The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Seven-match hockey test in Spain gets underway
- Norizman rides his way back onto the winner’s rostrum
- Joy for Shahrul as he bounces back from last year’s heartbreak
| Seven-match hockey test in Spain gets underway Posted: 26 Jun 2011 05:53 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: After four days of training, the national team will finally start their seven-match test in Spain with the first game at Real Polo Club in Barcelona today. National coach Tai Beng Hai (pic) said in a telephone interview yesterday that the first three matches will be against club sides. "So far we have just been training since our arrival here in Barcelona on Wednesday. We are giving the players a half-day break today and from tomorrow they go into match mode," said Beng Hai. The team started their tour of Europe with two matches against the Dutch national team in Amsterdam last weekend. They lost 1-5 and 1-9. Besides the three matches with the club sides, the team have lined up two games against the Spanish juniors and two against their senior squad. The second match tomorrow will be against Athletic Terassa HC followed by the game against Club Egara the next day. They have a break on Thursday and then play the Spain's juniors on July 2 and 4. There will be a break on July 5 and they end the tour with matches against the Spanish national team on July 6 and 7. They return home on July 9. Beng Hai said that the players are all in good condition and there are no injuries. "Most of the matches are at night except for the first one. Our aim is to work on our combinations and also to minimise the errors. "The younger players are beginning to understand out playing style but we will have a better idea when they get onto the pitch. They need to play under pressure and that is when we can see their true worth. "Our objective will be to give all the players a chance to get a game and play as much as they can on the tour. We have also been working on our fitness as well," he said. The tour is part of the national team's preparation for the Olympic qualifiers next year. For this year their two major assignments will be the inaugural Champions Trophy in September where the top six Asian teams will be in action and the FIH Champions Challenge I in South Africa in November. Beng Hai said that the Champions Challenge I will be good indicator of their strength and current form. "These teams are all of high standard and any one of them could make the top-12 list. So the Champions Challenge will give a good idea where we stand. Among the teams playing are New Zealand, Argentina, Canada, South Africa, Belgium, Japan and Poland. "It is a strong field and a number of these teams will also feature in the qualifiers while some would have qualified from their continental championships," he said. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Norizman rides his way back onto the winner’s rostrum Posted: 26 Jun 2011 05:52 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Norizman Ismail proved that his first victory of the season in the last leg at Putrajaya was no fluke as once again he set the pace to win the fifth leg of the Petronas AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship at Teluk Intan yesterday. The Harian Metro TEQ SCK Honda Racing rider completed the 14-lap CP130 race with a total time of 13:33.186 while Petronas Syntium Moto Yamaha AHM's Mohd Ramdan Mohd Rosli had to settle for second place (13:35.854). Norizman's team-mate, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman took third spot. Meanwhile, defending champion Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (Petronas Syntium Moto Yamaha Raceline) who is making a comeback after missing the first four legs due to his participation in the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) could only finish fourth. "Actually I didn't push all out during this morning's qualifying sessions because I wanted to find out who were my main contenders," said Norizman who start from second on the grid. "Hafizh who had dominated during practice and qualifying was the one to beat but I was confident of winning because I have studied his strengths and weaknesses. Besides it was my experience which pulled me through on race day." "Nevertheless it was still a very challenging race and I went all out for it. My initial target was only to finish within the top three but I'm really glad to have beaten Hafizh and secured back-to-back victories," said the 26-year-old Norizman. With the win, Norizman extended his lead in the championship standings to 79 points – 27 ahead of second placed Ahmad Fazli Sham (Penzoil Fastrac Racing) who has 52 points while Mohd Affendi Rosli (Harian Metro TEQ SCK Honda Racing) is third with 51 points. The championship will resume with the sixth leg at Alor Setar, Kedah from July 22-23. Results CP130 Leading finishers: 1. Norizman Ismail (Harian Metro TEQ SCK Honda Racing) 13:33.186, 2. Mohd Ramdan Mohd Rosli (PETRONAS Syntium Moto Yamaha AHM) 13:35.854, 3. Azlan Shah Kamaruzman (Harian Metor TEQ SCK Honda Racing) 13:42.589, 4. Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (PETRONAS Syntium Moto Yamaha Raceline) 13:47.091, 5. Mohd Iskandar Raduan (PETRONAS Syntium Moto Yamaha Raceline) 13:47.747. Leading overall standings: 1. Norizman 79 pts, 2. Ahmad Fazli Sham (Pennzoil Fastrac Racing) 52, 3. Mohd Affendi Rosli (Harian Metro TEQ SCK Honda Racing) 51, 4. Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi (Pachie Yuzy Honda Racing) 47, 5. Mohd Ramdan Mohd Rosli (PETRONAS Syntium Moto Yamaha AHM) 45. CP115 Leading finishers: 1. Ahmad Abdul Kadir (APIDO Yamaha Boon Kui Racing) 11:45.784, 2. Shahril Izzuwan Mohd Noor (PETRONAS Syntium Moto Yamaha AHM) 11:47.712, 3. Mohd Rozaliman Zakaria (ZAR Racing Motorsports) 11:47.911, 4. Mohd Emir Firdaus Hasan (MSeki Liberty Honda Racing) 11:53.585, 5. Mohd Rozaiman Mohd Said (Motul Yamaha YY Pang Racing) 11:54.084. Leading overall standings: 1. Shahril Izzuwan 81, 2. Zaidy Mohd Zaifaizal (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) 76, 3. Mohd Emir 54, 4. Mohd Adli Salihin (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) 54, 5. Mohd Rozaliman Zakaria 51. Wira Leading finishers: 1. Zulsyafiz Rosli (MOS Malaysia Racing) 9:59.966, 2. Mohd Khairul Adli Azhar (Suzuki Fortyone Racing) 10:00.078, 3. Mohd Adib Rosley (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) 10:02.195, 4. Mohd Amin Mohd Azahar (MOS Malaysia Racing) 10:02.774, 5. Mohd Solehin Mohd Sukor (Honda Promax X-Dot Racing) 10:12.242. Leading overall standings: 1. Zulsyafiz 89, 2. Mohd Hafiza Rofa (Faito YSP Racing) 75, 3. Nurahmad Fariznazreen (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) 59, 4. Mohd Adib 56, 5. Mohd Khairul 20. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Joy for Shahrul as he bounces back from last year’s heartbreak Posted: 26 Jun 2011 05:51 PM PDT RAUB: Mohd Shahrul Mat Amin of Terengganu Pro-Asia Cycling made up for his disappointment of a second place finish in the national cycling championships last year by winning this year, thus earning him the black and white tiger-striped champion's jersey for the next calendar year. The jersey, awarded to the national champions every year, will be worn by the winner in all road cycling competitions except for time trial events. The previous holder of the jersey was Mohd Adiq Husainie Othman of Drapac Professional. In the 176km race yesterday, the main bunch controlled the pace for most of the time to neutralise any attacks from the other riders. However, with undulating terrain towards the end of the race, the bunch soon spread out and Shahrul, together with Mohd Zamri Salleh, Ahmad Fallanie Ali and Mohd Nor Rizuan Zainal decided to break away near the 140km mark. The break paid off as all three, except for Rizuan who suffered cramps with just 20km to go, finished on the podium with Zamri second and Fallanie finishing third. "The bunch was spread out due to the terrain and it is impossible for sprinters to nail the race today. We decided to give it a go and I managed to fend off Zamri and Fallanie to win," said Shahrul. He said that if the bunch had stayed together, he would play his part to put team-mate Anuar Manan in a position for the sprint finish. "I knew that Anuar and the bunch couldn't catch up with us as we hold about 1:30 advantage at the front. That's why I decided to go with them (Zamri and Fallanie)," said Shahrul. In the women's event, Kimbeley Yap won the 84km race to snatch the champion's jersey from Mariana Mohamad yesterday. Masziyaton Mohd Radzi of Kedah finished second while Mariana was third. Kimbeley, the 2005 Manila SEA Games triathlon gold medallist, was in the breakaway group with Masziyaton and Mariana after the 35km mark. "There was a big hill ahead of us so the three of us worked together until it was close to the finish line. Just 300m towards the end, I decided to push it a little bit harder and when I saw there were no wheels close to me at the finish line, I knew I have nailed it," said Kimbeley. Results Men: 1. Mohd Shahrul Mat Amin (Terengganu Pro-Asia) 4'18:47; 2. Mohd Zamri Salleh (A. Forces) 4'18:48; 3. Ahmad Fallanie Ali (DBKL) 4'18:51;4. Sayuti Zahit (Utem) 4'20:08; 5. Mohd Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi (Police) 4'20:09; 6. Nur Amirul Fakharuddin Mazuki (Terengganu Pro-Asia); 7. Mohd Rauf Nur Misbah (Sel) same time; 8. Amir Mustafa Rusli (Police) 4'20:12; 9. Mohd Harrif Salleh (Terengganu Pro-Asia) 4'21:17; 10. Amiruddin Jamaluddin (Utem) same time. Women: 1. Kimbeley Yap (Swk) 2'41:59; 2. Masziyaton Mohd Radzi (Ked);3. Mariana Mohamad (Sel) same time; 4. Ju Pha Somnet (Nat. back-up) 2'46:06; 5. Mardiana Mohd Radzi (Ked); 6. Suryani Mohamad (Ter); 7. Zahraa Anuawar (Ter); 8. Noor Azian Maslin Sazali (Nat. back-up) all same time; 9. Zanariah Ismail (Joh) 2'48:21; 10. Nurul Syuhada Zainal (Ter) 2'58:33. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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