TEAMS PLAYING DOWN THEIR CHANCES

OPEN BATTLE ON THE CARDS

 South Africa joins the growing list of teams who have come with many young players to be exposed the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Cup Men’s International hockey tournament starting tomorrow in Ipoh.

South Africa arrived in the wee hours of this morning for their third appearance in the tournament and declared that the tournament is testing grounds for their young players.

“Basically we have many players who we are looking at playing in the Paris Olympics,” said coach Garreth Ewing who has been coaching the South African national team since 2019.

South Africa joins teams like Korea, Pakistan, Egypt and even Malaysia, who relatively have young sides for the tournament, with many making their debut with their respective teams or have minimum number of caps.

Only Japan seems to have an experienced team here and have declared that they want to win the tournament.

But even Japan, decided to change their tune during the Press Conference for team managers and coaches this afternoon, when coach Katsuya Taskase, said his team too has young players he wants to expose in the tournament.

“A majority of our senior players who will be playing in the Nations Cup at home at the end of the month and the World Cup in India in January, are not here. They are playing with club teams in Europe,” continued Ewing.

“We have even included three players from our Under-23 team which played in Johor and shone.”

The three are defender Fawaaz Khader, midfielder Senzwesihle Ngubane and forward Cameron le Forester.

“We have seven players from the senior team here, while eight players will be making their debut with the team here, while another will be making his second appearance.

“Even our senior players do not have many international caps with Mohamed Mea having the most caps at 30.

“Most of the players here were selected from our league which ended in September,” added Ewing.

South Africa will open their campaign tomorrow against Pakistan , and although Ewing felt that they may have a slow start, having arrived from a long journey only today, but said he was not unduly worried about meeting Pakistan.

“We met Pakistan in our opening match at the Commonwealth Games recently and we drew 2-2. We will against met Pakistan in our opening game at the Nation’s Cup.”

Ewing also said that they had a good workout in the morning despite having just arrived a few hours earlier after the long flight and the players coped well.

“We definitely did  not have any issues with the weather or getting acclimatised as we come from similar weather conditions.

“We are looking forward to the match tomorrow (Tuesday).

South Africa are currently ranked 14th together with Korea, Japan is 17^th ranked, Pakistan 18^th and Egypt 20^th. Malaysia is the highest ranked on 10^th.

Egypt was the last team to arrive this afternoon and immediately attended the Press Conference.

Egypt’s Pakistani coach Zaman Tahir, despite his team list showing several experienced players on list, he talked about his eight newcomers to the team.

“In any case we are the lowest ranked team in the tournament and we are certainly here for the experience,” declared Zaman.

This saw the attention shift to Malaysia who are the highest ranked in the tournament and both team manager Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi and coach A. Arul Selvaraj, said that ranking does not matter, but how the team performs on the day.

“All teams here, whether they have young players or ranked lowly, want to win their matches. There is not going to be any easy matches,” echoed Mirnawan and Arul.

 “Every match is going to be a battle and as much as Korea wants to win their opening match, so do we wanting to start off on their right footing,” said Mirawan.

 “Past results all come to nought, as all matters on the day of match is current form and performance.

All indications are that matches in this competition is going to be close and furious as  teams battle for honours.

Ends.

TENGKU NASRUL EYEING HIS FIRST GOAL

TENGKU NASRUL ON A MISSION

The last ten months has been full of surprises for forward Tengku Nasrul Ikmal Hakimie Tengku Abdul Rahim, but is looking forward to a bigger surprise in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Men’s International tournament starting in Ipoh tomorrow.

The 21-year-old well built lad from Pekan, Pahang has just be named in the squad of 18 for the tournament to make his international debut in a tournament together with two other youngsters, defenders Amirul Azahar (22 years-old) and Syafiq Rahman (23 years-old.

While Tengku Nasrul has a cap under his belt when he was fielded for 27 minutes in the Test match against Australia in Perth in May and Syafiq has 2 caps, Amirul when he takes the field will be making his international debut.

