Sunday, July 20, 2008

2008 SJC Girls' Futsal_ 20.07.08

Our 2008 SJC Girls' Futsal League Round 4 games were played today from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm at HTO de Futsal. It was a day of upsets as the teams met for the second time.

Major Division
Results:
Amber 2 _ Turquoise 0
Citrine 1 _ Emerald 1
In the first game, Turquoise managed to hold on without conceding a goal to the division leaders Amber for the first two quarters. However in the second half, Amber managed to score two goals despite a gallant effort by Turquoise. In the second match, Citrine and Emerald's match ended in a draw of one goal each when Citrine managed to score in the last quarter.

With the win over Turquoise, Amber remain unbeaten with four wins to top the table. Emerald lost ground to keep up with Amber with the draw but managed to retain second spot followed by Citrine and Turquoise.
Team Turquoise training
Amber Vs Turquoise match
Team Emerald with coach Kugan and Team Manager Anita Rajoo
Emerald Vs Citrine
Senior Division

Results:
Sapphire 0 _ Opal 0
Garnet 5 _ Jade 4

Opal and Sapphire only managed a goalless draw with very few chances in front of the goal. However in the second game, it was goals galore between Garnet and Jade. Garnet managed to hang on by surviving a late onslaught by Jade looking for their equalising goal. At the final whistle, Garnet's players were jubilant by winning their first game of the tourney against the division leaders.
Jade still leads the table, despite their loss, with seven points. Sapphire's draw with Opal meant that they could not take advantage of Jade's slip up and remain second with six points, followed closely by Opal with five points and Garnet with three points.
Opal training with coach Jasminder Singh
Coach Mark with Sapphire players
Jade Vs Garnet

Coach Tharmabalan with Garnet's Goalie
Jade Vs Garnet
Coach Sunny talking to Jade's players

Premier Division
Results:
Topaz 2_ Ruby 1
Diamond 6_ Amethyst 1

Topaz continued their first win last week with a closely fought win over Ruby by two to one goal. In the second match, Diamond demolished Amethyst by six to one goal. Amethyst scored early in the first quarter but could not keep up with Diamond's pace and relentless attack.
Diamond remain unbeaten and leads the table with twelve points followed by Ruby and Topaz with six points each. Amethyst is still looking for the first win and remain fourth in the table.
Topaz training
Team Diamond with coach Zaifulizan and Team Manager Normashila Yahaya
Ref Tun Kamalul explaining his rules for Diamond Vs Amethyst match
Diamond Vs Amethyst

For more photos, visit our photo album at http://ksrajchitra.fotopic.net/
For more details, visit our SJCYFL website: http://sjcyfl.wetpaint.com/

Saturday, July 19, 2008

1st Outing for 2008 Majors Select Team_19.07.08

This report was written by our dedicated SJCYFL Majors Division Head, En. Abdul Qadir Jilani Abu Bakar. Good outing for our Majors Select Team Players. Best of luck for their next tournament in August 9th and 10th in Shah Alam.

Taman Pudu Ulu, Saturday, July 19, 2008:

Today the SJCYFL's 2008 Majors Select Team participated in their first under-10 football tournament organized by MPAJ-Bintang Muda (formerly YFA). They headed off to a great start by beating their first two opponents by a two-goal margin. First they beat the Brazillian Soccer Centre with goals by Seanjev Tan and Kuhan Raj. Sean's goal was down to sheer persistence as he pressured the opposing defender and stabbed the ball pass their goalkeeper to open the scoring. The second goal was Kuhan's opportunity to demonstrate to the "Brazilians" the kind of individual dribbling skill that he possessed as he samba'ed past a few players before putting in a great finish for the second goal.
The day's scoring responsibilities for the team were shared as Connor Jennings and Kishenthiran got into the act in the second match against Bintang Biru-B from Penang. Connor unleashed an unstoppable shot from outside the goalkeeper's box for the first goal (...his dad owes him a trip to McD's for that). Kishen then made the opponents pay for bringing Kuhan down just outside the box with a glorious freekick over the opponent's wall. Aaron Tan, the goalkeeper, together with Muhammad Adri Razam and Brendan Michael formed a formidable wall in defence which could not be penetrated.

Then came the game with the group favorites, MBPJ. All knew it was going to be a tough match and true enough, they hit early with a goal from a freekick that sailed out of Aaron's reach into the top right corner. But if not for Aaron's amazing goalkeeping feats after that, there would definitely have been more goals for the opponents. At the end, it was just too hard for the forwards to penetrate their strong midfield and defence. The coach, Paul Vannan, introduced some new legs in Benjamin Tee but it was not enough to stop the team from going down 0-1.All was not lost because there were still two more group matches to be played.

