News for 16 March 2021
All the news for Tuesday 16 March 2021
FINAL4 check-in: Bloemendaal stunned as Léo and Atlèti move to top of their tables
HC Bloemendaal’s 28-game unbeaten streak came to a surprise end at Oosterplas as they Koen Bijen’s single goal earned Den Bosch a 1-0 win in the Tulp men’s Hoofdklasse.
It was their first win over Bloemendaal since March 2012 with the vital goal coming from an immaculate counter-attack from within their own circle. Jelle Galema’s pass set Bijen free and he delicately placed the ball under the out-rushing goalkeeper.
The loss allowed SV Kampong to close the gap back to seven points courtesy of their 2-1 win over Almere while Pinoké strengthened their place in the top four with a 3-2 success against HGC.
Rotterdam lost ground after a crazy 6-6 draw against Amsterdam in which they led 4-1 after 23 minutes and 6-5 with four minutes remaining.
Atlètic Terrassa are hitting form at the perfect time as they won both their weekend matches to move above Club de Campo in Spain’s Honor Division and top for the first time since November.
They began the weekend with a 3-1 home win over RS Tenis in a close contest. Quim Malgosa scored the only goal of the first half but the narrow gap was wiped out three minutes into the second half by Franco Daniel Harte.
Rising star Pau Cunill, however, got Atlèti back in front with 18 minutes to go from a corner and the result was assured by Marc Vizcaino with two minutes to go.
And, on Sunday, they overtook Campo when the Madrid side could only draw away to Club Egara while Atlèti were able to record another close-run victory, this time 2-1 against SPV Complutense.
Cunill was the hero of the day, scoring in the 69th minute after Joan Dalmases’ first half goal was canceled out by a Pedro Arques equaliser.
Royal Léopold’s perfect run since the return of Belgium’s Audi Hockey League continued as they won the Uccle derby against Royal Racing Club de Bruxelles 2-1.
Tom Boon scored both goals for Léo against his former club in the 29th and 67th minutes with his former international team mate Jérôme Truyens getting the Racing reply.
Léo now look almost certain to take one of the semi-final places on offer as they hold a four-point advantage over La Gantoise who fell to a third successive defeat, this time to KHC Dragons. Those two clubs look set to contest for the other semi-final place.
In Group B, Waterloo lead the way on 23 points with Orée second on 20 following their 4-4 draw. They have a solid six-point gap to Beerschot who beat KHC Leuven 4-1.
Euro Hockey League media release
FINAL4 check-in: Campo strengthen lead as Den Bosch and Amsterdam roll on
Club de Campo took a huge step towards retaining the Spanish women’s Honor Division title as they saw off nearest rivals Junior FC 3-2 on Sunday.
It completed a perfect weekend for the Madrid club, backing up Saturday’s 6-0 win over CD Terrassa, as they ended up six points clear with a game in hand with six games left on their agenda.
On Saturday, Laura Barrios continued her brilliant scoring form with two more goals with Sara Barrios, Carmen Cano, Maria Lopez and Lucia Abajo also weighing in.
Sunday’s tie was the big one, though, against a Junior side that had been pushing them all the way thus far in the league. Begoña Garcia’s corner rebound gave Campo the perfect start in the seventh minute but Junior were level before the end of the first quarter with Marta Grau scoring a beautiful backhand shot.
It remained locked at 1-1 all the way through to the final quarter when the hosts made their move with Maria Lopez’s overhead finding Garcia near the baseline she was able to nudge home the chance.
And the game was put to bed three minutes from the end with Garcia setting free Alejandra Torres-Quevedo who slipped a pass to Carmen Cano to whip home. Junior did get one back in the last minute but Campo had the points sewn up.
In the Netherlands, leading lights Den Bosch and AH&BC Amsterdam both eased to victories with clean sheets as they saw off SV Kampong and Victoria, respectively.
In what was Raoul Ehren’s 250th game in charge of Den Bosch, his side notched a 5-0 success in Utrecht with four of those coming before half-time to make 206 victories.
All four came from corners with Lidewij Welten, Sanne Koolen and two from Ireen van den Assem putting them well clear before Emmeliene Oonk added a fifth ten minutes from the end.
