KUALA LUMPUR — After a disappointing outing at the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT), national hockey coach Sarjit Singh is returning to the drawing board, aiming to address the team’s physical shortcomings.
Speaking to Scoop, Sarjit said he plans to introduce fitness programmes that focus on strength training — an area he believes was neglected by his predecessors.
“I’m working to fix the issues that previous coaches failed to address, but I need time to complete them,” Sarjit said.
While the Speedy Tigers are renowned for their incredible speed on the turf, they have struggled to compete physically against European and Asian teams, often being overpowered in the last two quarters of matches.
This recurring issue has been evident in the team’s last three tournaments — the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, the Nations Cup, and the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT).
The lack of physical strength has contributed to the national team’s underperformance. They finished fourth at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in May and seventh at the Nations Cup in June.
The problem was further highlighted in July when Malaysia was hammered 10-1 in a friendly match against Germany.
The situation hit a new low when Malaysia finished last in the six-team ACT tournament.
However, Sarjit assured fans that changes are on the way. He plans to implement training programmes over the next three months, focusing on building muscle mass in his players.
Before Sarjit’s appointment in March, the Speedy Tigers were coached by Arul Selvaraj (2020-2024) and Roelant Oltmans (2018-2020).
“Based on our last three tournaments, I’ve identified the gaps in our gameplay and where we fall short compared to our opponents,” Sarjit explained.
“I noticed these issues after our Sultan Azlan Shah Cup campaign, but we didn’t have enough time to complete the (necessary strength) programme before the Nations Cup. In my opinion, this should have been introduced much earlier by my predecessors.
At the same time, Sarjit acknowledged that the game evolves every year, and they failed to foresee the challenges the team might face.
“Now that I’m aware of them, I’m working to fix this with my young team.
“Since we have plenty of time and no tournaments for the rest of the year, I want to make the most of it and build up my players’ physical strength so we can be bigger and better.
“We already have speed, but now we need the muscles. I’m not saying my players will look like bodybuilders, but I can guarantee that players like Azrai Abu Kamal will have more muscle mass when fans watch him play next,” he said.
At the ACT, Malaysia managed just one win from six matches, scoring 17 goals but conceding 25, failing to meet the Malaysian Hockey Confederation’s (MHC) top-four target.
Their most humiliating defeat came at the hands of India — an 8-1 drubbing, marking their worst defeat in 36 encounters with the world number five side since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. — September 17, 2024