NEW DELHI: It was a good win for South Korea, but the victory was as bitter as ginseng. The Asian champions failed to make it to the semifinals yesterday despite a 2-1 win over Holland in the last group match.

NEW DELHI: South Korea almost caused an upset as they allowed two-time defending champions Germany to come from behind to force a 2-2 draw in the men's fi

KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) vicecaptain Madzli Ikmar wants to get it on the "Dot". He may have forgotten exactly how many MHL Overall Titles he has won throughout his career but he's still counting on adding more trophies to his collection when they take on Sapura in the final at the Tun Razak Stadium tomorrow.

KUALA LUMPUR: This year's Malaysian Hockey League, already in its semifinal stage, has been one of the least anticipated in recent years. The crowd has abated in significant numbers and the outcome of matches are appallingly predictable. One of the obvious reason for this is KLHC's supremacy.

They defended their crown when the curtains came down on the league a couple of weeks ago. However, they were the hands down favourites for the title and it would have been unnatural if they weren't. After all, they are represented by most of the national team's core players.

KUALA LUMPUR: He is known to be a class act of selflessness. Time and again, he has shown that his overall contribution on the pitch is what matters most. A chipper for any task he is taken to, this Johor lad who just turns 23 today is always prepared to give full commitment.

National team defender Baljit Singh Sarjab has only one birthday wish when he blows out the lights on the candles on his birthday cake today — to see Malaysia regain the stranglehold.

KUANTAN: Kuala Lumpur emerged as champions in the National Under 14 Championships which was held here from Nov 30 to Dec 6. The city boys defeated Perak 3-2 in the final.

The hero for Kuala Lumpur is Athitsha Tamil Chelvam who scored a hattrick and was also named the Man-of-the-Match.

KUALA LUMPUR: After almost two months of competition, the Division One of the Selangor Hockey League will see a race down to the wire when it concludes this weekend. All the top three teams - JLJ, RAMD, UiTM - have an equal chance of landing the title.

TODAY’S final group match of the Under-18 Asia Cup between Malaysia and Pakistan has a limited amount of significance as both teams are already assured of a place in the semifinals.

THE plight of Malaysian hockey has become the object of much derision over the years. Thus it has become a national imperative to put things right...to restore the gloss and pride of place to the nation’s most successful team sport. The facts are laid bare: we have failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Period.

 

TEARS flowed freely after Malaysia lost out on a place in the 2010 New Delhi World Cup. Among those who were in tears were team manager George Koshy, and players S. Kumar, Mohd Madzli Ikmar, Mohd Shukri Mutalib and Jiwa Mohan, mainstays of the team over the years.

ONE look at Andrew Hayward and you will be forgiven if you were to think that he is just an ordinary hockey player. He jokes with his teammates, has an unassuming character and is charming especially to his lady fans.

 But Hayward is a lethal weapon, especially when he lines up on the top of the semi-circle. And Malaysians who were glued to their television sets, watching the live telecast of the decisive match between Malaysia and New Zealand for the sole berth to the 2010 World Cup will not forget him easily.

THE two faces of the Malaysian team were on parade yet again at Invercargill. To sum it all up, Malaysia played speculative hockey and rode their luck to remain in contention for a World Cup berth.

Malaysia led Scotland 3-0 at halftime with two goals from 18-year-old Faisal Saari and a penalty stroke converted by Mohd Amin Rahim. And for the third time within a week, the Malaysian players allowed their opponents back into the match in the second half.

MALAYSIA have never lost to Scotland and today at Invercargill in the World Cup qualifi ers, Malaysia can neither lose nor draw against them. Any result other than a win will diminish that little hope Malaysia have to make it to New Delhi next year.

And going by the patchy performances, predicting a Malaysian victory is not something that one will do as the Jekyll and Hyde character of the team have left even the staunchest of supporters dumbfounded.

THEY have come this far and insist there’s no looking back now. But Kuala Lumpur Div 3 finalists Goodwood have a problem...they will be deprived of the services of their star playmaker P. Prabhu.

The former Sapura forward has been the catalyst of Goodwood’s attack all through the season. Goodwood beat Enigma A 5-1 in the first semifinal at Pantai Stadium yesterday.

However, they struggled to find any sort of rhythm earlier in the match without Prabhu, who was late, so much so that they went behind by a goal when Enigma scored through Mohd Roslan in 18th minute.

MALAYSIA have lodged a complaint against the umpires in the match against New Zealand, which they lost 4-2. While it was not a formal protest, team manager George Koshy made his point clear to tournament director Satinder Dhillon that Malaysia were victims of poor umpiring decisions.

The Malaysian camp was incensed with the two set of rules applied by the umpires, Colin Hutchinson of Ireland and Marcin Grochal of Poland, both of whom were guilty of letting off players from the home team for tackles and unsportsman-like behaviour.

WHILE the Malaysians have the best in terms of preparation and participation, they should take a look at what some of the other teams went through just to be at the World Cup qualifiers in Invercargill.

The players from Wales had to fork out £1,600 (RM10,000) each. They also had to take leave from their jobs, and some unpaid.

The Malaysians train full-time, have two cooks, a nutritionist, masseur, physiotherapist and medical assistant.

NEW ZEALAND do not need to depend solely on penalty corner ace marksman Hayden Shaw to win matches and this was made clear against Scotland. The Black Sticks hammered Scotland 8-0 to register their second win in as many matches, after having beaten Wales 6-2 in the opening match on Saturday.

IT IS the lessons in life that Tai Beng Hai learnt from his late father that will now serve him in his quest to ensure Malaysia qualify for the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi.