MHL : Defenders Baljit and Amin vying for top scorer award

Ernst and Young’s Baljit Singh Sarjab and Tenaga Nasional’s Mohd Amin Rahim are in the race for the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) top scorer’s award.

Both the national defenders have scored 12 goals each — from penalty corners.

The 21-year-old Baljit, who has 36 international caps to his credit, gets the chance to increase his tally in the final against Sapura at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium on Saturday.

He was the hero for Ernst and Young in the semi-final second-leg match against Maybank last Sunday, scoring the golden goal in the 76th minute to give the Division One champions a 3-2 aggregate win.

Tenaga, meanwhile, will bank on veteran Amin to deliver the goals against Maybank in the playoff for third place at the same venue on Saturday.

Ernst and Young will be out to nail the overall title after failing at the final hurdle on five previous occasions.

“I want to score on Saturday to help my team win the overall title for the first time. I also wants to win the top scorer’s award for the first time in MHL,” said Baljit, who has been with Ernst and Young since 2003.

Baljit has emerged as the top scorer before in other domestic competitions. He scored 23 goals for Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) to earn the award in the Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL) in 2006. In Division One of the Razak Cup last year, he scored 12 goals to help Johor win the title.

Ernst and Young will be gunning for a third title this season after their success in Division One of the MHL and the Asian Champion Clubs (ACC) tournament.

They will be playing against Sapura for the third time in the MHL. In the two matches in the leagues, they beat Sapura 2-1 and 2-0 and Baljit scored one of the goals in the first match.

“I am the top scorer of the team and in the final, the pressure will be on me to deliver goals,’’ said Baljit, who scored only one goal in the MHL last season.

The 28-year-old Amin said that he was disappointed for failing to help defending overall champions Tenaga reach the final.

“My mission now is to help Tenaga finish third and also to become the top scorer for the second time in the MHL,’’ said Amin, who was tops with 30 goals for Ernst and Young in 2006.