NATIONAL TEAM NAMED, BUT PROBLEMS LINGER

That is the list of national trainees for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup as released by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation secretariat this afternoon.

Training commenced this morning and only these players turned up - S. Kumar, Roslan Jamaluddin, Baljit Singh, Mohd Amin Rahim, Muhammad Azammi Adabi, Izwan Firdaus Ahmad Tajuddin, Azreen Rizal Nasir, Mohammad Izzat Mohd Rahim, Mohd Marhan Mohd Jalil, Nabil Fiqri Mohd Nor and Mohd Hairi Abdul Rahman.

Five of them are with the national juniors and some are said to have yet to get release from their classes as they are either in colleges/universities.

And for those who chose to believe that the stories were made up by this blog and a leading English daily, below is just one comment of the coach on a player - position and name of player with held.

"A disappointing performance at the OQ. His performance is taking a dip compared to when he first joined the team. He appears to be having problems to sustain play at high tempo. This could be the cold conditions as per Asian Champions Trophy and CC1. The effects of smoking are the most likely cause. He has to improve on his strength and fitness in order to be more effective and retain his place."

So if the coach knew these problems since Asian Champions Trophy, why was this player not dropped?

STALEMATE

The coaches were probably enjoying the golf at the Malaysian Open.

But some five kilometers away, at the KL Hockey Stadium, a somber looking bunch of hockey players were in serious discussion with the national team manager George Koshy.

The deep look that they gave when pictures were taken was a clear reflection that the national hockey players were really aggrieved with the report submitted by their coach pertaining to the failure of the team to make it to the London Olympics.

While the players were shown, as was the media last Thursday, the presentation made by Tai Beng Hai to the MHC Council on April 10, they were however born presented with the full report,parts of which were revealed by this blog and a national English daily.

Not all the players who were in Dublin were there to listen to Koshy first hand as Faisal and Fitri Saari were with the national junior side while Baljit Singh was attending a wedding in Ipoh.

Also absent was Mohd Shukri Mutalib and Izwan Firdaus.

Some players who were called up to join the squad for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup but who were not in Dublin, Hafiz, Amir Farid, Azammi Adabi and Firhan Ashaari were present though.

" I explained to the players what had happened and showed that what was presented to council and media. However the full report was not provided to players , " said Koshy when met after the two hour session.

" Actually the team is supposed to report tomorrow but they have yet to be informed that they are to report to camp hence one should not read much into this.

" From the discussion, the feedback from the players is that they want to understand why all these things happened, the truth on what was written in media and also said at the press conference.

"I did provide explanation on some of the comments like on anger management - where in the matches against Ireland and Korea having players outside long period of time did not help our cause and that could have been what the coach meant.

" The players want to hear clarification from the coach and a session with the coaches will be arranged so as to enable both parties to clear any misunderstanding that could have arisen."

Koshy also said that in principle most of the players have accepted the explanation and have agreed to resume training after meeting with the coach.

However it was learnt that at least three senior players, minus Mohd Madzli Ikmar who announced his retirement, are contemplating withdrawing from the team from the time being as they felt short changed by the coach in his report.

The question now is will Beng Hai admit and stand by what he wrote in his report or resort to denying what was revealed in this blog and the national English daily?

This blog has been threatened with legal action and is VERY prepared to reveal the whole 26 pages of the report, especially the pages that speak about players individually.

It's best to own up and move on, for it takes a man to admit his faults and weaknesses.

Had the report gone through the proper procedures, then none of this would have happened.

But to issue a threat of legal action and call others liars, smacks arrogance.

SEE YOU IN COURT ?

Well national coach Tai Beng Hai held a press conference on Thursday to refute the contents of the report of the Dublin debacle that was published partly in this blog and a leading national English daily.

While I would have loved to be at the Press Conference to fire my own questions to the coach, the late notice prevented me from being back in the city from my hometown.

However while he can claim all he want that the reports published were not reflective of what was written and that he was presenting a historical fact on all those allegations, the fact that a copy of the report was not given to the media that attended the press conference shows that there is something to hide.

And by telling a journalist that he intends to take the newspaper and this blog to court is accepted with open arms.

Over the next few days I intend to publish every page of the report so that the hockey fraternity can decide if the facts were not correctly reported.

So rather than infer, let the public and players decide what is right and wrong.

And yes speaking about the players, eight senior players are said to have decided that they had enough of the shifting of blame and want to stay out until they get to meet the MHC President.

So let's wait and see what happens next. Suffice to say I stand by what was written as it was excerpts of the report presented to the MHC Council.