In Rotterdam, AH&BC Amsterdam won 4-0 with the goals shared between Michelle Fillet, Freeke Moes, Marijn Veen and Felice Albers. Amsterdam remain two points behind leaders Den Bosch after 13 rounds of matches, continuing to raise anticipation for their EHL FINAL4 showdown next month.
SCHC remain in third, two further points back, after a 2-1 away win over Pinoké and hdm stay in the top four after a 2-0 win against Laren.
Euro Hockey League media release
Wasteful ladies
By Jugjet Singh
UniKL Ladies hammered Mutiara Impian 17-0 in a rain-delayed match in Bukit Jalil yesterday. - Pic courtesy of MHC Facebook
UNIVERSITI Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) Ladies started their women's Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) on a high-scoring debut, but they missed more than they scored.
UniKL Ladies hammered Mutiara Impian 17-0 in a rain-delayed match in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Despite the high-scoring win, they will need to be sharper, especially against Blue Warriors and Universiti Tenaga Nasional.
The fact that Mutiara Impian could not even come out of their half-line described the imbalance against the star-studded UniKL Ladies, powered by several current and ex-national players.
"Before the match, I had briefed my players that we will be playing against a young side. I was more interested to see their structure in attack.
"They missed too many sitters today (yesterday). I am concerned as we may not get that many chances against stronger teams, so we need to start tucking in half-chances in matches.
"We cannot afford to be wasteful," said UniKL Ladies coach Roslan Jamaluddin.
UniKL Ladies scored through Nuraini Rashid (third, fifth, 56th minutes), Nuramirah Shakirah (eighth, 46th), Nur Hidayah Ismail (19th, 41st), Nur Afiqah Syahzani Azhar (21st), Hanis Nadiah Onn (29th, 44th, 54th), Siti Azlinda Atan (37th, 50th), Nur Atira Ismail (39th, 60th), Nur Afiqah Azhar (49th) and Norazlin Sumantri (55th).
RESULTS
WOMEN: Mutiara Impian 0 UniKL Ladies 17, Blue Warriors 2 PKS-UniTen 2, Sabah 2 Young Tigress 1.
FIXTURES
TODAY
MEN: Tenaga Nasional v TNB Thunderbolts (6pm, Pitch I), NurInsafi v Maybank (6pm, Pitch II), THT v UiTM (8pm, Pitch I), Sabah v UniKL (8pm, Pitch II).
* matches at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
New Straits Times
Women’s National Team Carding Camp sets tone for coming year
Reunited Women’s National program builds for World Cup Qualification
It’s been 14 months since the Canadian Women’s National Team last played an international match. For many athletes, this week’s carding camp will be the first time back on home soil together in a competitive training environment, and the team, without a doubt, hopes to make the most of it.
After the heartbreaking Olympic qualifier loss in Ireland in the fall of 2019, the team rebooted and prepared for a big 2020, looking forward to World Cup qualification. Then, everything changed. The COVID-19 pandemic swept over the globe, putting a halt to all competitions. The Canadian Wolf Pack, along with the rest of the world, went into a hiatus.
The team restarted limited training sessions with no competitions on the horizon last summer and has been in a holding pattern ever since. The focus has been on skill development and maintenance. But now, with the light at the end of the tunnel in sight and a new international schedule down on paper, the team is looking at the next few months as a key development opportunity and a chance to get back in the saddle and build towards a goal.
The National Team will embark on a seven-day carding and identification camp this week featuring training sessions every day and a scattered set of intra-squad games. Up until this point, the team has been training in their regional centres with a larger contingent in Vancouver. For the newly-hired head coach, Andrew Wilson, who has been with the team since the new year, this is the first real opportunity to have everyone together on the same pitch.
“It’s been great to actually work with the players on the field,” Wilson said. “It’s been nice to evaluate in-person and provide a structure for our trainings so far. I’m looking forward to having a full-player group. It opens up the opportunity to play 11-aside big pitch games. There will be some nerves at the start … but I want to focus on working hard and getting the team to where we need it to be.”
