KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) supports national head coach Sarjit Singh’s vision of sending players to foreign leagues for the betterment of the national team.
The governing body’s response comes after Sarjit told Scoop that Monchengladbach, competing in the Feldhockey Bundesliga, is currently interested in bringing a Malaysian forward on board to strengthen their team.
Sarjit also said that 10 to 12 of his players are on the radar of clubs that participate in the Hockey India League (HIL).
Speaking to Scoop, MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said that the governing body believes this initiative will help Malaysian players gain more exposure and contribute from the knowledge that they gain for the national team.
“MHC will always support our players in playing in foreign leagues, especially our national players, as we encourage everyone to explore and learn various aspects of the game worldwide.
“If the head coach wants his players to play abroad, as the president, I fully agree and support sending as many players as we can, including the men’s seniors, juniors, and women players.
“If the initiative is supported by the national coach and the states, we will, by all means, send them. We will also try to take care of their welfare while they stay abroad.
“Even during former head coach Arul Selvaraj’s time, we were planning to send many players to foreign leagues, but Covid-19 happened, and we were unable to send the players. With Sarjit’s players, we really hope that the foreign clubs can see them perform, as we want these players to be identified and get called up to be part of their league,” said Subahan when contacted.
For the record, the Saari brothers – Faizal and Fitri – recently made waves in the Bangladesh Hockey League with Mohammedan SC in March this year.
The Speedy Tigers are currently in Belgium to play three games against the world’s number three side from July 1 to 5.
Sarjit’s squad, with an average age of 25 years, has so far played two matches against Belgium, who fielded their development squad with experience in playing in the FIH Pro League.
Malaysia won their opening game 3-2 on Monday and lost their second game 4-2 on Wednesday. Today, the Speedy Tigers beat Belgium 3-2 in the third game.
The Speedy Tigers will then depart for Berlin and spend the next few weeks playing Olympic-bound teams such as Germany, German hockey clubs, the Netherlands, and India in a friendly series.
It is understood that the trip is funded by the National Sports Council.
The Speedy Tigers currently rank number 12 in the world with 1,910.30 points. – July 5, 2024