Also please note that never was the report classified as private and confidential nor does it fall in the ambit of the non existent Article 88 of the MHC Constitution.

So why the big fuss Secretary General about who leaked it as copies were left on tables for anyone to see.

And why was there a need to talk of the past when it was what went wrong in Dublin that was a matter of concern?

Or shall we go back and debate which team was better, the 1975 World Cup side that finished 4th or the 1998 Commonwealth Games Silver Medal winning side.

And for your info and history lesson Beng Hai, in retort of your claim that the decline started when eight players retired after the 2002 World Cup, you have left out a fact that we went on to win the bronze at Busan Asian Games six months later after a hiatus of 12 years, minus the eight players.

MIKE CLARIFIES ON EXIT

Below is an email received from former MHC Secretary General that I am carrying in full.

We wish Mike all the best.

Dear All

I would like to personally thank everyone during my tenure as the General Manager and Secretary General of MHF & MHC since July 2009.

This has been a very difficult decision for me, but I feel it is appropriate choice for my future undertakings in term of career advancement and family. Please read below the milestones that were achieved during the tenure.

Thanking you again for all the support rendered.

OVERVIEW

JULY 2009 – MARCH 2012

These few years has left with invaluable lessons.

Some are painful and some are joyful. With this, MHF and MHC have achieved several vital milestones as stated below:-

Constitutional Changes

- Amendments of six (6) Articles of the MHF Constitution namely:
o Article 5 – Definitions
o Article 12 – Congress and Congress Meetings
o Article 14 – Management Committee
o Article 15 – General Meetings
o Article 16 – Duties of Principal Elected Office-Bearers
o Article 17 – Committees

- Spearheaded and facilitated the new MHC Constitution to be compliance with FIH Statutes.

- Communicated and coordinated with FIH, AHF, OCM, MHF & MWHA to resolve the issue of compliance with FIH.

- Prepared a detailed sequence of events and timeline for MHC since 2006 till as of today.

- Dissolution of Malaysian Hockey Federation via EGM.

- 1st MHC Executive Board Meeting was convened successfully.


Competition

- Organized two editions of 2010 and 2011 Sultan Azlan Cup in Ipoh, Perak.
- Secured and facilitated Televisyen and Broadcasting Rights with Astro Arena for domestic competition.
- Secured RM3million deal for Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (2010-2013).
- Initiated and obtain approval from FIH to organize first Annual Under 21 Men’s Junior hockey tournament called Sultan of Johor Cup in 2011.
- Remodeling two vital Domestic Events i.e. TNBMHL & Tun Abdul Razak.
- Organized two (2) Inaugural Indoor Hockey Tournament i.e. National Indoor Championship and National Under-16.
- Managed age-group events – Sukma, National Under 21, Under 16 and Under 14.
- Reviewed and Increased Allowances for Tournament Officials.
- Increased TNBMHL Prize Money by 30%.
- Increased MJHL Prize Money by 80% and record breaking of 26 teams.
- Increased Hosting Grant by 40% to RM35,000.
- Secured TNB, 100Plus, QNet, Milo (Nestle) for events.
- Rebrand with new logos for the events: TARC, MHL and MJHL.
- Dedicated Website, Twitter and facebook were established.
- Coordination and communication with Media on Press Conference and provide latest updates on the events.

Affiliates

- Increased Hosting Grant by 40% to RM35,000.
- Subsidy from RM3,000 to RM5,000 for each affiliate to participate.
- Introduced Incentive Schemes for State Under-18 League for the Affiliates.
- Organized a Tour to Dublin to support the Malaysian Hockey Team – total of 23 people.
- Special scheme of Air-Ticket (50%) will be absorbed by MHC for Sabah & Sarawak to play in the National Under 14 and Under 16 event.
- Administrative grant of RM10,000 for each Affiliates. Total payout of RM160,000 in 2011.
- Regular emails are sent to keep all the Affiliates updated on the upcoming events and urgent matters.

Administration

- Established a Strategic Planning for six years from 2010 till 2016 with objectives and targets to achieve by MHC.
- Appointment of General Manager effective from August 2009.
- Achieved “Grade A” Scale from Malaysia Sports Commissioner’s Office.
- Attained 63.60% in the Annual OCM Rating Programme.
- Facilitated Management, Council and General Meetings for the year 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
- Streamlining Meetings and Reports with 2-year Calendar in placed.
- Obtained four (4) cars and two (2) Multi-Purpose Vehicle on loan from Hyundai-Sime Darby Malaysia.
- DRB-HICOM donated a motorcycle.
- Skali Group established a website and to maintain it.
- University of Stirling of Scotland has accredited MHC at 3.3 points which is above the requirement of 3.0 points. We were ranked third best NSA among 56 after BAM and SRAM.
- Established twitter and facebook account.
- Prepare speeches for Office Bearers for Meeting and events.