The next scheduled competition is the Pan American Cup in January 2022. Considering that the last time the team was on the pitch as Team Canada was November 2019, that’s a two-year break between major international competitions. Knowing that some competition opportunities will become available as COVID restrictions loosen, Wilson said the team’s intentions are clear.
“Ultimately, our objective is to improve every day and prepare for every competition in the best way possible,” he said. “We have to create steppingstones for ourselves along the way, so we can be prepared once competition is allowed.”
Carding camps like this week’s, are perfect examples of these manufactured stepping stones. For Shanlee Johnston, veteran defender who has been training in the Vancouver environment, this week will be a refreshing change and will be looking forward to playing with a bigger group in a higher-stakes situation.
“A camp setting always adds a level of competition and pressure,” Johnston said. “Everyone wants to get out there and prove something.”
Over the past three years, the Wolf Pack has jumped from 21st to 14th in the world rankings, earned a silver medal at the Pan Am Games and came a goal shy of a trip to the Olympics. Despite a few retirements and a few people taking a step back from the game, Johnston said the next step is for the team to build off the groundwork that they have laid.
“World Cup qualification is the biggest focus for us now. We have a really strong foundation and it’s about strengthening that and introducing new players to that standard,” she said. “This camp feels like a turning point for us. After this, we’ll have a new-named squad. We’ll have set team standards and now we’ll be training as a team with a defined purpose.”
This week’s camp marks a pivot from small-sided maintenance to purpose-driven training towards major milestones. Alison Lee is a Mississauga-based national team defender with 61 caps to her name. She recently arrived in Vancouver and completed her negative COVID test and quarantine. The COVID restrictions in Ontario have been stricter than those in B.C. meaning that Lee hasn’t really been able to outside her house and immediate household bubble since the fall. For her, the ability to be here with the team is a huge step.
“Honestly, just seeing people outside my household has been really nice,” Lee said. “Being back with the group has been so refreshing.”
Twenty-five players will be at the camp. Most are returning WNT members, some are NextGen athletes taking that step up and some are identified athletes looking to crack the squad. Lee echoes Johnston’s sentiment about having a larger group and a fresh start this week at camp.
“We’ve had the same solid core for the last couple years, so having fresh faces, the fresh talent [at camp] will be really nice,’ she said. “On top of that, every time you have a new coach, there are different challenges. But Andrew’s been great at integrating with the group. Patrick [Tshutshani] has helped make that transition easier as well.”
Lee, who played for two months in the fall in Holland, is one of the few women who got some competition under her belt before another lockdown. Since she’s been back, she has been in Mississauga and hasn’t been training with the Vancouver contingent. She hints that will be looking to make an impact as the team builds for these next major steps.
“Being able to play a full-field game will be really nice. I know everyone is really looking forward to it,” Lee said. “But then the next step is to get competitive games against other teams. I don’t know what it’s going to look like, but there’s just no substitute for it.”
The Women’s National Team Carding Camp will run from March 15-22 and will take place at Tamanawis Park in Surrey, BC and the UBC Field Hockey pitch in Vancouver. The team will use camp as an opportunity to name the squad for the coming year and identify NextGen athletes. Stay tuned throughout the week for photos, stories and social media coverage.
Field Hockey Canada media release
KHU release new season fixtures
By Agnes Makhandia
Butali Sugar Warriors hockey team captain Kennedy Nyongesa (centre) leads teammates in celebrating winning the Kenya Hockey Union men Premier League trophy on December 1, 2019 at City Park Stadium. Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Kenya Police will be without the services of first choice strikers Govan Mbeki and Titus Kimutai as they face Sailors in their first match of the 2021 men's Kenya Hockey Union Premier League on Saturday, April 3 at the City Park Stadim, Nairobi.
Mbeki and Kimutai are both nursing leg injuries.
Mbeki got the injury while on official duty, while Kimutai hurt himself while doing personal training.
Police coach Patrick Mugambi said although it's a big blow to the team, he has enough cover in the striking department.
"We last won the league title in 2015. We have always begun well in the previous seasons but faded along the way. We are keen to reclaim the title this season. We have played second fiddle to reigning champions Butali Sugar Warriors for a while now and this must change ,"said Mugambi.
