GREEN MEAN MACHINE

The Irish hockey team is nicknamed the Green Machine and they showed that adding the word mean will be apt as they hammered Russia 6-1 in their opening match of the Olympic Qualifiers in Dublin.

It was a comprehensive win, but not a commanding performance as Ireland showed that they were vulnerable in defence.

And the Malaysian team will be optimistic against the Russians who looked unfit and unorganised.

Ireland hit the purple patch in the 15th and 16th minutes, scoring two goals inthe space of a minute.

First it was John Jermyn that found the back off the the net via a penalty corner in the 15th minute. And hardly had the cheers from the partisan fans died down that Ireland struck again inthe very next minute as Timothy Cocram scored to give Ireland a 2-0 lead.

They dominated the proceedings and made inroads but failed to make use of the opportunities created.

And out of the blues Russia reduced the deficit in the 24th minute via Ravshanzhon Zakirov.

At halftime the score stood at 2-1 in favour of Ireland and from the look of things it was going to be a close match.

But it was all Ireland as they scored at will with the Russians getting caught in defence as the Irish tran rings around them.

Michael Darling made it 3-1 in the 44th minute before Eugene Magee increased the lead in the 48th minute.

It was all Ireland after that as Conor Harte converted a penalty corner in the 56th minute to inctrease the scorline to 5-1 before Michael Watt scored three minutes later to make it 6-1.

WINNING START FOR MALAYSIA

Malaysia got off to a winning start in their quest for 2012 London Olympics as they trashed Chile 5-1 in the opening match of the qualifiers in Dublin.

Converting four out of the eight penalty corners helped Malaysia register the big win that puts on track for a place towards Olympic qualification.

Malaysia were awarded the first penalty corner just 90 seconds into the match but wasted the opportunity as Mohd Madzli Ikmar made a mess of the stop.

And in the opening five minutes, Chile had not even entered the Malaysian 25 yet alone the semi circle. It was a question of when Chile would crack.

Malaysia kept up the pressure and were duly rewarded in the 18th minute as the penalty corner attempt by Mohd Razir Rahim sailed into goal, giving chile keeper Mathias Anwandter no chance whatsoever.

After that it was one chance after another wasted by Izwan Firdaus and Faisal Saari with Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin ably supported by Azlan Misrton making the decisive passes.

However lack of concentration in defence allowed Chile to create chances and after having wasted one penalty corner in the 12th minute, Chile made the second in the 20th minute count as Jan Richter sent in a low flick that had Kumar beaten.

Stung by the setback, Malaysia went onto the offensive from the restart and were rewarded with the second goal in the 22nd minute, this time it was Faisal Saari who struck to give Malaysia a 2-1 lead.

Malaysia stretched their lead in the 49th minute as Hafifihafiz Hanafi met a cross from Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin to deflect the ball past a despairing dive from the Chile keeper.

The constant pressure yielded another penalty corner for Malaysia, this time in the 51st minute and Razie stepped up to send a low drag flick into goal, much to the joy of the band of Malaysian supporters in the stands.

Malaysia were now coasting, everything going right for them as they broke through at ease. But what was worrying was their inability to finish off the chances created.

Mohd Amin Rahim came off the bench in the 58th minute and three minutes later he was on target from Malaysia's eight penalty corner to put Malaysia 5-1 ahead.

TO THE BATTLEFRONT

The national team begins their quest to make it to the 2012 London Olympics via the Qualifiers that commence in Dublin on Saturday.

And they will be up against Chile in the first match which will set the tone for the rest of the matches. A good win will give them the morale booster while any other result could lead to all kind of speculations.

What is important is three points on the board, no matter if it is achieved via a deflection by a defender, akin to an own goal. For a month from now no one will even ask what was the score of our matches as long as the team makes it to London.

To be honest not even how the play in the match matters as all that is important is getting to a winning start. But if the match ends in a draw, nothing is lost either, for even defeated we can still make it to the Olympics.

The FIH on their website have highlighted the fact that Malaysia lost their last friendly to lowly Wales. But what these FIH people who sit behind their desks do not know is that Malaysia has a problem playing with low ranked teams.

