KOREANS EMERGE CHAMPIONS IN KUANTAN

Korea defeated Canada 4-0 in the final of the Pahang Hockey Champions Challenge 1 at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in Kuantan and in the process qualified for the 2016 Champions Trophy.

It was a proud moment for Korean captain Seung Il Lee, who was also named Man of the Match, when he received the gold medal from the Sultan of Pahang, His Royal Highness Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah. After all, it was their first victory in the final of the Champions Challenge 1 after three earlier failed attempts. They had reached the final in 2003, 2005 and 2012.

Jong Hyun Jang scored the first from a 10^th minute penalty corner, Young Jin Kim added the second (13^th) and Jong Hyun returned to knock the third from a penalty stroke (56^th), taking his personal goal tally  to eight goals in the tournament. Seong Kyu Kim made it 4-0 with a minute remaining to the final whistle.  

Meanwhile, Malaysia bounced back with two quick late goals before labouring to a 4-2 win over Ireland to finish third in this edition of the Champions Challenge 1. Prior to this, Malaysia’s best result was a fourth placing in 2001 and 2012.

The atmosphere at the stadium was one of solemn at the start of this playoff tie against the Irish. Conspicuously missing were the 7,000-odd fans that had turned up in full force in Saturday’s semi-finals shockingly 5-4 defeat against Canada.

However, an estimated 3,000 fans turned up to throw their support behind national coach K. Dharmaraj and team captain Azlan Misron against the Ireland’s Green Machine.

“We lived dangerously in most of our matches and the same went tonight. I am not very happy with this kind of performance. Yes, there will be changes to the squad for the World Cup but may be two or three players. We have to play steadily for 70 minutes and lose our direction after taking early leads,” said Dharmaraj during a post-match press conference.

The match was played over four quarters with 17.5 minutes reserved for each quarter. The Malaysians, as they did against Canada on Saturday, did not waste any time and by the seventh minute had already camped inside the Irish territory.

With Ahmad Kazamirul Nasruddin lurking dangerously goalkeeper David Harte was forced to come out of his line and in the process stopped the Malaysian in an aggressive manner. Belgian umpire Gregory Uyttenhove awarded a penalty stroke and skipper Azlan Misron gave Ahmad Kazamirul the honour of putting Malaysia on the scoreboard first.

Malaysia once again went on the offensive four minutes later and this time Rashid Baharom swept the ball neatly past the hapless Harte to give the hosts a 2-0 lead. But the Irish created a few opportunities to get on the scoreboard and were rewarded in the 22^nd minute from their third penalty corner attempt. Earlier Stephen Dowd’s penalty corner flick (14^th) was saved by goalkeeper S. Kumar and Maurice Elliott’s pass did not find Alan Sothern in the circle.

Paul Gleghorne placed a powerful shot to the top right post, beating the 36-year-old Kumar for the first time, to give the hosts a 2-1 first half lead.

Malaysia came back in the second half looking fired-up but instead fell deep into defence with the constant pressure. The Irish forced the equaliser by the 43^rd minute through Chris Cargo. As it turned out, the fans were going to be treated to another horror night.

Ireland and Malaysia kept on pushing in search of the winner but it was the Malaysians who dominated the fourth quarter and struck twice within a space of four minutes. Azlan made it 3-2 in the 66^th minute from a field goal while Faizal Saari made a solo dash from the 50-yard line. With a horde of Irish defenders trailing him, Faizal had only keeper Harte to beat but instead relayed the ball to Firhan Ashari who scored in the last few seconds of the match to give Malaysia a heart-soothing 4-2 victory.

New Zealand, ranked world No.6, cruised to a 6-3 victory over France to finish fifth in Kuantan. While a fifth place is New Zealand’s worst result in Champions Challenge history, France finished sixth in their first ever appearance in the Champions Challenge 1.

Japan defeated Poland 3-2 in the seventh-eighth place playoff match. Poland finished at the bottom of the table, the same position they held in Quilmes, Argentina two years ago.

Results (4^th May 2014) Sunday

Final: Korea 4 Canada 0; 3^rd/4^th Placing: Malaysia 4 Ireland 2; 5^th/6^th  Placing: New Zealand 6 France 3; 7^th/8^th  Placing: Japan 3 Poland 2. 

