Azlan Tit Bits: Here and there

Part Two

Clock stopped working in the third match, which was indeed watched by full crowd. It stuck at 19.28 in the second half. Clock not working is a universal phenomenon it looks.

First time in the Azlan Shah competition, a rock band was invited to entertain the crowd. The band performed Famous rock star of Malaysia Rock Queen Ella was there for all the matches. The young starlet also visited the tiny media room in the half time. Each of us got a photo ops with the shining star.

Crowd was not good for India-China match, the stands swelled only for the third match, which was between Pakistan and Malaysia. The home must have returned happily as Malaysia held on the 3-1 lead for most part of the match.

Malaysia is preparing for the 2013 Junior World Cup very seriously. They have a Project 2013 in operation. All these boys were here for four, five days before the tournament started, and played a match against Korea, Australia and India. Only against India they could score a goal. Dr. Saju Joseph, who was with the men’s team for the 2004 Olympics is attached with the Project 2013 team. He says the young team missed a stroke, otherwise the scored would have been 3-2.

Pakistan manager Kwaja Md. Junaid says he has completed his biography, it may hit the stands anytime. It seems that in Pakistan, with the fortunes of the national team going down each passing day, the former greats have turned nostalgic, and are in a hurry to come out with their autobiographies. Only recently Islahuddin Siddiqui published his own, “Dash through my life’.

Jag is the Liaison officer for Indian team. He is a former Perak State coach. Jag, his full name Jagdeesan, is a Ceylonist, and is happy to be with the Indian team again. He was doing the same job last year also. They are nice guys, he said about Indian team.

Dot on first day the organizers came out with an official Souvenir Program. It is nicely, and differently done, far better in content and production than what the FIH has brought out for the last World Cup. This publication has photos of Sultan Azlan Shah as a hockey player when he represented his State team. Nice to see a vintage image where the present King of the State is holding a hockey stick and kneeling in the front row in a team shot. In 2007, the Souvenirs were taken back from us because the flag of India and Pakistan inter-changed, and they came to know of it after good number of copies were already circulated. No hiccups this time.