Cup Champions To Battle

Copa Indonesia champion Sriwijaya FC said Sunday it might play a friendly match against Selangor FC of Malaysia in Jakabaring Staduim in Palembang.

"We need to play more friendly matches before the upcoming season, as our plan to hold the Inter Island Cup early next month has been cancelled," Sriwijaya FC president director Dodi Reza Alex said as quoted by Antara state news agency.

He said his management had talked with Selangor FC to try to arrange the match.

Sriwijaya played a friendly against Perlis FC on Aug. 18.

MOONLIGHTING

There has been talk within the squash fraternity of some foreign coaches doing private coaching sessions , thereby contradicting their terms of the contracts.

It seems that these coaches when questioned have claimed that the Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia have granted them permission to conduct private coaching sessions.

If that is true, then other foreign coaches just need the consent of their national bodies and not the NSC to do the same.

You have your work cut out upon your expected return to work on Sept 7 Dato Zolkples.

BENG HAI TALKS...

Tai Beng Hai is a man under pressure. Appointed to the hot seat of National Coach some eight months ago, Beng Hai has been given the tough task of taking Malaysia to the 2010 New Delhi World Cup via the qualifiers that will be played in October/November this year. For the record Malaysia last played in the World Cup when it was held in Malaysia in 2002 and on merit Malaysia has only made it to the World Cup twice since 1980, the 1982 World Cup in Bombay and the 1998 World Cup in Utrecht.

A task not for the fainthearted but Beng Hai has put his neck on the chopping block. Failure in the qualifiers, to be played in France, New Zealand or Argentina could well result in Beng Hai joining the likes of Paul Lissek, Sarjit Singh, Wallacca Tan, Stephen van Huizen and Yahya Atan as the former national coaches, all within a space of 9 years.

In a no holds barred interview with Malaysian Hockey, Beng Hai talks about the teams chances at the qualifiers, the preparation so far and what is lacking as well as the problems he faces within the team.

Read about it at www.malaysianhockey.blogspot.com, the only site that caters for Malaysian hockey without any assistance from MHF/MHC/MWHA.

NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE?

Word has it that a senior official of a national sports body has been accused of soliciting money to endorse some equipment.

While there has been not been any substiantated proof put forward by the aggrieved party, there cannot be smoke without fire. Still we should give the benefit of doubt to the accused in the absence of clear cut evidence as Malaysian sports is all too famous for making unwarranted allegations to bring down those in power.

It has also been alleged that the supplier has not been paid his dues for work done as this official has stopped payment to the supplier out of revenge for some form of dues owed to him as a result of favours granted.

This sort of thing gives sports a bad name and the sooner the top guns of the national sport body take the appropriate action, the better it will be for all quarters. Such attitude should not be condoned if its true and if there is no evidence of it happening, then the rumours must stop and let the personality lead his life accordingly.

However if there is any truth to it, the official should do the honourable thing and vacate his position....

BOON HUAT - NO GO TO NZ

National player Chua Boon Huat has decided to turn down the offer to play in the New Zealand hockey league. He shares his reasons in an exclusive chat with this blog. Details to follow later today at www.malaysianhockey.blogspot.com

FAM+MHF+BAM+SRAM

What that does equal, failures to say the least. That is the sad state of affairs of Malaysian sports as we usher our 52nd year of independence.

The nation was born on sporting grounds at the stroke of midnight on Aug 31, 1957, at the Selangor Padang (now known as Dataran Merdeka) and at the Merdeka Stadium, where the proclamation of independence was held the next morning. Such is the rich history of sports in this country that we remember our regional and international achievements over the years which has united Malaysians in our pride for the nation.

So what did really go wrong? Does it have to do with the prophecy of Tan Sri Abu Samah, one time Law Minister who was later the OCM President as he was said to have regretted the formation of the NSC by saying that he had created a monster?

FAM has a litany of failures and what was written by Eric Samuel in the Sunday Star was just the tip of the iceberg. Can we construe the decision of not making changes to the competition structure after being directed to do so by the President Sultan Ahmad Shah as "menderhaka"?

But one thing is certain, MHF and FAM have something in common, and its not that it is being headed by the Pahang royalty, but both of them do not have Assistant Secretaries. Are we to assume that both the Secretaries are afraid of their own shadows and that is why prefer to leave the position vacant.

BAM, it has to thank Lee Chong Wei for all the financial support its having as one look down the ladder will show a pitch black hole with no light at the end of the tunnel. They have their priorities wrong and the President should just hand over the Chairmanship of the Coaching Committee to a technical man.

As for SRAM, Tunku Imran was spot on as he said that squash may well end up as it did in Singapore, here today, no where tomorrow. Wonder what former Exec Director of SRAM Kol (B) Wong Ah Jit will have to say as squash has no development to show for the past few years. And before some lays claim about Low Wee Wern, her path was planned when Nicol David won the 2001 Junior title in Penang.

