MHF - Do they have the right people doing the job?

Reports by the Chairman of the Coaching Committee and the National Coach indicated that the failure of the Malaysian team at the Olympic Qualifiers in Japan was because of the failure of the "forwards" who missed scoring opportunities and the "defences" in permitting leakages in goals. In short, that was one of the main reasons of Malaysia's failure to qualify. The recommendation is to have 2 foreign coaches for these departments under the current National Coach.

Interestingly, at the Council meeting to discuss this, the 2 main persons - the Deputy President and the National Coach - were absent. Surprisingly, the recommendation was accepted and it seems the failure to qualify and its consequences were not of any significant importance to MHF. It would seem the implication of not qualifying for a World Cup and 2 Olympics is not properly understood by MHF. When FIH comes with its next list of country rankings, Malaysia would probably be in the 20th position. The worst ever position in Malaysian hockey history.

Seriously, what is happening to Malaysian hockey? One thing i know is, having had the privilege to read the National Coach report on the Qualifiers, it shows a lack of depth in analysing the overall performance and the game by game analysis. I really wonder if the current Coaches and even the Coaching Committee have the capability and ability to read, analyse and prepare the team for what I refer to as modern hockey.

Hockey has changed and is still changing. In any international game you require 14 fully fit players, (other than the 2 goalkeepers), doing the job of 10 players by going in and out of the 70 minute game, utilising the full extent of the hockey pitch. Speed with explosive runs plus players being able to play at any position combined with near perfect skills and the requirement of split second real time decision making is what modern hockey demands.To do that, the process requires intricate planning, which itself begs a scientific approach so as careful measurements are obtained to provide the necessary statistics on a players performance and ultimately the team's. This is not an overnight exercise, rather as mentioned a process that starts with input at the development stage.

This is what the people in MHF are not fully comprehending and are making ad hoc decisions that is going to kill the interest in hockey and ultimately the game. If common sense is to prevail, then the right people must be there to do the job. MHF is not a place for power seekers, rather for people who have the commitment to work for the betterment of the sport locally and internationally. Malaysia had been in the forefront of international hockey for decades and to see what is happening now, is a reflection that malignancy has set in and it is only a matter of time before Malaysian hockey may see its demise in the international arena and gradually locally.

Enough letters are flying around and that is how bad the situation has become. Even if we refuse to believe major part of the letters but if 10% of it is the truth, then it reconfirms the presences of malignancy in MHF. Therefore can MHF be saved?