"Our record has been good against Sailors, having only drawn once in 2019, but we have won against them in other fixtures and therefore, we hope to continue with the good run against them," he added.
In the absence of the two, Mugambi will use experienced Moses Cheplait and Samson Kibirir.
The law enforces, who finished third in 2019 season behind Wazalendo Hockey Club and eventual winners Butali, have signed midfielder Benson Wakhongo from Strathmore.
In the fixtures released on Monday, Amira Sailors have a date with Oranje Leonas in the women's match at the same venue.
Amira coach Linet Anyango said it will be tough encounter and season altogether.
On Sunday, April 4, Parkroad Badgers welcome Butali as 2016 champions Strathmore University battle Greensharks.
Strathmore women's team will take on Dutch Flower Group (DFG) Wolverines. Strathmore coach Meshack Senge remained optimistic of a good season.
"We will take one match at a time and see what happens. We have been training and I hope what we have practiced will be put in play," observed Senge.
Daily Nation
1975 World Cup hockey was best thing of my life: Captain Ajit Pal
Sixteen days before Ajit Pal Singh turned 28 in 1975, he captained India to their maiden - and so far the only -- World Cup hockey triumph. On the 46th anniversary of that momentous title win, achieved after beating Pakistan 2-1 in a fast-paced final at Siaran Langsung Dari Stadium, Merdeka (Kuala Lumpur), 73-year-old Singh on Monday recalled the final and the celebrations that ensued.
Singh also vividly remembers the reception and felicitations that the team received in various cities on its return to India. The team played 10 exhibition matches at various places in the country and were felicitated wherever they went.
The MP Ganesh-led India had come close to winning the World Cup in 1973 as well, but lost to the Netherlands 2-4 on penalties in the final. Singh was a member of that team as well.
Singh spoke to IANS on the 46th anniversary of India's historic World Cup triumph.
Excerpts:
Q: How do you remember March 15, 1975?
On this date the best thing of my life happened -- history was made. I get goosebumps recalling that day.
Do you remember distinctly what you did that day since the time you wake up in Kuala Lumpur?
Definitely. Winning a World Cup comes rarely in one's life. I distinctly remember the match, the celebrations, where all we went after the triumph, how we returned to India etc.
At what stage during the World Cup did you realise that the Indian team was capable of winning the title?
It was after we beat Germany 3-1 in a Pool B league match. We had beaten England 2-1 in the first league game and drew 1-1 with Australia. And after blanking Ghana 7-0, we lost to Argentina 1-2. But in the last group league match, against Germany, we had to beat them to qualify for the semi-finals, as Australia was at six points and had we lost we would not have qualified for the semis.
How tough was the final against Pakistan?
It was a fast-paced match. We were in the field, playing, so we did not realise that. However, those who watched the game from the stands told us that it was a pacy game. The Pakistani team always had a strong forward line, and that team too was strong. We, however, defended very well against their forwards.
How did you spend time between winning the final and till the time you went to sleep that day?
First, there was a celebration at the stadium. Then we returned to our team hotel. The atmosphere was different. Strictly speaking, there was no combined team celebration as such. Players were free to go wherever they wanted to; they went out with their friends and things like that. As you know, there were a lot of Indians living in Malaysia. Many of those Indians took the players to their either homes or clubs as part of the celebrations. One of my friends took me to the rooftop of a hotel where a few people were present. We opened the champagne there. By 10.30 pm or 11 pm, I returned to my hotel room. We were too tired after the final match. The next day again some people invited us, though I don't remember the exact details now.
From Kuala Lumpur to we went to Singapore, where the Indian community, particularly the Punjabi community, organised a reception for the Indian team. We also went shopping there. Then we landed in Chennai, the home city of then Indian Hockey Federation president M.A.M. Ramaswamy (1974-1980), where there were celebrations in marketplaces and road shows for a couple of days. From Chennai, we came to Delhi where receptions were organised at several places, including the airport. We also met Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and other dignitaries, before the players left for their destinations.
Did the Indian players get any monetary reward for winning the World Cup?
