CAN MALAYSIA DEFEAT CHINA ?

Host Malaysia face defending champion China while Japan take on Indonesia in the Thomas Cup semifinals at Putra Stadium on Friday.

Muhd Hafiz Hashim, the 2003 All England champion, clinched the winning point for Malaysia's 3-2 victory over Denmark in a tense quarterfinal, after easily disposing Joachim Persson 21-12, 21-10, thus repeating the 2002 Guangzhou feat when he won the deciding match against Bao Chun Lai.

"I am happy to have contributed the winning point for Malaysia's victory," said Hafiz.

In Guangzhou, Malaysia beat China 3-1 in the semis, at their home ground before bowing out 2-3 to Indonesia in the finals.

In today's earlier quarterfinal matches, China beat South Korea 3-0, Japan defeated Germany 3-1 and Indonesia beat India 3-0 to book their respective berths.

Against the Danes Wednesday night, World number one men's singles player Datuk Lee Chong Wei set the path for Malaysia's victory after beating an injured Peter Hoeg Gade 21-17, 21-17 in 49 minutes for the first point.

Gade who was trailing Chong Wei 11-15 in the first game, suffered an ankle injury while trying to retrieve a shot at the net and had to take a five-minute break to check on the injury.

"That was the turning point as Gade was setting a fast tempo and played aggressively but I managed to follow his pace," Chong Wei who had also beaten the Dane in the final of the Korea Open Super Series in January, told reporters after the match.

World number one pair Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong later justified their seeding by beating number four seeds Carsten Mogensen/Mathias Boe 21-17, 21-19 in 41 minutes to give Malaysia a 2-0 lead.

Malaysia's second singles, Wong Choong Hann, however failed to deliver the much needed winning point, bowing out 20-22, 21-16, 18-21 to world number nine, Jan O Jorgensen.

Choong Hann, playing in the his sixth Thomas Cup edition, however, gave his opponent a run for the money, playing point-for-point and dragging the tie to a deciding set.

Jorgensen took the first set 22-20 but Choong Hann came back strongly to take the second 21-16 but the Dane moved into overdrive to take the deciding set 21-18 to give Denmark their first point.

The fourth match of the tie saw Malaysia field a scratch pair of Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif/Hoon Tien How against this year's All England's champion, Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen.

Although the scratch Malaysian pair put up a spirited display to win the first set 26-24, they lost the second 12-21 and despite a close fight, lost the deciding game 19-21.

The win saw Denmark level the tie at 2-2 and called on yesterday's villain Hafiz, who lost his deciding match to Japan's Shoji Sato in the 2-3 defeat, to the fore.

The lanky Hafiz however, gave a polished display today to earn the winning point that kept Malaysia's hopes of repeating the 1992 feat very much alive.

In another quarterfinal match, Japan beat Germany 3-1, to clinch a place in the semis and face Indonesia.

Bekas mufti: Jangan halalkan pertaruhan kejohanan Piala Dunia

Bekas mufti Perlis Dr. Mohd. Asri Zainul Abidin menggesa kerajaan mengkaji balik langkah mempertimbangkan kemungkinan mengeluarkan lesen untuk membenarkan pertaruhan dilakukan semasa kejohanan bola sepak Piala Dunia 2010 berlangsung bulan depan.
Sehubungan itu kata Asri, beliau juga mahu rakyat pelbagai kaum dan agama agar membantah usaha tersebut.

Sambil menekankan peranan pemerintah adalah mencegah keburukan, bukan menaja atau bersaing dengan penjenayah, Asri memberitahu, cadangan tersebut hanya mengubah ‘taukeh’ yang tidak berlesen kepada yang berlesen.

“Apakah nanti mungkin kita akan wujudkan tempat ‘hisap candu berlesen’ untuk mengelakkan penagih candu menghisapnya di tempat yang tidak berlesen?

“Jangan fikir lesen dan cukai keuntungan sahaja, kerajaan hendaklah berfikir kesan yang akan menimpa rakyat nanti.

“Maka, saya sekali lagi membantah cadangan ini dan meminta semua rakyat Malaysia yang waras dan mempunyai nilai-nilai agama dan moral membantah cadangan ini,” kata beliau dalam satu kenyataan dikeluarkan.