But the attention will probably focus on Tengku Nasrul because his will be rise from zero to hero.

Tengku Nasrul who was spotted national coach A. Arul Selvaraj but chance has been a revelation.

Arul found Tengku Nasrul when he went for a friendly match Pahang were playing as a warm-up for the Razak Cup tournament last year.

“I saw what I liked in Tengku Nasrul, quick, had pace and above reacted fast in the friendly match,” said Arul.

“I then approached his team coach - Sufian Mohd - to get his number and called him later to ask him if he was interested to have an attachment with the national team and also spoke to his father to allow him to join the national team for attachment.

“While Tengku Nasrul was surprised with the offer, his father surrendered his son to me to see how best I can work with his son.

“He was with the national team on attachment for five months and worked very hard and impressed me enough to include him for the Perth tour where he made his debut against Australia for 27 minutes.

“ Rest was history as I also included him for the European tour where in the four friendly matches he played against Belgium and France for a total of 97 minutes.

“And from his performances so far, his work ethnics, his improvement from day to day and above all his speed, power and ability to think fast and react in game situations, has earned him a place for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

“I like to throw players who show potential into the deep end for international exposure and I believe that Tengku Nasrul will stand out.”

Tengku himself was surprised with his progress with the national team but grateful that he has impressed coach Arul to have faith him.

“It is like a dream come true. One minute was playing youth level hockey at the state level and next here I am with the national team in ten months,” said Tengku Nasrul who started playing the game when he was in Standard 4 with his school team - SRJK Sri Biram in Pekan.

“I made a choice from the three sports I was interested in - handball, football and hockey,” said Tengku Nasrul who stands 1.75m in a solid frame of 70kg.

“I felt that it was hockey that I could go far and I am glad that I made the right decision,” said Tengku Nasrul whom Arul arranged to play for TNB in this year’s Malaysian Hockey League.

Tengku Nasrul was later transferred to the Sports School Seberang Termeloh where he played in the KPM Under-14 league and in another Under-14 league at Bukit Jalil. He later joined Academy Hockey Pekan and progressed to the Razak Cup team.

 “I always had to work harder with the national team because there were many more experienced and talented players than me.”

Indeed his hard work, right attitude and discipline has got him this far in a short spell.

Tengku Nasrul said his next goal besides wanting to be a permanent feature in the national team, he wants to score his first goal with the national team.

 “I played five times with the national team, but have not scored,” revealed Tengku Nasrul who played as a midfielder but has been converted to a striker by Arul.

 “I am enjoying my role as a striker and am looking forward to scoring my first goal when we play Korea in our opening game. That would make a grand entry for me in an international tournament.

“But I am not going to be obsessed to score because what matters is that we carry our respective roles well and plays as a unit and get the desired result.”

 Tengku Nasrul is indeed on the right track with his right approach and attitude and it will come as little surprise he is set to hog the limelight in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and beyond.

The national team doing their stretching exercises this morning at the Hotel swimming pool under the watchful eyes of Physical trainer Thomas Drowley

 Ends.

SAYUTI THE MAN ON THE GROUND

SAYUTI THE MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

 

Many may mistaken Perak Hockey Association president, Mohd Sayuti Abdul Samat, as another layman walking around at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup International Men’s Hockey tournament.

For the 64-year-old second term president, a former national goalkeeper, the Azlan Shah Cup, is something which is close to his heart, having played in the second tournament in Ipoh in 1985 and after his playing career been the liaison officer for visiting teams and two terms as vice-president prior to becoming president.

“I am a grass root man and having come from the bottom, my position as president does not mean that I have to change and order people around,” said Sayuti who is his ever friendly self.

He does not have any air about himself and always on the ground.

Sayuti greeting Pakistan's Dutch coach Siegfried Aikam at the hotel

He was seen at the stadium helping to carry mineral water boxes for the tournament, dropped by to meet the Malaysian team in training, welcoming teams checking in to their hotel for the tournament, making his rounds to the secretariat and media room to greet the staff working there and talk to them, meeting fans at the Stadium and never hesitates to stop to talk to anyone who recognises him as a former Perak and national goalkeeper and greets him.

