Early Irish test for Dharmaraj Tigress

Kuala Lumpur (3 January, 2017): Malaysia Tigress coach K. Dharmaraj believes the battle for supremacy in the Women World League Round 2 will only begin in the quarterfinals stage of the event held from Jan 14-22 at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium.

All the eight teams competing here, said Dharmaraj, will automatically qualify for the Jan 19 quarterfinals upon completion of their respective pool matches and the journey to the Hockey World League Semi-finals will depend on whom the Malaysians face in the last eight of the competition.

“It is very important that we finish top of our group in the preliminary round,” said Dharmaraj. “This will put us in a better position to play the lower rank teams in the quarterfinal and move forward from there,” he said, adding this is the most crucial point in the tournament for all teams.

Malaysia Tigress, ranked at world No 21, will be joined by world No 16 Ireland, Kazakhstan (33) and Hong Kong (37) in Group B whilst Italy, ranked world No 15, Thailand (31), Wales (32) and Singapore (43) are in Pool A.’

“We will be looking to finish in the top two to ensure a ticket to the Semi-finals of the World Cup qualifying round. Given these options, we must aim to go on top of Group B standings, which also means winning three points against Ireland in our pool match on Jan16,” said Dharmaraj.

Dharmaraj’s Tigress, however, will have a first look at the Irish machinery in a friendly match on Jan 9.  The Irish women’s team will finally get back into competitive action after an 18-month wait with the first stage in the World Cup qualifying bid and are scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 4 (Wednesday) in an early preparation for the tournament.

Meanwhile, with a world ranking of 16, Graham Shaw’s side go into the competition as the second highest ranked team, with Italy, who are ranked 15th, the other big gun.

Despite being one of the fancied sides, Shaw says the timing of the competition has made preparation tricky.

“When the tournament is at this time, it’s incredibly difficult for European teams to prepare for it with the difference in time, weather and humidity,” he told The Irish Times.

No other opponents were available for practice matches due to the Christmas break, and so regional camps were organised on Dec 22nd and 23rd as well as on the 29th and 30th.

“We have got seven days in Malaysia to sharpen ourselves up pre-tournament. It’s certainly not ideal. But the girls are quite a self-driven squad. With nutrition and the requirements of being an elite athlete, the girls are well aware of what it takes when it comes to over-indulgence!”

It will be their first world-ranking event for Ireland since July 2015 when they claimed the EuroHockey Champions Trophy, a month after missing out on a ticket to Rio by the thickness of a post.

However, the Irish will be without Emma Gray, Kate Dillon and Emma Smyth who have since retired while Aine Connery has not been training with the squad constantly.

Shaw tried out a large number of new faces in the challenge matches in 2016, notably the Hawkes Bay Cup in New Zealand in April, where they beat Olympic-bound India and Korea. Lena Tice and Zoe Wilson are the new finds in defence who will form the nucleus of the next generation.

“We feel now we are stronger across the board and across different lines. That’s been a real plus. The introduction of those younger players of that quality has been brilliant and we are excited about what they can do in the future.”

Another addition who will make debut in January is Roisin Upton following two NCAA titles with the UConn Huskies. Her inclusion gives Ireland more options in midfield and defence.

She is also a player who can potentially replace team captain Megan Frazer who is currently recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury.

“Losing Megan is incredibly disappointing but players like Zoe, Roisin and Lena are able to do that role for us. Maybe down the road it allows us to use Megan further up the field.”

In Malaysia, there will be further tournament debutants in the form of Rebecca Barry and Clodagh Cassin who will also play against the Italians in another warm-up match on Jan 11.

Fixtures – Jan 14 (Saturday):

Pool A: Italy v Wales (1.45pm); Thailand v Singapore (3.0pm).

Pool B: Ireland v Kazakhstan (6.15pm); Malaysia v Hong Kong (8.30pm). All matches at Tun Razak Hockey Stadium.

