KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) plans to harness penalty corner experts who can enhance the technique of converting penalty corners during matches so that the Speedy Tigers can capitalise on penalty corners that are awarded.
MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said the proposal to bring in experts consisting of former international players from home and abroad will be presented during its executive board meeting on Jan 29.
He said the failure of players to capitalise on goal opportunities from penalty corners is a major setback that has often plagued the national squad in recent times and which will continue to haunt them in the 2023 World Cup that is currently underway in India.
“Some of the biggest issues that I realised for many years is the penalty corner issue, like for example if we were masters in penalty corners against Chile yesterday (Jan 16), the scoreline would have been closer like at least 8-2 or 7-2 and not 3-2 (Malaysia won with a late penalty corner strike). Same with the Dutch opponents (Jan 14 match), if we can sound the board from penalty corners we might lose 4-2 instead of 4-0 or even held them.
“I’ve immediately spoken to national head coach A. Arul Selvaraj yesterday and identified a few experts to come on board. I’ll be negotiating with a few of them but it is a bit too early to reveal who they are but I will definitely bring it up in our executive board meeting on Jan 29,” he said at a press conference after the signing ceremony of MHC’s new sponsors Shan Poornam Sdn Bhd, here today.
Subahan said all the experts who will be brought in will serve on a part-time basis to share their tips and extensive knowledge with the coaching staff and national players.
“We need technical expertise for penalty corners because if we can find a solution, it will be a great advantage for us. Hopefully we will be much stronger in the next Asian Games as we need to win it to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” he said.
He said that funding constraints are seen as the reason why MHC does not hire full-time experts since they would swallow huge sums, while admitting that they also have other commitments with some formidable teams abroad.
Therefore, he said sponsorship from corporate or external companies such as Shan Poornam Sdn Bhd is very important in helping MHC acquire technical support, not only for the senior squad but also for the youth teams so as to be able to improve their performance in the future.
Subahan, who was excited about the two-year RM400,000 sponsorship for 2023-2024 by the local waste management company, also admitted that MHC needed funds of RM3 million a year to cover expenses, including for overseeing all the men’s and women’s squads, juniors and for organising tournaments.
Apart from financial aid from outside sources, he also hoped the government can consider giving additional funds to MHC through the presentation of the 2023 Budget on Feb 24.
In the meantime, Shan Poornam Sdn Bhd Business Development manager Nesapurana Selvakumar said he was committed to sponsoring MHC after embracing the explanation of Arul Selvaraj who is determined to bring hockey to the highest level.
It was also his company’s initiative to expand the scope of sponsorship in the field of sports following past CSR aid to students, schools and cancer patients in the country. - Bernama