Asri berpendapat bahawa judi sama ada ‘dilesenkan’ atau tidak keburukannya sentiasa dominan dan akan menyebabkan pembaziran tanpa sebab, sikap bergantung nasib tanpa kewarasan, merosakkan keluarga, menimbulkan tabiat suka berhutang, membawa kepada kejatuhan ekonomi individu secara mengejut dan ketagihan tabiat buruk tersebut yang luar biasa.

“Akal waras manusia dari semua aliran agama dan masyarakat, bahkan yang tidak beragama pun tetap menyatakan judi selalu merosakkan masyarakat.

“Jika pun judi itu untuk masyarakat bukan Islam, saya tetap katakan masyarakat Malaysia bukan masyarakat judi.

“Tiada ajaran mana-mana agama yang menggalakkan judi. Tiada siapa pun dalam mana-mana bangsa atau agama dalam negara ini sanggup untuk mendakwa ‘judi adalah budaya kami’, atau ‘kebanggaan hidup kami’,” katanya.

Khamis lalu, Timbalan Menteri Kewangan Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein berkata kerajaan mempertimbangkan kemungkinan mengeluarkan lesen untuk membenarkan pertaruhan dilakukan semasa kejohanan bola sepak Piala Dunia 2010 berlangsung awal bulan depan bagi mengelak berleluasanya aktiviti perjudian dan pertaruhan haram di negara ini.

Kata beliau, jika kerajaan tidak mengeluarkan lesen kepada pihak yang memohon, aktiviti perjudian dan pertaruhan haram tetap berlaku tanpa kawalan dan pemantauan pihak berkuasa.
“Ada beberapa perkara penting untuk dikaji sama ada perkara ini (mengeluarkan lesen membenarkan pertaruhan) baik bagi kerajaan atau jika kerajaan boleh cuba mengawalnya untuk mengetahui berapa banyak (jumlah wang daripada pertaruhan haram).

“Kerajaan sedang mengkaji perkara ini dan akan memutuskannya jika mahu membenarkan pertaruhan memandangkan kejohanan Piala Dunia ini semakin hampir,” katanya.

ONE WAY TICKET

More than half of the 500,000 World Cup tickets offered for cash sales were still available, organisers said today, just over a month before the tournament starts.

Initial brisk business when the fifth and final phase of sales opened in South Africa on April 15, sparking long queues, appears to have cooled.

Greg Fredericks, head World Cup local organising committee CEO Danny Jordaan’s office, told Johannesburg city councillors less than 300,000 tickets remained for the June 11-July 11 tournament.

“We are approaching 90 per cent ticket sales for the World Cup,” he said.

Fifa spokeswoman Delia Fischer confirmed that 230,000 of the allotted 500,000 phase five tickets — the first to be sold over the counter — had been sold.

Football’s world governing body moved to cash sales after widespread criticism that its Internet-based system was too complicated and effectively excluded millions of poor black fans in the host country who do not have access to computers or credit cards.

Supporters initially rushed to buy those seats, with 130,000 tickets sold in the first three days.

Fredericks said matches in Johannesburg — which will host the opening and final matches — and Pretoria were sold out but there were still many tickets available for matches in Polokwane, Port Elizabeth and Nelspruit.

He also said the government would soon release a transportation timetable for planes, buses and other public transport for the month-long soccer spectacular. — Reuters

MALAYSIA FEELING THE HEAT

The needle on Malaysia’s sporting pressure chamber is creeping into the red after its badminton chief called on the nation’s squad to win all their group matches in the upcoming Thomas & Uber Cup.

The most prestigious team event for men and women shuttlers begins on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur’s Putra Stadium where the world’s elite are primed to do battle.

This dazzling line-up of talent has in no way diminished Nadzmi Salleh’s expectations, though, as the president of Malaysia’s badminton federation called on his team to rally support at home.

“The more matches the team win, the better the vocal support,” he told reporters, adding that Malaysia was one of five teams capable of winning the men’s Thomas Cup.

