Latest news with #Sarjit
The Star
3 days ago
- General
- The Star
Speedy Tigers toughen up to push for honours at Nations Cup
Selangor men's hockey team in semifinals of MHC Hockey 5s.-KAMARUL ARIFFIN/ TheStar PETALING JAYA: The Speedy Tigers are setting a clear goal ahead of the FIH Nations Cup, which will be held from June 15-21 in Kuala Lumpur. They want to reach the semi-finals and then go all out. Having finished fourth in South Africa in 2022 and seventh in Gniezmo, Poland, last year, coach Sarjit Singh believes this time, with a stronger, more battle-hardened squad, the team are ready to make a serious push for honours. "We are going with 20 players, and we've built well this past year with 17 matches in 2024 and 11 already this year," said Sarjit. "The team are improving, especially after the tours in Australia and South Korea. It's fair to say we must qualify for the semi-finals. That's the minimum." The coach is counting on his forwards - Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal, Shello Silverius, Norsyafiq Sumantri, Muhajir Abdu Rauf and Akhimullah Anuar Esook - to convert more chances, especially from field goals, and has identified the need for additional penalty corner flickers to improve scoring efficiency. "Our forwards are creating chances, but we need to take more when it comes to penalty corners - 50 percent conversion would help us a lot. Syed (Syed Mohd Syafiq Syed Cholan) is one of our top penalty corner takers. If he performs, I hope he can break into the top four," he said. "We have scored 16 goals, 11 from field and five from penalty corners. We have to do better when it comes to defending penalty corners. In South Korea, we conceded 25 penalty corners, letting in five. We've to stop that." Malaysia's first game in the Nations Cup will be against Pakistan at the National Hockey Stadium on June 15, and Sarjit knows Malaysia have not had the best of results against them in recent years. "We drew 4-4 in the last Nations Cup and lost 4-5 to them in the Azlan Shah Cup. They have quality players like Abdul Rana, Hannan Shahid, and penalty corner flicker Sufyan Khan. They have come back stronger. We have to check these players closely." Sarjit also highlighted that teams like New Zealand, France, and South Africa bring Pro League-level intensity to the competition. "These are quality sides, and the matches will be tough. But with coaches like Sohail (Abbas) helping our keepers and us studying the opponent flickers via video, we're preparing well." NATIONS CUP SQUAD Goalkeepers: Hafizuddin Othman and Rafaizul Mohd Saini. Defenders: Marhan Jalil (captain), Syed Mohd Syafiq Syed Cholan, Faiz Helmi Jali, Amirul Hamizan Azahar, Faris Harizan, Andywalfian Jeffrynus, Arif Syafie Ishak and Syarmann Mat Tee. Midfielders: Fitri Saari, Nik Mohd Aiman Nik Rozemi, Shafiq Hassan, Mughni Mohd Kamal and Alfarico Lance Liau Jr. Strikers: Shello Silverius, Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal, Norsyafiq Sumantri, Muhajir Abdu Rauf and Akhimullah Anuar Esook.
New Straits Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Sarjit calls up Danish after Hafizuddin's injury in Jincheon
KUALA LUMPUR: National men's hockey coach Sarjit Singh is concerned with the goalkeeping department as Malaysia prepare for the Nations Cup at Bukit Jalil from June 15-21. First choice Hafizuddin Othman suffered a back injury during the five-match playing tour to Jincheon, South Korea from May 18-29. Hafizuddin, who has 112 international caps, suffered the injury in the third friendly. "Rafaizul Saini (ex-junior World Cupper) played in the fourth and fifth matches, but he was weak in defending penalty corners," said Sarjit. "I am concerned about the goalkeeping department and have called up another goalkeeper, Danish Afnan Faizal (who played in the 2023 Junior World Cup)." On the team's performance in Jincheon, Sarjit said: "Overall the players played well with a fast attacking game in all the five matches against the Koreans." World No. 13 Malaysia beat world No. 14 South Korea with identical scores of 4-1 in the first two matches, but drew the next two 5-5 and 1-1 before losing 4-2 in the fifth. The Speedy Tigers earned 23 penalty corners and converted five, while the Koreans converted five of 25 penalty corners. Malaysia are drawn in Group B of the Nations Cup with world No. 12 New Zealand, Pakistan (No. 15) and Japan (No. 16). Group A consists of world No. 9 France, South Africa (No. 11), South Korea (No. 14) and Wales (No.18).
Metro
22-05-2025
- Metro
Can this grainy 70s photo help police solve a missing person case?
