KUALA LUMPUR – The fate of national junior hockey head coach Amin Rahim hangs in the balance as the Malaysia Hockey Confederation (MHC) is set to decide on his future in the next two weeks.
MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said the confederation would allow its coaching chairman and the national team management committee to determine whether they still require the former national player’s service for the Young Tigers.
“As the president, I’m disappointed that the team didn’t meet the target set for the tournament, which was to finish in the quarterfinals.
“We at MHC have provided the best for the team. We have offered them the best training facilities, the best specialist coaches – both local and foreign – and everything that can elevate their gameplay.
“Since we have given the team everything they require, it’s the coach’s role to bring out the best in the players we already have.
“We are aware that coach Amin’s contract will be ending at the end of this year, and my job is not to dictate whether to extend his contract or find a new coach with better capabilities to lead the team.
“I have handed over the decision-making process to the committee, and they will announce their decision in two weeks,” Subahan said during a press conference at the National Hockey Stadium today.
Meanwhile, Subahan also said that the future of the Young Tigers is bright and expressed his hopes for the players to showcase a good attitude on and off the turf if they wish to be part of the squad for the years to come.
“Despite our failure at the Junior World Cup, I personally believe that this team has a bright future, as nine to 11 of the players can still play in the next edition in 2025. The majority of these players were selected and trained from the Malaysia Games (Sukma) held last year.
“But we have a problem, as our players’ attitude is not up to par compared to our opponents’ players in this tournament.
“I have heard several reports that our players have been showcasing some bad attitude and hope that they can change it and become better athletes.
“As a governing body, we take our players’ attitudes seriously. Some of them can be the superstars of the team, but we are not bothered about that.
“If their attitude is bad, we will not hesitate to kick them out of the team, and they will not be selected to represent the Young Tigers again,” Subahan added.
49-year-old Amin took charge as the head coach of the junior squad in October last year after guiding the national men’s hockey team to become champions of the Men’s Indoor Asia Cup competition in Bangkok.
Amin’s charges ended their World Cup campaign in the 12th position after falling to New Zealand in yesterday’s 11th place play-off match, marking their worst finish as the host of the tournament since the 2009 edition in Johor Bahru, where they also finished in the same position.
Aside from Amin, all the other national coaches, including senior team head coach Arul Selvaraj, will see their contracts end on December 31. – December 16, 2023