How can we forget the glorious years when our national soccer team used to whip the daylights out of South Korea and Japan in the famous Merdeka Tournament, which was the idea of Tunku Abdul Rahman who was also responsible for the Merdeka Stadium being built in record time for the Merdeka celebrations.

The national team played in the 1972 Munich Olympics and again qualified in 1980 for the Moscow Games, but boycotted the Games for political reasons.

It was not only soccer that Malaysia excelled in but we had the likes of Wong Peng Soon and Eddy Choong dominating the All-England badminton championships from 1950-57, while Tan Aik Huang won in 1966. Malaya also dominated the Thomas Cup from 1949 to win thrice (1949, 1952, 1955) and then again in 1967, before last winning the cup in 1992.

We had the likes of Datuk Dr M. Jegathesan and Ishtiaq Mubarak reaching great heights in athletics in the Olympics. And who can forget the electrifying 1975 World Cup hockey semifinals played at the Merdeka Stadium where Malaysia achieved its best outing in the championship.

Happy Merdeka everyone...

HUMPTY DUMPTY WANNA BE

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horses,

And all the king's men,

Couldn't put Humpty together again

That will be the appropriate way to describe FAM's decision to make minor changes to the M-League after such a hue and cry over the past three months. It was a royal command that initiated the changes in the first place but to be honest there is nothing positive that has come out of it.

The requirement to have deposits in FAM is nothing new, and while teams did this in the past, they had a tough time getting their money back from FAM after the ruling was scrapped. As so far as the deposit is concerned, it is a sham as all the states have to do is ask FAM to retain it from the subsidy they are to receive from FAM, so there goes that regulation.

MALAYSIAN CONNECTION TO CARDIFF

PROPERTY tycoon Dato Chan Tien Ghee could be the businessman who ends the mysterious Langston link to Cardiff City.

The Bluebirds owe Langston £15m as part of the club’s £24m debt – and Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale (left) believes getting Malaysian magnate Dato Chan on board will play a significant part in City’s future.

Though yesterday’s developments only went as far as announcing a “strategic marketing alliance with [Dato Chan’s] Football Focus Asia”, Ridsdale believes the partnership will eventually go much further than that.

“We think this is a huge coup for this football club, it really is,” said Ridsdale.

“We know that they have talked to other football clubs in the past about such an alliance and such an investment.

“Having discussed the way we need to repay the debt, we have a great opportunity here.

“The deal will almost certainly include sponsorship and we are already talking about shirt sponsor, stadium naming rights and an investment.

“But I must stress you don’t do things overnight.

“It’s a case of them trusting us and getting to know what we are all about.

“But the Far East market is one of the largest in the world, representing over half the world’s population, and their appetite for football is already proven.”

Already christened ‘TG’ by Ridsdale, Dato Chan is expected to be a special guest at one of Cardiff’s Championship fixture next month.

It is understood the tycoon is keen to see the new Cardiff City Stadium in all its glory and take the opportunity to conduct more talks that could firm up potential sponsorship streams.

But Dato Chan’s business links in Malaysia may be as crucial to securing investment at City as his own personal wealth.

His partner on the $700m Lido Boulevard Waterfront City project in Johor is one of the richest men in Malaysia.

Vincent Tan is worth an estimated $1.3bn and is Malaysia’s ninth richest person, according to the Forbes rich list.

Property investments in Vietnam, which have jumped in value this year, propelled Tan to billionaire status and onto the Forbes rich list.

Lawyer businessman Dato Chan’s links to the Malaysian establishment is given away in his title – Dato is a title which roughly corresponds to the British knighthood.

It can be granted by the ruler or governor in each Malaysian state and is an honorary, non-hereditary title.

The development he is leading at Johor, on the banks of the Straits of Johor, is massive.

It covers 122 acres and will include a 2.4 km boardwalk along Lido Beach, possessing four main components – luxury condominiums, waterfront office suites, a hotel and a shopping mall.

BLOG ON HOCKEY

With no dedicated hockey website on Malaysian Hockey, I am creating this blog , www.malaysianhockey.blogspot.com,to provide readers with an option to read stories on hockey, be it domestic or worldwide. The purpose is to provide info to hockey fans in the country as the governing bodies, be it men, women or the combined body may have their website but remain largely dormant. I will try to upload news from all over the world, news that affects Malaysia and at the same time provide updates on the domestic scene. Thus I hope when one lifts stories from this blog, they will have the decency to credit the blog as well. Wish me luck as I do not earn a single cent from doing this but it is passion for sports that drives me.

MIXED DOUBLES COACH DOWN WITH H1N1?

A Malaysian mixed doubles badminton coach at the World Championships is suspected to have contracted the Influenza A(H1N1).

The coach, believed to be Jeremy Gan, arrived in Hyderabad several days ago was tested negative for the H1N1 initially.

However as he had yet to recover, he has been admitted to the Chest Hospital in Erragadda, about 10km from the Gawchibowli Stadium and results of his second test will be known later today.

Two Malaysian journalists who were to cover the World Champs did not make the trip as the employers felt that the H1N1 threat was serious enough to keep them home. Looks like the decision proved to be right.