KUALA LUMPUR – National hockey head coach Sarjit Singh revealed that he has identified 18 players from the ongoing national selection camp to be part of the revamped Speedy Tigers, expected to be announced Monday.
Last December, The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) disbanded the national senior and junior men’s teams last month after they failed in the Olympic qualifiers in January and the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup in Bukit Jalil respectively.
A total of 46 players were selected by the gaffer to join the selection camp from the recently concluded Malaysia Hockey League, from March 19 to 31.
On April 1, the players will be narrowed down to 30 to begin preparation for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Nations Cup in May.
Speaking to Scoop, Sarjit said that the 18 players selected are predominantly junior players, together with several core senior players as they have been impressive in the training sessions over the past few weeks.
“I have already selected 18 players for the next phase of the selection camp. They will be included in the new team that I will be assembling.
“They have been showing great progress throughout training and gave 100% in all sessions they attended.
“The majority of players are young and will be a great addition to the national team in the years to come.
“However, I will not dismiss the inclusion of senior players in the team. A few of them are also part of the selected 18 players.
“My challenge now is to finalise the remaining 12 players to make the final 30-player list for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament.
“The coaches and I will analyse and come up with the final decision in the remaining two days. I can’t reveal the players’ list for now. It will be announced on Monday.
The 61-year-old Sarjit was appointed on a two-year contract by MHC. His main target is to prepare a strong team for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya and lead the Speedy Tigers for 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. – March 30,2024