#CC1 #FIH #MHC #ShekhinahPR 

MALAYSIA GO DOWN AGAINST CANADA IN SEMIS

It was another night of high-drama for national coach K. Dharmaraj’s Malaysia in the semi-finals of the Pahang Hockey Champions Challenge 1 against Canada before going down 5-4 in penalty shoot-out following a 2-2 draw in regulation time at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in Kuantan.

The Canadians, who lost 4-3 against Malaysia in the preliminary round, will meet Korea in tomorrow’s final. The Koreans edged the Irish ‘Green Machine’ 2-1 in the second semi-finals. This is the first time in history that Canada reached the Champions Challenge 1 final as their best finish before this was a sixth place in Quilmes, Argentina in 2012.

As for Malaysia, they will have to contend playing in the third-fourth placing playoff against the Irish. Malaysia’s best finish in the Champions Challenge 1 was a fourth placing in 2001 in Kuala Lumpur, and again in Argentina in 2012.

Faizal Saari and Faiz Helmi Jali got Malaysia to a great start in the early stage of the penalty shoot-outs for a 2-1 lead after Matthew Guest failed in his attempt and Mark Person was on target. All that Malaysia need was one more goal to make it 3-1 and storm into the final. That, however, never materialised as Firhan Ashari, Shahril Saabah and Fitri Saari got their acts wrong much to the dismay of the estimated 7,000 fans that came in full force to support the hosts.

The Canadian also had a bad day in the process as only Gordon Johnston could make it count to level at 2-2 following team captain Scott Tupper and Adam Froese failure as goalkeeper S. Kumar produced another scintillating performance.

However, the sudden-death turned into an agonising episode for all Malaysian, including Malaysian Hockey Confederation President, Prince Abdullah Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah. Though Faizal and Fitri kept the Malaysian flag flying, Faiz blow it away this time. Mark, Pearson and Adam cleverly tucked the ball into goal to give Canada a 5-4 victory.

The Malaysia-Canada semi-finals tie had earlier got off to a promise of a Malaysian victory after Fitri earned Malaysia’s first penalty corner in the very first minute of play and Faizal made it count with a well-placed low shot to the left of goalkeeper Antoni Kindler to send wild celebration in the 8,000-capacity Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium.

There was no turning back for the host as they piled on the pressure and by the 15^th minute surprised the Canadians, ranked at world No. 16, to go 2-0 up through Ismail Abu. 

However, if the deafening sounds of the drums had motivated the Malaysian players, it also did the same for the Canadians who clawed back into the game just when skipper Azlan Misron and his band of warriors allowed complacency to drain in.

Canada skipper Tupper got his players into motion and dominated play for a brief moment. It was Tupper himself who got his side on the scoreboard with a penalty corner conversion in the 21st minute.

However, there was more drama after this as the Malaysian forward line scrambled to build on the lead but fell to near misses while on the opposite end the Canadians also had their fair share of misses against a cracked defence. In one of Canada’s raid inside the Malaysian semicircle, Faiz was struck on the face by David Jameson in his attempt to clear the ball away and had to be treated. The first half ended in Malaysia’s favour 2-1.

The second half turned into a bullish fight between both teams. Canada almost came close to searching for the equaliser in the 38^th minute but goalkeeper Kumar was once again in his element, denying Tupper of a chance by parrying the ball over.

But Canada were back to shackle the Malaysian defence in no time and it was Tupper who proved to be a bane when he sent a powerful drag-flick to Kumar’s left in only Canada’s third penalty corner of the night, beating the keeper all the way to level score at 2-2.

Firhan Asaari tried all he could with just three minutes remaining in the match in search of the winner. He bulldozed through two defenders but shot straight into Kindler’s pads.

The Canadians, clearly desperate and frustrated, mounted a last attack on the Malaysian post and were rewarded when New Zealand umpire David Tomlinson awarded two consecutive penalty corners with seconds into the final whistle – giving the Canadians more hope of searching the winning goal. But Tupper failed in both attempts as Kumar stood his ground, forcing the match into a penalty shoot-out.