Winning a World Cup is not a small achievement. We played 10 exhibition matches at various places after returning from Kuala Lumpur with the World Cup. They gave some amount of money to players. They should have commercialised hockey, like they did with cricket later. They didn't move with the changing times. One example is the introduction of artificial turf for hockey in 1972. In India they installed the first artificial turf about 10 years later. In this interim period, we won the World Cup. Why didn't they install it after the 1975 World Cup triumph?
Indian hockey players still don't get match fees.
I would rather say that, all said and done, they are getting at least something now. Until some years ago, they wouldn't get anything. When the team would come after winning something, they would only get shabashi (a pat on their backs) and officials would say "Well done, and now win the next tournament as well". In my time - in the 1970s and the 1980s - players would be satisfied if they would land jobs by playing well. Also, in the 1970s and the 1980s, hockey was the No.1 sport of India and cricket was at No.2. But in the 1980s, cricket went up and up and hockey's popularity went down.
Are the members of the 1975 getting together today to celebrate?
No, nothing as such. A few years ago, I used to invite players at my place for dinner etc.
The Business Standard
1975 hockey world champs rue their feat is forgotten
Indian hockey wrote a historic chapter exactly 46 years ago on this day in Kuala Lumpur when the national team won its only World Cup title, but the architects of that achievement rue the fact that the country has, over the years, forgotten their feat.
India won their only World Cup crown on March 15, 1975, beating arch-rivals Pakistan 2-1 in a thrilling final.
Ashok Kumar, who had scored the winning goal in the final, has plenty of complaints. “We talk about nationalism and what is biggest example of nationalism than bringing laurels for the country. That win brought smiles on the faces of every citizen of this country across caste, religion, status, gender,” Ashok said. “But who remembers that now? TV channels are busy in celebrating Alia Bhatt’s birthday since morning. Not a single mention of hockey World Cup win anywhere. We do not get any congratulatory calls on this day,” said Ashok, son of hockey legend Dhyan Chand.
Another member of the team, Ashok Diwan, feels the new generation needs to take a note of that glorious win.
“Naturally we feel bad that only we team members and hockey fraternity remembers this historic day. The new generation must be told about that win and feel proud of it,” he said. “That was our first World Cup win. It has been 46 years now. We hope that India wins the hockey World Cup in 2023 and we get a chance to relive those moments,” he added.
Another team member, Varinder Singh, winner of a bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics, said: “Last time we all met in Bhubaneswar during 2018 World Cup. We spent a week together refreshing old memories.”
The Tribune
Pride, Dedication and Passion at the heart of the FIH
Marc Coudron, the president of ARBH is set to go head to head with Dr Batra for the presidency of the International Federation (FIH)
Pride, dedication and passion, three words that are not too often used to describe the current state of the FIH but with Marc Coudron’s candidacy announcement on Saturday morning eliciting a wide range of responses, the majority of which were overwhelmingly positive, things could be about to change. If no one saw him coming, it was because the Brussels native seemed to have agreed to step down on June 19, after completing his fourth and final term as president of the Royal Belgian Hockey Association (ARBH). But, at 51 years old, the former national team most capped record holder (358) takes on a new significant challenge in the form of Dr Narinder Batra, the current president of the International Federation (FIH) “One of the few benefits of this pandemic was that I was able to find some time to think about the future. And I feel deep down that there is still so much pride, passion and desire to put myself at the service of our magnificent sport. If the [FIH Presidency] elections had taken place last November as originally planned, I certainly would not have gone for it. But I feel ready to bring my experience and dedication to the global level. I want to fight for the values of respect, integrity, sustainability and inclusion in our sport on a global level. “
Anna Richardson appointed first Leinster development programme manager
Anna Richardson
Anna Richardson has been appointed Leinster Hockey’s first Development Programme Manager (DPM) as part of the Player Development and High Performance programme.
As DPM, she will be responsible for setting up and rolling out the district and regional development centres across Leinster. The focus in the centres will be on the entry level players.
While these centres will primarily focus on player development, they intention is for them to also provide a platform for young umpire development programmes and for local club/school development activities.
Richardson take on the role having worked as a coach with the Leinster performance panels for the past number of years, most recently as Assistant Coach with the Under-16 girls. She also coached Newpark’s senior girls to a first cup final appearance in 28 years last term while she has experience in an administrative capacity at club level with UCD and Avoca.
