Malaysian Sports - Today's back pages!

The Youth and Sports Ministry will wait for a report from the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) over the national hockey team's poor performance at the World Cup in The Hague, Holland. "Very disappointing performance at the World Cup in Holland. I need a complete report on the performance of the World Cup hockey squad before coming to any conclusion," he told reporters when commenting on the National hockey squad's performance in the World Cup when announcing the 'Fiesta Samba Brasil 2014' programme organised by the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, here today. In the ongoing World Cup, Malaysia failed to win any points after five matches, losing to Australia, Belgium, India, England and Spain. "Though we did not target any major victories at the World Cup, at least there should have been some positive signs for the future World Cup or even the Olympics. "Unfortunately we failed to win any points. We h...

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- The national women's hockey squad suffered their first defeat in the second round of the Women's World League after they went down 0-3 to India in the second encounter at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi today. Vandana Katariya put Neil Hawgood's side in front as early as the ninth minute after she converted a penalty corner, the tournament website, www.fih.cn reported. Katariya's bagged her second goal after she found the net in the 38th minute before Rani Ritu completed the rout with the third goal in the 65th minute through a field goal. The win saw India clinched the second place, sharing six points with leaders Japan but were differentiated by a goal margin. On the other hand, the national side under tutelage of former national goalkeeper Mohd Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim are lying in fourth place with three points. -- BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, 10 Okt (Bernama) -- Kelab Hoki Kuala Lumpur (KLHC) mencipta hatrik apabila mengulangi kejuaraan buat kali ketiga selepas menewaskan pasukan Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) 3-0 pada perlawanan akhir Piala TNB 2012 di Stadium Hoki Nasional Bukit Jalil di sini, malam Rabu. Perlawanan akhir itu yang pada awalnya dijadualkan bermula pada pukul 8.30 malam terpaksa ditangguhkan hampir satu jam akibat hujan lebat. Juara Liga Hoki Malaysia 2010 dan 2011 itu meraih gol pertama menerusi jaringan padang oleh penyerang, Tengku Ahmad Tajudin Abdul Jalil seawal minit ke-11. Dua minit kemudian, KLHC mengukuhkan kedudukan dengan gol kedua menerusi Ismail Abu, juga menerusi jaringan gol padang. KLHC terus mendominasi perlawanan dan menambah tekanan kepada TNB dengan jaringan gol padang ketiga mereka menerusi Muhammad Amerullah Abdul Aziz, seminit sebelum rehat. -- BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 (Bernama) - Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has offered to contest the post of International Hockey Federation (FIH) executive board member. Tengku Abdullah said today agreed to contest the post at FIH congress here from November 2-4 after MHC council members nominated his name to FIH. "Since the MHC council members nominated my name, I accept the nomination with an open heart," he said after chairing the MHC council meeting here. Tengku Abdullah said the MHC annual general meeting (AGM) will be held on October 20 in Kuantan, Pahang to mark the 50th Tun Razak Cup Hockey tournament from October 14-20. --BERNAMA

bhsukan@bharian.com.my SELEPAS dihimpit gundah Johor Baharu bakal dilucutkan hak penganjuran Piala Dunia Remaja Jun depan, Persatuan Hoki Negeri Johor (PHNJ) menerima khabar gembira apabila Kementerian Kewangan dan Kementerian Belia dan Sukan tampil menghulurkan sokongan. Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, berkata pada dasarnya Kementerian Kewangan sudah meluluskan dana sebanyak RM3 juta untuk memastikan kejohanan berkenaan kekal di Johor. “Kini mereka boleh menarik nafas lega kerana peruntukan berkenaan iaitu separuh daripada RM6 juta yang dipohon, sudah diluluskan dan kini hanya menunggu surat rasmi daripada Kementerian Kewangan. “Ini bakal menjadi berita gembira buat PHNJ Johor kerana dengan adanya peruntukan ini, mereka boleh menyiapkan padang kedua untuk kejohanan berkenaan,” katanya. Sebelum ini, PHNJ diberi kata dua oleh Persekutuan Hoki Antarabangsa (FIH) supaya menyiapkan padang kedua atau ke...

