News for 15 December 2019
All the news for Sunday 15 December 2019
Men's Junior AHF Cup 2019 - Finals
Muscat (OMA)
14 Dec 2019 IRI v SRI (7/8th) 1 - 1 (3 - 1 SO)
14 Dec 2019 THA v SGP (5/6th) 0 - 1
14 Dec 2019 TPE v UZB (3/4th) 5 - 3
14 Dec 2019 CHN v OMA (Final) 0 - 0 (4 - 2 SO)
Final standings
- China
- Oman
- Chinese Taipei
- Uzbekistan
- Singapore
- Thailand
- Iran
- Sri Lanka
- Hong Kong China
MHC wield the axe
By Jugjet Singh
Roelant Oltmans
THE Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) have “sacked” all their coaches, except for Roelant Oltmans, amidst suggestions that dubious elements may have been at work in the national team’s disastrous London Olympic Qualifiers last month.
Among the coaches affected were K. Dharmaraj (national women’s team), Nor Saiful Zaini (National Juniors) and national assistant coach Stephen van Huizen as well as all others under contract with the MHC and National Sports Council (NSC).
The MHC, at their second executive committee meeting yesterday, also invited Police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to be a part of the review committee to discuss the team’s London failure.
Police are affiliates of the MHC, whose newly set-up disciplinary committee is headed by MACC deputy chief commissioner (operation) Datuk Seri Azam Baki.
Asked if the MHC suspected dubious elements to be at work in the national men’s team’s 9-3 aggregate loss to Britain in London, Subahan said: “Maybe, who knows?”
“Actually, it’s routine to call the Police and MACC to be in our national team review committee... it’s been done before. I don’t think there are any dubious elements (involved) in our London disaster, but it’s better to have them in our review committee... just in case,” said Subahan.
Malaysia lost the first leg 4-1 on Nov 2 and the second leg 5-2 the next day at the Lee Valley Stadium in London.
“We provided the team with everything they needed, and we even went over and beyond our responsibilities to meet their needs.
“We provided more than what other countries would normally give. So, it’s only right that we get to the bottom of the reason as to why they still failed. It will be up to the review committee to find out, so we know better for future tournaments,” said Subahan.
As for the coaches, he said they would be given two months’ leave when their contracts expire on Dec 31.
This, Subahan said, would give MHC time to evaluate the coaches’ performances.
“MHC will not renew the contracts of all the coaches, except for Oltmans, who has a 2+2 contract.
“The rest will be given two months’ leave and they can coach the clubs in the Malaysia Hockey League if they want.
“We will evaluate their performances and call them back for fresh interviews or we may hire others if there are better ones out there.”
Meanwhile, Negri Sembilan defeated Perak 2-1 to win the girls’ National Under-14 title at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Husna Najihah Jasman was the toast for Negri with a brace in the 52nd and 59th minutes, while Nurul Syafiqah Nurhisam netted for Perak in the 22nd minute.
Johor defeated Perak 3-1 in the boys’ final.
New Straits Times
Dar Hockey Academy Stole the Show at the National Junior Hockey Championship
By Ijaz Chaudhry
Pakistan's 36th national junior hockey championship was recently held in Lahore. Once again, a large number of boys from the Dar Hockey Academy, Pakistan's premier hockey reservoir,figured for various teams.
No less than 30 Dar Academy players appeared for eight teams.
These included all the four semifinalists, WAPDA, Customs, SSGC and Punjab 'A' as well as two quarter finalists, Mari Petroleum Company Limited and Army 'A'.
Winners WAPDA included four while the surprise runners up Customs had as many as 11 colts from the academy. Seven appeared for the two army teams in the fray.
Ali Aziz scored the only goal of the semifinal which WAPDA won 1-0 against SSGC while another academy boy Hammad Anjum was among the WAPDA's scorers in the final against Customs.
For good measure, both the finalists were coached by the trainers of the Dar academy.
WAPDA: Waqas Butt
Customs: 1994 World Cup winner Danish Kaleem, the head coach of the Dar HA.
