PUTRAJAYA – Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal today defended the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) presidency for the 2023-2027 term.
In the election held in conjunction with the MHC annual general meeting here, he defended the president post uncontested for the third consecutive term.
Subahan first took the post in 2015 after Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah (then Tengku Mahkota of Pahang) relinquished the post following his commitment as Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president as well as a member of the FIFA exco for Asia.
Two vice-presidents – Datuk Ahmad Najmi Abdul Razak (men) and Datin Mary Sadiah Zainuddin (women) – were promoted to deputy presidents after winning unopposed when two incumbents, Jagadish Chandra Bipin Chandra did not contest while Prof Datuk S. Shamala gave up the post in January.
Only the five posts of vice-president (men) saw a six-cornered fight, which was won by S. Ganesan and Shurizan Mansor (26 votes each), Datuk Mohd Saiyuti Abd Samat (25), Hasnizam Hassan (23) and Datuk Seri Anil Jeet Singh (15).
M. Gobinathan missed out on the post after getting only six votes, while the two seats for women went to Rogayah Mohamad and Zaililah Md Tahir, who won unopposed.
Speaking at a press conference after the election, Subahan said the biggest challenge for him since leading MHC in 2015 was expecting consistent performance from the national team, even though his side had provided everything for them.
“Players need to understand that it is not only our job (management), but also their responsibility to be hungry when they play in any major tournaments. There are no salary problems, we pay coaches and players well, I dare say some of our coaches are paid as high as football coaches, very highly paid, even players are paid well by us and the clubs in the league.
“We give playing tours to Europe and any part of the continent, sports science and psychologist services, while the coaches also give their best. But the players failed to perform when it matters the most, this is where it is quite challenging for me.
“We are there among the best, on a good day and we can take on any team. In the 2023 World Cup, we nearly knocked out Spain before losing 4-3 in a penalty shootout (in the challenge for the quarter-finals), but on a bad day we lost to some of the weaker teams. Consistency is something we need to sort out,” he said.
He said the important mission in the near future is to successfully organise the men’s Junior World Cup at the Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium from December 5-16, as well as the qualification for next year’s Paris Olympics in Muscat, Oman and Valencia, Spain respectively for the national men’s and women’s squads in January.
Subahan said his side is also in discussions with the International Hockey Federation to organise more international tournaments in Malaysia, besides trying to raise standards and awareness of hockey in the country. – November 25, 2023