changed in the second half largely due to poor umpiring that favored the home team.

Moha Amin Rahim made it count from Malaysia's third penalty corner in the 47th minute to draw level.

Then in the space of five minutes Malaysia were 3-1 up.

Azlan Misron robbed the Chinese defender of the ball and laid up a pass to Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin who unleashed a reverse stick hit sailing into goal.

And five minutes later Mohd Fithan Ashaari was on hand to score Malaysia's third.

It got better for the Malaysians as the Chinese fumed at the umpiring decisions and Mohd Razie Abdul Rahim scored off a penalty corner in the 61st minute to make it 4-1 for the hosts.

Though China reduced the deficit in the 64th minute via a penalty corner through Song Yi, Malaysia held on to keep the series alive.

TM, WE HAVE A PROBLEM

 

The heading is a  phrase often used by astronauts when contacting NASA base station at Houston. And I tweaked it a bit as I try sending a message to HRH Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, President of MHF/MHC with regards to the national hockey team. As critical as I am with regards to methods employed by the national coaches, at times we have to tell things as we see it.

Malaysia lost their second successive match against China, this time going down 1-4 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

They had lost the first match 1-2 yesterday and China lead the five match series 2-0 with another three to play, the next being this Sunday.

To be honest the players look dis-interested and dis-jointed, hardly looking like a side capable of ending a 12 year wait for the Olympics.

There is something obviously wrong with the team as they lacked the desire to win matches, playing as it it was just a practice match against a local club side. It was not a case of wrong tactics employed by the coaches, but just that the players were lacking in spirit.

China looked more hungry, playing cohesively as a team, working and encouraging one another while the Malaysians looked as if their mind was not in the match at all, playing as if the result does not matter.

Mind you Malaysia, as so strongly advocated by certain quarters of MHF/MHC are 13 ranked in the world while China are three spots behind. So just basing on that fact alone we had no business losing 1-4 to China, our most heaviest defeat against this opponents for as so long as I can remember.

Goalkeeper S. Kumar was a big let down in between the goalposts and that has been the case since the Champions Challenge in Johannesburg. By his own admission his form has dropped over the past two months and he was not shy to admit that he needed help.

"I am lacking in confidence and frankly need coaching in certain aspects. Some sessions with a goalkeeping expert could help me gain my confidence bac. And I do hope that my wish can be granted. I do not want to let the team down but I admit that I have not been playing well with my confidence at an all time low," conceded Kumar after letting in four soft goals by his standards over the course of the two matches.

The problem with the Malaysian team is obvious, the players do not do any of their own thinking on the pitch. It was the same case in Johannesburg and it is repeating itself again in the matches against China.

While the coaches and the support team work on fitness, tactics and style of play, it is the players that ought to have the desire to win matches. And am sorry to say this, but MHF/MHC is at fault for they have been continously rewarding mediocre performances, the last being giving the playerts RM2,000 for a fifth place finish at the Champions Challenge.

It is time to regroup, to look at the target objectively as we try to end our barren run in trying to make it to the Olympics. It has been 12 years since we last played at Olympics, and we cannot just afford another 4 years in oblivion.

We sat out of the World Cup for 16 years from 1982 to 1998 and we do not want a 16 year wait to be carried into the Olympics as well

HOCKEY CLINIC IN PERAK

The Perak Hockey Association and Pengkalan Hulu District Hockey Association will be launching a Hockey Clinic  for 200 students at SM Tun Saban, Pengkalan Hulu on Saturday 14th January 2012 at 8.00 am.  

 

Some 200 children are expected to benefit from this development program initiated by the PHA. The Chief Minister of Perak will be launching the event.

UNIKL ARE DIVISION ONE CHAMPS

UniKL emerged as champions of the KLHA Division One league when they edged Tenaga Nasional Berhad 2-1 in an entertaining final at the Pantai Hockey Stadium tonight.

The win earned UniKL RM3,000 as prize money besides the George Koshy Challenge Trophy. TNB took home RM2,000 for finishing second while Sapura were third and received RM1,000 for their efforts.

At the end of the league, UniKL were on the top of the standings with 22 points, the same as TNB but superior goal difference gave them the top spot.

And the two teams played each other twice, with honours even in the league clashes as UniKL won one match 7-5 but lost the  second 4-6.

The final got off to a delayed start due to rain but once play got underway it was end to end stuff as both teams went on the offensive looking for the opening goal.