Ijaz Chaudhry writes on hockey & other sports. For more about him and his work, visit: www.sportscorrespondent.info
Fieldhockey.com
Managing Sports-Related Concussion
Ethical and Legal Matters
By Dr Shermella Roopchand-Martin, head of UWI Mona campus' Academy of Sport
Management of athletes with sports-related concussion poses several ethical and legal challenges, beginning with who makes the decision regarding removal from the field or return to play. The Concussion in Sport Group encourages a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach. However, it places the final decision in the hands of the team clinician or an appropriately licensed healthcare professional. This poses a challenge, since a team physician is employed by the sporting organisation to look after the team and not just individual athletes. At a sporting event, the team doctor is faced with tremendous pressure from multiple sources. The decision to remove a player can have a negative impact on team psyche and adversely affect tournament outcome, resulting in harm for the entire team. This may result in the team doctor facing threats from the athletes, the organisations, family members and the public. It is not an uncommon practice therefore to see injured players return to the field because the risk/benefit analysis falls in favour of ‘return to play and deal with the injury later’.
With concussion injuries, however, the risks may be death and severe/permanent disability. For sports like American football and boxing, these concerns have resulted in decisions to have independent, match day doctors make the decision regarding concussion. The downside here is that a bad call can be made due to the physician’s lack of familiarity with the player’s baseline normal behaviour.
By placing the decision in the hands of the physician, we have moved into the realm of disregard for autonomy. One may feel it is a backward step to the days of paternalistic medicine where the doctors made decisions for patients. Respect for an adult of sound mind to decide what happens to them or what is done to them is a fundamental human right. In the case of sports, however, one must consider whether an athlete in competition can make autonomous decisions. An autonomous decision requires the athlete to be of sound mind and free from external pressures. When thousands of fans are screaming for the athlete to return to the field and they are facing the risk of losing endorsements and are under the pressure of failing their teammates, can they make an autonomous decision? Add to that the altered mental state of a concussed individual.
In standard medical care, when someone is mentally compromised, decisions are made by a proxy. The proxy is someone who knows the person well enough that the likelihood of them making the same decision the person would make for themselves is high. Do our athletes name a proxy before the tournament season? Is this something we may want to consider instead of leaving decisions to the team physician?
Autonomous decision making requires having adequate knowledge to weigh the risks and benefits of a decision. Sporting organisations and their associated health care team have an ethical obligation to ensure that athletes and coaches are sufficiently educated about concussions and the associated risks before the start of a tournament. Only then can autonomous decisions be made.
Distributive justice must also be taken into consideration. Concussed athletes may require specialised care which can be unaffordable and inaccessible. This is particularly so for persons from lower socio-economic brackets and rural communities. At a governmental level, there must be plans for educational campaigns that can reach these individuals. Special, national health insurance coverage for athletes should be discussed at this level since many athletes may originate from homes where health insurance is not affordable. Long waits for access to ‘free healthcare’ through the public sector does not bode well for athlete’s outcomes and some of the specialised services may not be available in the public sector.
Privacy and confidentiality laws pose a significant challenge in concussion management. Athlete safety requires coaches and managers to be informed about the extent of injury, progress, precautions and outcomes, yet the player can demand that the information not be shared. This leaves a risk for players who are not fully cleared for returning to play. Without adequate information being shared with coaches and managers, team decisions may also be adversely affected resulting in compromised team performance. One solution is for athletes to complete waivers, before the start of the season, giving permission to the team doctor to discuss medical information with their coaches and managers. Verbal consent is inadequate. Without signed, legally binding documents, sports medicine practitioners and sporting organisations leave themselves vulnerable to lawsuits.
Sporting bodies, as well as schools, must be proactive and develop institutional concussion policies that will protect both the athlete and the organisation. In doing so, the differential roles of a team doctor versus a personal doctor must be considered and decisions made regarding the use of matchday doctors in our region. All stakeholders must be involved in the shaping of policies and guidance documents.
The Trinidad Guardian