Back in the summer of 2023, PC Shaun Reeve cracked open a cold case of a young woman who went missing nearly 50 years ago. With fresh eyes, he poured through the file looking for new clues in the hope he might be able to discover what happened to her all those decades ago. The case belonged to 20 year-old Sarjit Kaur Mann, an 'outstanding student' who had moved to Birmingham from India with her family and was studying maths at Birmingham University. In the Autumn of 1976, she went on a road trip to France with her brother and sister-in-law – but never returned home. Four days into their trip, on September 22, the trio visited a beach in the south of France, where Sarjit reportedly made friends with three European, white females. While her brother and sister in law headed back to England two days later on 24 September, the 'reserved and sensible' Sarjit chose to delay her return until 27 September to continue sightseeing. That was the last time any of her family would see her. Going through the notes, PC Reeve tells Metro: 'On 27 September, an unknown female who used the name Jane called the family home and told them Sarjit had drowned on a beach. The origin of this call was never traced. Unfortunately, we've been unable to track 'Jane' down.' When he started work on the case in 2023, the police constable for West Midlands Police explored 'everything'. He made fresh inquiries with a different perspective on the case – trying to establish whether she was alive by making appeals on social media for the public to get in touch with information, and checking GP appointments, whether she has been known to police, if she'd been in contact with family, possible hospital admissions, and phone book inquiries. His team has liaised with the national Crime Agency and put out missing person reports abroad. 'Anything that anyone could think of in terms of proof of life, we covered,' he says. 'We have made hundreds of inquiries with the hope that she's alive – that she started a new life elsewhere. Inquiries have taken us to countries around the world. We know she hasn't contacted family since. If she has passed away, we are very much relying on DNA – relying on the body to be recovered, but that hasn't been done yet.' When he initially started on her case, the only photo of Sarjit was a black and white, blurred photocopy. 'It was terrible quality,' remembers PC Reeve. 'It was really grainy, and looked nothing like her. But it was the image we had and there was little we could do to retrieve new photos as this was going back to the 70s.' Photos of missing people can play a vital role in finding a missing person. Only recently, PC Reeve located a person that disappeared in 1972 after enlarging a microfiche photo of her. 'It went out in the media and within 24 hours, we found them,' he says. However, a photo is only one part of the puzzle. When a missing report is phoned in to 999, the call handler asks a series of 12 questions to determine if the person is missing and what risk level they are, such as do they pose a threat to themselves or others, do they have any medical issues? The response officers then carry out basic, initial inquiries such as knocking on the doors of neighbours, talking to family members, and checking hospital admissions. 'If they are classed as missing, they go onto a specific system,' PC Reeve explains. 'We can have anywhere from 20-90 missing people a day that have recently been reported.' Investigations can go on for months, but the officer says 'most' are found during this stage. If they aren't, and all 'lines of inquiries' are exhausted, the missing person case is then transferred to PC Reeve's cold case missing person team, officially known as the Review Team of the Missing Person Investigation Team. 'We never stop looking for them,' he says. 'They are forever on the system as open.' Someone is reported missing every 90 seconds in the UK. That means life is lonely, scary and uncertain for 170,000 families every year. Missing People is the only UK charity dedicated to reconnecting them and their loved ones and that's why this year Metro is proudly supporting them for our 2025 Lifeline campaign. As well as raising awareness through articles and sharing stories of those impacted, we are also taking on a 52-106km hike on the beautiful Isle of Wight to help raise vital funds for the charity. Just £12 buys one hour of helpline support at Missing People, which could help save someone in crisis. To make a donation, please click here. When Reeve begins work on a cold case, he starts from the very beginning. 'Even inquiries that have been done, I'll redo,' he says. 'Initially you're looking for proof of life inquiries. One inquiry could lead to 20. Then before you know it, you're looking at hundreds of different inquiries from one missing person.' He admits he has become 'a bit obsessed' with some cases. 'If I think of anything, it's going to be explored and investigated until there is literally nothing else,' he explains . 'I make a list – could be 100 things– and then just tick them off as I go along.' Some cases' complexity snowball as PC Reeve 'leaves no stone unturned.' 'One simple line of enquiry can lead to dozens of other lines of investigation. We have had missing person cases where on the face of it, there is nothing 'unusual' about the circumstances of them leaving home, but more than 20 years after, there is still no trace or proof of life for them. 'This is why we explore every possible theory and line of enquiry, no matter how unlikely they seem.' But some can be 'quite simple,' he adds. 'The other week, I found someone who went missing in 1975. He didn't even know he had been reported missing. I did a Department of Work and Pensions check (something we do to see if the missing person has accessed government services and may be living and working in another part of the country) and managed to get a phone number for him. I called on the off chance it was him – and it was. We found it really funny.' When West Midlands Police put together a specialist team of three officers to investigate cold cases in 2022, there were 300 unresolved cases. Now, there are only 100. Approaching families who thought their loved one had been forgotten by the police can be very moving, says PC Reeve. 'To touch base with them after years or even decades is kind of emotional,' he explains. 'It makes it more than a job.' Recently, he spoke with a mother whose son went missing years ago. 'It's someone who we think probably went overboard between France and England,' he says. 'She gave me a hug and said she didn't think police were still looking. I told her we never forget.' Some families, especially those who have very recently had a loved one go missing, want contact daily. Others only want to be contacted occasionally with very pertinent information. Even though he can't always give a definitive answer as to what happened to the loved one, PC Reeve says it can bring 'closure' when a family knows police have done everything to find them. He adds that when someone goes missing there are four categories that person could fall into: leaving on their own accord (which could include suicide), medical reasons or accidents, third party involvement, and getting lost. However, it isn't always clear cut as to what category the person falls in, so Reeve explores each, ruling out which reason wouldn't apply. It means that even though he may not be taking heaps of paperwork home each night, PC Reeve's brain is always ticking over, wondering what he can do the next day to find people – what he might have missed. 'This is my dream job,' he says, adding that after nine years of looking for missing people, he's yet to discover a stereotypical type person who goes missing 'Every case is different.' However, despite PC Reeve's very best efforts, Sarjit's disappearance has yet to be explained. In December 2024, he finally able to get a clearer photo of Sarjit from her nephew, who had been six at the time of Sarjit's disappearance, to assist his search. More Trending 'By putting this enhanced photo out, we are hoping someone who recognises Sarjit will trigger old memories in people who knew her,' he says. Reeves recently met with Sarjit's two brothers 'who are still looking for closure and miss their sister enormously.' 'Sarjit's case has remained unsolved for nearly 50 years and one of my main goals is to make as many people aware of it as possible,' he concludes. 'This is one of West Midlands Police's longest unsolved cases and, while we don't know what happened to Sarjit, she deserves to have people looking for her. My aim is to bring that closure to her remaining family.' MORE: My teenage son felt a lump – he was gone by 20 MORE: Missing British student Lewis Jack's body found on Australia's Gold Coast MORE: A deadly moment etched in history forever – did George Floyd's murder change anything?
