The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- KLHC coach Dharmaraj expects difficult task in opening two matches
- KL aim to extend dominance in U-16 meet
- Asian boss Momii to oppose dismissal
| KLHC coach Dharmaraj expects difficult task in opening two matches Posted: 19 Mar 2013 04:45 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Defending champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club's (KLHC) coach K. Dharmaraj is expecting a tough time in their opening two matches of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) which starts on Friday. KLHC will start their campaign against UniKL on Friday before playing the charity shield match against Tenaga Nasional on Sunday. The double winners have lost six players to MHL's Premier Division debutants Terengganu and have replaced them with five Pakistanis and an Australian but Dharmaraj still expects a difficult time. Dharmaraj also pointed out the signing of the six internationals showed that the ambition of the club is to retain their MHL crowns. Three of KLHC's six signings – Australian Timothy Deavin and Pakistan duo Mohamed Imran and Fareed Ahmad – participated along with five other KLHC players in the recently concluded Sultan Azlan Shah Cup competition which ended on Sunday. The other three Pakistan signings are Wassim Ahmed, Umar Bhutta and Akhtar Ali. "I'm losing sleep over our first two matches ... the core players in my team are fatigued after playing in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup," said Dharmaraj. "We welcomed six new players to the team but we don't have enough time to train and gel as a team. So winning the first two matches will be a bonus." KLHC were forced to look for foreign players after six of their national stars – Azlan Misron, Mohd Shahrun Nabil, Fitri Saari, Mohamed Amerullah Aziz, Ismail Abu and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin – left to join Terengganu. "I won't be surprised if we struggle this season ... losing six players who had been with us for six to seven years makes our title defence harder," said Dharmaraj. "My biggest worry is to get the team to gel quickly. I only expect the team to fire on all cylinders in the second round of the league." |
| KL aim to extend dominance in U-16 meet Posted: 19 Mar 2013 03:27 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Defending champions Kuala Lumpur will have home ground advantage when they compete for the top prize and bragging rights in the MHC-Milo-NSC Under-16 hockey championships which kicks off on Saturday. The tournament, to be held at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil from March 23-30, will see the boys and girls' competition being held simultaneously for the first time. The competition format for both the boys and girls remains the same as last year with a two-group round robin competition with the top two teams advancing to the semi-finals to fight for a spot in the finals on March 30 at the Ministry of Education Hockey Stadium in KL. The boys' competition will see 12 states in the fray for the ninth edition of the championship. Five-time champions KL are in Group A along with Terengganu, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Sabah and Perlis. Group B will have Penang, Pahang, Perak, Johor Kelantan and last year's runners up Malacca. Since its inception in 2004, KL have won the title five consecutive times since 2008 and K. Embaraj's side will be looking to extend their dominance with another win again. Ten teams are in the fray for the girls' competition. Last year's runners-up Malacca and Sarawak will not feature in the tournament while Kelantan will return to the fold. Defending champions Selangor have been drawn in Group A together with Kedah, Pahang, Negri Sembilan and Perak. Last year's semi-finalists Johor and Penang are pooled in Group B together with Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu, and Kelantan. |
| Asian boss Momii to oppose dismissal Posted: 19 Mar 2013 03:27 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The Japanese head of the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) was ousted at an emergency weekend meeting, the regional body said on Monday, but a Japan official said the move will be challenged. A statement by the Kuala Lumpur-based BAC said the organisation unanimously approved a motion of no confidence in Katsuto Momii and dismissed him with immediate effect. "The members were unanimous in their agreement that Mr Momii failed in his duties as a leader of the Confederation," the statement said, adding the meeting was held on Sunday in Bangkok. "Mr Momii's dismissal from the presidency and all elected and appointed positions in the BAC will take effect immediately." The statement did not specify the reasons for the move but it comes amid jockeying for the May 18 election of a new president to the Badminton World Federation, also based in Malaysia's capital. BAC general secretary Surasak Songvarakulpan of Thailand told reporters one reason was that Momii was not willing to voice support for an Asian candidate for presidency of the world federation. In the election, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Datuk Seri Nadzmi Mohd Salleh is considered a candidate, as is Indonesia's Justian Suhandinata and Denmark's Poul-Erik Hoyer. The statement by the 12-member BAC said Nadzmi had been named as their acting president. Shigemitsu Imai, secretary general of the Nippon Badminton Association, the sport's governing body in Japan, said the organisation opposed the dismissal. "A court in Malaysia will hold a hearing on this case on April 11," he said. He added that the extraordinary general meeting was scheduled with "about 10 days" notice despite rules requiring a 60-day notice. Imai said Momii was "in the stage of putting things in order by following established procedures". "Probably the other side is getting uneasy about it," he said. — AFP |
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