KUALA LUMPUR – Former Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) deputy president, Datuk S. Shamala, has called for a paradigm shift in the way the public perceives hockey.
The sport’s reputation has taken a hit due to back-to-back disappointments in prestigious tournaments, with the most recent setback being the Speedy Tigers’ failure to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Under the guidance of head coach Arul Selvaraj, the team finished bottom of Group A, managing just one point, with losses to China (3-2) and Great Britain (4-1), along with a draw against Pakistan (3-3).
Speaking to Scoop, Shamala said MHC needed to have collective efforts within the organisation to improve the sport’s image, urging the hockey body to focus on constructive measures rather than engaging in a blame game that may bring the sport down the drain.
“We can’t blame the fans for criticising the team. Netizens from the sports community are really smart, and the MHC management should not take them for a ride.
“The fans are not upset about the teams losing, but they are just upset with how MHC and the players portray themselves when they lose.
“MHC should learn how to accept the criticisms from those who care about the game and should stop running away from criticisms,” said Shamala.
Additionally, Shamala, who also served as deputy president of the Selangor Hockey Association, stressed the importance of adopting data-driven technology to enhance the national team’s competitiveness against some of the world’s hockey powerhouses.
She also criticised the reliance on subjective opinions and called for a more analytical approach.
“Data-driven technology is very important in the current state of hockey if we hope to compete against some of the best teams in the world. The majority of the countries around have already been implementing this for a very long time.
“I think it’s very important for MHC not to get shocked, and they shouldn’t get caught off guard. It’s sad to know that in our country, we don’t know when the injuries are happening and when exactly the players will recover.
“With data-driven technology, MHC will be able to know in advance which are the teams that may give them threats and how they can overcome them with ease and be well-prepared.
“MHC needs to up their game if they hope not to get caught off guard in the future by other teams,” Shamala added.
Malaysia have been absent from Olympic hockey since the 2000 Sydney Games, and the unsuccessful bid to qualify for Paris this year was traced back to the Hangzhou Asian Games, where the team fell short of the targeted gold and faced a sixth-place finish.
This led to the Speedy Tigers getting the boot from the Road to Gold programme. – January 28, 2024