shahril@kosmo.com.my TEKA-TEKI mengenai siapa jurulatih skuad hoki negara yang baru nampaknya terus menjadi tanda tanya. Kelmarin, Persatuan Hoki Malaysia (PHM) menerusi presidennya Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah memberitahu bahawa jurulatih asing yang bakal mengisi tempat Sarjit Singh itu akan diumumkan semalam. Begitupun, harapan untuk mengetahui siapa individu tersebut nampaknya tidak kesampaian apabila PHM sendiri masih gagal mendapat sebarang maklumat mengenai status jurulatih itu yang dikatakan diuruskan oleh pihak ketiga. "PHM masih belum pasti mengenai status jurulatih tersebut kerana belum mendapat berita daripada pihak ketiga yang menguruskannya," kata Timbalan Presiden PHM, Nur Azmi Ahmad kepada Kosmo! semalam. "Saya sendiri tidak tahu siapa jurulatih yang dimaksudkan oleh Tengku Abdullah kerana kami tidak terlibat dalam proses ini, sebaliknya hanya membiarkan pihak tersebut menguruskannya. "Cuma apa yang saya tahu, memang ada dua atau tiga nama...

Tengku Abdullah has not named the coach. THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) remains tight-lipped over the foreign coach to helm the national senior team but its president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said a candidate will likely be hired in the next 24 hours. "In principle, an agreement has been reached with the foreign candidate through a third party. We tried to reach him today (yesterday) but failed. We will need to speak to him first and will try again tomorrow (today)," said Tengku Abdullah after chairing the MHF management meeting at a leading hotel in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. "The candidate is very interested and the federation will need to speak to him on a contract agreement. I can't reveal the identity just yet but what I can promise you is that he's a person with credentials. "The candidate will start work as soon as possible if an agreement is reached." Tengku Abdullah had noted recently that three foreign candidat...

SKUAD hoki negara akan berdepan misi pertama tahun ini dengan mengharungi kempen Piala Sultan Azlan Shah, April depan. BEKAS jurulatih skuad hoki remaja negara, Tai Beng Hai berpuas hati dengan komitmen yang ditunjukkan oleh pemain skuad senior selepas memulakan tugas pertamanya sebagai pengendali sementara petang semalam. Beng Hai yang dilantik mengganti- kan Sarjit Singh bukan ini, mempunyai pengetahuan yang luas terhadap keupayaan sebenar pemain negara kerana kebanyakan daripada mereka pernah dibimbingnya ketika menjadi pembantu jurulatih skuad remaja pada 2004. Selepas Persekutuan Hoki Malaysia (PHM) memutuskan untuk merombak semula skuad senior dengan menyerapkan pemain remaja yang beraksi pada Kejohanan Piala Dunia Remaja di Rotterdam pada 2004, Beng Hai mungkin tidak berdepan masalah untuk mencari formula terbaik di kalangan pemain muda yang pernah dilatihnya itu. "Saya rasa tidak ada masalah yang akan timbul kerana saya kenal gaya permainan mereka (pemain) dan mereka...

Sapura’s Keevan (left) and Logan Raj are set to square off against E&Y’s Misron siblings, Azlan and Azli in the final on Saturday. FAMILY ties will come to the fore when Sapura play Ernst & Young in the MHL-TNB Cup final at the KLHA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. Sapura will have two pairs of brothers Keevan and Logan Raj and Jiwa and Jiwan Mohan while E&Y have the Misron siblings, Azlan and Azli. To make it even more interesting, the head coaches of both teams are also brothers -- Sapura's K. Enbaraj and E&Y's Muhd Dharma Raj Abdullah. E&Y, the league champions, are featuring in their seventh final and interestingly, they have yet to lift the overall title while Sapura are aiming for their third title in four years. They won in 2005 and 2006. E&Y, powered by a host of national players, will start as favourites as they defeated Sapura 2-1 and 2-0 in the league. "I suppose a sibling rivalry is on the cards between me...

By AFTAR SINGH KUALA LUMPUR: Ernst and Young’s Baljit Singh Sarjab (pic) and Tenaga Nasional’s Mohd Amin Rahim are in the race for the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) top scorer’s award. Both the national defenders have scored 12 goals each — from penalty corners. The 21-year-old Baljit, who has 36 international caps to his credit, gets the chance to increase his tally in the final against Sapura at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium on Saturday. He was the hero for Ernst and Young in the semi-final second-leg match against Maybank last Sunday, scoring the golden goal in the 76th minute to give the Division One champions a 3-2 aggregate win. Tenaga, meanwhile, will bank on veteran Amin to deliver the goals against Maybank in the playoff for third place at the same venue on Saturday. Ernst and Young will be out to nail the overall title after failing at the final hurdle on five previous occasions. “I want to score on Saturday to help my team win the overall title for the f...

