KUALA LUMPUR – Is hockey at the risk of being removed from the podium programme?
The Speedy Tigers’ poor performance in the recently concluded Hangzhou Asian Games has made Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal worry about the sports’ continued existence in the podium programme, which falls under the purview of the National Sports Council (NSC).
Speaking to reporters at a press conference today, Subahan said hockey athletes may lose out on the programme’s benefits if they happen to be removed from the programme.
“I have a feeling that we might not be included in the programme as we didn’t achieve what we wanted to achieve in the Asian Games.
“Despite us not doing well in the Asian Games we still have the hunger and desire to prove ourselves in the upcoming Olympic qualifiers.
“If this decision is made, it will affect our player’s training and recovery process as we heavily rely on NSC’s gymnasiums.
“This evening I will have a meeting with NSC and we will know our status whether we are in the programme or not,” said Subahan.
At the same time, Subahan said the NSC should consider the progress made by the national hockey team instead of solely focusing on the results.
“I know that in order for us to remain in the programme we need to have a podium finish but they need to give us the time as we are still working based on our six-year plan.
“I agree that our men’s team had a bad campaign in the Asian Games but that’s just one failure among other achievements.
“So, I hope they don’t judge us based on one bad tournament,” Subahan added.
The podium programme was established in 2016 with the aim of nurturing the nation’s best athletes with high-class training facilities and sports science benefits.
Recently, hockey was also excluded from the Road To Gold (RTG) programme for failing to win a gold medal at the Asian Games, which would have secured a ticket to the Olympics, in addition to falling to 12th place in the world rankings.
National hockey team manager, Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi, expressed hope of regaining the trust of the RTG committee by securing a spot at next year’s Paris Summer Olympics via next year’s qualifiers.
Malaysia finished sixth in the Asian Games, missing a direct Olympic qualification slot with their 5-2 defeat to Pakistan.
Malaysia’s hopes now centre on the hockey Olympic qualifiers scheduled to take place from January 15 to 21 in Oman and Spain. – November 30,2023