SHAH ALAM, 1 Feb – With just 11 days away before the Selangor Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024 (SELBATC 2024) gets underway, tickets for the week-long tournament which begins on 13 February at the Setia City Convention Centre (SCCC) here, are selling fast.

According to the organisers, fans can choose to watch the top-notch continental tournament live at the venue from the three categories of tickets which are now on sale.

Premier 1 category tickets are priced at RM75 for each Day 1, Day 2 or Day 3, while the Combo 3-day Pass (for Day 1 to 3) is priced at RM 200.

The Premier II category tickets for the quarterfinals, semifinals and final matches with the price ranging from RM110 to RM200.

For die-hard fans who wish to watch and experience all the action at the venue from Day 1 to 6, they can opt for the Championship All Day Pass with a price of RM580.

To purchase tickets, please go to: https://selbatc2024.com

A total of 26 teams, 15 men and 11 women are down for action with the participation of some of the big names including former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, Ng Ka Long (Hong Kong China), H.S. Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth (India), the Satchi pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Chetty, Kento Momota, Kenta Nishimoto (Japan), Seo Seung Jae and Kim Won Ho (Korea).

Host Malaysia, determined to make up for their disappointing results in last month’s Petronas Malaysia Open, are parading its best line-up with Lee Zii Jia leading the cast, Ng Tze Yong and top doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin in the men’s competition.

The Badminton Asia Team Championships is among the biggest badminton events held under the sanction of Badminton Asia (BA), the governing body for badminton in Asia, currently represented by 43 member associations from five sub-regions across Asia.

This will be the third time that the Championships is hosted in Malaysia. The first was held in Alor Setar, followed by Selangor in 2022.

MEN’S TEAM

GROUP A: (1) China, India, Hong Kong China

GROUP B: (4) Malaysia, Chinese-Taipei, Kazakhstan, Brunei

GROUP C: (3) Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar

GROUP D: (4) Indonesia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia

WOMEN’S TEAM

GROUP W: (1) China, India

GROUP X: (4) Indonesia, Hong Kong China, Kazakhstan

GROUP Y: (3) Thailand, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates

GROUP Z: (2) Japan, Chinese Taipei, Singapore

(Numbers in brackets denote seedings)

KUALA LUMPUR, 9 Jan – Thirteen tournament victories and multiple national representations were among the success stories of 12 junior golfers who received their Certificate of Excellence awards from the Toyota Tour Elite Junior Programme (TTEJP) last Thursday.

The inception of the TTEJP last year churned out results above expectations through a comprehensive eight-week national talent programme that included performance training, technical training and tournament exposure.

Lim Hao Yu, Adif Haikal, Ammar Aiman, Ajmal Amin, Ammer Aiman, Wan Hasrul Daniel, Putri Natasha, Aarthi Ganesan, Andrea Chin, Nur Ain Qistina, Eireen Syafeeya and Soniya Chandra were the 12 junior golfers who received their Certificate of Excellence at the MST Golf Arena at The Gardens Mall.

Of the lot, Adif was one of the standout performers after the 16-year-old bagged four tournament victories during the TTEJP duration.

The teenager, who also posted the joint lowest under-par score of 66, testified how the programme changed his outlook on the game, while also helping to elevate his short game and course management.

“The course management helped me to achieve better scores, and the introduction of the fitness regime and physiotherapy helped me build fitness and manage my body condition better.

“Playing against the pros was also a priceless experience. In my first tournament, I did well by finishing in the top-23 and it is an experience I will cherish.

“This programme has helped improve my overall game which I am grateful for,” said Adif, who picked up the sport after hitting a great shot at the driving range when he was 10 which impressed his dad to buy him his first golf set the same day.

For Andrea Chin, learning how to chip in tough conditions turned out to be one of her biggest assets as the Penangite racked up two title triumphs at the Sports Excel Premier and MGA Presidents Cup during her stint with the TTEJP.

The 16-year-old, who also notched the biggest handicap improvement among the junior golfers from 8 to 2, wants to use this exposure to apply for a full scholarship to pursue college golf in the United States.

“Golf is a fantastic sport that improves your mental and physical wellbeing, and I would like to encourage all young people to give it a try,” she said.

Some of the training regimes allowed these aspiring professionals to improve their ball striking quality, swing dynamics, short game technique and optimise their game strategy.

Besides that, the TTEJP also incorporated technologies that spurred the golfers’ progress.
A 3D Motion Technology evaluated their club and body movement, while a launch monitor provided club and ball data.