National coach Sarjit Singh (right) watches his players train for the Azlan Shah Cup earlier this year. Sarjit’s contract ends on Dec 31. The number of coaches vying to take charge of the national hockey team has been whittled down to a final three candidates. The aspirants hail from Europe, Australia and Asia. Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, however, chose not to reveal their names. "I cannot make the announcement yet, as the coaches are still contracted to other teams. We have three candidates and all of them are foreigners," he said in Kuantan yesterday. He said the official announcement on who would replace Sarjit Singh as the national coach would only be made next month. Sarjit's contract ends on Dec 31. Among the coaches MHF and the National Sports Council (NSC) were interested in was South Korean Kin Sang-ryul, who was in charge of China at the Beijing Olympics. However, MHF's inability to n...

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Hockey Federation (MHF) have declined the international federation’s (FIH) offer to host one of the World Cup qualifying tournaments in November because it is too costly to stage it. A total of 18 teams will be involved in three qualifying tournaments and only the winners get places in the World Cup Finals. Eight teams gain direct entries from their continental championships while India are automatic qualifiers by virtue of being the hosts. France will host the first qualifying tournament in Lille from Oct 24-Nov 1 and New Zealand will stage the second one in Auckland from Nov 7-15. The third qualifying tournament is likely to be held in an Asian country. Malaysia are likely to play in the qualifiers unless they win the Asia Cup tournament, which will be held in Dubai from May 8-15. The MHF deputy president, Nur Azmi Ahmad, said yesterday that it was not financially viable to host the qualifying tournament. “We hosted the Champions Trophy last ye...

MIRNAWAN NAWAWI FORMER national forward Mirnawan Nawawi hopes that the National Sports Council (NSC) and the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) will not rush into signing a foreign hockey coach, just for the sake of hiring someone to take charge of the national team. MHF president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah announced in Kuantan on Sunday that a foreign candidate will be hired for the job in January. "The council should hire only the best and not a second rated foreign candidate. "I believe they have offered the job to several world class coaches and are awaiting replies," said Mirnawan yesterday. "They should not rush into signing those with no or little credentials as it will only bring the local hockey scene back to square one. "If there's no favourable response from any of the candidates then a local caretaker coach should be hired as an interim replacement. "The target is to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics and there...

Oleh YUSRI SAHAT KUANTAN - Persekutuan Hoki Malaysia (PHM) sedang meneliti sekurang-kurangnya tiga nama jurulatih luar untuk dipilih bagi mengendalikan pasukan hoki kebangsaan. Antara jurulatih yang sedang diteliti ialah dari Asia, Eropah dan Australia. Presidennya, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah berkata, keputusan untuk memilih jurulatih hoki kebangsaan itu akan ditentukan pada mesyuarat persatuan itu awal bulan depan. ''Nama-nama ada dalam bayangan tetapi tidak boleh diumumkan lagi," kata Tengku Abdullah kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan Konvensyen Falak di Kolej Islam Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah (KIPSAS) di sini, semalam. Hadir sama pada majlis itu, Menteri Besar Pahang, Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob. Mesyuarat PHM, baru-baru ini memutuskan untuk tidak memperbaharui kontrak Sarjit Singh yang pada asalnya mengendalikan skuad remaja kebangsaan. Berikutan itu, nama jurulatih asing seperti Kim Sang-ryul, Barry Dancer dan Terry Walsh dicanang sebagai pengganti Sarjit yang...

HASRAT Kementerian Belia dan Sukan untuk memperkenalkan Liga Daerah di peringkat akar umbi sememangnya tepat pada masanya dan perlu dimulakan segera, sebaik-baiknya tahun depan. Tidak perlu lagi menunggu bagaimana mekanisme yang perlu dilaksanakan kerana permainan dibuat mengikut format liga yang boleh disesuaikan seakan-akan seperti permainan bola sepak Liga Super. Cadangan Liga Daerah sepatutnya sudah lama diadakan kerana kejohanan seperti itu merupakan antara platform paling baik untuk mencungkil bakat-bakat baru. Cara ini juga, pada anggapan penulis dapat melahirkan lebih banyak kelab baru yang boleh menyediakan peluang lebih luas kepada pemain yang berbakat. Dahulu, seingat penulis, liga daerah cukup popular di peringkat akar umbi tetapi adakalanya melalui pasang surut yang tidak menentu disebabkan faktor penajaan dan kewangan yang tidak mengizinkan. Kesannya, bakat pemain tidak ke mana dan adakalanya terus tenggelam apabila ruang (kejohanan) semakin menguncup di samping tida...

