HOCKEY: MHF remains tight-lipped

Tengku Abdullah has not named the coach.

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) remains tight-lipped over the foreign coach to helm the national senior team but its president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said a candidate will likely be hired in the next 24 hours.

"In principle, an agreement has been reached with the foreign candidate through a third party. We tried to reach him today (yesterday) but failed. We will need to speak to him first and will try again tomorrow (today)," said Tengku Abdullah after chairing the MHF management meeting at a leading hotel in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

"The candidate is very interested and the federation will need to speak to him on a contract agreement. I can't reveal the identity just yet but what I can promise you is that he's a person with credentials.

"The candidate will start work as soon as possible if an agreement is reached."

Tengku Abdullah had noted recently that three foreign candidates were short-listed for the coaching job. The aspirants he mentioned are from Europe, Asia and Australia.
Several foreign coaches including South Korean Kim Sang Ryul have been linked with the job.

However, an insider revealed that the candidate is an Australian but none wanted to confirm this. Meanwhile, national players including those in the junior squad, will be barred from representing clubs in the Malaysian Hockey League Division Two and Three, starting next month.

The MHL Division Two and Three competitions are Under-19 events replacing the Junior Hockey League. Each division will consist 10 teams.

Tengku Abdullah said national players cannot commit to the league due to international assignments.

"The seniors have the Azlan Shah Cup and Asia Cup (May 8-15) to prepare for while the junior team are getting into shape for the Junior World Cup (June 7-21)," he said.

The Division One, consisting of 10 teams, starts in June while the Premier League is scheduled for between October and November.

Tengku Abdullah said the federation is hoping to get a minimum of six teams for the Premier League.

"Ideally, we are hoping for eight teams but it will go on if there's only six. It's important that the teams competing in the Premier League are of equal standard.

"Clubs in the Premier League can hire players, both the seniors and juniors," he added.

Meanwhile, a Four-Nation Junior tournament will be played in Johor Baru as a trial run for the Junior World Cup.

"We have invited Pakistan, India and Germany and will confirm the dates later," Tengku Abdullah confirmed.

Tengku Abdullah also said that the Junior World Cup draw has been conducted and it will be released by the International Hockey Federation (IHF) soon.

l THE national hockey team started centralised training under caretaker coach Tai Beng Hai yesterday in preparation for the Azlan Shah Cup on April 3-12.

NST