Malaysia was left flapping, a scarecrow caught in Pakistan’s hockey whirlwind.
Looking confused, the national men’s team could only manage to draw 3-3. They needed to win by two goals to face Germany in the semi-final.
As in their two previous matches, they resembled rabbits in headlights yesterday and as a result, got blown away from the Paris Olympics.
Whose fault is it when a team forgets how to win?
The Malaysian squad has the highest number of international caps (2,253) at the Olympic qualifier taking place in Muscat, Oman, but they failed to recapture the aggression of the once roaring Speedy Tigers.
Instead, the most experienced team was reduced to a sluggish also-ran, with two straight defeats against China (3-2), Britain (4-1), and yesterday’s draw in the group stage.
After the opening disgraceful beating by China, the most inexperienced team in the tournament, with a collective total of 337 international caps, it was always obvious Malaysia’s Olympic campaign would end in tears and outbursts.
Mathematically, Malaysia was still in contention for the last four but instead served up a dog’s dinner against Pakistan (503 international caps).
Britain had slightly opened the door to Paris for Malaysia after thumping China 6-0 in an earlier match.
Malaysia took the lead in the 20th minute, conceded a goal three minutes later, then went ahead again in the 30th minute, only for Pakistan to draw level three minutes later.
They then pulled ahead 3-2 in the 41st minute but could only hold on to the lead for 11 minutes. Using “power play” Malaysia earned a penalty corner in the last minute, but it wouldn’t have mattered even if they had scored.
Pakistan will meet Germany while Britain will play New Zealand in the semi-finals.
To fail like this was inexplicable. So what do we get? A deluded nation.
The low point in Malaysian hockey has become an instant case study in how to mess things up, a mess of their own making.
The approach to being in the Olympics after 24 years has been directionless, with some seemingly pulling in different directions and distracted by different agendas.
In Muscat, A Arul Selvaraj’s squad appeared ill-prepared, off the pace and complacent, ostensibly believing they could simply turn up and turn it on.
Most responsible coaches and players do not carry their shortfalls forward, but the same doesn’t seem true for this team.
The reality is there has been no credible plan to repair Malaysian hockey’s battered reputation after the mediocre performance at the Asian Games last year.
A look at the extent of the mess reveals a lack of long-term vision that marries elite performance and junior development.
It is one thing to identify the ailment, and another to find a cure.
Plenty of words have been expended in recent years on the failings of youth development and the need to do things differently.
According to former Olympian Maninderjit Singh, only one player made it to the current senior team from the national junior squads of 2021 and 2023.
“This means the supply chain has malfunctioned,” he said in his assessment of Malaysia’s performance at the qualifier.
He said, in contrast, eight players from the 2013 national junior team were already in the senior team and formed the spine of the juniors.
Maninderjit said when the practise of constantly moving juniors to the senior team fails, there will be no competitiveness among the elite players.
“Why this is not happening now is because the preparation of the national junior team is not up to international standard,” he added.
Hosts Malaysia finished a dismal 12th at the recent Junior Hockey World Cup. Many observers had commented that our players were dull and aimless.
Maninderjit offered that after the Junior Hockey World Cup, there will normally be a high turnover of senior players whose international careers will end.
He said: “Now that Malaysia is out of the Olympics, the scary thing is at least seven key senior players are expected to retire.
“It will be a full-blown crisis because it will be hollow at the bottom, owing to the severe lack of quality juniors.
“Where will the quality replacements come from after the seven seniors retire?”
Clearing up the utter mess will be no easy task. Difficult decisions have to be made, Arul Selvaraj has to go. Also, the squabbling and selfishness among hockey leaders must stop.
Maybe being out of the top flight will clear up this chaos because what has been going on is as clear as mud. - FMT
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
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