Thunderbolts Cup - bigger and brighter next year

Not surprisingly, the inaugural TNB Thunderbolts Cup held at the Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) Hockey Stadium in Johor recently received the thumbs up from the eight competing teams.

The four-day tournament from which Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) emerged champions is the brainchild of Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Malaysia’s largest electricity utility, which set a high bench mark thus creating a pool of talented hockey players in the country through its Thunderbolts Development programme.

Bandar Penawar-based SSTMI, SMK Anderson Ipoh, Pahang Sports School and BJSS come under the purview of the Thunderbolts Programme while Singapore Development Team, SMK Datuk Bentara Luar Batu Pahat (Johor Sports School), Sabah Sports School Malaysia and Selangor joined the fray as invitees.

BJSS thrashed Sabah Sports School Malaysia 7-1 in the final. This was the second trophy BJSS has safely stashed in its closet this year after claiming the TNBMJHL Cup.

However, the inaugural Thunderbolts Cup only served as an appetiser as there are plans to pump the tournament with a bigger dosage of excitement next year as foreign teams will be invited which is in line with TNB’s motto of powering the nation to a whole new level.

"We will try very hard to get teams from Korea, Japan, Singapore and even India to agree to play in next year's edition. This will give our players the opportunity to play against stronger opponents at this age-group level,” said TNB Thunderbolts Programme chief coordinator, Nur Saiful Zaini.

"We have seen good hockey from all the teams including Singapore in the four days of competition. Teams like Pahang Sports School, Singapore, Sabah and even Anderson did not do well in their respective opening matches but there was all round improvement as the tournament progressed.

"Their level of confidence also grew when up against tougher teams like SSTMI and BJSS. Sabah even beat SSTMI in their semi-final match which shows how they came back mentally prepared to take on the challenges,” added Nur Saiful, who is also the head coach of the TNB Thunderbolts team in the TNBMHL Division 1.

Singapore’s national team head coach, K. Rajan, has vowed to arrange more matches for the juniors and development teams against Malaysian sides to gain experience so the Thunderbolts Cup was a perfect start.

"There are not many competitions in Singapore for the juniors to gain experience so we would like to thank the TNB Thunderbolts management for inviting us to compete here. It was a valuable learning experience for the players and we hope to be back again for this tournament,” said Rajan, a former Malaysian national team player.

BJSS may have ended up as champions but rest assured that SSTMI and the other teams will be out to turn the tables next year on SSTMI's blue-pitch. 

The Thunderbolts Cup was held in conjunction with the Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) which featured Pakistan, England, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Malaysian Under-21 teams.

"All Thunderbolts Cup matches were completed by 4.00pm so that players from the eight teams could travel to watch the SOJC matches later the same evening. It was also an added learning experience,” said Nur Saiful.

Roll of Honour:

Champion: Bukit Jalil Sports School

Runner-up: Sabah Sports School Malaysia

Third: Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School
Fourth: Datuk Bentara Luar Batu Pahat (Johor Sports School)

Thunderbolts Cup in search of talents

After witnessing some breathtaking moments by Malaysia Tigers in the QNET 4^th Asian Champions Trophy  in Kuantan, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) has fast-tracked its development programme in grooming the next generation of hockey players.

The Malaysians won bronze for the fourth time since the inception of the ACT in Ordos, China, in 2011. The ACT2016 team featured a number of Thunderbolt graduates namely Sharil Saabah, Firhan Ashari and the Saari brothers - Faizal and Fitri. These players came through the Thunderbolt Programme and are now regulars in the national senior squad.

The TNB Malaysian Junior Hockey League (TNBMJHL) has been a booming stage for young hockey talents in displaying their talents and gaining invaluable experience.

As a preparation for the 2017 TNBMJHL, an inaugural Thunderbolt Cup will be held comprising of the four Thunderbolt teams along with four other invited teams.

Participants of the 1st Thunderbolts Cup will include Sabah Sports School, Terengganu Sports School, the Selangor State team and the Singapore Juniors; which are all viable sparring teams for the TNB sponsored  teams.

This tournament will basically be a smaller scaled MJHL as the format and rules will be based on the actual tournament which the four Thunderbolt teams topped in the last edition.