High speed cameras with Swing Catalyst software were also equipped to give the players a total swing analysis for improvement.

As a result, these juniors began to stamp their mark big time in tournaments.
During the TTEJP, a total of eight golfers won 13 tournaments both on the domestic and international scene.

During this period, 11 of them also posted as many runner-up finishes. Statistics back their achievements, with 67 percent of players improving their handicap after they were roped
into the TTEJP, while 80 percent of them recorded an improvement on their average score.

The coaches were rated excellent by the students, who also felt the eight-week programme duration sufficed to enhance their game.

TTEJP Programme Director Chris Marrs was elated with the golfers’ success in the short span of time.

“We only had four months with eight weeks of guiding these junior golfers, and despite that we achieved many podium finishes. The achievement of the group as a whole was impressive, especially the players improved average scoring by an impressive reduction of 33 strokes and a combined total of 16.1 Handicap reduction.

“This is truly impressive for top level players. Besides that, 10 of these 12 golfers represented their country during the programme period. All these were results above our expectations,” said Marrs, an Elite Master Instructor and Head of Junior Development Programme at MST Golf Academy.

The TTEJP does not plan on resting on its laurels and aims to continue making strides for the benefits of these players.

This includes expanding the programme to a one-year period, managing players schedule and tournament logistics and introducing an alumni group from last year to motivate the class of 2024.

The TTEJP is a programme of the Toyota Tour aimed at accelerating the next generation of golf champions and delivered by MST Golf Academy.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 – Malaysia’s men’s over 60s team dispatched Japan 5-1 for the gold medal in the final of the World Masters Hockey (WMH) Asian Championships 2023 at the Hong Kong Football Club on Sunday.

It was the second consecutive victory for the 60s team in the WMH Asian Championships following their effort in South Korea two years ago.

The 60s team had thrived from the start to take the lead through team captain Dato’ Seri Surinder Singh Dhaliwal in the 10^th minute via a penalty corner conversion but Japan stormed back in seconds to restore the tie.

Hiroshi Yasukura sneaked the ball past goalkeeper Rohayudin Abdul Rashid from a goalmouth melee, which restored some level of confidence in the Japanese team.

But that was as far as the Japanese could go to halt the Malaysian juggernaut. The Surinder-led Malaysia team slowly built their attack through Inderjit Tara Singh and former Olympian Soon Mustafa Karim who scored a brace each that eventually led to Japan’s downfall.

Inderjit scored in the 12^th and 15^th minutes from a penalty corner conversion and field goal respectively while Soon Mustafa, who competed in the 1984 Los Angeles and 1992 Barcelona Olympics, converted a penalty stroke in the 45^th minute and field goal three minutes later.

The Malaysians had in total 15 penalty corner opportunities and Japan had four throughout the match.

The celebration bells did not stop there. The men’s 40s side, struggling 1-5 by the 35^th minute, overturned the tables on Hong Kong in an exciting final before defeating their opponents 7-6 for the gold medal.

The comeback kings and steely 40s team deserve all the accolades and bouquets for their gigantic effort which without doubt left their opponents wondering what had hit them in this 13-goal thriller match.

“It was an incredible performance from the 40s team. They played their hearts out for this marvellous victory. We were down 1-5 and the players stunned their opponents with good hockey,” said Dato’ Seri Surinder.

“There was so much of joy in our contingent when the 40s team came from behind to register this astonishing win. It was near impossible but they proved everyone wrong with their gutsy performance.”

In the final analysis, Malaysia won two gold medals and one silver in the Asian championships.

Forward and former national player Iman Gobinathan nailed a hat-trick, V. Vasandan scored a brace while Keevan Raj and Prabhu scored one goal each.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian men’s 50s team’s hopes of emulating their 40s and 60s team feats were dashed when they lost 0-1 in the final against Hong Kong and will return home with a silver medal.

Feroz Khan had laid the foundation for Hong Kong’s victory with a 48^th-minute penalty corner conversion after fumbling a penalty stroke attempt in the second quarter.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 – A dominant Malaysia’s men’s 50s team roared back to winning ways with a 9-1 mauling of Japan and in the process to set up an epic final showdown against Hong Kong in the World Masters Hockey (WMH) Asian Championships 2023 on Saturday.

The gutsy 50s veterans’ team will be joined in Sunday’s finals by the 40s and 60s teams also who had qualified much earlier.