In earlier classification matches, New Zealand ranked at world No. 6, demolished Poland 6-1, their second win over the Polish following an 8-3 mauling in a Group A preliminary round. France also had the better over Japan by cruising to a 3-2 victory. The Black Sticks will take on France in the 5-6^th placing match while Poland and Japan play for the 7-8^th placing encounter.

Results – 5^th/8^th Classification Matches: New Zealand 6 Poland 1; France 3 Japan 2.

Semi-finals: Malaysia 2 Canada 2 (Canada won 5-4 in penalty shoot-out); Korea 2 Ireland 1.

Fixtures (4^th May 2014) Sunday: 7^th/8^th Placing: Poland v Japan (2.45pm); 5^th/6^th Placing: New Zealand v France (5.00pm)

3^rd/4^th Placing: Malaysia v Ireland (7.15pm)

Final: Canada v Korea (9.30pm).

#FIH #MHC #CC1 #ShekhinahPR 

MALAYSIA READY FOR ANOTHER PLUTONIC SHOWDOWN

Having eliminated  New Zealand, the hot favourites, Malaysia’s head coach K. Dharmaraj is bracing for another roller-coaster but plutonic battle against Canada in the semi-finals of the Pahang Hockey Champions Challenge 1 at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium today.

Though he professed to have a rather intimate knowledge of the Canadians having met five times in the last three months, the latest being the narrow 4-3 win in a Group B preliminary round match on Tuesday, Dharmaraj says the situation is totally one of a different kind going into the semi-finals.

“As much as we have good knowledge of Canada, it goes the same way for them too. They know us just too well and I don’t think it is really going to serve of any advantage to us or to them,” said Dharmaraj, whose reputation as a strategist took an upscale reading following Malaysia’s sensational victory over the Black Sticks who were favoured to muscle their way to the final of the Champions Challenge 1 in Kuantan.

“It just boils down to how we play on the pitch. It is going to be a very challenging match against Canada. I am not really looking into any key players in the Canadian side that we have to watch out for. What matters most to me is how we manage our game against them and get the desired results,” he added.

The Canadians have scored 12 goals leading up the quarterfinals stage – 12 coming from field goals and three off penalty corners. They have a formidable forward line with skipper Scott Tupper (3 goals), Matthew Guest (2), Gabriel Ho-Garcia (2), Iain Smythe (2), Philip Wright (2) and Taylor Curran (1 goal) causing most of the damage against the opposition.

While Malaysia entertains Canada, Ireland’s ‘Green Machine’ has an equally tough task against Korea, ranked world No 7, in the second semi-finals match.

The coach, however, acknowledged that New Zealand’s exit after the quarterfinals stage of the Pahang Hockey Champions Challenge 1 has in a way lifted the ‘heavy burden’ on all four teams in the semi-finals stage of the tournament.

 World rankings, said Dharmaraj, may not have any bearing at all in this tournament as even Ireland, ranked at world No 15, played extremely well against New Zealand in the opening Group A match last week before going down 2-1. The Irish also lost to Poland by a similar margin and defeated Japan 1-0. In the quarterfinals, the Green Machines outclassed France 3-0 on penalties (full time 2-2).

The winner of this edition of the Champions Challenge 1 will gain automatic qualification to the 2016 Champions Trophy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“New Zealand is the most respected team here and is a very strong side. Perhaps we have done ourselves and the other semi-final contenders a big favour. It has opened the door for Malaysia, Canada, Ireland and Korea of a shot at the title. We have to think positive and move forward,” he lamented.   

Canadian head coach Anthony Farry and skipper Tupper also shared Malaysian coach Dharmaraj’s sentiments when they said the atmosphere at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium invites both teams to play their level best. 

“We played Malaysia a lot in the past, so we know a lot about them,” says Farry. “This will be a great opportunity for us to play in front of a big crowd and we are certainly looking forward to a good result that we hope will favour us.”

Tupper agrees: “We are so excited to play Malaysia because of the crowd support. It does help us in a way. We are very motivated in this kind of atmosphere.”

  

The Canadians, however, will take on Malaysia without Sukhi Panesar who was red carded against Poland on Thursday. Sukhi has been suspended for one match.

The second semi-final between Ireland and Korea has also drawn lots of excitement among the fans here which has seen the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium turned into a carnival since the start of the tournament.

