Malaysia v Lebanon

Malaysia has an “good” chance of reaching the third round of 2012 London Olympics men’s football tournament after being pitted against Lebanon in one of the few interesting match-ups at the draw conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday.

Another interesting battle to come out of the draw was between arch-rivals Iraq, who made it to the semi-finals of the 2004 Athens Olympics, and Iran who reached the quarter-finals of the 1976 games in Montreal.

In the world ranking, Malaysia is ranked 128 while Lebanon is at 169. While the ranking is for the senior teams, it however can be seen as an indication of the standard of the game in bothe the countries.

Eleven teams, who have qualified from Round 1, joined 13 direct entrants into the second round. The teams will be divided into 12 groups and will play home-and-away on June 19 and June 23.

Japan, who have appeared eight times in the Olympics men’s football tournament, will host Kuwait in the first leg on June 19 before playing in Kuwait City four days later.

DPR Korea, who won both AFC U-19 and U-16 Championships last year, will meet UAE while Australia will face Yemen in the second round.

Asia were allotted 3.5 slots for the 2012 London Olympics men’s football tournament.

The 12 winners from Round 2 will be divided into three groups of four teams each in the third round.

Again, a home-and-away format from September 21, 2011, to March 14, 2012, will determine the winners who will represent the continent in the Olympics.

Three second-placed teams from the third round will clash in a playoff at a centralized venue from March 25 to 29, 2012, and the winners of this group will meet the representatives of CAF for a berth in the Olympics.

2nd ROUND MATCH-UPS

Qatar vs India
Iraq vs Iran
Bahrain vs Thailand
Australia vs Yemen
Japan vs Kuwait
Syria vs Turkmenistan
DPR Korea vs UAE
Korea Republic vs Jordan
Uzbekistan vs Hong Kong
Saudi Arabia vs Vietnam
China vs Oman
Lebanon vs Malaysia

Lawatan Ke Cambodia oleh Presiden FAM

KDYMM Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah telah mengadakan perjumpaan dengan Perdana Menteri Kemboja, Hun Sen di Istana Persahabatan di Phnom Penh hari ini.

KDYMM Sultan Haji Ahmad, Presiden Persatuan Bolasepak Malaysia (FAM), berada di Phnom Penh dalam rangka lawatan kerja selama tiga hari. Baginda dan rombongan tiba di ibu negara Kemboja itu, semalam.

Turut hadir di perjumpaan itu ialah Timbalan Presiden FAM, KDYTM Tengku Abdullah Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, Duta Malaysia ke Kemboja, Datuk Haji Mohd Hussein Datuk Pangiran Haji Mohd Tahir dan Setiausaha Agung FAM, Dato' Azzuddin Ahmad.

KDYMM Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah dan Perdana Menteri Kemboja itu berbincang berbagai isu terutamanya perkembangan bolasepak serantau. Perjumpaan itu berlangsung selama satu jam.

KDYMM Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah juga mengunjungi Raja Kemboja, Putera Norodom Sihamoni di Istana DiRaja di Phnom Penh untuk satu pertemuan singkat sebelum berangkat untuk satu perjumpaan dengan kepimpinan Persekutuan Bolasepak Kemboja (FFC) di Hotel Raffles Le Royal

TALENTED BUNCH

A bunch of “very talented” individual polo players carry Malaysia’s hopes and aspirations for a historic place in the FIP Polo World Cup Finals scheduled to be held in San Luis, Argentina in October.

Malaysia, despite being one of Asia’s most established polo nations, has never made it to the FIP World Cup Finals. And as recently as two months ago the national polo team assembled to carry the country’s challenge looked “lost and chaotic”.

But all that has changed and today Malaysia look positive for a top three finish in the eight-team FIP Polo World Cup Zone D qualifier that will be played at three historic polo clubs – the Royal Pahang Polo Club (established in 1926), the Royal Selangor Polo Club (1902) and the Putrajaya Equestrian Park (2005) from June 11-26.

National polo skipper Shaik Reismann, the only Malaysian player with World Cup experience, having played for Singapore in India in 2000, summed it up all when he said “today we (Malaysia) are a strong unit with lots of confidence” that is capable of finishing in the top three for a place in the Finals.

Apart from Malaysia, the other teams vying for a ticket to Argentina are Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Nigeria and Singapore.

“I do admit that with the likes of Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and even Pakistan - all strong polo playing nations, - we are in a very tough zone (Qualifier). This makes us nervous but the only way to overcome this is to be positive.

“It was haywire when we got together as a team. As recently as two months ago we were still chaotic. But all that has changed now. We have talented individual polo players who have moulded well into a strong unit with lots of confidence,” said Shaik

“Right now you can see a lot of chemistry between the players. This is certainly a plus point for the team. From March onwards we will increase our training tempo as the tournament draws nearer.

“Every player has a role to play. On top of that we need to be very disciplined and fully focused. And we are not lacking in this field. I am pleased and happy with the way everyone is carrying out his duties.”

Shaik picked Australia South Africa and New Zealand as the front runners in the Qualifier but in the same breath pointed out that every team, including Malaysia, is good as any other. In short, we cannot underrate our rivals.

“It is going to be a very tough and physical tournament. We are also keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will hold out. The weather is the worst nightmare in polo. If it rains, it will be hard on the teams,” added Shaik, who plays with a +3 Handicap.

Shaik, who has worked as a racehorse trainer, is also a horse dentist and has been a professional polo player since 2006. A three-time winner of the Thai Polo Open, apart from winning the SEA Games gold medal in polo in 2007 in Korat, Shaik has also won many medium and high goal tournaments in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.

As hosts, the Royal Malaysian Polo Association wants to ensure that Malaysia stages an outstanding (Qualifier) tournament that FIP can be proud of to enhance Malaysia’s hopes as serious contender to host the 2014 FIP World Cup Finals.