Singapore hope to make stay in Razak Cup permanent  x4
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| Malaysia |
November 6, 2004 
The Star Online
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BY S. RAMAGURU
KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore are making a comeback to the Razak Cup hockey tournament after a lapse of eight years. This time they hope to make their stay a more permanent affair.
Singapore Hockey Federation (SHF) president Annabel Dhillon said they hope to become a permanent fixture in the tournament, as it will provide them with a good avenue to groom their young players.
We are glad to make a comeback to the Razak Cup. Im sure that our team, who have a lot of Under-21 players, will benefit from the experience. We are planning on a long term development programme starting next year.
The state teams in Malaysia are good opponents and this will help the team to play quality matches, she added.
Singapore have been drawn to play in Group B with the National Juniors, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Malacca. Group A comprises defending champions Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Johor, Pahang, Armed Forces and Penang.
The team is coached by their long time coach Ronnie Yeo. Former Indian skipper Jude Felix, who is also a member of their selection committee, has been appointed the team manager.
The Singaporeans will also use the Razak Cup tournament as preparation for a four-nation meet in Singapore next month. There will also be a similar meet for the women.
The men's draw will have Singapore playing against Bangladesh, Taiwan and Macau while the women's fixtures will have Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong in the fray.
The Razak Cup team will play in the four-nation meet and this will be a good preparation for them. The players are still very inexperienced.
We hope to get the retired senior players back in the team as most of them are still young. They had to quit the national team because of work commitments.
The Razak Cup in many ways is the start of a new era for us. Hopefully we will see some good times coming our way, said Annabel who took over the SHA presidency in July.
She said they are still hunting for a head coach to help with the overall development of the men's team.
But that will be later next year. Ronnie will handle the team for now. We have a head coach for the women's team. His task is not just to prepare the team but also help in upgrading our coaches as well. The men's squad will have a similar set up, she added.
The women's head coach is South Korean Park Young-jo who was instrumental in the rise of the Korean women in the late 80s.
He has been in Singapore for the last one and a half years.
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