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Smokers in national squad to undergo special rehab


By S. RAMAGURU

KUALA LUMPUR: There are 10 smokers in the national hockey team. And they will have dates with the doctors at the National Sports Institute (NSI) to undergo a special rehabilitation programme.

The programme will be in stages as the team management do not want it to disrupt the training schedules targeted towards the Asia Cup in May.

Team manager George Koshy said yesterday that the 10 players who smoke were identified from tests carried out by the NSI last month. But he chose not to reveal their identities.

“Not all of them are hard core smokers. Some claimed that they had stopped smoking while a few others said they were cutting down the habit. All the 10 players will have to undergo a special rehab programme to help them kick the habit,” said Koshy.

Last month, the NSI director general, Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz, blew the lid on players in the national team who smoke and having bad habits.

He said that this had resulted in the lack of fitness and it was a contributing factor to the declining standard of the national team.

The team management are worried that sending all 10 players for the special programme will cause problems as some may have withdrawal symptoms to deal with.

“It is risky to send them all at one go. We will do it in stages, starting with those who have quit or started cutting down followed by the hard core smokers,” said Koshy.

He added that all the players in the squad had showed great commitment since training started on Jan 5.

The first assignment for the team is the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Ipoh from April 6-12 followed by the Asia Cup in Dubai from May 8-13.

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