KUALA LUMPUR – National hockey head coach Sarjit Singh admits that it will take at least a year or more for the Speedy Tigers to reach the level of European teams.
Sarjit’s response came after his side’s opening two games in their ongoing European tour, in which they will spend the next few weeks playing against Olympic-bound teams such as Germany, the Netherlands, India, and German hockey clubs in a friendly series.
With an average age of 25, Sarjit’s team has so far played two matches against Belgium, who have fielded their development squad with experience playing in the FIH Pro League.
Malaysia won their opening game 3-2 on Monday and lost their second game 4-2 yesterday.
It is understood that the European trip is funded by the National Sports Council.
Speaking to Scoop from Antwerp, Sarjit said that his team has much to learn from their European counterparts if they hope to be on par with them in the years to come.
“We are here for the learning experience, and we have been learning a lot from each game that we play. We won the first game against Belgium by luck and lost our second game as we failed to take our chances in the penalty box.
“Our defense has improved a lot with players like Faiz Helmi Jali coming on board, but I’m still not satisfied with the way we are conceding goals from direct penalty corners.
“The Europeans’ basics are really strong, and the way they create space among themselves is impressive. The way they channel their players when we pressure them also shows how much we are lacking.
“We need to get there, and it’s going to take some time for us to reach that level. It will take maybe more than a year. But the players I have are still young, and I believe that with more tough fixtures like these, they will improve,” said Sarjit when contacted.
At the same time, Sarjit also said that the ongoing European tour is a perfect platform for him to evaluate his players for future competitions.
“Some of my players can play well against Asian teams, but they can’t play well against European teams.
“So this platform is good for me to evaluate all the players I have by giving them opportunities.
“By rotating the players I have, I can know who can be fielded for which game in the future by clearly knowing their pros and cons,” Sarjit added.
Sarjit, brought in by Malaysia Hockey Confederation on a two-year contract in March, selected 18 players from a pool of 30 for his revamped team.
They will next participate in the Asian Champions Trophy in Inner Mongolia, China, scheduled for September 8 to 17.
The Speedy Tigers currently rank number 12 in the world with 1,910.30 points. – July 5, 2024