UniKL took the lead in the 25th minute via Mohd Noor Faez Ibrahim who converted a penalty corner. But after that the UniKL players were guilty of squandering sitters and this allowed TNB to get back into the game.

TNB were on level terms in the 50th minute when they were awarded a penalty stroke that Mahinder Singh duly converted.

However UniKL were not to be denied as Faez was on target in the 59th minute to give them the title.

SUNDAY 2030 EMERGE DIV 2 CHAMPS

Sunday 2030 defeated Sentul 2-1 to emerge as the Champions of Division Two of the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association league at the Pantai Hockey Stadium this evening.

They went ahead in the 15th minute via a penalty corner converted by skipper Wan Mohd Faizal. And four minutes into the second half they doubled their advantage when Ikmal scored, also through a penalty corner.

Former Project 2013 player Jasdev Singh Dhillon reduced the deficit in the 61st minute also from a penalty corner. But despite 2030 playing with 10 men after Balbinder singh was sent off in the 48th minute by umpire Rosdi Pilus, Sentul could not capitalise on the numerical advantage to find the equaliser.

For the record the two teams drew in the league match. Sentul however ended the league on top of the standings with 17 points while 2030 were in second spot with 14 points.

But 2030 made it count in the final and took home the Dato Abu Huraira Trophy and cash prize of RM2,000 while Sentul had to be contended with RM1,000. NSTP finished third and were presented with RM1,000.

SOMETHINGS NEVER CHANGE

The Malaysian Hockey Federation may have changed its name to the Malaysian Hockey Confederation. But as the saying goes, a leopard cannot change its spots.

Just take a look at the picture above. That shows the match sheet for the first Malaysia v China friendly that was played at the National Hockey stadium this evening.

It is utterly disgraceful that a national body does not even have the decency to prepare a proper match sheet for a match.

Enough said as it is there for all to see.

CHINA LOOK AHEAD

Though their qualifiers are some three months away, the Chinese hockey team looked much sharper in the first of their five friendlies against the Malaysian side at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil this evening.

China scored two goals in the first half through skipper Song Yi in the 3rd minute and doubled their advantage through Sun Zhuhai in the 25th minute.

Mohd Amin Rahim converted a penalty corner in the 30th minute to reduce the deficit. And though they had chances towards the closing stages of the match to draw level, poor finishing let them down.

The lethargic performances of the Malaysian players was understandable given that they are undergoing grueling training sessions of late. However it was their lack of interest in the match that stood out like a sore thumb.

For the Chinese, the six matches in Kuala Lumpur will give them the much needed match practice after having being the first team in seven years to undertake a tour of Pakistan.

Though they lost all the 4 matches against Pakistan, they obviously have worked on newer tactics, the running out for penalty corners as an example. For China opted for two first runners and that somewht took the sting out of the normal potent Malaysian penalty corner battery.

"We will take a break for the Chinese New Year and resume training after that. We do not have a large pool of players and these 20 that we brought here are all that we have," said China team manager Yang Liu.

"It is a good result, to win against Malaysia is not easy. But then again I noticed that the Malaysian team have several new faces after the AHF Champions Trophy in Ordos last September.

"We are hoping to be more consistent in our performances and as preparation for the Olympic Qualifier in Japan next April, we intend to invite some teams to China to play matches.

"We lack quality matches and are fortunate that Malaysia agreed to these matches."

KL LEAGUE FINALS

If you are free on Wednesday night, 11th January, 2012, then head towards the KL Hockey Stadium to witness the finals of the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association Division One and Two.

The Division Two final will feature Sentul RS Club against  Sunday 2030 and the match is scheduled for 7.00pm.

And the second match, the Division One final will feature UniKL and Tenaga Nasional Berhad.

Going by the standard displayed in the league matches, hockey fans are in for a treat as the quality of matches was far higher then some of the MHL matches.

So make it a point to be at Pantai this Wednesday and support the KL League.

MHF STILL EXISTS?

Well checks by a journalist at the Sports Commissioners Office has revealed startling information.

For the Malaysian Hockey Federation has yet to be dissolved as of last Friday as the necessary documentation has yet to be submitted by the MHF.

And the way the EGM was rushed through on December 17 gave the impression that all the documents were ready and it was merely a procedure to dissolve MHF.

But apparently the MHF President has yet to sign a particular form and it is peculiar why that could not have been done at the end of the EGM.

Now technically MHF is an illegal body and if is learnt that efforts are underway to transfer funds from MHF to MHC.