                                                                                  

WOMEN HOCKEY WORLD LEAGUE ROUND 2 FIXTURES:

Unscathed Perak move into second round

Former champions Perak qualified for the second round of the MHC-1Mas-Milo-KPM National Under-14 Hockey Tournament at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium today.

The 2013 champions edged Sarawak 2-1 to maintain an unblemished record of three wins and a draw. They humbled Kedah 3-0 in the opening match, defeated Pahang 2-1 and played to a 1-1 draw against Penang on Monday.

Defender and penalty corner specialist Saiful Shahril Bahri scored in the seventh and 15^th minutes while Ben Bradley anak James Rojes replied for Sarawak in the 39^th minute in similar fashion. Saiful is also the leading scorer in the tournament with six goals.

The Silver state topped Group B on 10 points – four clear of Pahang while Penang is third on five points. Pahang and Penang will tussle for the second spot in the group for the next round. Both teams play their last group match on Wednesday.

“We have played four matches without rest and I would have been happy even if we had drawn against Sarawak,” said Perak coach Abdul Hadi Adam. “I gave most of the reserve players a chance to play and they did well. Now we need to focus on the second round and move forward,” he added.

Adam, however, hopes three of his main players – Saiful, Aman Shahnan Maznan and Ahmad Akmal Ahmadaib will recover in time for Thursday’s second round matches.

Saiful is nursing a thumb injury while Aman and Ahmad have thigh injuries.

Defending champions Sabah completed their entire Group A matches unscathed. The East Malaysians dashed Kuala Lumpur’s hopes today to win 1-0, thanks to a Jencas Andawi ninth minute field goal strike. Sabah has 12 points – six clear of Kuala Lumpur.

The city boys are now involved in a three-cornered tussle with Selangor and Kelantan for the second spot in the group. Selangor and Kelantan have three points each while Kuala Lumpur will need a draw against Perlis on Wednesday to seal their hopes and in the process dampen Kelantan and Selangor ambitions.

Johor also advanced to the second round by pulverising Singapore 3-0 in Group C. Goals from Jayson@Mohd Shazlan Jainol (4^th), Muhammad Hafiz Fikri (42^nd) and Ronny Richard in the 48^th minutes sealed Johor’s entry with eight points.

Malacca and Negeri Sembilan, with six and five points respectively, go into tomorrow’s final match which will decide who joins Johor in the second round.

In the girls division, Pahang and Penang qualified for the second round from Group A. Pahang defeated Selangor 1-0 with a Nurul Fatin Fatiah goal while Penang and Negeri Sembilan played out a scoreless draw. Penang topped the standings with seven points and Pahang six.

Johor continued its winning ways by crushing Sarawak 3-0 and emerged Group C champions with nine points, taking along with them into the next round Singaporeans who defeated Kelantan 2-0.

However, Group A matches will be decided on Wednesday. Kuala Lumpur will need to beat a rejuvenated Malacca to move into the next round while Perak and Kedah will decide their fate too.

Results -

BOYS - Group A: Sabah 1 Kuala Lumpur 0; Kelantan 3 Perlis 0

Group B: Perak 2 Sarawak 1; Penang 5 Kedah 0.

Group C: Johor 3 Singapore 0; Terengganu 0 Negeri Sembilan 0

GIRLS – Group B: Penang 0 Negeri Sembilan 0; Pahang 1 Selangor 0

Group C: Johor 3 Sarawak 0; Singapore 2 Kelantan 1

FIXTURES:  

WEDNESDAY (23 Nov) - Boys Group A: Selangor v Kelantan (6.0pm, KPM); Kuala Lumpur v Perlis (6.0pm, KLHA Stadium),

Group B: Pahang v Penang (3.30pm, KPM); Sarawak v Kedah (3.30pm, KLHA Stadium).

Group C: Malacca v Negeri Sembilan (4.45pm, KPM); Singapore v Terengganu (4.45pm, KLHA Stadium).

