[hang nadim] Malaysian Olympic squad beats Pakistan 2-0.....

SHAH ALAM: The Malaysian Olympic squad comfortably beat Pakistan 2-0 in their first leg 2012 Olympic Qualifier at the Shah Alam Stadium here Wednesday night.

Wan Zaharulnizam Wan Zakaria put Malaysia ahead in the third minute while Mohd Irfan Fazail scored the second in the 45th minute.

TEAMS:
MALAYSIA: Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, Mahalli Jasuli, Mohd Affize Faisal Mamat, Mohd Fadhli Mohd Shas, Mohd Muslim Ahmad, Mohd Fandi Othman (Muhammad Ferris Danial Mat Nasir), Mohd Irfan Fazail, Wan Zaharulnizam Wan Zakaria (Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor), K. Gurusamy, Ahmad Shakir Md Ali (S. Sivanesan), Ahmad Fakri Saarani.


PAKISTAN: Yousof Ejaz Butt (Muhammad Umer), Manzoor Ahmad, Ahsanullah, Alamgir Khan, Faisal Iqbal, Muhammad Adil, Muhammad Tauseef, Muhammad Rizwan Asif, Kaleemullah (Fahadullah Khan), Pathan Jadeed Khan (Saddam Hussain), Ansar Abbas.


Azizulhasni dapat kejutan terima jambangan bunga TPM

2011/02/24
JAGUH berbasikal trek negara, Mohd Azizulhasni Awang yang kini berada di Melbourne menjalani proses pemulihan akibat kecederaan ketika kejohanan di Manchester, baru-baru ini mendapat kejutan apabila menerima kiriman jambangan bunga dan buah-buahan daripada Timbalan Perdana Menteri.

Kiriman daripada Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin itu diterima sebaik tiba di rumahnya, semalam dari Manchester selepas selamat menjalani pembedahan mengeluarkan serpihan kayu yang tertusuk di betis kirinya akibat kemalangan ketika menyertai kejohanan Trek Berbasikal Siri Piala Dunia. “Saya baru tiba di rumah (Melbourne) dari Manchester. Kemudian ada orang hantar kiriman jambangan bunga dan buah-buahan. Bila saya baca kad yang disertakan, saya amat terkejut bila mendapati pengirimnya ialah Tan Sri Muhyiddin.

“Saya rasa berbangga dan terharu dengan keprihatinan Timbalan Perdana Menteri,” katanya dalam khidmat pesanan ringkas, semalam.

Sementara itu, Muhyiddin dalam kad kirimannya berkata: “Saya mendoakan Mohd Azizulhasni segera sembuh. Saya hargai semangat saudara yang tidak pernah mengenal erti mengalah bagi mengharumkan nama Malaysia di peringkat antarabangsa,”

Wednesday February 23, 2011

Young Tigers should nail opener against Pakistan
By ERIC SAMUEL

PETALING JAYA: The battle for places to the 2012 London Olympics football (Under-23) competition kicks off today.

A total of 35 teams from Asia are vying for the three-and-a-half slots and Malaysia are among 22 lower ranked teams involved in the home-and-away playoffs in Round One.

Malaysia’s opening game is against Pakistan in the first-leg match at the Shah Alam Stadium tonight (8.45pm) and barring any upsets Malaysia should get a positive result before the return-leg match at the Punjab Stadium in Lahore on March 9.

The national pre-Olympic squad or better known as the Harimau Muda ‘A’ boys under coach Ong Kim Swee are not expected to face much resistance against their lesser known opponents, who are popularly known for their crafty skills in hockey and cricket.

Stretching it: The Harimau Muda ‘A’ boys training at the Shah Alam Stadium yesterday. — SAMUEL ONG / The Star
Furthermore, there is depth in this Malaysian side. At least, half of the team are made up of players from the national squad, which include national number one goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, centre-backs Mohd Muslim Mohd, Mohd Fadhli Shas, right-back Mahali Jasuli, attacking midfielders K. Gurusamy and Mohd Faizal Abu Bakar and striker Ahmad Fakri Saarani.

The expectations of the fans are also high after the strong showing of Malaysian teams in recent times – winning the SEA Games (Under-23) gold in Laos in 2009, qualifying for the second round of the Asian Games (Under-23) in Guangzhou after 32 years and emerging champions in the Suzuki Cup Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championships last year.

It is a tall order for Kim Swee and his charges but there is a chance to be in the top 12 in Round 3 but to expect them to win a ticket to the 2012 London Olympics seems far-fetched.

“It is a long journey and we need to play consistent football for 10 matches before we can get a chance to vie for a place at the London Olympics,” said Kim Swee.

But their passage could get tougher. They might face bigger obstacles in Round Two when they are scheduled to play against one of the seeded teams like South Korea, Japan, China or Vietnam.

“We have a reasonable side and players with good experience and who have trained in Slovakia. We will take it one step at a time,” said Kim Swee.

It is more than three decades since Malaysia last won the ticket to play at the Olympics (Moscow 1980). Malaysia have qualified twice for the Olympics – Munich (1972) and Moscow (1980), which Malaysia chose to boycott.

The Round One winners will join the 13 highest ranked teams in Round Two and 12 teams will make it to the third round after playing home-and-away matches on June 19 and June 23.

In Round Three, the teams will be divided into three groups of four teams each.

They play a home-and-away format. The winners of each group will qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. All the second-placed teams will play in a round-robin format and the winner will take on Concacaf representative for a place in the Olympics.

The third round matches will be played between September and March 2012.