Thursday August 19, 2010
Ipoh Lads on a roll
By RONNIE OH north@thestar.com.my
IPOH Lads firmly engraved their name on the Crystal Trophy for the second successive year when they retained the Penang Sports Club International Hockeyfest title.
In the nine-a-side tournament, specially designed for veterans aged 40 and above, the Ipoh outfit showed that their glorious march last year was not a fluke when the curtains came down on the 14th edition of the annual showdown hosted by PSC.
The one-day tournament, held at the club’s greens on Jalan Utama recently, saw Ipoh Lads stopping 12 teams in this year’s challenge.
Ipoh Lads, who had stopped the Royal Selangor Club veterans in the finals last year, did likewise in what could be described as a repeat final showdown.
This time, they again made the Klang Valley outfit play the bridesmaid’s role by stopping their gallant march with a 2-0 win in their final showdown to put their hands on the trophy for the second time.
Debutants Liquorice All Sorts from Kuala Lumpur took the third spot after edging Club Aman of Selangor in a sudden death shootout.
Both teams, who were deadlocked at 1-1 at the full time of the playoff, were again tied three a piece on penalty strokes before Liquorice made one more count in the sudden death decision.
Organising chairman Baljit Singh was elated with the 14th edition of their Veteran’s International challenge which he described as having ended on a highly successful note.
“It is always a great joy to see teams coming back for more and taking even bigger bites at the tournament.
“And for us to be able to feature all the 11 teams which took part last year is indeed heartwarming,” he said.
To top it off, they also managed to parade two new teams in Kuala Lumpur outfits — Sathya Hockey Club and Liquorice All Sorts — where the latter finished third.
It goes to show that they were here not just to make the numbers but to add more glamour to the tournament.
Baljit Singh was also pleased with Australia’s Harlequins of Perth for making a special effort to feature in the event.
Penang Sports Club’s challenge, however, ended in disappointment again when they failed to make the semi-finals by a whisker.
The home club, who were eager to improve their performance after failing to get past the preliminary round last year, again paraded two teams in the annual challenge.
PSC Eagles did look set to make it happen and were just 10 seconds away from a semi-final slot when Club Aman’s Rajit Aka Tut-Tut shattered their dreams when he struck with the all important goal, cleverly making an overhead flick into goal.
However, he ran out of luck when his penalty stroke against Liquorice All Sorts in their third placing playoff was stopped by goalkeeper Kirpal Singh.
The hockey fest ended on a high note with hosts PSC throwing a sumptuous dinner, with the teams, supporters and guests entertained by the famous Penang belly dancers.
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