sukan@kosmo.com.my SKUAD negara bakal mendapat sentuhan daripada jurulatih baru tahun depan. DEMI menjaga hati semua pihak terlibat, Persekutuan Hoki Malaysia (PHM) belum bersedia mengumumkan nama jurulatih baru skuad negara. Sebaliknya, PHM akan mengumumkan nama jurulatih skuad negara Januari ini selepas beberapa calon dari luar negara dikenal pasti. Presiden PHM, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah berkata, jurulatih dari beberapa negara Asia, Eropah dan Australia sudah dikenal pasti untuk memikul tanggungjawab mengembalikan kegemilangan yang pernah dikecapi skuad hoki negara sebelum ini. Tengku Abdullah berkata, perbincangan bagi mendapatkan khidmat jurulatih berkenaan sudah dibuat, namun keputusan muktamad mengenainya akan hanya diumumkan Januari nanti. Menurutnya ketika ini PHM tidak dapat mengesahkan nama-nama jurulatih kerana mahu menjaga hati persekutuan hoki negara berkenaan memandangkan ia tertakluk kepada kontrak. "Saya tidak dapat mengumumkannya buat masa ini ker...

KUANTAN, Dec 22 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) who are in the process of vetting a list of prospective candidates, are expected to name the new national coach in January. MHF President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said in an effort to revive the glory of hockey, a number of foreign coaches from Asia, Europe and Australia had been identified and shortlisted. He added that discussions were held with a number of coaches but their names could not be revealed because contracts with their respective teams was still binding. "We have shortlisted two or three foreign coaches and once the candidate is identified, we will announce the name after their contract expires at the end of the year," he told reporters at the Pahang Astronomy Convention here Monday. It is no secret that the fate of current national coach Sarjit Singh had been the topic of conversation among the Malaysian hockey fraternity when news filtered out from the MHF corridors that his service...

SEREMBAN: India booked the last semi-final berth in the women’s Junior Asia Cup when they trounced Taiwan 10-0 at the Seremban II Hockey Stadium here yesterday. In tomorrow’s semi-finals, India will meet defending champions China in while South Korea will face Japan. The winners of the two semi-finals will gain automatic berths to the Junior World Cup as Asia’s representatives. The semi-final losers will play off against each other with the winner earning the third spot available for the Finals in Boston next year. Malaysia ended the preliminary round with a 10-0 win over Thailand. Group A: China 9 Pakistan 0, Malaysia 10 Thailand 0. Group B: Taiwan 0 India 10. Star

TENAGA Nasional's Amin Rahim (pic) has regained his form and the penalty corner specialist will be out to destroy Sapura in the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL)-TNB Cup semi-final first leg encounter at the KLHA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur today. Amin, a national player, has been working extra hard in training to fine-tune his corner conversions. The 28-year-old has so far scored 10 goals, nine from penalty corners, in the tournament. "I was struggling with my conversion rate and it proved costly for my team in the MHL. I did not have the confidence then but after scoring two goals in my team's 5-3 aggregate quarter-final win over National Juniors, I feel I have regained my touch," said Amin yesterday. Tenaga beat Sapura 3-1 on aggregate in last year's TNB Cup semi-finals en route to winning the title. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if the Sapura players will be ready for the first leg encounter after having lost five days of training whe...

SEREMBAN: Malaysia secured their first win in the women’s Junior Asia Cup when they defeated Pakistan 6-0 in a Group A match at the Seremban II Hockey Stadium here yesterday. But the Malaysians are out of the race for a semi-final berth after having lost their opening two matches to Japan (2-1) and China (3-0). Against the Pakistanis, the Malaysians had no trouble chalking up a big win. Goals by Nuraini Abdul Rashid, Marlia Mohamed, Norbaini Hashim and Nor Hidaya Ahmad gave Malaysia a 4-0 lead at half time. In the second half, Nurul Nadia Mokhtar and Fatin Naimah were on target. Malaysia complete their preliminary round fixtures today against Thailand. China defeated Japan 2-1 to confirm their ticket to the semi-final and the win also gave them top spot in Group A. The Japanese are also through to the semi-finals with wins over Malaysia, Thailand and Pakistan. In Group B, South Korea moved into the last four with a 6-0 drubbing of Singapore. The other semi-finalists from t...