Double dose of ginseng
Koreans provide winning tonic in final
KUALA LUMPUR: The South Korean ginseng did the trick for Terengganu.
Jang Jong-hyun and Jung Man-jae combined well to score a penalty corner each to help the East Coast team beat Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 2-1 to win the TNB Cup at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium yesterday.
Jong-hyun gave them the lead in the 25th minute before Man-jae increased the lead in the 40th minute.
Last year’s defending champions UniKL earned seven penalty corners but only managed to convert one through Muhd Razie Abdul Rahim in the 44th minute.
It was Terengganu’s fifth overall cup and they pocketed RM100,000 for their efforts while UniKL took home RM60,000.
UniKL went into the final without four key players - goalkeeper David Harte and three Dutch internationals Robert Kemperman, Valentin Verga and Martijn Havenga – and it affected their game.
The four players returned to Europe today as the European Hockey Federation’s window to play in overseas leagues ended on Feb 28.
The players have a contract to play in the EuroHockey League knockout stages from April 17-22 – with Harte, Havenga and Kemperman playing for SV Kampong while Verga will be featuring for Amsterdam in Holland.
Terengganu coach I. Vickneswaran said it was a hard-fought win and praised his players for giving their all in the final.
“Winning the cup was a pleasant surprise as we only managed to have all the players together a week before the league started.
“In the final, we did not have a good start in the first quarter but my players slowly got into their rhythm and eventually scored two goals from the eight penalty corners,” said Vickneswaran.
Tenaga Nasional outplayed Maybank 7-2 to finish third and received RM40,000.