“We are looking forward to the match as we don’t play against Asian opponents very often. This will be a different style of playing we need to get used to,” says Irish captain John Jackson. The Green Machine reached the top four thanks to a 3-0 penalty shoot-out victory over European rivals France.

Irish goalkeeper David Harte, who kept a clean sheet in the penalty shoot-out, was adjudged Man of the Match.

“Ireland has a strong defence. Their goalkeeper David (Harte) is one of the best keepers in the world,” admits Korea coach Shin Seok Kyo. “But hopefully we can win this match and make the final.” The Asian champions defeated Japan 5-1 in the quarterfinals with a hat-trick from Jang Jong Hyun who was named the Man of the Match.

#CC1 #FIH #MHC #ShekhinahPR 

GLORIOUS DAY AS MALAYSIA SINK NEW ZEALAND

Malaysia turned the form book upside down on Labour Day by sneaking into the semi-finals of the Pahang Hockey Champions Challenge 1 with a 3-2 penalty shoot-out victory over tournament favourites New Zealand after both teams were tied 4-4 at full time at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in Kuantan. 

In Saturday’s semi-finals line-up, Malaysia goes into showdown with Canada who came through 3-2 winners over Poland, and Ireland face Korea. The ‘Green Machine’ Irish walked away 3-0 winners over France in a penalty shoot-out after holding the Tricolores to a 2-2 draw. Korea, ranked at World No 7, also outclassed Japan 5-1 in the quarterfinals.

Malaysia’s victory also means that the host, ranked 13th in the world, is now just two games away from qualifying for the illustrious 2016 Champions Trophy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As for New Zealand, they are now reduced to do battle for fifth-eighth placing play-offs following Malaysia’s sensational victory.

National head coach K. Dharmaraj, said: “We played a great game to take a 4-1 half time lead. It was a heart wrenching moment for me to see the team give away three goals and allowed New Zealand to level at 4-4. I have never been comfortable in shoot-outs after suffering an agonising moment in the Junior World Cup last year against France.”

But today was Malaysia’s day. Goalkeeper S. Kumar’s heroic acts between the post was a telling factor as he kept the marauding Black Sticks top goal poachers Simon Child, Andy Hayward, Steve Edwards and Hugo Inglis at bay for a good moment of the game while Azlan Misron, Shahril Saabah, Fitri Saari, Faizal Saari and Faiz Jali wrecked havoc upfront.

The result was also clear indication of how world rankings used as a barometer to measure superiority of team’s totally thrown out of the window. Malaysia stormed to a 4-1 half time lead over the world’s sixth best team in terms of ranking.

In the penalty shoot-out, Firhan Ashari, Shahril Saabah and Fitri Saari made it count most just when the nation needed them after Faizal Saari and Faiz Jali blew away their chances. New Zealand could only respond through Hugo Inglis and Blair Hilton.

The Malaysians started the day wholly committed and gave all they had. A defeat against New Zealand would mean an end to their rather odd-chances of qualifying for the 2016 Champions Trophy in Argentina against the mighty Black Sticks. However, due to the sweltering heat as the match was played under the blazing afternoon sun, it turned into a four-quarterly tie with 17.5 minutes of play for each quarter. 

Team captain Azlan and his gritty forwards fought for ball possession at every turn and masterminded counter attacks which had the Blacks Sticks pondering what went wrong with their own game plan against a side ranked seven rungs above them.  

Buoyed by strong support from an estimated 4,000 fans and words of encouragement from Malaysian Hockey Confederation President Prince Abdullah Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah prior to the start of their quarterfinals encounter was indeed the magical touch.

The Blacks Sticks, however, made the first move. A Steve Edwards’ field goal in the fourth minute gave New Zealand an early lead, indicating it could be a catastrophic day for Malaysia. After all, New Zealand had made mincemeat of Japan (6-1) and Poland (8-3) in their preliminary round matches while escaping 2-1 win over Ireland in the opener. 

But Dharmaraj’s Malaysia was not intimidated. They clawed back into the game instantly in the second quarter, very much determined to erase that 1-0 deficit.

