Final Day of the 2007 Malaysian National Handball League

Blogger's thoughts :

Here I am. Back to routine in Penang. Slightly disappointed that we lost our semi-final game against KL Stars by 2 goals. Would the outcome have been different if the referees had called the game better? Or if only we had converted those easy goals? Stepping on the 6 meter line? What a stupid mistake! TWICE!! ( haha I'm referring to myself here ) Anyway what is done is done.It was good fun while it lasted. Bronze..3rd best in the country are we?

KL Stars are the national champions of 2007.

They won the title in a tough match against Kinta. I have to say that as an observer, KL Stars were the better team. They played hard and defended tough. Their goalkeeper made a number of excellent reflex saves with his feet. Kinta on the other hand were a bit softer on defense. They allowed the same KL Star player to score from nearly the exact same spot the same way a number of times. By the time Kinta man-marked him it was a bit too late. I have to say here though that Kinta's defensive methods on occasion caused a number of us to raise an eyebrow or two. There were a few incidences of grabbing from behind and pulling the opponent's throwing arm that were missed by the referees.

All in all, it was a good day. The standard of refereeing improved over the last few league games. It was obvious during the semi-finals and finals. That being said, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Many dubious calls were made. Many offenses went unpunished. Again it is easy for us to be critical when we are not the ones being scrutinized. One thing though is that the referees have displayed a willingness to learn. This in itself is a sign of better things to come. We can only hope that it will not stagnate.

Kudos to Cempaka Handball Team and Magnasoul. I think these are the two teams that have shown improvement over the duration of the league.

I can't comment on the women's games. Wasn't there to observe many of them. Not sure who this year's champions are. ( Anyone want to update? )

In conclusion I would say that Malaysians are playing better handball. This is not to say that our standard of play has improved. It is more because the referees are getting better. The game has become cleaner. I make this comment not as an expert but only as someone who has been in Europe and observed the different levels there. A lot more has to be done before we can even think of competing in the Asian region. Mr. Karel Modou has recommended a grassroot training and development programme of at least 7 years before we can even hope to see fruit. What will happen I wonder?

Thanks lots to Mr. Ng Num Thiam who played a big part in organizing the 2007 Malaysian National Handball League.

Pictures :

Vanilla Stars after their last match

With Ferdi and Louis the CRAZY Frenchman - who uses his umbrella indoors!

Vanilla Stars
( missing in action are : Thomas, Nicholas, Gonzague, Guilliame )
With Dato' Sieh Kok Chi ( in white T-shirt ), Mr. Karel Madou ( in orange t-shirt ), Dato' Hj. Suhaimi B. Hj. Yaakub ( in light orange shirt )

Note 1 : Dato' Sieh Kok Chi is the Secretary of OCM, Dato' Hj. Suhaimi is the Patron of the MHA.

Note 2 : Mr. Karel Madou - he is currently giving the Malaysian Handball Team a few training sessions before they leave for the Korat SEA Games. A little on Mr. Madou's background :

Karel (Cor) Madou (PT CSCS M.Ex.Sci): Born in the Netherlands, Karel studied German linguistics, physical education and physiotherapy, and worked for 12 years as a teacher before he switched to managing a wellness and physiotherapy practice. He was a successful national level powerlifter in the early 90’s, but originally came from a background in track and field. Since 2001 he has been working as a physiotherapist in a rehabilitation clinic in Switzerland and as a sports physiotherapist of a semi-professional handball team TV Endingen ( An elite handball team in the Swiss Handball League). He recently completed a Master of Exercise Science in ECU (Perth) in 2006. His research interest includes the physiological demands of team handball and the effects of whole body vibration on balance and stability in patients with multiple sclerosis.

I have had the pleasure of being acquainted with Mr. Madou albeit only for a short time. I think he brings vast experience to Malaysian Handball. With his background he is more than able to give us a complete view on the aspect of handball training. From physical training right down to playing on the court. Many of us don't realize that preparing for a tournament takes months if not years of conditioning, both physically and mentally. Knowing what to do or how to perform a drill is not enough. More importantly is knowing how far we can push our bodies to achieve peak performance and the correct methods of doing so.

Mr. Madou is leaving Malaysia on the 10th of July. Hope the MHA will be able to glean as much knowledge from him as possible before he leaves.

TV Endingen

P.S. Won't be blogging too much in the next few months. Gotta concentrate on my studies. A few more weeks in Family Medicine, then it is 2 months of Psychiatry and another 2 months of Obstetrics & Gyneacology. Major end-of-year examinations in December.

Vanilla Stars - Match Reports

Again the match reports done up by Ferdinand O.

Hi Vanilla Stars,

Today was the big day of the Malaysian National Handball League 2007. 

The Malaysian Handball Champion 2007 for men and women will be crowned 

today.

With meeting the KL Star team in the semi-final we had a big task in 

front of us as they are the defending champions. The semi-final matches

were played on a 2 x 10 mins modus and our match was scheduled for 8am 

already, which ment we had to be in full speed mode from the first 

minute. And so we did.

Our defence was strong and we were able to neutralize their left 45

 with 

his dangerous distance shots. Ferdinand D. openend the scoring for us 

and we started with a 1:0 lead. Though KL Star was able to equalize and

to take a 2:1 lead which soon equalized by us. KL Star again went one 

ahead to which we responded with two goals in a row and took a 4:3 lead

into halftime.

KL Star got a better start into the second half and some of our

 distance 

shots got safed by the goalkeeper. KL Star used this  opportunity to 

extend their lead and with only one goal in the second half we were not

able anymore to turn around the match. Finally KL Star won 7:5 and made

it into the final. For use was the match for 3rd and 4th left.

Team and scoreboard: Ferdinand D. 2, Ferdinand O., Remi 1, Louis,

 Romain 

2, Han, Simon, Vincent, Nikesh, Ingwar

In the match for the bronze medal we met the Harun Boy team who lost in

the other semi-finals against Kinta. Again our defense was strong and

 we 

were able to take the lead from the beginning. With Louis and Ferdinand

D. using their physical fire powers from the back we started scoring

 and 

lead soon 2:0. Though with their fast and unorthodox play Harun Boys 

were always a threat. After Ferdinand O. got a 2 minutes penalty Harun 

Boys were able to reduce the difference to 1 goal (4:3). Though soon we

extended our lead again and went into the break with a 7:4 score. In

 the 

second half we controled the game and were able to find the gaps in the

defense from Harun Boys. Especially the play with the pivot Ferdinand

 O. 

became more and more effective and we scored several goals from the 

circle. With a 13:8 victory we secured the 3rd place of the Malaysian 

Handball Championship.

Team and scoreboard: Ferdinand D. 4, Ferdinand O. 4, Remi, Louis 2, 

Romain, Han 2, Simon 1, Vincent, Nikesh, Ingwar

Special thanks to Nikesh who helped us out as the goalkeeper for this 

two matches.

Besides the medals we also got a  RM250 price money. The plan is to use

it for a BBQ on 13. July. Make a note in your calender. More

 information 

about location and how will follow.

Great matches and a great fun today,

Thanks guys,

Ferdinand