In conjunction with the 2016 Sultan of Johor Cup, the first edition of the Thunderbolts Cup will be held at Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI), Johor from the 3^rd - 6^th November 2016.

The main objective and idea for this four-day invitational tournament is to serve as early preparation for TNB’s development teams and identify new talents for upcoming tournaments.

Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) Thunderbolt coach, Lokman Yahaya, who approves of the Thunderbolts Cup, observed: “We will be using this inaugural tournament to test out and identify some players for the upcoming TNBMJHL.

“Since most of our players are busy during this period of time with school exams, we could not plan extensive preparations and trainings for this tournament. We will be using this tournament mainly to regain match fitness as well as trying out some new tactics in bid to defend our junior title,” added Lokman.

SSTMI’s coach, Wan Roslan Wan Abdul Rahman, also echoed the approval of the Thunderbolts Cup.

“The Hockey development scene has become a very competitive market today and we expect the next TNBMJHL to be more challenging compared to previous editions. A tournament such as the Thunderbolts Cup is a perfect preparation to identify the needful additions or changes for the team.

“Our main objective for this tournament is to continue working with the players we have and continue nurturing them for bigger challenges in the future. We also look to continue working and learning with TNB’s Thunderbolt programme towards securing a brighter hockey future for our country,” he explained.

Teams competing in the inaugural Thunderbolts Cup will be given additional hockey theory classes, video analysis sessions and talks regarding modern hockey techniques.

Thunderbolt youngsters taking centre-stage

"YOU can’t win anything with kids" is a very famous quote by Alan Hansen regarding Sir Alex Ferguson’s young Manchester United squad in 1996, which came back to bite him.

The young Devils used that quote as a rallying cry and went on to win the English Premier League that season, proving that there are no age barriers in sports.

Now here in Malaysia, current TNB Malaysian Hockey League Division 1 champions, TNB Thunderbolt will be looking to do the same as they stand a chance to defend their Division 1 crown.

Comprising only the best young players from the four sports schools under TNB’s Thunderbolt programme, this team will be looking to make history as they go head-to-head with the more seasoned professionals in the opposing teams this current season.

The four sports schools in TNB’s Thunderbolt programme are Tunku Ismail Sports School (SSTMI), Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS), Anderson and Pahang Sports School (SSP-MSP).

This new approach is aimed at giving; hopefully, the country's future hockey stars some invaluable experience through TNB’s strategic development project.

The team is led by ex-national stalwart Nor Saiful Zaini, who also coaches the Project 2020 development squad, and he is very confident that the selected players will give their best throughout the season.

"We have not set a target as our immediate objective is to blood these young talents in a competitive environment and to prepare for the upcoming Junior World Cup scheduled to take place in India in December," said Saiful.

"We have selected four to five players from each of the schools in the Thunderbolt programme. We hope the selected players will use the experience they gain to help their respective schools in the TNB Malaysian Junior Hockey League next year," he added.

Saiful confirmed that there is no centralised training for the players because all of them are still in school and it will not be feasible to have the players in for training just a few days before a match. They are brought together for training one day before every match day.

The coach, himself a star right winger during his playing days, strongly believes that exposing young players to competitive hockey on a weekly basis will help them prepare for next year’s TNB MJHL which promises to give the fans some high quality and exciting matches as the players will be out to impress the selectors as they strive to be included in the National Development and Junior squads.

The four Thunderbolt affiliated schools dominated the top four spots in this year’s TNB MJHL with BJSS Thunderbolt emerging champions beating SSTMI Thunderbolt in the final, while SSP-MSP Thunderbolt finished third place after a playoff against Anderson Thunderbolt.

This reflects the huge gains the TNB’s development programme has made. Its effectiveness is felt all around. The very best players from these four teams are making TNB Thunderbolt a force to be reckoned with in MHL Division 1 this season.   

Currently sharing the leader board with SSTMI with a record of 3 wins and 3 draws, the Thunderbolt boys will be looking to continue the team’s spectacular form throughout the second half of the season towards a consecutive Division 1 title.

Hockey fans throughout the country will be keeping their fingers crossed that this bold move by TNB will prove positive and produce the next generation of champions to compete consistently with the best on the world stage.