How is it that FIH failed to highlight that Malaysia had defeated both Australia and Holland within days early last month?

Coming back to the team, it has to be wary of the weather, as this is our biggest opponent, other then our inconsistency.

So the team will begin its battle on a wing and prayer and the hopes and aspirations of the country lie on the shoulders of Koshy's boys.

Lets hope for the best.

PERFECT CANDIDATE FOR FIH JOB

The FIH is looking add a Sport Coordinator for Officials and Comeptitions (sic) to its team. The job is based in Lausanne, Switzerland and would start as soon as possible. The deadline for applying for the position is March 16.

Job scope is as follows:

Role:

•   Provide administrative and logistical assistance to the Competitions and Officials Managers
  
•   Work in close collaboration with the Sport Coordinator (Technical Services)
  
•   Maintain Competitions and Tournament reports and regulations for all FIH events
  
•   Administer and keep up-to-date events calendar and appointments lists on FIH website
  
•   Support administration of appointments of umpires and other technical officials
  
•   Arrange print process and distribution of Rules of Hockey booklets
  
•   Provide logistical assistance for meetings, including hotel, taxi, catering, restaurant reservations, travel
  forms, etc.
  

There is a perfect candidate in Malaysia, the clerk who behaves more powerful then the General Secretary, so much so that he can even influence officials from AHF. But that MAFIA story is for another edition.

WHY THE SILENCE MHC?

Now if the MHC had an effective website, then this news would have been shared with the hockey fraternity. But until it gets into their minds that one way to appease fans is to disseminate news fast, guess all are stuck with my blog.

Talking of which there was no news from MHC with regards to the matches the Project 2013 squad played with their Japanese counterparts.

Perhaps I too should start charging to view contents in my blog.

The Irish Hockey Association will be web streaming all the Pool matches of the forthcoming Electric Ireland FIH Road to London, through its website – www.hockey.ie.
 

Prices will be €3 per day or €10 for the five days of the pool matches. The National Hockey Stadium at UCD has 3 state of the art High Definition Cameras providing a top quality stream.  All matches will also feature commentary.
 

The web streaming provides fans an opportunity to follow the matches of the Malaysian team live as they compete for a coveted spot at the London Olympics!
 

Please Note -- The Final Day play off matches will be streamed through the FIH website.

FREE TRIP FOR SUPPORT

Below is the list of the Dublin bound officials that are going as cheerleaders for the national hockey team tha will be playing in the Olympic Qualifiers.

The funny thing is that that this group will only leave on March 13, after Malaysia has played 3 matches and will be get to see the team in action against Korea and Ireland. And it is learnt that the cost for each of this cheerleaders is RM6,500.

Now while one can understand the inclusion of the state HA officials, why is it that even a MHF staff is included in the tour is baffling.

The argument put forward was that he is going because the Secretary/Assistant Secretary are not going.

So can the states replace someone with their wives or girlfriends if the Council Members are not free to go?

MHF OFFICE BEARERS

1. Y. Bhg. Dato’ Hj. Abd Rahim Md Ariff - Vice President
2. Encik Gobinathan A/L Murugiah - Vice President
3. Y. Bhg. Dato’ Haji Md. Yusop Haji Mansor - Vice President
4. Y. Bhg. Dato’ Anuarul Aini Bin Mohd Perai - Treasurer
5. Y. Bhg. Dato’ Dr. Surender Singh Mejor Singh - Independent Member

NOT GOING

1. Dato Nur Azmi Ahmad - Deputy President
2. Dato Bustari Yusof - Vice President
3. Dato Che Khalib - Vice President
4. Encik Maninderjit Singh - Secretary
5. Encik Hashim Yusof - Asst Secretary
6. Encik Sathiaseelan - Asst Hon. Treasurer
7. Dato Radhakrishnan - Independent Member
8. Encik Ow Soon Kooi - Independent Member