The Sun
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Speedy Tigers to tour South Korea ahead of Nations Cup
KUALA LUMPUR: The Speedy Tigers will be testing their mettle before the Nations Cup this June as they are scheduled for a short playing tour in South Korea starting on Sunday until May 19. More interestingly, team manager for the national men's squad Datuk Ahmad Najmi Abdul Razak said the tour would be fully sponsored by the South Korean Sports Ministry which invited the Malaysian team under head coach Sarjit Singh to visit the country. Ahmad Najmi said the campaign would be the final preparation before the Speedy Tigers get off the blocks for the Nations Cup scheduled to be hosted in Kuala Lumpur from June 15-21. 'We will bring 22 players (to Korea), there are a few changes to the team compared to the one that went on a playing tour of Australia (last month). After South Korea, coach Sarjit will announce the line-up for the Nations Cup,' he said during a press conference at the Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium here today. Meanwhile, Sarjit hopes that his players will be able to improve on their fitness and discipline since South Korea have the advantage in both elements. '(The) Korea game is more about discipline and fitness, and also in Korea we need to have man-to-man marking which we are very weak at. So this will be a very good test for our boys. For the Nations Cup, we already have enough tournaments for the run-up. Our target is long term,' he said. In April, the Speedy Tigers travelled Down Under to play six friendly matches in the Australian Tour series. The Speedy Tigers are slated to compete in several tournaments this year, including the Asia Cup, which offers an automatic slot to the 2026 FIH men's World Cup (in Netherlands and Belgium) for the winning team. The Asia Cup is scheduled to take place in India from Aug 27 to Sept 7. The generosity of South Korea to sponsor Malaysia to cross swords in a short friendly tour is a mutually-profitable experience as Korea are also playing in the June Nations Cup. In addition, the Speedy Tigers will also participate in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup from Nov 22-29 and the Thailand SEA Games from Dec 9-20.
The Sun
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Korea to host whistle-stop tour for Speedy Tigers before Nations Cup
KUALA LUMPUR: The Speedy Tigers will be testing their mettle before the Nations Cup this June as they are scheduled for a short playing tour in South Korea starting on Sunday until May 19. More interestingly, team manager for the national men's squad Datuk Ahmad Najmi Abdul Razak said the tour would be fully sponsored by the South Korean Sports Ministry which invited the Malaysian team under head coach Sarjit Singh to visit the country. Ahmad Najmi said the campaign would be the final preparation before the Speedy Tigers get off the blocks for the Nations Cup scheduled to be hosted in Kuala Lumpur from June 15-21. 'We will bring 22 players (to Korea), there are a few changes to the team compared to the one that went on a playing tour of Australia (last month). After South Korea, coach Sarjit will announce the line-up for the Nations Cup,' he said during a press conference at the Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium here today. Meanwhile, Sarjit hopes that his players will be able to improve on their fitness and discipline since South Korea have the advantage in both elements. '(The) Korea game is more about discipline and fitness, and also in Korea we need to have man-to-man marking which we are very weak at. So this will be a very good test for our boys. For the Nations Cup, we already have enough tournaments for the run-up. Our target is long term,' he said. In April, the Speedy Tigers travelled Down Under to play six friendly matches in the Australian Tour series. The Speedy Tigers are slated to compete in several tournaments this year, including the Asia Cup, which offers an automatic slot to the 2026 FIH men's World Cup (in Netherlands and Belgium) for the winning team. The Asia Cup is scheduled to take place in India from Aug 27 to Sept 7. The generosity of South Korea to sponsor Malaysia to cross swords in a short friendly tour is a mutually-profitable experience as Korea are also playing in the June Nations Cup. In addition, the Speedy Tigers will also participate in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup from Nov 22-29 and the Thailand SEA Games from Dec 9-20.