“Having come from the bottom, I know what it means to be greeted, help and be part of the community at large. Nothing has changed with me. I am still a human being and must treat everyone with respect.

“I am very passionate about hockey, which has played a huge part in shaping me and putting me where I am today,” said the successful businessman.

“I am just giving back to the game, what it has given me.

“The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is close to my heart because I played in the first tournament which was played in Ipoh, after the first was held in Kuala Lumpur. 

“Malaysia lost to India 2-4 in the final and I am hoping that the first tournament I am handling as a President this time around, will see Malaysia win the title for the first time,” said the father of three and grandfather to seven children.

“Perak has emerged three times consecutive Razak Cup champion with me helming as president, and I hope that Malaysia can win the Sultan Azlan Cup for the first time to add another feather to my cap and make up for my disappointment of having lost to India in the final in 1985.”

Sayuti, who personally appointed Amarjit Singh Jessy, as the secretary - another true-bred hockey man being an international hockey umpire - indeed have forged a perfect pair in the rise and management of Perak hockey together with his support management team.

If only we have ex-sportsmen involved in the management of sports in the country, maybe we can see a vast improvement in the development and management of sports in general.

Kudos Sayuti! Indeed a proud contribution as a sportsman to the nation.

Ends.

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS KOREA OUT TO DEFEND TITLE

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS KOREA LINING UP TO DEFEND SUCCESSFULLY

THE KOREAN players may have come fresh from their national league with no practice matches or training stints, but that is not going to stop them from defending their Sultan Azlan Shah Cup title they won when the tournament was held in 2019.

 The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is back after a two year hiatus due to  the Covid-19 pandemic, and Korean coach Shin Seok Kyo (LEFT), a former international who has played in the tournament and coach for the last twelve years, said Korea  rated the tournament highly.

Korea will be competing for the 21^st time and having won thrice (1996,2010, 2019), runners up four times (1999,2000,2001,2005) and  third four times (1998,2004,2013 and 2014).

 “We have come here without any friendly matches or training stint. We assembled five days before our departure to Malaysia after the end of the national league. The five days was spent checking on the condition of the players and hardly had anytime for training ,” said Shin in Ipoh today.

“We arrived in Ipoh in the wee hours of the morning and will have our first training session this evening.

“But we have come here to win the tournament, like all the teams here.”

Shin, 64, said that he has selected 18 players from a pool 45 players and insisted that 80% of the team are his first choice players.

“I have a few young players in the team too and thus it is a blend of experience and youth. I had three senior players who are injured but will be available for the Nations Cup.”

Shin said this tournament also serves as a preparation for their World Cup campaign in India in January.

“We are also competing in the Nations Cup in South Africa later this month and I may introduce another two young players as I will bring a squad of 20 players.

“Our ultimate goal is to qualify for the Paris Olympics and the Hangzhou Asian Games is utmost important where we have to win or win a place through the qualifiers for the Olympics in January 2024.”

 On the opening match against Malaysia on Tuesday, Shin said they against familiar opponents and it has also been close encounters.

“Malaysia is fast rising to be a formidable team under my good friend coach Arul. It has always been close encounters and I expect the same.”

Malaysia last met Korea at the Asia Cup hockey in Jakarta in May where they met thrice. In the first match they drew 2-2 and in the Super round match won 5-4 and in the final Malaysia saw their hopes to win the gold medal dashed when the went down 1-2.

It was Malaysia's second silver medal in the Asia Cup and for South Korea, it was their fifth gold since 1982.

“We are prepared for another tough and exciting match and hope to emerge winners. But playing Malaysia, especially at home will not be easy.”

Malaysia could be surprised to see 39-year-old Korean captain and striker Namyong Lee with 285 caps, playing in defence.