So I guess it's quite alright to pay scant respect to the laws of the country as well as be morally right for doing something so obviously wrong.

As they say, power crazy officials are the bane in society, for they openly defy regulations, so what difference is there between MHF, MAU, FAM and BAM. Birds of a feather flock together.

Over to you Minister, try being fair for once, take FAM to the cleaners together with MAU please as to err is not human, not when that's what they do year in and year out, it's just incompetence.

TBSS & USM PROMOTED

Tunku Besar Secondary School and MSSPP-USM were promoted to Division One of the forthcoming MHC-MILO-NSC Junior Hockey League that will get underway on January 19. And it was decided that PHK-MSS Kelantan, the team that finished at the bottom of Division One last season were demoted to Division Two.

A record number of 25 teams confirmed their participation and with ten tems placed in Division One the remaining 15 teams were placed in two pools for the second division. The top six teams of Division One will be joined by the top two teams from Division Two, after a playoff between the top two teams in each of the two pools of Diision One.

Read more...www.mjhl.com.my

WHY THIS KOLAVERI DI

That is the hit song of late and it equates to an incident in the national team.

But before we start one ought to know the meaning of "kolaveri" which when translated means murderous rage.

And the incident in the national team is about a player, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin walking out of the team after being told off by one of the coaches.

The player with his teammates were going through their paces when a remarked was passed by a coach who literally said that if players were not interested then they were free to leave.

And it seems that is what precisely Tajuddin did and he has been absent from training for the last two days, despite efforts by the coaches to get in touch with him.

Before we accuse Tajuddin of ditching national interest, one has to understand that he, together with some other players studying at UPM are undergoing exams at the moment.

And the particular coach who passed the remark ought to know better as he too was given leeway in training for the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Players have to look after their future and studies are also important. The Olympic Qualifiers are two months away so letting those undergoing exam have some break is something coaches with common sense should practice.

It is left to be seen if Tajuddin will be coaxed to return by manager George Koshy, the ever diplomatic person and one who understands the players best, and he will most likely be able to persuade Tajuddin to return.

But the damage has been done, and what three players told me after getting the RM4500 upon the Champions Challenge 1 fifth place finish will surely shock hockey fans, for money is far from their mind.

Await that disclosure next

WHY 1MAS NOT THE ANSWER TO OUR WOES

"One Olympian, Nadeem, lived on my street," he tells us. "Watching him inspired me to play, now I think of hockey the first thing in the morning and I think about it when I lay in bed at night."

The little town of Gojra in central Punjab is far from affluent. It once hit the headlines in recent years, but only for the religious tensions that boiled over there.

Its biggest secondary school is shabby, and its pupils often have lessons sitting on the ground outside because there is not enough room inside the classrooms.

But if, like Abu Bakr, they have ambitions of one day representing Pakistan at the Olympics, the pupils could not be growing up in a better town and they are certainly going to the right school.

MC High School has a remarkable record when it comes to Pakistan's most important Olympic sport, hockey.

Over the last 40 years, it has produced no less than 57 international hockey players, including the stars Tahir Zaman, Rashid-ul-Hassan and Shahbaz Jr.

Former pupils have won World Cups, Champions Trophies and Olympic gold medals.

When the Pakistan hockey squad travels to London, it is likely to include four players from this one school.

"We were nothing before we went to MC High School," says Pakistan defender, Muhammad Irfan.

"Now I am playing for my country and it is all because of the start that I got. As pupils we felt everything was possible when it came to playing hockey."

But MC High is not a sporting academy, just a regular government-run school. So why the incredible record?

And why, on a bumpy pitch behind the school during break time, are all the pupils playing hockey instead of cricket like most Pakistani boys?

A lot of it has to do with Aslam Rodha, now nearly 70-years-old.

He was a pupil at MC High in the 1950s and 1960s, when Gojra was little more than an agricultural village.

"I was a good athlete and thought I would give hockey a try," says Mr Rodha. "Our team was terrible and we were always losing, but me and a few others turned things around and we started winning."

It was not long before Aslam Rodha got noticed and was picked to represent Pakistan. While he was still playing, he decided it was time for a sporting revolution in Gojra.

"There was no industry here, Gojra was not famous for anything," he says. "I made the decision that I wanted to produce world class hockey players from here. I started training them, and they started being selected, and it carried on to this day."

