KUALA LUMPUR – Marhan Jalil’s position as captain of the Speedy Tigers is still in doubt despite making it into Sarjit Singh’s newly revamped team.
A total of 46 players were selected by the national hockey head coach to join the selection camp from the recently concluded Malaysia Hockey League, held from March 19 to 31.
The players were narrowed down to 30 today to begin preparations for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Nations Cup in May.
In January, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) disbanded the national senior and junior men’s teams after they failed in the Olympic qualifiers and the Junior World Cup, respectively.
Marhan is among four senior players above the age of 30 – along with Fitri Saari, Faizal Saari, and Hafizuddin Othman – who are in Sarjit’s new team, with an average squad age of 25.
The experienced 34-year-old midfielder, who has made a total of 302 appearances for the national team since 2011, had captained the team under the tutelage of former head coach Arul Selvaraj from 2020 to early this year in the Olympic qualifiers.
Sarjit said that he had yet to decide who would carry the responsibility of wearing the armband for his team, citing that he needed more time to better understand his players’ personalities.
“I know that Marhan was the team captain for a long time, and he’s been doing a very good job as captain over the years.
“But I can’t guarantee that he will be the captain of my team, as I need more time to analyse all the other senior players in the team to know who will be the right person to carry the responsibility.
“I can’t be biased or picky with certain individuals because, at the end of the day, hockey is a team sport.
“My focus for now is not on the team captain; I want to conduct more training with the assembled team and make sure that I finalise the final 18 players of the team before the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup,” said Sarjit during a press conference at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
At the same time, Sarjit also said he was hoping the seasoned campaigners would guide the young players he had chosen for his team.
“I’m here with a long-term plan, and that’s the reason the average age of my team is 25-years-old with several fresh faces.
“As the senior players in the team, I really hope that they can lead by example and ensure that the junior players are well focused and emulate their commitment to the national team.
“With proper guidance from the seniors, there is no doubt that these young players will one day shine on the international level,” Sarjit added.
The 61-year-old Sarjit was appointed on a two-year contract by the MHC. His main target is to prepare a strong team for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya and lead the Speedy Tigers to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
In addition to the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and the Nations Cup in Poland, Sarjit’s team will also participate in the Asian Champions Trophy in Inner Mongolia, China, scheduled to take place from September 8 to 17.
The Speedy Tigers are currently ranked 13th in the world, with 1,828.27 points. – April 1, 2024