“I have been trying out several variations with the team and one option is  to use Lee from then back because of experience and vision of the game,” hinted.

 Ends.

 

 

PAKISTAN HAVE COME WITH AN OPEN MIND

PAKISTAN HAVE COME WITH AN OPEN MIND

PAKISTAN may have a reputation as a powerhouse in hockey, but they have come to the 29^th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2022 starting in Ipoh on Tuesday and intend to use the tournament as a relaunching pad.

Field hockey in Pakistan is a national sport and once ranked world number 1 in 2000 and 2001, they are currently ranked a low 18^th.

They have failed to qualify for next year’s World Cup in India, when they failed to qualify for the Super Four stage of the Asia Hockey Cup 2022 when they were defeated by Japan 3-2 in a closely-fought final Pool A match at Jakarta’s GBK Sports Complex Hockey Stadium.

“We have come with a relatively young team with minimum experience but believe that this is the squad for the resurrection of Pakistan hockey,” said team coach Ayaz Mehmood, a former Olympian who was a member of the last Olympic gold medal winning team at the 1984 Games.

“Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) made drastic changes to the team after we failed to qualify for the World Cup and decided that we work with a young squad with the future in mind,” said Ayaz, a former national team selectors for 36 years.

 

The head coach for the team is Siegfried Aikman, a Dutch who grew up in the Indian community in Paramaribo, left that environment when he went to live with his mother in the Netherlands as a 12-year old.

 

The team manager is another ex-international, Saeed Muhammad Khan, who was Ayaz’s teammate.

 

“We have a great management team who work as a unit with the best interest of the team at all times with constant discussions and exchange of ideas,” said Ayaz.

 

“It was after the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August where we finished a poor 7^th,  that PHF decided that enough is enough and we need to check our slide and think about the future.

 

“And when many senior players started to play for teams in League in England after the Commonwealth Games, we decided we start working with younger players who were prepared to work hard and were fitter and stronger.”

 

The Pakistan team to Ipoh only has captain and experienced campaigner Umar Bhutta in team.

 

“The average age of the team in 23 years-old. We have a few players who have played at international level but basically we have about 10 players who have minimum or no experience at all playing international hockey. All they have is playing in the domestic league,” said Ayaz who works fulltime with Pakistan Airlines for the last 42 years as a marketing manager of the airlines.

 

“We have 36 players who have been in training for a month and the 18 here are the best. We are banking on them to rise to the occasion and end with at least a podium finish.

 

“We believe in these players and they have the potential. They only lack international exposure. But if for any reason some fail to perform to expectations, we will replace them with the remaining players from the pool of 36 players.”

 

Pakistan have won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup thrice (1998, 2000,2003) finished runners up six times (1983, 1987, 1991, 1994, 2004, 2011) and 3^rd spot twice (1985, 2005). This is the 22^nd time they will be competing and the last time they participated was in 2016 when they finished 5^th.

The Pakistan team arrived in Ipoh on Saturday evening and had their first training session in the night.

Pakistan open their campaign on Tuesday against South Africa at 6pm after the first match of the day between Japan and Egypt at 4.00pm Malaysia take on Korea at 8.00pm.

Ends.

 

POOL OF PLAYERS, MAKE UP FOR LOSS OF EXPERIENCE

PLAYING TIME BY PLAYERS COMPENSATES LOSS OF EXPERIENCE

National hockey coach A. Arul Selvaraj is counting on playing time acquired by players in the squad to make up for the loss of experience of players who failed to make the squad owing to injuries.

This morning in Ipoh, Arul named his squad of 18 players for the 29^th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2022 tournament starting on Tuesday where he had dropped three players from the squad of 21 he had.

The four dropped after careful evaluation of the players current status based on performance are goalkeeper Adrian Albert, defender Syarman Mat, Muhajir Abdu and striker Mohamad Rosli.

Arul in his 18 squad has two goalkeepers, five defenders, five midfielders and six strikers.