Outside the headmaster's office is a tribute to Aslam Rodha's tremendous success. There are boards showing the names of all the former pupils who have gone on to play hockey for their country. There are now three panels full of names and they will soon need a fourth.

After school, boys who are interested come to hockey practice.

ANALYSIS FROM THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
Clusters of excellence occur in other sports like boxing, tennis and golf but this modest state school example is remarkable. The catalyst is a passionate skilled coach with very high expectations; this inspires young athletes to the sport and once someone succeeds at the top level a role model and route to success is clear for all. Success therefore helps sustain further success especially when a strong work ethic is promoted alongside challenging training drills and an understanding of the science and strategy of the sport: which brings us back to the all important coach and the environment they create.
Ben Oakley,

"When we sit at our desks and think of the former players that must have sat there before, it feels so good," says 13-year-old Muhammad Naqqash, taking a break from cracking balls past a goalkeeper.

"I want to play hockey forever, and with the help of my school I'll one day play for Pakistan."

And 16-year-old Mubashir Ali gives us an insight into how hockey and MC High's focus on it has given pupils here a route out of poverty and the chance to see the world.

"We will get our respect through working hard and playing hockey," he says. "It is my dream to make my parents and teachers proud and make a name for my school and my country on the hockey field."

It is through the support of donations and help from former pupils that coach Aslam Rodha has been able to sustain his vision.

"Ninety percent of the pupils here come from very poor backgrounds," Mr Rodha says. "They don't even get proper nutrition at home."

"But thanks to the donations, if a poor boy lives too far away to come to train we buy him a bike. We buy poor children milk and food and we buy them their hockey sticks and balls."

"People give us shorts and shirts and trainers that we can distribute, that's why you see them all wearing different kit," he says.

That some of these pupils will go on to compete against the best players from Europe, Australia and the world may seem like achievement enough, but do not underestimate the hunger for Olympic medals inside the boys from MC High.

CAT & MOUSE GAME

The women hockey officials deserve more credit than what is often given to them. For upon the dawning of the new year 2012, they now stand on equal terms with their colleagues from the men's hockey fraternity, thanks to the International Hockey Federation's (FIH) insistence of a merged body to run hockey in Malaysia.

There was a joint body, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation, formed some six years ago to administer hockey internationally. But somehow some officials in MHF blundered and the cat was out of the bag, and FIH was all over MHF. But that is now history.

So the two bodies, MHF and MWHA decided to dissolve and press ahead with having a single body to administer the sport in Malaysia.

Various types of meetings were held, utmost of it was the desire of some office bearers to ensure that their positions in the merged body, be it elected or appointed, were not affected by this merger.

That is how the absurd figure of 12 Vice Presidents came about, 2 Senior Vice Presidents and 1o other Vice Presidents, with the MHF President taking over the reigns as the MHC President and the MWHA President being the sole Deputy President.

With the merger, the women thus hold 50% of the power base within MHC and they will also get two appointed independent members plus either the Secretary/Assistant Secretary as well as the Treasurer/Assistant Treasurer position.

Knowing that there was no way on earth that the current MHF Secretary will give up his position and allow a women candidate as the MHC Secretary, the MWHA went on to their next set of plans, that was to ensure that Prof Dr. Shamala Subramaniam, the iron lady of MWHA retains some significant influence on MHC.

Thus instead of allowing Shamala, who by the way is highly qualified but educationally, and is an elected member of the Asian Hockey Federation Council, to be reduced to a mere spectator, MWHA has nominated her as the Senior Vice President of MHC, on par with MHF Deputy President Dato Nur Azmi Ahmad.

And they have now decided that their current Executive Secretary will be the appointed person for the Secretary/Assistant Secretary post.

Now that is what one calls forward planning.

Mind you, I have nothing against how MWHA conducted themselves and infact admire the fact that they planned this whole thing to their advantage, who wouldn't in the first place. After all the current MHF officials wanted to safeguard their posts, so they sacrificed hockey for personal interests, and why blame the women for thinking out of the box?

So now instead of Shamala, who was vocal during the merger talks, taking orders from the incoming Secretary, she will be in a position to dictate terms, by virtue of her position as Senior Vice President.

With 13 key office bearers, and the fact that there are 13 sub committees in the new MHC set up, it will be interesting to see who will run which committee and with 4 years on their hands, god knows what good or bad will come out of it.

Suffice to say that the forward planning to safe guard the interest of some key officials within the MHF old set up is ongoing and if the women were follow in that direction, at times one step ahead, then who are we to complain.