KUALA LUMPUR: Perak’s two representatives in the Malaysia Junior Hockey League (MJHL) – SM Anderson and Ipoh City Council (ICC) – have decided to join forces to mount a serious challenge for the Division One crown this year.
Both Anderson and ICC played in Division One last year. Anderson , a regular since the MJHL started in 1995, finished fifth while ICC ended up in ninth spot.
The Anderson-ICC team are now hoping that the joint talent and financial effort will prove beneficial. The team will be coached by ICC’s Dalbir Singh and Anderson’s Mohamed Nizam Mohamed Hashim.
Assistant team manager Whinisten David Sager, an ICC representative, lauded the move.
“We had a young team in the fray last year. We were lucky to play in Division One as we finished third in Division Two in 2009. Sabah, who were the runners-up, did not take part and their place was given to us,” said Whinisten.
“But this time our bosses wanted us to look at a joint team with Anderson to put up a stronger team. It’s a good move,” added Whinisten.
The Anderson-ICC team will have three key players from the 2017 Project (National Under-16) squad to spearhead their challenge. They are the Project team skipper Mohamed Najib, Ashran Hamsani and Asril Misron.
“We are not going to set any specific target. Our aim is to finish as high as possible. We want to put up a creditable show. The bulk of the players will come from SM Anderson,” said Whinisten.
Anderson-ICC are probably taking the cue from Bandar Penawar Sports School joining forces with Tenaga Nasional. The two sides combined to form BPSS-Thunderbolt and they won the title for the last two years to end Bukit Jalil Sports School’s (BJSS) domination.
The merger of Anderson-ICC means there will be one team fewer in the MJHL, which begins on Jan 19.
The closing for entries is Friday. The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC), however, are still hoping to have 24 teams – the same number as last season.
But there are indications that a few new entries, like Sapura, are expected to sign up. A number of teams who skipped the league last year are also expected to make a return.
SUMBER : THE STAR.COM
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