“As such, I hope the shuttlers can get off to a flying start and win both their group matches before the knock-out stage starts on May 12. I just want the players to give their best as the Malaysian fans deserve to see them fighting all the way.”

The five times Thomas Cup champions trail only 13-times champions Indonesia and seven-times champions China in the winners’ standings, but have not triumphed since a 1992 victory on home soil.

Malaysia’s women have never tasted Uber Cup success.

The Malaysian men are in Group B of the Thomas Cup with Japan and Nigeria. Defending champions China are in Group A with South Korea and Peru while Denmark, Germany and Poland are in Group C. Former champions Indonesia head Group D and will play India and Australia.

In the Uber Cup, Malaysia are in Group A with China and the United States. Indonesia, Denmark and Australia are in Group B, Japan, Russia and Germany in Group C while South Korea, India and South Africa are in Group D.

The powerful Chinese team arrived in Malaysia yesterday after 45 days of closed door training in Fujian province, but the favourites would not discuss their chances of defending.

Five-times Uber Cup champions Japan, meanwhile, are still sweating on injuries to key players Eriko Hirose and Reika Kakiwa.

Chief coach Park Joo Bong said Japan’s hopes of winning the title for the first time since 1981 would depend on how fast the duo recover.

“I am worried about the leg injuries to Eriko and Reika but our first target is to get into the quarter-finals. And we will see what happens after that.

“Whatever it is we are here and ready to play no matter what.” — Reuters

NATIONAL FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT FUND

The National Football Development Fund got off to a fine start when 16 corporate teams signed up for a futsal championship here starting May 8.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the teams including Maxis, Astro, Maybank and Putrajaya Corporation had to contribute at least RM10,000 to the fund.

"The championship is also held to introduce Putrajaya Futsal Complex before Rentap Futsal starts on May 14," he said after a training session with the select team of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak here Wednesday.

Shabery was joined in training by his two deputies Datuk Razali Ibrahim and Datuk Wee Jeck Seng and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.

HARIMAU MUDA NOT WELL

TWO days ago a little bird told me about me about the situation in Slovakia, apprently Azraai Khor is no longer coaching the team, but a Slovakian has taken over.

It is through the social network application such as facebook that we come to know problems that are faced by people. So when players and coaches express their feelings through facebook obviously the media fraternity comes to know Harimau Muda is not well.

Read the most prominent blogger and Astro Arena resident panelist rizal hashim discovery here.

Unfortunately the goal keeper coach Mohana has returned and that is due to the misunderstanding between him and Azraai. If I am not mistaken Azraai accused a coach by saying he is here on holiday. In Malay we call it "Lawatan Sambil Belajar"

From the beginning this whole trip was a "Lawatan Sambil Belajar" for me, I was also told that Vion FC will be sending a team of technical expertise to train our boys, in management terms we call it "Knowledge Transfer" and FAM coaches will handle it in terms of "Knowledge Management".

It is a joke, the way this coaches are behaving as though they have won something, in reality they are nothing and team also is yet to win anything. No one cares about Obama Cup or Mandela Cup.. we are only concern if this team can retain the SEA Games Gold Medal in Jakarta.

So I suggest FAM should get to the crunch of the matter before it gets worst.

The rest can continue eating Mac Donalds in Slovakia.

MUPC JOHOR

MANCHESTER UNITED PREMIER CUP (JOHOR) CHAMPIONS BANDAR PENAWAR SPORTS SCHOOL B TEAM.

Semi-Finals

Durah FC vs SMK Tasek Utara B (Penalty 5-4)

Sekolah Sukan Bandar Penawar B vs SMK Tanjung Putri 3 - 1

3rd / 4th Placing

SMK Tasek Utara B vs SMK Tanjung Putri 2 - 0

Finals

Sekolah Sukan Bandar Penawar B vs Durah FC 1 - 1 (Penalty 6-5)

Best Goalkeeper

Muhammad Amirullah b. Sapia Afandi (Durah FC)

Top scorer

Mohd Izzudin Irfan (Durah FC) - 8 Goals

Man of the match

Ahmad Azinuddin (Durah FC)á

Fairplay team

SMK Tasek Utara

First Runner-up

Durah FC

Champions

Sekolah Sukan Bandar Penawar B