Girls – Group A:  Perak v Kedah (7.30am, KPM); Kuala Lumpur v Malacca (7.30am, KLHA Stadium).

1Mas Tigers and Tigress for Perth FHE Cup

Eighteen boys and girls under the MHC-1Mas Development Programme will leave for Australia on Tuesday to compete in the FHE Cup from Nov 24-27 at the Perth Hockey Stadium.

 

1Mas Malaysia Tigers go into the tournament as defending champions which also includes Kuala Lumpur 1Mas team, Japan’s Under-16 Development squad and five local clubs.

 

FHE Cup is an Under 16 international invitational tournament that was created in 2007. It has attracte national and state representative teams from Japan, Singapore and Australia in the past.

 

The1Mas Malaysia Tigers defeated Western Australia HEAT 1-0 in the 2015 final while the 1Mas Tigress lost 2-3 to Western Australia Tap 2 in the third-fourth placing match after both teams were held to a 2-2 draw in regulation time.

 

“We have several Under-15 players in both the boys and girls teams for the FHE Cup this year. The exposure in the FHE will make a lot of difference as they are playing against the Japanese Under-16 development team and Australian sides,” said 1Mas Director of Development, Tai Beng Hai, today.

 

The players were met by Malaysian Hockey Confederation Chief Executive Officer, Logan Raj, and coaches for a briefing at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium after their final training session.

 

Boys’ 1Mas Tigers coach, S. Velappan, said they have assembled a team of experience players with five of them who featured in the 2015 event. They are Muhammad Hafiz Mohd Zauri, Makmurmasuha Faisal, Pavandip Singh, Muhammad Faiq Nazwan and Muhammad Hafizal.

They play their opening matches against Western Australia Tap 3 and New South Wales AR2 on Nov 24, face Western Australia Tap 1 on Nov 25 and Japan the following day. The final of the boys and girls is on Nov 27.

The 1Mas Malaysia Tigress led by team captain Nurafwani Mohamad Sukri,  will open their campaign against Japan on Nov 24.

Boys Under-16 Squad - Mohamad Kamarulzaman Kamaruddin, Mohamad Haridzmi Shah Mohamad Nizam, Makmurmasuha Faisal, Edry Hazriq Md Fozi (all SMK Bentara Luar Johor); Pavadip Singh (SMK Bukit Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur); Muhd Faiq Nazwan Mohd Azhar (SMK Tunku Besar Tampin, Negeri Sembilan), Muhammad Hafiz Mohd Zauri, Muhammad Syahir Hasif Harun, Muhammad Hamiz Mohd Ahir, Muhamad Nazrey Din, Muhammad Syawal Abdul Razak (all SMK Temerloh Pahang); Muhammad Solehuddin Yuzaidi (SMK Mutiara Impian Penang), Mohamad Danial Ahmad Kuzairi, Muhammad Afiq Iqbal Ahmad Faudzi, Muhammad Fahmi , Mohamad Syazwan Syafiq Basir, Muhammad Hafizal Halmi (all SMK Anderson Perak), Muhammad Zafri Afiq Nor Azlan (SMK Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Selangor)
Coach: S. Velappan

Asst Coach: Mohd Nor Affazly

Girls Under-16 Squad: Siti Nur Atikah Abu Hanifah, Norahafizah Hashim, Nur Iwana Jamaluddin, Nurul Aszawiyah Sakur, Nurafwani Mohamad Sukri, Siti Nur Arfah Mh Nor, Puteri Nur Batrisyia Nor Nawawi, Farah Hanim Ahmad Sobri, Nurmaizatul Hanim Syafi,Nur Amira Asyiqin Ismadi, Siti Zulaika Husin, Siti Nur Balqis, Nur Fatihah Md Saiuti, Kirandeep Kaur, Siti Mardiana Ahmad, Josephine Anak Angkun, Vantorriyana anak Piah, Nurul Faten Atiqah Razali.

Manager: Yahya Atan

Head Coach: Roshin Noordin

Asst Coach: Nuriza Sulaiman