Title pretenders on hot trail of TNB Thunderbolt

Buoyed by two straight wins in the opening season of the TNBMHL 2015 Division One Group A matches, TNB Thunderbolt will be the team to watch as the league progresses on Friday.

TNB Thunderbolt have earned six points following a 4-3 win over Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) and 3-1 against Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh (MPI) respectively and go into their third match on Friday against MSP-YP-SSP, a combination of players from Pahang Sports School, Pahang Sports Council and Pahang Foundation, at Stadium Hoki Wisma Belia in Kuantan.

The Pahang outfit, with three points in the bag, will be eager to get back on track after dropping vital points on July 31 in the 2-3 defeat against Majlis Sukan Negeri Terengganu (MSNT) but clawed back to edge MASUM-USM 3-2 in their second game last Sunday.

Fans can rest be assured of a titanic battle in store between TNB Thunderbolt and MSP-YP-SSP.

However, hot on their heels will be BJSS, MPI, and MSNT/PHT - all of whom share three-equal points and this weekend encounters could witness a couple of upsets and positive movements in the table standings.

In Group B, five teams - ATM Airod, UITM, Politeknik Malaysia, Nur Insafi/Penang Hockey and Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School, Johor Bahru (SSTMI) are tied on three-equal points and go into the fray hoping not to falter in this early stage of the Division One league.

UITM, however, will be first to face the might of PKS-KPM (a combination of players from several government universities) at the National Hockey Stadium tomorrow.

In the women’s category, two matches are scheduled also for tomorrow. Kuala Lumpur-SUKMA will play UITM Lions while PKS-KPM goes into a tough encounter with SSTMI Thunderbolts in Group B matches at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

ATM Pernama lead Group A standings with six points following the 4-1 win over MSNT/PHT last week and 9-0 demolition of Penang Juniors.

FIXTURES - TOMORROW (5 August, 2015): Men’s Division 1: UITM v PKS-KPM (National Hockey Stadium, Bukit Jalil, 6.0pm); Women’s Group B: KL-SUKMA v UITM Lions (KLHA Stadium, 6.0pm); PKS-KPM v SSTMI Thunderbolts (National Hockey Stadium, 6.0pm).

FRIDAY (7 August, 2015) – Men’s Division 1A: MSP-YP-SSP v TNB Thunderbolt (Stadium Hoki Wisma Belia, Kuantan, 5.0pm); MSNT/THT v MBI (Stadium Hoki Kuala Terengganu, 5.0pm); Division 1B: PKS-KPM v Nur Insafi (National Hockey Stadium, Bukit Jalil, 5.0pm).

Women’s Group A: ATM Pernama v The Cops (Stadium Tun Razak, 5.0); Penang Juniors v Politeknik Malaysia (Sg Petani, 5.0); Group B: MSN Kedah v PKS-KPM (Padang Serai, 5.0).