KUALA LUMPUR – Newly appointed national hockey assistant coach Sohail Abbas is set on reshaping the Speedy Tigers’ mindset, prioritising attitude over aptitude on the turf.
The 49-year-old Pakistani legend, widely regarded as one of the best drag flickers of all time, gave his response while scouting for new talents and monitoring the performance of the current national team players at the ongoing 2024 Tun Abdul Razak Cup in Johor Bahru.
Abbas, who was brought in by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) on Tuesday, is expected to be a valuable asset to the national coaching team, currently led by Sarjit Singh.
His contract runs for one year, with the option to extend for another year. During this time, he will also assist in preparing both the men’s and women’s junior squads for the 2024 Junior Asia Cup in Muscat, Oman, next November.
Speaking to Scoop, Abbas, a three-time Olympian who has also coached various clubs in the Netherlands and Germany, said that he has been closely following the Speedy Tigers over the years and believes he has the formula to fine-tune the team.
Abbas also holds the FIH world record for scoring 348 goals in 311 international matches from 1998 to 2012.
“I love taking on challenges and I have a good track record in managing young players. I’ve watched the Malaysian team play on several occasions, and they have great potential.
“They can play good hockey, but their inability to capitalise on set pieces has been a concern for years.
“More than focusing on aptitude, I’m going to work on changing the players’ attitudes on the turf.
“They have the skills, and with a better mindset, I can guarantee that their penalty conversion rate will increase by 10% in the coming months. I’ve known ‘paaji’ (brother – Sarjit) for many years, and I’m confident we can make the necessary changes to the team,” Abbas said when contacted.
In January last year, MHC appointed Malaysian legend S. Kuhan as a penalty corner advisor to further enhance the Speedy Tigers’ performance.
Two months later, MHC brought in former Australian specialist Christopher Ciriello, a 2014 World Cup winner and bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics.
Despite these efforts, the national squad has continued to struggle with converting penalty corners into goals in recent international matches. – October 3, 2024