Two players who had just returned from injury -defender Faiz Helmi (ankle) and forward Syafiq Sumantri (adductor) survived the cut as Arul saw them fit to be in the team.

“Although they were injured they continued to train with the team in other aspects like gym work, rehabilitation programme and fitness and strenghth,” said Arul.

Earlier key players captain Marhan Jalil and Shahril Saaban were also ruled out because injuries.

“All the injured players are in Ipoh undergoing treatment and recovery training, as they are part of the squad with the hope that they will be available for upcoming tournaments - Nations Cup in Potchefstroom, South Africa, from Nov 28-Dec 4, the World Cup in January and Asian Games in Hangzhou in September,” added Arul.

Arul also named the team captain as Muhammad Najmi Farizal Jazlan.

Najmi however had to returned to his home in Perlis early this morning after getting news that his father-in-law had passed away.

But he will be back tonight (last night) or tomorrow (today). The team has an off day tomorrow (Sunday).

“When we got news that Najmi’s father-in-law passed away, we told him to return to Perlis to make the necessary arrangements and be with his wife. It is best he went because otherwise he will not have peace of mind and his family too might be happy with him,” said team manager Datuk Mirawan Nawawi.

“Now when he returns and find out that he has been named captain, I am sure will be highly motivated,” he added.

Arul added that Najmi was the right choice in the absence of Marhan, as he is a good leader, a motivator and understands the game well.

There was strong speculation that the most capped and senior player, defender Razie Rahim, would be named captain.

“Razie is indeed a strong leader and whether he is captain or not, he plays a key role in leading the team and will partner with Najmi to do well together from the back,” added Arul.

“Besides, we have eight players in the team who have strong leadership qualities and each one of them will be playing their role as leaders as we play as a unit.”

 

THE SQUAD OF 18

NO	NAMA	POSISI	NO JERSI
1	MUHAMMAD HAFIZUDDIN OTHMAN	PENJAGA GOL	21
2	MOHD ZAIMI MAT DERIS	PENJAGA GOL	16
3	MUHAMMAD RAZIE ABD RAHIM	PERTAHANAN	17
4	MUHAMMAD NAJMI FARIZAL JAZLAN	PERTAHANAN	25
5	MUHAMMAD SYAFIQ HASSAN	PERTAHANAN	27
6	ZULPIDAUS MIZUN	PERTAHANAN	28
7	MUHAMMAD AMINUDDIN MOHD ZAIN	PERTAHANAN	12
8	MUHAMMAD FIRHAN ASHAARI	TENGAH	13
9	FAIZ HELMI JALI	TENGAH	18
10	MEOR MUHAMMAD AZUAN HASSAN	TENGAH	20
11	NIK MUHAMMAD AIMAN NIK ROZEMI	TENGAH	24
12	MUHAMMAD AMIRUL HAMIZAN AZAHAR	TENGAH	29
13	MUHAMMAD NAJIB ABU HASSAN	PENYERANG	2
14	NORSYAFIQ SUMANTRI	PENYERANG	3
15	MOHAMAD ASHRAN HAMSANI	PENYERANG	8
16	TENGKU NASRUL IKMAL TENGKU ABD RAHIM	PENYERANG	14
17	SHELLO SILVERIUS	PENYERANG	15
18	MUHAMMAD AZRAI AIZAD ABU KAMAL	PENYERANG	23

MALAYSIA’S FIXTURES

NO	HARI	TARIKH	PERLAWANAN	MASA
1.	SELASA	1 NOV 2022	MALAYSIA LWN KOREA	8:00 MALAM
2.	RABU	2 NOV 2022	PAKISTAN LWN MALAYSIA	8:00 MALAM
3.	JUMAAT	4 NOV 2022	AFRIKA SELATAN LWN MALAYSIA	8:00 MALAM
4.	SABTU	5 NOV 2022	MALAYSIA LWN EGYPT	8:00 MALAM
5.	ISNIN	7 NOV 2022	MALAYSIA LWN JEPUN	8:00 MALAM