“This is a huge step forward for Leinster as we hope to see plenty of development taking place around the province where the emphasis will be on player development and not on selection for inter-provincial panels,” said Leinster Hockey Association director Ann Ronan.
“Ultimately, the centres will be a bridge to the high performance inter-provincial panels. In the first year, we hope to see Leinster Inter-District competitions involving all participants before regional teams are selected to participate in a National Festival in Spring 2022.”
The new role has been made possible by the sponsorship of Leinster youth hockey by AerCap.
“We are delighted to support Leinster Hockey’s ambitious high performance player and coach development programme. We wish Anna all the very best in her new role.” Aengus Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of AerCap said of the new initiative.
Further information on the programmes, including the district/regional alignment with clubs and school was outlined in 2020 at LHA open forums and can be found on the Leinster website Click Here
The Hook
Stribos sisters push Iowa field hockey to new heights
Hailing from Brussels, Belgium, Sofie and Lokke Stribos wanted to compete in the Black and Gold from the moment they saw their older sister Marike do it in 2014.
Ben Palya
Michigan Midfielder Sarah Pyrtek moves the ball upfield as Iowa Midfielder Sofie Stribos moves in during a field hockey game between Iowa and Michigan at Grant Field on Saturday, March 15, 2021. “The Hawkeyes defeated the Wolverines, 2-1, in a shootout.”(Jeff Sigmund/Daily Iowan)
For sisters Lokke and Sofie Stribos, the path to Iowa field hockey was relatively straightforward, even if they lived 4,292 miles and an ocean away from Iowa City.
The pair grew up in Brussels, Belgium, playing field hockey from a very young age. The two come from a field hockey family. Their mother played in college and their sister Marike played at Iowa from 2010 to 2014.
When Lokke and Sofie traveled to Iowa City from Belgium for Marike’s senior day, they both immediately knew they wanted to attend the University of Iowa and play field hockey in the Black and Gold.
“Since that day, I knew I wanted to become a Hawkeye as well,” Lokke said. “I have been training hard all these years to be a Hawkeye and follow my dreams.”
Sofie said her admiration for Marike is what ultimately led her to Iowa.
“My sister was always my hero and I looked up to her so much,” she said. “That was really the switch in my mind that I wanted to go to Iowa.”
Lokke and Sofie were born just one year apart — Lokke is currently a junior and Sofie is a sophomore.
Since she was a child, Sofie has been motivated by her desire to equal or surpass Lokke’s successes and achievements and create her own spotlight.
“She would always be the one coming back with trophies or best player of the game, so I was sometimes in her shadow,” Sofie said. “It was fun when the time came to shine, but she definitely helped me improve every step.”
Since they arrived at Iowa, both Lokke and Sofie have thrived — starting every game they’ve participated in. The sisters also play the same position — midfielder.
Last season, Lokke scored 10 times and assisted four goals, and she already has a goal and an assist this season. Sofie has also gotten on the score sheet once in 2020-21 after producing three goals in 2019-20.
In the opening game of the season, the two sisters connected for the winning goal as Lokke found Sofie off a penalty corner.
“They do a fantastic job with their execution and their communication on the field, and they definitely have a knack of playing well off of each other,” head coach Lisa Cellucci said.
While the Stribos sisters certainly share some genetics, they do not play the same way on the field. Sofie is an offensive-minded midfielder, while Lokke is more a defender rather than an attacker.
“Sophie is a player who is everywhere on the field, and is always there,” Lokke said. “I would describe myself as more laid back, but I have the vision to give those long balls.”
Iowa field hockey is 5-1 so far this season, with their lone loss of the year coming to Michigan at Grant Field in Iowa City March 12.
The Hawkeyes will travel to Columbus this weekend for two games against Ohio State. Friday’s game will begin at 3 p.m. with Sunday’s to follow at 11 a.m.
The Daily Iowan
Sports 'double international' Ranjit Singh dies
By Adrian David
Former hockey and cricket ‘double international’ Ranjit Singh Sidhu. - Photo courtesy of Terry Tharmanathan.