Nevertheless, the day was getting hotter and by the time the team took on Bintang Muda Sungai Buloh B, it was already noon and matches were about an hour behind schedule. Even though the opponents were seen to be the weaker team in the group, the boys just could not find it in them to put the ball in the net. The match ended scoreless and everyone started wondering if the team would pay the price for this. It effectively meant that a win in the final match was necessary to ensure progress into the quarter finals.
This scenario set up a must-win match for both teams, SJCYFL vs MPAJ-YFA A (the tournament organizers first team). The match began quite tense with both sides aggressively trying to score first. It resulted in the most controversial moment for SJCYFL and possibly the turning point when a shot at goal appeared to have crossed the goal line before the YFA goalie secured it. The referee, however, did not award a goal because perhaps he could not see the ball cross with certainty from where he was standing (...I'm sure this incident would be a hot topic for discussion at the next FIFA committee meeting - use linesmen at tournaments or introduce goal line technology!!!) Almost immediately after that YFA counter attacked and through a sweeping 1-2 move by their strikers, the ball barely went into the SJCYFL goal after hitting the left post.The devastation of getting behind, the disallowed goal and the scorching heat proved too much for the team to overcome. The 0-1 lost meant the team was going home early. Some, like Aaron, were inconsolable but after Coach Paul's closing talk, they went back with their heads held high having put on a good representation for SJCYFL. They executed the coach's game plan as instructed, including the reserves, Tan Zi Ling, Nik Muhammad Hazim and Benjamin Tee who waited patiently for their chance and played their hearts out whenever the coach called on them.
Having their first taste of tournament football this year certainly created a hunger in all ten players for more action in future tournaments (... and for food because they have not gotten a proper lunch at that point) and hopefully will drive them harder to be selected for the next event on August 9 & 10 in Shah Alam.

p/s The parents/family members should be commended too for patiently sitting through the day's events. If this article doesn't appear in the mainstream press tomorrow or someone's blog site (you know who you are coz' I cc'ed you), please let your sons read this email to show that we're proud of each of them for the role they played and being an important member of the team.
- By an unexpected reporter who has never wrote anything this long since he left college...
Photo courtesy of Nik Samhan Nik Azman

For more information, email Abdul Qadir at aqj.abubakar@gmail.com.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

SMART Tunnel Conference_08.07.08

I attended the Conference on SMART Tunnel held at Eastin Hotel, Petaling Jaya on 8th and 9th July 2008. This conference which was organized by the Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) was officiated by Dato Ir Hj Ahmad Husini bin Suleiman, Director General, Department of Irrigation Malaysia.

One the first day of the conference, papers were presented by Engineers involved in the project followed by a half day site visit to the Motorway Control Centre (MCC) and Stormwater Control Centre (SCC) on the next day.

Brief Project Description

SMART, an acronym for Stormwater Management And Road Tunnel, was originally conceived to mitigate the flooding problems in Kuala Lumpur. It also provides alternative route to relieve traffic congestion between Kampung Pandan roundabout and Sungai Besi airfield along KL-Seremban Highway.

The total cost of the project is RM 1.93 billion and is jointly funded by the government which is the project owner, and the JV Contractor (MMC-Gamuda JV) financing the road tunnel section and allowed to collect toll for 40 year period.
Location map

Project Components of SMART
1. Intake System
- Debris removal system in Sungai Ampang and Sungai Klang upstream of the confluence of two rivers.

Debris Removal System

- River flow diversion system complete with a 4-bay diversion weir structure (radial gates).
Radial Gates at Sungai Klang

- Holding Pond with storage capacity of 600,000 cubic metres located at the upstream of the tunnel. Flow is directed into this pond via the off take structure.


Holding Pond at Kampung Berembang, Ampang

2. Tunnel Bypass
- A 9.7 km bypass stormwater tunnel with internal diameter of 11.8m stormwater diversion cum double deck road traffic tunnel. The tunnel has a storage capacity of 1 million cubic metres when it is full.

- A vehicular tunnel enters the diversion tunnel system about 4.6 km downstream from the holding pond and exits a further 3 km downstream. The section of the tunnel where the vehicular traffic is included have 3 components i.e. two traffic decks and a lower channel for stormwater flow.
Cross section sketch of tunnel

Tunnel Operation Modes


3. Outlet system
- A storage pond with a storage capacity 0f 1.4 million cubic metres is located at the downstream end of the tunnel i Taman Desa.

- A set of twin box culverts, gated at both ends, conveys the discharge from the storage reservoir to Sungai Kerayong whenever the water level in the river is at a permissible level.

The second day of the conference included a site visit and briefing at the Motor Control Centre(MCC) and Stormwater Control Centre (SCC).

HSSI participants: Raj, Mr. Kun, Somnath & Nor Affiza (behind middle) attending briefing.

The SMART motorway is monitored around the clock at MCC near the Bulatan Kg Pandan.
MCC Control room

The SCC houses the SMART Flood Detection System (FDS) t Kg. Berampang in Ampang. The FDS not only provides real time hydrological information as well as forecast flood mode, but also serves to monitor the status of all the SMART components.
Flood mode dispalyed at SCC monitor.
Monitoring of hydraulics information at SCC

Monday, July 14, 2008

2008 SJC Girls' Futsal_ 13.07.08

Our 2008 SJC Girls' Futsal League Round 3 games were played today from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm at HTO de Futsal.


