Sports press clippings on the 30 June 2008

GAGAH... Azhar buktikan kehebatan selepas mengungguli Kejohanan Mr. Penang buat tahun ketiga berturut-turut di George Town semalam.

Pelari Kenya Kuasai Larian Hari Olimpik Mcdonald's

KUALA LUMPUR, 29 Jun (Bernama) -- Pelari Kenya menyapu bersih tiga tempat teratas kategori terbuka 10km lelaki pada acara Larian Hari Olimpik McDonald's kelima di Dataran Merdeka, di sini hari Ahad.

Bungai Elvis Kipruto mencatat masa 24.28s untuk mencul sebagai juara, manakala Junus Kimtai menduduki tempat kedua (24.30s) dan Geofrey Yego menang tempat ketiga (24.38s).

Bagi kategori wanita, pelari tempatan menguasai tiga tempat teratas, dengan Amutha Arugugan dari Power Team mencatat masa 32.20s untuk meraih tempat pertama, Norhasyikin Mohd Din (Polis) mencatat masa 36.44s di tempat kedua dan Lau Pui San (Selangor) di tempat ketiga dengan catatan masa 38.40s.

Marcus Sherwood dari Kuala Lumpur, yang mencatat masa 28.34s, muncul juara lelaki veteran, manakala Peter Lessin dari Jerman menjadi naib juara dengan masa 28.38s dan Roslan Yasin dari Sarawak menduduki tempat ketiga dengan catatan masa 29.39s.

Bagi kategori wanita veteran, tiga pelari Selangor menguasai kedudukan teratas, dengan gelaran juara menjadi milik Tan Shih Ming (34.50s), tempat kedua dimenangi Low Wah Leng (37.05s) dan Ng Yoke Har menduduki tempat ketiga (38.26s).

Semua pemenang menerima pingat, sijil penyertaan, hadiah eksklusif dan hamper daripada McDonald.

Pengarah Urusan McDonald's Malaysia Azmir Jaafar berkata McDonald's menjadi rakan rasmi Sukan Olimpik Beijing dan larian itu merupakan acara global.

-- BERNAMA

MOM Perketat Peraturan Ke Atas NSA

KUALA LUMPUR, 28 Jun (Bernama) -- Anggota tetap Majlis Olimpik Malaysia (MOM) hari ini sebulat suara menyokong pindaan yang dibuat ke atas Artikel 9.6 perlembagaan MOM bagi memastikan hanya sebuah sahaja Persatuan Sukan Kebangsaan (NSA) bagi sesebuah sukan tertentu boleh menjadi anggota gabungan kepada MOM.

Setiausaha Kehormat MOM Datuk Sieh Kok Chi berkata NSA terbabit juga perlu menjadi anggota gabungan kepada persekutuan antarabangsa yang mempunyai kaitan dengannya.

"Pindaan ini perlu bagi memenuhi keperluan Jawatankuasa Majlis Olimpik Antarabangsa (IOC) dan terpakai kepada kesemua 205 anggota gabungan, dan kita adalah satu daripadanya," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mesyuarat agung tahunan MOM di sini hari ini.

Sieh berkata pindaan ini boleh mengelak daripada berlakunya sebarang pertindihan kuasa antara persatuan-persatuan sukan di negara ini yang akhirnya mendatangkan kesan negatif terhadap pembangunan sukan negara.

-- BERNAMA

Recurve team a potent force

From left: Wan Khalmizam, Muhamad Marbawi and Cheng Chu Sian have left a deep impression on the world front after their performance at the World Cup in France on Saturday.

MALAYSIA fired an arrow across the bow of their rivals to emerge as a serious Olympic threat with their run to the team final of the World Cup fourth stage recurve team final in Boe, France on Saturday.

Despite being outshone 228-215 by world champions South Korea, the world has taken notice of the steady rise of Malaysian trio of Cheng Chu Sian, Muhammad Marbawi Sulaiman and Wan Mohd Khalmizam Wan Abd Aziz.

They proved that their first World Cup final appearance in Antalya, Turkey last month where Malaysia lost to India, was no fluke with another commanding display.

Wins over Australia, Britain and Spain in earlier knockout rounds after finishing a lowly 15th in qualifying in what was their last competitive action prior to the Olympics, can only act as a confidence boost for the Malaysians who are now ranked fifth in the world.

World No 3 South Korea underlined their seriousness in defending their team gold in Beijing by fielding their Olympic trio of Im Dong-hyun, Lee Chang-hwan and Park Kyung-mo.
Malaysia trailed 56-53 after the first end and a poor 50 points in the second end saw any hopes of an upset evaporate with the Koreans leading 112-103 at the halfway mark.

The Koreans' never wavered in their accuracy although Malaysia improved with their own aim in the third and fourth ends but the gap was too big to be bridged.

The Malaysians did not fare well in the individual competition with Khalmizam advancing the furthest to the third round where he lost 115-112 to Ryuichi Moriya of Japan.

Chu Sian fell in the first round 111-107 to Crispin Duenas of Canada while Marbawi failed to make the cut for the knockout round.

S. Anbarasi failed in her bid to join the men in Beijing, missing out on qualification by one point to eventually finish sixth.

Only five places were on offer for the Olympics in a qualification tournament held on the sidelines of the World Cup.