Azlan started the bright sparks of a Malaysian fight back with a field goal in the 20^th minute, Shahril Saabah increased it to 2-0 (23^rd), Fitri Saari added the third from a solo effort by unleashing a powerful shot past goalkeeper Devon Manchester (24^th) and Shahril came back to knock Malaysia’s fourth just four minutes going into the interval.

New Zealand coach Colin Batch, who must have been dumbfounded by this act of ‘self demolition’ by his payers, got his side up and running again as Andy Hayward went on to score two well calculated penalty corner goals (45^th, 60^th) to make it 4-3.

But as the clocked ticked away for what would have been a glorious day for all Malaysians, New Zealand was far from finished. They earned a total of 13 penalty corners throughout the match of which eight were awarded by Irish umpire Geoff Conn in the last 10 minutes of play. Hayward once again was spot on in his last attempt to level score 4-4, sinking the hearts of all as New Zealand forced the hosts into a penalty shoot-out.

Results – Quarter-finals: Malaysia 4 New Zealand 4 (Malaysia wins 3-2 in penalty shoot-out); Canada 3 Poland 2; Ireland 2 France 2 (Ireland wins 3-0 in penalty shoot-out):  Korea 5 Japan 1.

Saturday (3 May) Fixtures: 5-8^th Placing: New Zealand v Poland (2.45pm); France v Japan (5.00pm); Semi-finals: Malaysia v Canada (7.15pm); Ireland v Korea (9.30pm). 

#FIH #MHC #CC1 #ShekhinahPR 

DHARMARAJ: WE WILL TAKE OUR CHANCES AGAINST BLACK STICKS

KUANTAN (30 APRIL 2014): World rankings do matter but there will be an exception to this notion when Malaysian head coach K. Dharmaraj prepares his boys for a ‘psychological battle’ against New Zealand in the quarterfinals of the Pahang Hockey Champions Challenge 1 at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium on Thursday.

Dharmaraj will throw caution to the wind against the Black Sticks, ranked World No 6, in a mission that could see the Malaysians either make a ‘giant step forward’ or exit from the tournament with pride still intact.

The Malaysia-New Zealand match will kick-off at 2.45pm and this will be the first time the host nation will take the field under the blazing sun in this edition of the Champions Challenge 1.

“As much as we respect New Zealand as the top ranked team in this tournament, I believe we should also look at gearing ourselves positively for a good game. They (New Zealand) are a great team, build around experienced players, and are undoubtedly the favourites here,” said Dharmaraj at a pre-match press conference today.

“But I would also like to believe that as underdogs, if we can get our act working cohesively in all departments, we have that chance of beating them. We have played them in the past and history has shown that we have also beaten New Zealand before,” added the coach who was pleased with the performance of the players in the 4-3 victory over Canada on Tuesday.

New Zealand and Korea, the two top-10 world ranking teams in the Pahang Hockey Champions Challenge 1, and Malaysia, ranked World  No. 13, will compete in next month’s World Cup in The Hague, Netherlands.

But the coveted Champions Challenge 1 Trophy remains top priority for now as the winner will gain qualification to the 2016 Champions Trophy in Argentina.

“We created many chances, had our fair share of opportunities at goal against Canada but we have been very unlucky in our last three matches.  We were hoping to avoid New Zealand but unfortunately we could not get the three-goal difference lead,” he added.

He lamented that the heat may affect both teams in the quarterfinals but added that two of Malaysia’s six-test matches against China recently were played in four quarters, and that the players have no qualms over it.

Just like the unpredictable weather in Kuantan lately, Dharmaraj is a firm believer that Lady Luck will find its way back into the Malaysian side, beginning with the titanic encounter against the Black Sticks.

New Zealand head coach Colin Batch, a former Australian international who was instrumental in Belgium’s rise in world hockey, said they have much respect for the Malaysians, judging from their performance in this tournament.

“Malaysia is a World Cup team. They played very well against Canada and have been very much motivated to do well at home. This match is definitely going to be very difficult for us. They play a fast game and I would rate it as 50-50 chance for both teams,” said Batch, adding that the sweltering afternoon heat may take its toll on his players but having played twice in such conditions before they would adapt to the situation.

New Zealand will once again be counting on their penalty corner conversion rates, one of their key elements in earlier wins, against Malaysia. They have scored a total of 16 goals – of which 11 were field goals and five penalty corners. Defender Andy Hayward (2), Kane Russell (2) and Simon Child (1) are Black Sticks main drag-flick specialists.

