PENANG: Kedah have a foot in the AFC Cup quarter-finals. But they are leaving nothing to chance in their final Group D fixture against leaders Home United of Singapore at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Star tonight.

They made a request for the services of two of their players in the national team preparing for the Inter-Continental Under-23 tournament Cup tournament, which will be played in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur, beginning tomorrow.

National coach B. Sathianathan agreed to release winger Badrul Baktiar but rejected Kedah’s request for striker Mohd Khyril Muhymeen.

Kedah coach Mohd Azraai Khor, who has successfully led the Canaries to retain the Super League title earlier this month, said yesterday: “We are not too disappointed that we will get only one player back to strengthen the side.

“For Khyril, we have able replacement to choose from in Saramsak Kram, Hasmawi Hassan and Shafiq Jamal. All of them have recovered from injuries.”

Azraai added that Kedah would also be out to salvage some lost pride after the 1-5 rout by Home United in the first-round match.

“The players are properly rested after the successful campaign in the Super League.

“ We want to show our superiority at home again and qualifying for the AFC Cup quarter-finals will give my young side more international exposure,” he said.

Perak, the other Malaysian team in the competition, are also in with a shot to reach the quarter-finals.

Coach Steve Darby’s side will be up against Group E leaders Singapore Armed Forces in their final preliminary round fixture tonight in Singapore.

Article source:

TheStar Sports

KUALA LUMPUR: Forward S. Selvaraju will get the chance to get his scoring act right again in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament, which begins tomorrow in Ipoh.

The Perak-born player has given inconsistent performances in previous tournaments. He scored three goals in the Champions Trophy in Kuala Lumpur last December and expectations were high on him to deliver the goods in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Japan last month. But he fired blanks.

Coach Sarjit said that he was disappointed with Selvaraju’s performance in Japan but has decided to give him a chance to bounce back on the goal-scoring trail.

“I have included him in the team because he is an experienced player and I hope he will be sharp in the tournament in Ipoh,” said Sarjit.

Off target: Selvaraju failed to score during the Olympic qualifying tournament in Japan last month.

Selvaraju thanked Sarjit for keeping faith in him.

“I was really disappointed with my game in Japan and I promise to play much better and deliver the goals in the Sultan Azlan tournament,” he said.

Selvaraju made his national senior team debut in the tournament in Ipoh last year but failed to put his name on the score sheet.

The Tenaga Nasional employee said that he would definitely go all out to end his goal drought in the tournament.

“I will be playing in my home state and the pressure will be on me to perform. My only fear is aggravating my hamstring injury, which I suffered early last year,” said Selvaraju, who has 27 international caps to his credit.

The other forwards in the team are Chua Boon Huat, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Ismail Abu and Mohd Amirullah Abdul Aziz.

The national team will have two days of training in Ipoh before they take on Pakistan in the opening match tomorrow.

The other teams in the fray are Argentina, Canada, Belgium, India and New Zealand. Four of them – Pakistan, Canada, Belgium and New Zealand – will feature in the Beijing Olympics in August.

In last year’s tournament, Malaysia were beaten 1-3 by Australia in the final. The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) have set a target for the team to reach the final again.

Article Source:

http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2008/5/7/sports/21169071&sec=sports