KUALA LUMPUR – National men’s hockey coach Sarjit Singh keeps silent over speculation of the involvement of South Korean coach Kim Sang-ryul in the new national coaching set-up.
On Sunday, Scoop quoted a highly placed source within the hockey fraternity that the former China men’s team coach will work together with Sarjit to rebuild the national team.
Today, Malaysia Hockey Confederation (MHC) deputy president Datuk Ahmad Najmi Abdul Razak announced the appointment of Mohamad Sukri Abdul Mutalib, which has now put Sang-ryul out of the equation to be an assistant coach to Sarjit.
However, there is still a possibility that Sang-ryul could be involved with the national team in a different capacity.
At the same time, Sarjit said that he would move forward with the current line-up of coaches for now.
MHC also confirmed Azrul Effendy Bistamam as another assistant for Sarjit and S. Kumar as the goalkeeping coach.
“Of course, if there are any changes, I will have to talk to the MHC first.
“There are one or two names that I have in mind, but we need to discuss this with the national body, and when the time is right, we will let the public know.
“Whoever comes in, they will be on a consultancy basis, and hopefully, I can make the announcement as soon as possible,” said the 61-year-old.
The 69-year-old Sang-ryul is regarded as one of the best hockey coaches in the world, and it is understood that he is currently in contact with the MHC and will probably be joining the national team in the weeks to come.
With a reputation for having an aggressive style of coaching, Sang-ryul is well known for his 4-3-3 and 4-5-1 systems, where he aims for his players to always burst onto the flanks instead of moving on relatively flat lines, which has been the norm in Malaysian hockey over the past four years.
The South Korean guided China’s men’s team to silver at the 2006 Doha Asian Games and the women’s team to fifth place at the 2012 London Olympics.
Meanwhile, at the same press conference, Sarjit named 46 players to join a selection camp which will run from March 19-31.
The 46 players will be whittled down to 30 on April 1 to start preparation for two tournaments – the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup from May 4-11 and the Six Nations Cup from May 30 to June 9 in Poland and Spain. – March 12, 2024