KUALA LUMPUR: Ranjit Singh Sidhu, one of the country's rare "double internationals" in sports, died today.
He had represented Malaysia in hockey as a right fullback at the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games in Thailand, and had played for Selangor in the Razak Cup.
In cricket, he also represented Selangor and played for the country from 1960 to 1982.
According to his youngest brother Harbhajan Singh, Ranjit, who would have turned 80 on May 7, died of heart failure at the KPJ Sentosa Specialist Hospital, here, at 11.20am.
"My brother had been seeking medical treatment for many years for lingering cellulitis on his leg and had been in an out of hospital," he said.
He leaves behind daughter Katherine Mahani in Penang, and sons Daniel Singh in Australia and Damian Singh in London. His wife Fay Wilson, an Australian, died in 2002.
Ranjit's remains would be taken from his home in Gombak for a wake at the Loke Yew crematorium at 10am, followed by his funeral at the same venue at noon.
One of Ranjit's close friends Terry Tharmanathan, who played hockey and cricket at local league matches, described it as a very sad day for Malaysia.
"Ranjit was a deft sportsman, who was skilful in both sports. He was feared by many an opponent when he took to the field.
"We will all miss him greatly," said Tharmanathan, who had known Ranjit since 1972 when the latter was working with the then National Electricity Board (NEB) (now Tenaga Nasional) and they often met at the corporation's Kilat Club in Bangsar.
Tharmanathan, who played for PKNS (Selangor State Economic Development Corporation), added that Ranjit was a very good hockey short-corner specialist, scoring many goals.
"His goals were clean drives along the grass-pitch grounds like a bullet. He could bat in cricket matches to hit boundaries. That was his weapon," said Tharmanathan.
Ranjit Singh Sidhu (back row, fourth from right) seen here with the Kilat Club team as the Stonor Shield cricket champions in 1962. With them are brothers Michael Francis Shepherdson (seated, second from left) and Christie Shepherdson (seated, right). - Photo courtesy of Terry Tharmanathan.
Former national cricketer Clarance Samuel described Ranjit as a stylish bat for Malaysia.
"He was excellent off the back foot. A very unassuming gentleman, Ranjit played his heart out and gave his 100 per cent in every match.
"It was an honour to have played alongside him as a young player in the national team in 1972-73," said Samuel, now the general manager for the Royal Port Dickson Yacht Club.
Former national cricket captain Hector Durairatnam described Ranjit as a sporting icon when the latter was inducted into the Malaysian Cricket Association's "Hall of Fame".
Hector told the New Straits Times that, like the late "double international" legend Michael Francis "Mike" Shepherdon, Ranjit, too, hailed from Sentul.
"Not many knew that Ranjit represented the country both in hockey and cricket, like Mike. But that is Ranjit, not one to boast about himself but be like his batting, quietly accumulating runs.
"Let my bat do the talking, he would say," said Hector.
He added that Ranjit had joined NEB soon after school, and soon impressed all who watched and saw him play hockey and cricket.
He recalled Ranjit playing for Selangor as a teenager in 1960 and later, when Kuala Lumpur was formed.
"In all, Ranjit had scored an unbelievable 25 centuries (or 25 times 100 runs). In the MCA League, teams like Kedah, Penang, Perak, Melaka, Johor and even Singapore bore the brunt of Ranjit's thirst for runs.
"Ranjit was also prolific in the government services tournaments, often punishing opposing teams with in excess of 150 runs.
"In 1964, Ranjit scored a 100 in the MCA finals which moved (former New Straits Times sports editor) Norman Siebel to rate Ranjit as the second best batsman in Malaysia after Mike Shepherdson.
"Ranjit was also a very good medium pace bowler and his accuracy and prowess led his teammates to name him the 'Machine'," said Hector.
Ranjit's best performance as a bowler was in the North/South match in 1963 where he grabbed seven wickets for 28 runs.
"Ranjit was an automatic choice in the national team for the 1982 Mini World Cup and the ICC Trophy in Birmingham, 1982. It was here that he struck the first ball for a six in the first match that Malaysia played. This was against a strong Bermuda team," said Hector.
New Straits Times