Major Division
Results:
Citrine 4 _ Turquoise 0
Amber 3 _ Emerald 0

Citrine notched their first win by playing with purpose and kept attacking the Turquoise's goal. Their efforts were rewarded with four goals without a reply.
The match between Emerald and Amber did not materialise because there were not enough Emerald players present. The game was awarded to Amber by a walkover with score of 3-0. Amber now tops the group followed by Emerald, Citrine and Turquoise.
Team Opal training
Team Citrine with coach Thomas Ward and Team Manager Dana Ward

Rama refereeing match between Turquoise and Citrine

Citrine Vs Turquoise match
Coach Tun Kamalul with Team Amber


Senior Division
Results:
Opal 2 _ Garnet 0
Sapphire 2 _ Jade 2

Opal managed to beat Garnet by two goals to nil which were scored in first quarter. The match between Sapphire and Jade was an exciting match between two evenly matched teams. Sapphire was leading until the final quarter when Jade equalised to even the score with two goals each. Following the draw between the top two teams, there was no change in the table positions with Jade leading with seven points followed by Sapphire, Jade and Garnet.

Opal Vs Garnet match
Team Sapphire with coach Mark
Discussion time for Team Jade
Sapphire Vs Jade match


Premier Division
Results:
Topaz 4_ Amethyst 0
Ruby 2_ Diamond 3

Topaz won their first match by beating Amethyst by four goals to nil. The match between Ruby and Diamond was keenly contested. Diamond scored early from the start and managed to keep the lead until the final quarter by winning by three goals to two. Even though the game was entertaining, some of the players were too overzealous with some rough play. With this win, Diamond remain unbeaten and leads Ruby by 3 points followed by Topaz and Amethyst.
Team Amethyst training
Team Topaz training

Amethyst Vs Topaz match
Ref Abraham officiating Ruby and Diamond match

Ruby Vs Diamond match

For more photos, visit our photo album at http://ksrajchitra.fotopic.net/

For more details, visit our SJCYFL website: http://sjcyfl.wetpaint.com/

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Mum's Birthday_08.07.08

We celebrated our mother's sixty-eight birthday with a buffet dinner at Palm Terrace, Holiday Villa Hotel, Subang Jaya on 8th July 2008. She was very delighted that my brothers and family from Seremban and Klang managed to come over after work to celebrate together.

The buffet theme was International with plenty of prawns and crabs served. Food was delicious and plentiful with lots of variety. As it was a weekday, there were only few patrons other than us. As usual, the royal icing birthday cake was specially made by Mrs. Atkinson from Klang.


Mum with Anan, Pushpa & Anni (Savithri)

Rama & Priya enjoying a party of their own with their cousins

Anita, Chitra, Mum in law, Kanga & Jayaraj

Mum blowing the candles

Elder Brother Dr. Raj with mum

Sunday, July 6, 2008

2008SJC Girls' Futsal_ 06.07.08

Our 2008 SJC Girls' Futsal League Round 2 games were played today from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm at HTO de Futsal.

Major Division
Results:
Turquoise 2 _ Emerald 5
Amber 3 _ Citrine 1

Emerald and Amber continued their winning ways this week and collected six points each. However, Emerald tops the group standing due to goal difference. Next week's games would pit the two top teams playing against each other. Citrine and Turquoise would be facing each other, looking for their first win.
On a personal note, Ramaraj refereed his first futsal match today i.e. between Turquoise and Emerald. All this while, he has been helping me out and supporting his sister and cousins when they were playing. He volunteered when I was having difficulty in finding refs for the matches today and he did a good job for a first timer despite the usual distraction from the parents and supporters.
Coach Kugan talking to Team Emerald
Team Turquoise training
Rama refereeing match between Turquoise and Emerald
Turquoise Vs Emerald
Coach Thomas Ward With Team Citrine
Team Amber with Coach Tun Kamalul and Team Manager Shirley
Half time break for Team Amber

Senior Division
Results:
Opal 0 _ Jade 3
Sapphire 4 _ Garnet 2
Jade won their second consecutive match to top the table, followed by Sapphire who has four points after their win today. Next week would feature the top of the table clash between Jade and Sapphire, while Opal and Garnet would be playing against each other.
Team Jade with Coach Sunny and Team Manager Yasmin
Team Jade training
Team Garnet with Coach Tharmabalan and Team Manager Theanmalar
Team Sapphire training
Teams Sapphire Vs Garnet
Premier Division

Results:
Topaz 2_ Diamond 5
Ruby 2_ Amethyst 0
Diamond and Ruby also won both their matches to collect six points. Coincidentally, these two team would meet next week in Round 3 matches. Amethyst and Topaz would also play against each other in search of their first win.
Team Topaz with coach Mohd Saidin and Team Manager Frida Susanti
Team Amethyst with coach Mark Scott and Team Manager P. Chitra
Team Amethyst at half time

Next week matches of Round 3 would feature top of the table clashes in all three divisions as teams vie to maintain the lead in the table.

For more photos, visit our photo album at http://ksrajchitra.fotopic.net/
For more details, visit our SJCYFL website: http://sjcyfl.wetpaint.com/