The 40s team will face Hong Kong, while the 60s will go up against Japan at the Hong Kong Sports Club.

“We are excited to have met our target of all our three teams qualifying for the final,” said Dato Seri Surinder Singh Dhaliwal, the Tournament Director for Malaysia.

“There were ups and downs in some matches, but we stayed on course in our mission. The 50s team deserve every accolade. They fought back gallantly in their last two matches and surprised everyone to make it to the final. We must now maintain our momentum and work hard towards winning the championship,” added Dato Seri Surinder.

Like a twist from a Harry Potter film series, the 50s team had earlier went agonizingly close to being eliminated after basking at the bottom rung of the group standings with two consecutive defeats and a draw.

But their fortunes took a turn for the better following victories over South Korea 5-0 on Friday and now Japan to finish third in the six-team table standings, and shared eight equal points with Singapore. Hong Kong lead the table standings with 12 points.

The Singaporeans needed to beat Korea by 17 goals in their last match to deny the Malaysians of a slot in the final. They, however, miserably fell short in their mission as they won 10-2.

The match statistics showed Japan had 10 penalty corners and the Malaysians three.

Harcharanjit Sundar scored four goals to take his individual goal tally to seven while Albert Khoo, Louis Gregory, Mohd Noor Saad, R. Chandrasekar and Kulwant Singh added to the Japanese misery.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian 40s team went down 1-5 against Hong Kong in their last group match played today.

It was the first defeat by the Malaysians in four matches and go second in the table standings with nine points while Hong Kong stays on top with 12 points followed by Singapore (4), Hong Kong SoM (4) and Bangladesh (0).

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 – A goal by Dato’ Seri Surinder Singh Dhaliwal in the final moments of the fourth quarter saw the Malaysian men’s 060 team pull off a 3-2 victory over Southern Cross SoM (Spirit of Masters) in the World Masters Hockey (WMH) Asian Championships 2023 at the Hong Kong Sports Club on Friday.

It was the second time the 60s Malaysian side, captained by Inderjit Tara, defeated the Australians with back-to-back wins. They had on Thursday won 5-3.

The Malaysians topped the standings with nine points and progressed to Sunday’s final for a showdown against Japan for the gold medal.

The Japanese had stunned Hong Kong with a 4-2 victory in the elimination round encounter.

The first quarter saw Southern Cross step up the intensity and Brett Picknell scored from a field goal four minutes into the game for a 1-0 lead.

Shamsul Abdullah, however, restored parity for his side in the 14^th minute via a penalty corner conversion.

Sarjit Singh celebrated his 61^st birthday with a penalty corner conversion in the 31^st minute, extending the score to 2-1 – taking his personal goal tally to 10 in the tournament, but the Australians rallied back in the third quarter for the equalizer through Mark Brookefield’s penalty corner strike in the 50^th minute.

The fourth quarter was much more open, but the Malaysians held their nerves and won a penalty corner in the 69^th minute.

Dato Seri Surinder finished the game with a brilliant shot as he put the ball into the net.

While the 060s team went through a nail-biting finish, their 040s counterparts flayed Hong Kong SoM 8-1.

With the Malaysians and Hong Kong sharing nine equal points from three matches, Saturday’s crucial match between both teams is of academic interest only as they will square off once again in Sunday’s final.

Hairul Nizam and V. Vasandan scored a brace for the Malaysians while Keevan Raj, Iman Gobinathan, Khairuddin and Prabhu contributed apiece. Rizwan Hassan scored for Hong Kong SoM.

In another men’s 040s match, Singapore trounced Bangladesh 13-1 for their first win in four matches. The Singaporeans are third in the points standings.

As for the Malaysian men’s 050s team, call it divine intervention or Lady Luck on their side. They defeated South Korea 5-0 and with 5 points in the bag surprisingly found themselves galloping to third spot in the table standings – five behind leader Hong Kong and Switzerland SoM who have 10 points each.

Harcharanjit Sundar slammed a hat-trick (11^th, 45^th and 47^th minutes), while Mohd Noor Saad (20^th) and Sukhdev Singh (68^th) scored a piece.

The Singaporeans are in fourth spot despite sharing five equal points with Malaysia, Japan hoover further down in fifth position (3 points) and South Korea at the bottom with zero points.

A simple margin win by the Malaysians over Japan in today’s last group match will catapult the Malaysians into Sunday’s final against Hong Kong as they would then have eight points.