KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) deputy president Datuk Ahmad Najmi Abdul Razak has urged the national players to shut out social media criticism and use their disappointing World Cup campaign as motivation ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Najmi said the players had given their best for the country and should not allow negative comments from fans to affect their confidence as they prepare for the continental multi-sport Games.
“There were netizens who supported the national team by saying, don’t give up. But there were also netizens who wrote some unpleasant things about the players.
“Writing bad things against the national team on social media is not giving the national players encouragement. The national players have played very hard for the country.
“I have seen them train hard and play really hard for Malaysia. I don’t know what is in the fans’ hearts to say or write bad things about the national players,” he told reporters at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
Najmi, who also manages the men’s national team, said he had reminded the players not to be distracted by comments made about them online.
“I told the players not to worry about what people said or wrote. I still thank the hockey fans for supporting the team and for those who hit them.
“I told the players to take it in stride, as their words can encourage them to play much better for the Asian Games. We also want the media to write positive things about the national team,” he said.
The Speedy Tigers are now focused on putting their underwhelming World Cup showing behind them and building towards a stronger performance at the Asian Games.
Meanwhile, Najmi said MHC had set a target of reaching the semi-finals for the national women’s team, who are aiming to break a long-standing drought at the tournament.
Malaysia have finished fifth in the women’s hockey competition at the last five Asian Games since the 2006 edition in Doha. However, Najmi believes new head coach C. R. Kumar can guide the team into the final four.
“The national women’s team have finished fifth in the last five Asian Games (since 2006 in Doha) and we have faith that Kumar will guide the women’s team to reach the semi-finals,” he said.
Kumar, who previously coached Malaysia from 2002 to 2006, has implemented a more intensive strength and conditioning programme to improve the team’s power, explosiveness, speed and physicality.
The programme is aimed at helping Malaysia compete against the stronger and more physically dominant teams in Asia.
Malaysia have been drawn in Group A alongside defending champions China, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Taiwan and Bangladesh, while Group B features India, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Uzbekistan.
Kumar said Malaysia would need to overcome South Korea, who are also rebuilding their squad, to secure a top-two finish in the group and qualify for the semi-finals.
“South Korea are also rebuilding their team and we hope to get the better of them to finish in the top two in our group to reach the semi-finals,” he said.
The team have intensified their preparations by playing seven matches against Ireland, Wales and Scotland, giving Kumar the opportunity to evaluate his players against quality international opposition.
“In preparation for the Asian Games, we played seven matches with Ireland, Wales and Scotland and we are ready for the challenge,” he said.
The Asian Games will mark Kumar’s first major assignment since returning as Malaysia’s head coach in April.
Malaysia’s best achievement in women’s hockey at the Asian Games came in 1982, when they won the bronze medal in New Delhi. – September 11, 2026