TRAVELING WITH PRESIDENT

1. En. Manjit Majid Abdullah - Vice President

STATE REPRESENTATIVES - ALL STATES REPRESENTED
 
1.  Lt. Kol Muthukumar A/L Balakrishnan - Armed Forces
2.  Encik Shahabuddin Royani - Johor
3.  Encik Sandra Gesan Balakrishnan - Kedah
4.  Encik Zahari bin Daud - Kelantan
5.  Encik Rajamanickam Veeramalai - Kuala Lumpur
6.  YBhg. Datuk Hj. Md. Yunus b. Husin - Malacca
7.  Encik P. Tamil Selvan Ponniah - Negri Sembilan
8.  Encik Zamri bin Mohamed - Pahang
9.  Mohindar Singh - PDRM
10.YBhg. Dato’ Dr. Gurdeep Singh A/L Mohindar Singh - Perak
11.Encik Shurizan bin Mansor - Perlis
12.Encik Avtar Singh Bal - Sabah
13.Encik Kuganeson Poologsingam - Selangor
14.Encik Mohamad Saberi Salleh - Terengganu
15.Encik William Lee Lip Kok - Sarawak
16.Encik Ranjit Singh A/L Gurdial Singh - Penang

MHC CLERICAL STAFF 

1. Encik Krishnan A/L Narayanan - Status Unknown

GOOD TIMES ARE BACK FOR INDIA

These are good times for Indian hockey. Tears were shed at the National Stadium. Tears of joy!

It was not quite the renaissance of hockey but the victory on Sunday meant a lot. It meant a world of difference for the game of the masses in a nation that once won the Olympic hockey gold as a matter of right.

And then came Indian hockey's darkest hour at Santiago, Chile in March 2008. The team failed to qualify for the Olympics. Hockey pride was restored to some extent at the venue named after its finest exponent, Dhyan Chand.

Ironically, Dhyan Chand's son, Ashok Kumar, was missing from the players' gallery. “I was not invited,” he said sadly. Not one complimentary ticket for Ashok Kumar and his family. His son bought tickets for the final while Ashok watched the match on television in far away Bhopal.

“The ghost of Chile has been exorcised,” said a gleeful Ashok, who scored India's lone goal in the 1975 World Cup final against Pakistan. It remains India's only World Cup title.

"Indian hockey has been in a standstill mode for four years now. I am sure this win will lead to better hockey, better recognition. Hockey will be in the news for all good reasons now. Of course, it is time to rejoice, but also time to introspect. How good are we and good can we be in the big league! Let us be optimistic and enjoy these moments,” gushed Ashok.

Mohammad Shahid, a classy forward, was delighted too but had a word of caution. “We have qualified. Great! But the bitter truth is now the road becomes rough and tough. It is nice that we have made it to London. If not, hockey would have died in India.” Hockey will live now and the vibrancy would be dictated by the team's exploits in the coming times.

The surging crowd, mostly jingoistic, may have failed to appreciate the good stuff that came from the opponents' sticks but then it had come to support a cause; to cheer the team on the road to London.

“This is only the first step,” Zafar Iqbal observed. And rightly too!

Zafar was a sprightly 24-year-old member of the team when India last won the Olympic gold at Moscow in 1980. He was shattered at the Chile debacle. “It was sad. But then it is also sad that we have been reduced to this state. Going to London is a sign of progress but not a ticket to glory. In the public perspective it was important for India to qualify but I find it difficult to accept that our yardstick to hockey glory lies in qualifying for the Olympics. There was a time when we went to the Olympics to win a medal. No doubt this result will boost the game's image. It will bring some joy to hockey lovers. I will only be happy if we finish among the top six in London.”

For Balbir Singh (Sr), triple gold medallist at Olympics, the scenes of celebrations at the National Stadium were a sharp contrast to the gloomy experience of four years ago in his Chandigarh home when he refused to eat. He was in a state of shock when told that India had failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

“I am at peace now,” the moist-eyed Balbir mumbled. Accompanied by grandson Kabir, the 88-year-old icon of Indian hockey, now frail and tired, insists on watching the game ‘live', in the company of hockey stalwarts in the players' gallery. Hockey and Olympics were so sweet when he was pursuing his dreams.

“I wish those days come back,” the grand veteran hoped. It can be the best gift this team can give to the hockey fraternity. Tough but worthy when achieved! Let the good times of hockey return.