Foul!

Haresh Says, as published in Malay Mail today. THOSE in power believe they have the best interests of hockey at heart when they parade mind-blowing egos, often proclaiming the “important” roles they play in charting the fortunes of the sport in Malaysia. But their boasts are actually a clamouring for glamour — with hockey being a sport loved by royalty. They need to be drag-flicked out of the hockey arena, for one. Professionalism is almost non-existent in the manner the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) operates. It borders on foolishness, which must be rather embarrassing for MHC president Tengku Abdullah Shah. The Crown Prince of Pahang must realise the importance of educated advisors who understand the sport well. Age does not translate to wisdom. Why my sudden outburst of negativity? Well, MHC is in debt. The winner of the TNB Cup, Terengganu Hockey Team, has apparently not been paid despite the final taking place a month ago on Dec 14. The team received R...

Don't the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) have 50-odd officials sitting in the executive board, council to the various committees? Why only two showed up at the TNB Cup return leg semifinal between TNB and Maybank? MHC isn’t all about meetings and blueprints or mixing with the “right crowd”. It is about knowing the players, watching them in action and providing solutions to the problems faced on the ground. If the officials don’t care about Malaysian hockey and the league, what more the masses? The officials can start becoming useful by helping the national hockey team book flight tickets online — having spent an excess of RM30,000 for the Under-16 national team’s flight tickets to Mannheim, Germany as exposed by the writer on Monday. Those who have read law would know that not only must justice be done but it must also be seen to be done. In the same context, here’s one for MHC officials — not only must you claim to occupy the seat, you should also come...

Much has been said about the Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) hockey league. And tonight KL Hockey Club will play TNB for a shot at the TNB Cup. These are the words of KLHC coach Dharma Abdullah ahead of tonight's match; "No doubt Faisal is a good player but that does not mean a thing as in a final what is important is that the team performs up to expectations. I believe that TNB will be a tough nut to crack even if Faisal does not play as stated by TNB." Read more on the league's website here . Meanwhile, the FA of Malaysia has set the price of the Malaysia Cup final ticket at RM40 for adults and RM5 for children under 12. The final will be held on Oct 20 at the Shah Alam Stadium. K.Rajagobal's squad will have a tough time to qualify for the finals of the 2015 Asia Cup as they were drawn in Group D with Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen. Harimau Muda coach Ong Kim Swee has selected 20 players for the up-coming VFF Newspaper Cup. The tournament is from Oct 11-...