Former champs set early pace at U-16 tournament

Former champions Perak, Terengganu and Kelantan set the early pace in the national Under-16 hockey championships, chalking up their second straight wins at the Seremban II Hockey Stadium here yesterday.

Perak defeated Selangor 2-0 in a Group A match while Terengganu beat Penang 2-1 in Group B. Kelantan, who are also in Group A, beat Pahang 4-1.

For Selangor, the defeat was a big blow after having started with a 1-0 victory over defending champions Kuala Lumpur. They conceded the two goals in the first half — to Mohamed Fitri Ismail (18th) and Mohamed Soffian Kamaruddin (21st).

Perak, who were champions in 2007, will play KL today in a crucial match in which they could seal an early place in the semi-finals.

KL bounced back from the opening-match defeat to beat Perlis 4-1 with Mohamed Nor Akmal Ghaffar scoring all the goals for them from penalty corner set pieces (sixth, 15th, 68th and 70th). The scorer for Perlis was Mohamed Khairul (27th).

Terengganu rode on two early goals to down Penang. Mohamed Firhan Azhari scored a brace in the third and 11th minute from field attempts.

Penang, who defeated hosts Negri Sembilan 5-2 on Sunday, hit back in the 15th minute through Mohamed Redhwan Jaafar but the equaliser eluded them.

Last year’s runners-up Singapore, who drew with Kedah 2-2 in the opening match, hauled themselves back into contention for a semi-final berth with a 4-0 win over Johor. The scorers were Mohamed Azahari Othman (2), Mohamed Sidek Sa’aman and Kerisaf Sani Abdullah.