South Korea team consultant Paul Lissek is also bracing for a ‘stormy’ encounter against neighbouring nation Japan in their quarterfinals clash.

“Japan is a good side. They are fast in the counter attacks here and we will definitely not take them lightly. In the World League match in Johor Bahru last year, we took a 3-0 comfortable lead but they came back strongly to level score at 3-3,” added the German, who had previously coached the Malaysian team from 2000-2004.

Fixtures - Quarterfinals – (1 May, 2014, Thursday): Malaysia v New Zealand (2.45pm); Canada v Poland (5.00pm); Ireland v France (7.15pm); Korea v Japan (9.30pm).

#CC1 #FIH #MHC #shekhinahpr

MALAYSIA GO DOWN AGAINST KOREA

KUANTAN (27 APRIL 2014): Malaysia suffered a 3-1 defeat against Korea in the Pahang Hockey Champions Challenge 1 at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium. 

National coach K. Dharmaraj once again placed his faith on the experience of forwards Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Ismail Abu, Faizal Shaari and Ahmad Kazamirul for the goals, leaving the German-based Kevin Lim and team captain Azlan Misron to marshal the back line.

The hosts got off to a rousing start in front of 3,000 fans and earned the first penalty corner on 11 minutes of play but Ahmad Kazamirul blew it away by firing over the top, much to chagrin of the Malaysian bench and fans as well who were expecting the hosts to bounce back after a lacklustre performance against France which saw them going down 2-3 on Saturday.

The Koreans, who last played Malaysia to a 2-2 draw in the Azlan Shah Cup in March and join the hostS nation and New Zealand in next month’s World Cup, got their act together as fast as they lost it earlier by claiming the opening goal in a 19^th minute penalty corner effort.

Hyun Nam Woo, a 22-year-old with 127 international caps under his belt, placed a low shot past goalkeeper S. Kumar from a goalmouth melee much to the joy of the small band of Korean fans at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium.

Malaysia mounted numerous raids after this early setback, piled the pressure on the Koreans through quick waves from both sides and earned three more penalty corners in the process which came to a nought. The first half ended in Korea’s favour 1-0.

The Koreans, however, were far from finished and went on to trigger more seismic shocks after the interval, earning five more penalty corners in the process against Malaysia’s four.

Just two minutes after the interval, ace forward Hyo Sik You picked a well calculated pass from Hye Sung Hyun inside the semicircle and with just Kumar to beat, shot home to go 2-0 up. They rattled the Malaysians further with another goal off a penalty corner in the 50^th minute, this time Jong Hyun Jang made no mistake as the Koreans held a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Malaysia’s consolation goal came from Ismail after much pressure in the 69^th minute from a field goal but it was simply too late to salvage a bruised pride. Perhaps Lady Luck had deserted them just when it was needed most.

It was another day of trouble and Dharmaraj’s boys must now keep the Canadians at bay on Tuesday before wrapping up their Group B fixtures going into the quarterfinals.

The Canadians had earlier done Malaysia a big favour by edging France 3-2 in an exciting encounter.  Korea leads the table standings with four points, followed by Canada (4) and France (3) while Malaysia has yet to pick any.

#CC1 #FIH #MHC #shekhinahpr

FRANCE DENY MALAYSIA A WIN

Debutants France packed enough fire-power to give Malaysia a shocking 3-2 drubbing in the Pahang Hockey Champions Challenge 1 at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in Kuantan today.

Led by 12 players from the Junior World Cup squad that won silver in New Delhi last year, the French put on a polished performance which silenced the 5,000 home fans.

In other matches, New Zealand survived an early scare before labouring to a 2-1 victory over Ireland, gritty Japan edged Poland 3-2 while the fancied Koreans were held to a 3-3 draw by Canada despite taking a comfortable 3-1 lead.

National coach K. Dharmaraj gave German-based defender Kevin Lim his first taste of national duty in a major tournament while preferring the senior S. Kumar as goalkeeper over Junior World Cup’s Hafizuddin Othman against the French.

