KUALA LUMPUR: Penalty corner specialist Mohd Amin Rahim has quit the national hockey team on a sad note.
The 32-year-old Kuala Lumpur-born defender said age has caught up with him and his services are no longer required.
“I was criticised for my performance in the Olympic qualifiers in Dublin in March.
“Failing to qualify for the London Olympics was the main reason for me to quit the national team.
“Expectations were high on us in Dublin and we let everyone down. We were heavily criticised for the failure,” said Amin, who had featured 237 times for the national team since 1999.
Malaysia finished a disappointing third in the qualifier behind champions South Korea and hosts Ireland.
It was the third consecutive time that Malaysia had failed to qualify for the Olympics since Sydney 2000.
Amin said the Dublin debacle was the saddest moment of his hockey career.
“We have failed to qualify for the Olympics too many times. Some even blamed the defenders and said that I was the weakest link in the backline and made some errors in Dublin,” said Amin, a father of two.
Amin said there was no point to continue playing for the national team if his services were no longer appreciated.
He added that there are young defenders in the national team who are good and could replace him.
The other national defenders are Mohd Razie Abdul Rahim, Baljit Singh Charun, Mohd Sukri Abdul Mutalib and Mohd Noor Faeez Ibrahim.
Amin said he wanted to quit after the Dublin failure but was told that his services were still needed for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh in May.
“I was again criticised in the tournament for being flat-footed. And I felt that it was best for me to quit now,” he said.
Amin made his international debut in the 1999 Brunei SEA Games but he only played regularly for the national team from 2002.
He, however, was the toast of the team, scoring six goals in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games to help Malaysia win the bronze medal.
He was also named as the best player in the four-nation Hamburg Masters in 2008, scoring four goals in guiding Malaysia to second place behind champions Germany.
Amin was also the hero of the team in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou as he scored two goals from penalty corners to help Malaysia beat India 3-2 in the semi-finals.
Malaysia won their first ever silver in the Games after losing 2-0 to Pakistan in the final.
“Although I am retiring from the national team, I will continue to play in domestic tournaments,” said Amin, who is a Tenaga Nasional employee.
THE STAR
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