Malaysia v Lebanon

Malaysia has an “good” chance of reaching the third round of 2012 London Olympics men’s football tournament after being pitted against Lebanon in one of the few interesting match-ups at the draw conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday.

Another interesting battle to come out of the draw was between arch-rivals Iraq, who made it to the semi-finals of the 2004 Athens Olympics, and Iran who reached the quarter-finals of the 1976 games in Montreal.

In the world ranking, Malaysia is ranked 128 while Lebanon is at 169. While the ranking is for the senior teams, it however can be seen as an indication of the standard of the game in bothe the countries.

Eleven teams, who have qualified from Round 1, joined 13 direct entrants into the second round. The teams will be divided into 12 groups and will play home-and-away on June 19 and June 23.

Japan, who have appeared eight times in the Olympics men’s football tournament, will host Kuwait in the first leg on June 19 before playing in Kuwait City four days later.

DPR Korea, who won both AFC U-19 and U-16 Championships last year, will meet UAE while Australia will face Yemen in the second round.

Asia were allotted 3.5 slots for the 2012 London Olympics men’s football tournament.

The 12 winners from Round 2 will be divided into three groups of four teams each in the third round.

Again, a home-and-away format from September 21, 2011, to March 14, 2012, will determine the winners who will represent the continent in the Olympics.

Three second-placed teams from the third round will clash in a playoff at a centralized venue from March 25 to 29, 2012, and the winners of this group will meet the representatives of CAF for a berth in the Olympics.

2nd ROUND MATCH-UPS

Qatar vs India
Iraq vs Iran
Bahrain vs Thailand
Australia vs Yemen
Japan vs Kuwait
Syria vs Turkmenistan
DPR Korea vs UAE
Korea Republic vs Jordan
Uzbekistan vs Hong Kong
Saudi Arabia vs Vietnam
China vs Oman
Lebanon vs Malaysia

Lawatan Ke Cambodia oleh Presiden FAM

KDYMM Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah telah mengadakan perjumpaan dengan Perdana Menteri Kemboja, Hun Sen di Istana Persahabatan di Phnom Penh hari ini.

KDYMM Sultan Haji Ahmad, Presiden Persatuan Bolasepak Malaysia (FAM), berada di Phnom Penh dalam rangka lawatan kerja selama tiga hari. Baginda dan rombongan tiba di ibu negara Kemboja itu, semalam.

Turut hadir di perjumpaan itu ialah Timbalan Presiden FAM, KDYTM Tengku Abdullah Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, Duta Malaysia ke Kemboja, Datuk Haji Mohd Hussein Datuk Pangiran Haji Mohd Tahir dan Setiausaha Agung FAM, Dato' Azzuddin Ahmad.

KDYMM Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah dan Perdana Menteri Kemboja itu berbincang berbagai isu terutamanya perkembangan bolasepak serantau. Perjumpaan itu berlangsung selama satu jam.

KDYMM Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah juga mengunjungi Raja Kemboja, Putera Norodom Sihamoni di Istana DiRaja di Phnom Penh untuk satu pertemuan singkat sebelum berangkat untuk satu perjumpaan dengan kepimpinan Persekutuan Bolasepak Kemboja (FFC) di Hotel Raffles Le Royal

TALENTED BUNCH

A bunch of “very talented” individual polo players carry Malaysia’s hopes and aspirations for a historic place in the FIP Polo World Cup Finals scheduled to be held in San Luis, Argentina in October.

Malaysia, despite being one of Asia’s most established polo nations, has never made it to the FIP World Cup Finals. And as recently as two months ago the national polo team assembled to carry the country’s challenge looked “lost and chaotic”.

But all that has changed and today Malaysia look positive for a top three finish in the eight-team FIP Polo World Cup Zone D qualifier that will be played at three historic polo clubs – the Royal Pahang Polo Club (established in 1926), the Royal Selangor Polo Club (1902) and the Putrajaya Equestrian Park (2005) from June 11-26.

National polo skipper Shaik Reismann, the only Malaysian player with World Cup experience, having played for Singapore in India in 2000, summed it up all when he said “today we (Malaysia) are a strong unit with lots of confidence” that is capable of finishing in the top three for a place in the Finals.

Apart from Malaysia, the other teams vying for a ticket to Argentina are Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Nigeria and Singapore.

“I do admit that with the likes of Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and even Pakistan - all strong polo playing nations, - we are in a very tough zone (Qualifier). This makes us nervous but the only way to overcome this is to be positive.

“It was haywire when we got together as a team. As recently as two months ago we were still chaotic. But all that has changed now. We have talented individual polo players who have moulded well into a strong unit with lots of confidence,” said Shaik

“Right now you can see a lot of chemistry between the players. This is certainly a plus point for the team. From March onwards we will increase our training tempo as the tournament draws nearer.

“Every player has a role to play. On top of that we need to be very disciplined and fully focused. And we are not lacking in this field. I am pleased and happy with the way everyone is carrying out his duties.”

Shaik picked Australia South Africa and New Zealand as the front runners in the Qualifier but in the same breath pointed out that every team, including Malaysia, is good as any other. In short, we cannot underrate our rivals.

“It is going to be a very tough and physical tournament. We are also keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will hold out. The weather is the worst nightmare in polo. If it rains, it will be hard on the teams,” added Shaik, who plays with a +3 Handicap.