"We are pleased with the performance of the men's team but at the same time sadness for Anbarasi. We hope the men will be able to maintain their consistency right up to the Olympics," said National Archery Association of Malaysia honorary secretary Hamid Hasan on Saturday when met after the Olympic Council of Malaysia's annual general assembly.

The men now proceed to South Korea for a two-week training and sparring stint with the Koreans before returning to Kuala Lumpur at the end of July.

MHF: Quality won't be an issue

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) will ensure the quality of age-group tournaments are not compromised before handing over the baton to the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) next year.

A working paper was presented to the MSSM recently where the MHF requested the MSSM to organise all age-group tournaments from under-12 to under-18.

"We have met with MSSM officials in the presence of National Sports Council (NSC) representatives to discuss a working paper which will eventually see age-group tournaments be organised by MSSM from next year," said MHF coaching committee chairman C. Paramalingam.

"The MSSM and NSC officials will now brief their bosses before we venture further into this plan."

Many quarters are skeptical of the proposed move after the MSSM ran their age-group tournaments on a carnival format this year which was a rush job with many glitches and did not benefit hockey at all.
"We proposed that an under-10 tournament be held by MSSM at districts and also said we are not in favour of a carnival format. This is to ensure that quality is maintained as schools provide future national players," added Paramalingam.

"The MHF has also agreed to provide coaches for grassroots development where there are no teachers with qualifications, as in this way systematic development can start from next year in schools."

National Juniors coach V. Muraleedharan had said that his present batch of players, who will represent the country in the Junior World Cup next year which will be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore, are still shaky with the basics because the schools system did not ingrain it in them.

"The coaching committee had a discussion about that and that is why we are keen to help the schools by providing technical officials and qualified development coaches so that we can arrest this problem as soon as possible," said Paramalingam.

The MSSM, NSC and MHF will meet again to discuss how best this plan can be turned into a reality without compromising on quality.

Karamjit, Jagdev storm to victory

KARAMJIT Singh (above) and Jagdev Singh steered their Mitsubishi Evo 8 to overall victory in Round Three of the Malaysian Rally Championship (MRC) in Kuantan yesterday.

After earning a substantial advantage over most of the field in Leg One on Saturday, the reigning champions maintained their grip to the finish, albeit with a cautious approach.

Closest rivals Lim Leong Onn and Kamarul Anuar Mohd Razzali of the Perodua M5 Racing Team took second spot, while Karamjit-Jagdev's GSR Pennzoil teammates Gunaseelan and Jayaseelan Rajoo finished third in their new Mitsubishi Evo 9.

Karamjit had a trouble-free weekend but said that the newly graded tracks in several of the special stages proved to be more tricky than usual.

"The track was a combination of fast and slow sections and they can catch drivers off-guard. It was especially tricky in the newly graded section and as the first car we had to be careful," Karamjit said.
Team Pennzoil driver and manager Gunaseelan was happy to be in third and have teammate Karamjit in first.

"Karamjit was far ahead of everyone so his position was secure while I am still learning to adapt to the new car," said Gunaseelan.

"There are some teething problems but overall everything went well for me and for the team so we are quite pleased."

RESULTS: 1 Karamjit Singh-Jagdev Singh (Mas) Mistubishi Evo 8 2:02:29s, 2 Lim Leong Onn-Kamarul Anuar Mohd Razzali (Mas) Perodua Viva 2:11:12s, 3 Gunaseelan Rajoo-Jayaselan Rajoo (Mas) Mitsubishi Evo 9 2:14:22s, 4 Sutan Mustaffa Salihin-Ahmad Nadzrie Shuhaimi (Mas) Proton Satria 2:19:02s, 6 P. Nandakumar-Suresh Parkash Sharma (Mas) Proton Satria 2:19:42s.

Coach Pang happy with Eei Hui-Pei Tty despite final loss

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty did not win at the Thailand Open yesterday but as far as coach Pang Cheh Chang is concerned, the duo succeeded in their task to forge a better understanding ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.

A first Open title continued to elude the top Malaysian women’s pair, going down 21-15, 13-21, 13-21 to Zhang Jiewen-Yang Wei of China in a 49-minute final. But they did a creditable job to take the first game off the top seeds.

Despite the defeat, Cheh Chang said that Eei Hui-Pei Tty certainly lifted their spirits ahead of the Beijing Games with their performance in the Thailand Open.

“This was their third back-to-back tournament. They competed but struggled in Singapore and Indonesia,” he said in a telephone interview from Bangkok yesterday.

“The reason we listed them for the Thailand Open was for them to find the missing link in their partnership. They found their rhythm here. Taking one game off the world number one today will give them the confidence to take on the world’s best.”

Eei Hui-Pei Tty will resume work to prepare for the Olympics after a three-day break. Eei Hui will be undergoing treatment for knee pains, which hampered her performance yesterday.

Iskandar, Jing Yee the best in Asean

KUALA LUMPUR: It was a double joy for Malaysia when Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin and Tee Jing Yee emerged as the boys’ and girls’ singles champions in the Asean Schools Badminton Championships in Manila on Saturday.

Iskandar defeated Thailand’s Pollawat Boonpan 21-19, 21-13 in the final for his first Under-18 Asean schools title.

Uber Cupper Jing Yee continued to stay dominant in junior tournaments, beating Nitchaon Jindapol of Thailand 21-16, 21-15 for the girls’ crown.