Malaysia went on a fast-attacking pace in the first 10 minutes of play but ace forwards Ismail Abu, Muhammad Saabah, Firhan Ashari and Muhammad Baharom were unable to find the breakthrough against a fortified defence marshalled by French goalkeeper Edgar Renaud. Renaud, a 22-year-old and with just six international caps under his belt before coming into this tournament, was in his element denying the Malaysians of any pot shots.

France, however, went on a sudden counter-attack in the 34^rd minute which resulted in a goal. Olivier Sanchez picked the ball near the top of the semi-circle, and had only Kumar to beat. France led 1-0 at interval.

Fresh from a dressing room ‘run down’ from Dharmaraj, the Malaysians came on with renewed determination in the second half which saw the hosts nailing down France with two goals within a space of  nine minutes. Faizal Shaari found the equaliser in the 41^st minute and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin knocked home the second.

But joy in the Malaysian camp was short-lived as France search for the equaliser turned fruitful in the 50^th minute when Victor Charlet weaved his way past Kumar and flicked the ball into goal.

The night turned into another disaster for Dharmaraj and Malaysia when the French earned a penalty in the 64^th minute when Kumar was deemed to have deliberately fouled Aristide Coisne who was on a solo mission. Hugo Genestet gave France a 3-2 lead for the first time. Kumar was replaced by Hafizuddin shortly and Malaysia went on the attack once again.

However, confusion reigned for several moments in the 65^th minute when Faizal’s shot struck a defender’s leg and claimed a penalty which was disallowed by umpire Diego Barbas from Argentina. It was all over for Malaysia by now.

Both Canada and South Korea returned to Malaysia for the second time in almost a month following their participation in the March’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup invitational tournament. The Koreans breezed past the Canadians 3-0 than.

The side, coached by Shin Seok Kyoe showed signs of good form early in the game with the inclusion of midfielder You Hyo Sik, forwards Yoon Sung Hoon and Jang Jong Hyu - all of whom have passed the 200 international caps mark.

Korea took a 2-1 half-time lead with field goal from Cho Suk Hoon (13^th) and Nam Yun (penalty corner, 24^th) but Canadian Gabriel Ho-Garcia closed the gap a minute later. Kim Seong Kyu, however, put Korea 3-1 up in 39^th minute but that was as far as they went after a sudden lapse in concentration allowed the Canadians to strike back with two quick goals from Matthew Guest (60^th) and Taylor Curran (63^rd) to level score at 3-3.

“At 3-1, we were holding a very comfortable lead. Our target is to win tonight, stay top in our group for the quarterfinals and we were heading the right direction. I am disappointed with this result. The players lost concentration, became impatient and nervous and this allowed Canada to take a vital point away from us,” said a dismayed Korean team consultant Paul Lissek.

“We play Malaysia tomorrow (Sunday) and cannot allow this kind of mistake. The Malaysians have been playing very well since the last one year. They are on the right path heading towards the World Cup so our match is going to be very difficult. It could go any way,” added the German who had coached the Malaysian side from 2000-2004.

New Zealand head coach Colin Batch named a squad comprising 10 players having more than 100 international caps including defender and skipper Dean Couzins against Ireland who are making a second successive appearance in the Champions Challenge 1, having debuted at the 2012 edition in Quilmes, Argentina.

On the opposite end, the ‘Green Machine’ as the Irish are fondly known, saw newly appointed coach Craig Fulton parading ace goalkeeper David Harte, captain John Jackson and Eugene Magee – three of the most experienced members of the squad with over 420 combined caps between them.

Considered by many to be favourites for the Pahang Hockey Champions Challenge 1, the Black Sticks went 1-0 up just 11 minutes into the game through a masterly combination between Steve Edwards and Arun Panchia, leaving the former with a simple task of placing the ball past goalkeeper David Harte.

However, Ireland looked seeming unperturbed by the early setback, got their act together, and equalised five minutes later through forward Alan Sothern who scooped the ball over the onrushing keeper Devon Manchester to make it 1-1 at the interval.

New Zealand dominated the early proceedings of the second half, earning three more penalty corners which resulted in none until a field goal by Steve Edwards in the 42^nd minute saved them the blushes of what would have been a disappointing start to the nine-day tournament.

#CC1 #MHC #FIH #ShekhinahPR