Shaik, who has worked as a racehorse trainer, is also a horse dentist and has been a professional polo player since 2006. A three-time winner of the Thai Polo Open, apart from winning the SEA Games gold medal in polo in 2007 in Korat, Shaik has also won many medium and high goal tournaments in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.

As hosts, the Royal Malaysian Polo Association wants to ensure that Malaysia stages an outstanding (Qualifier) tournament that FIP can be proud of to enhance Malaysia’s hopes as serious contender to host the 2014 FIP World Cup Finals.

RUN WITH A SMILE

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MALAYSIA GUNNING FOR FIP POLO WORLD CUP HISTORY

Malaysia, one of Asia’s most established polo nations, will be gunning for a historic place in this year’s FIP Polo Cup Finals in Argentina in October.

The Malaysians take their first step towards this when they play host to the FIP World Cup Zone D Qualifier which will be played at three different venues – namely the Royal Pahang Polo Club in Pekan, the Putrajaya Equestrian Park in the administrative capital of Malaysia and the Royal Selangor Polo Club from June 11-26.

The countries competing in Zone D, apart from Malaysia, are Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Nigeria and Singapore. The top three will get the tickets for the FIP World Cup Finals in San Luis, Argentina from October 11-25. For the record the FIP World Cup is held every three years

Malaysia team manager Ahmad Jamili Rashid rates Malaysia’s chances of making their first ever FIP World Cup Finals as “best ever” as the team has undergone training since last year.

“This included two-month training cum stint in Argentina from mid-September to mid-November. It was a dual mission, with training plus selection of horses. This stint served the Malaysian team well,” said Jamili.

The member Malaysian team is captained by 29-year-old Huzaini Yunos (+4 Handicap) who has played polo professionally since 1996. The others in the team are Shaik Reismann, 35 (+3 Handicap), Amran Selamat, 32 (+2 Handicap), Muhammad Edham Shaharuddin, 35 (+4 Handicap), Saladin Mazlan, 30 (+3 Handicap) and Tengku Ahmad Shazril (+3 Handicap).

Shaik Reismann, is the only Malaysian player to have played in the FIP Polo World Cup in Jaipur, India in 2000 when he represented Singapore. The rules since then have been changed and only those who are born in the country are allowed to don their national colours.

Recently the Malaysian team competed in the Thai Polo Open championships and finished runners-up, losing to Thai Polo in the final.

“The defeat has in no way hampered our preparations or is a setback to the Malaysian team. We are on track and the team is in good shape. Playing in tournaments is part of our training,” added Jamili.

The Malaysian team also played in several other tournaments in this region, including the Thai Open, Thai Masters, Malaysia Open, Royal Selangor International and Royal Pahang Classic.

“It has been solid training. We have left no stone unturned. This team is capable of going far not only in the Qualifier but we are also looking at things beyond this.”

On paper, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, who finished in that order at the last Qualifier in New Zealand are seeded and favoured to make the cut. But as far as we are concerned it stops at that.

“We are at home and we aim to make use of that advantage to getting things going. At the same time, however, we are keeping our fingers crossed for a good group. Much will also depend on the grouping,” added Jamili.

THE SQUAD

(L-R) Amran Selamat, Muhammad Edham Shaharuddin, Huzaini Yunos, Shaik Reismann (Captain), Saladin Mazlan, Tengku Ahmad Shazril

WINDFALL FOR NATIONAL TEAM

The AFF-Suzuki Cup-winning team received a whopping total of RM1.24 million in cash incentives from FA of Malaysia, Sunday.

President of FAM, His Royal Highness Sultan Ahmad Shah presented the cheques to 22 players and 10 officials.

Head coach K.Rajagobal and the players received RM50,000 while support crew – two assistant coaches, physiotherapist, masseur, media officer, security officer, sports code and kitman – received RM10,000 each.

After presenting the incentives, His Royal Highness declared that this (the victory) is a beginning of a new era in Malaysian football.

The national team emerged champions of the AFF-Suzuki Cup last year. The last major success of the national team was at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in 1989.

"I am the happiest man as far as football is concerned. We are the best team in this region but we need to build upon it to attain greater heights. The Suzuki Cup victory should be regarded as the stepping stone to move on," said Sultan Ahmad Shah.

The FAM President added the players must play regular friendly matches to maintain their momentum.

"We are planning to send the team abroad at least once a month for friendly matches in Europe, East Asia and the Middle East. Our team will definitely improve playing against tougher opponents like Japan and South Korea.”

Sultan Ahmad Shah wants the Olympic team, under coach Ong Kim Swee, to make an impact on the 2012 Olympic Asian Zone Qualifiers.

The Olympic squad open their campaign against Pakistan in the two-leg Qualifiers. The first leg is on Feb 23 at the Shah Alam Stadium and the return leg in Lahore on March 9.

HRH Sultan Ahmad Shah to contest AFF top post

President of FAM, His Royal Highness Sultan Ahmad Shah is willing to contest for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) president’s post at the federation’s congress in 10 April n Bangkok.

It is learn that incumbent AFF President Tan Sri Tengku Ahmad Rithaudeen will be stepping down from the post which he had held since 1996.

“I am prepared and I know there will be more responsibilities but I am prepared to go for it provided they want me to stand for the tops post,” said Sultan Ahmad Shah, Sunday.

When nominations were closed on Friday, there were two nominations. Sultan Ahmad Shah was nominated by Malaysia and Singapore while Thailand nominated Worawi Makudi, the President of FA Thailand.