Monetary

- Solicited funds from the Government, Sponsors and well wishers to the tune of RM17.0 million.
- Cleared the debts of RM1.4million.

Coaching
- Managed to send five (5) Coaches to attend FIH High Performance Coaching Course in the Hero Honda Hockey World Cup and Champions Trophy in Germany.
- Undertaken MHF Level 1, 2 & 3.
- Organized Workshop to review the syllabus of Level 1 & 2.
- Communicated with NSI (Coaching Division) on the funding for the yearly courses.
- Also assisted in the recent FIH-AHF DUC Workshop.
- Conducted FIH-MHC High Performance Coaching Course in-conjunction with Sultan of Johor Cup 2011. About 20 person attended.
- FIH-MHC Coaching Course Advance Level 3 (A) will be organized in May during the Sultan Azlan Cup 2012.
- MHC won the Best Coaches category during the Anugerah Sukan Negara 2010.

Umpiring
- Promoted several young Umpires and Umpires Managers at International arena.
- A Strategic Plan was established on the KPI’s by MHCUB.
- Organized Umpires and Umpires Managers’ Seminar in-conjunction with 19th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2010.
- Also structured a National Hockey Umpires Theory Exam throughout the Nation.
- Included and Umpire as part of Tour of the National Teams to provide exposure.

Women Hockey Association

- Contributed RM125,000 to Malaysian Women Hockey Association
- National Women Team participated in the 2010 Junior Hockey League.
- Also included women coaches into the Coaching courses and women umpires to officiate in the domestic competition.
- Review the allowance for the umpires and the officiating umpires get more than the reserve umpire.
- Managed to secure our Malaysian Women team to participate in the Lanco International Super Series event as part of CHOGM.

National Teams – Senior, 2013 and 2017 squads
- Current World Ranking at 13 in the world.
- Won Silver Medal at 2010 Asian Games.
- Won the best team award category at Anugerah Sukan Negara 2010.
- Bronze Medal at the 1st Asian Champions Trophy in 2011.
- Won the 1st Sultan of Johor Cup 2011.
- Won the 2009 & 2011 SEA Cup.
- Silver Medal in AHF Boys Under-18 event in 2009 & 2011.
- Failed to qualify for 2012 London Olympic Games & 2010 World Cup.
- Secured attire sponsorship - Kappa for National Team and Grays for National Junior Team (Project 2013).
- A ray of hope is seen in the Project 2013 and National 16 boys’ performance. Project 2013 did a good job by winning the 2009 SEA Cup gold for the country and became runners-up at the 2009 Under-18 Asia Cup tournament in Myanmar and 2011 in Singapore. They also participated in the Razak Cup & Under 23 and became runners-up and third place respectively.
- After four (4) years, the National Under-16 became runners-up after Germany and beating Holland and Belgium in the 4 Nations Mannheim event in Germany in the month of June 2010.
- By looking at the current structure of the National Teams’, we shall have two (2) Junior World Cup Project Squad of 2013 & 2017 and it will be a feeder to the National Senior Team.
- This detailed seven (7) years plan shall equip MHF to greater challenges and to attain first-rate results in the 2014 Asian Games & World Cup, and more importantly the 2016 Rio Olympics.
- Established Code of Conduct for National players.
- Established Bonus Structure for National teams’.
- Streamline the biodata and international caps for the National teams’.

Development
- Contributed on yearly basis of RM300,000 to Malaysian Women Hockey Association for 1MAS woman program.
- 1Mas is a long term development initiative which has been conceived to produce a stream of players equipped for elite class, high performance hockey in a structured and coordinated program.
- A standard national training curriculum, progress monitoring, reporting, overseas attachments for identified talent, specialist coaches based regionally and long term collaboration with successful foreign clubs are key features of this program.
- The overall framework of this project will take Malaysia to a gold medal (1MAS) at the regional level (Asian Games) and will be the most developed age group hockey development scheme in Asia.
- Secured RM11.0million from the GOM for the 1MAS Hoki program.
- The Ministry of Education is doing its part to ensure that schools are doing the necessary things.
· Nationwide Inter-District Training Centres or called as “PLD”.
· 14 Selected State Sports School
· High Performance Sports School (“SPTS” program)
· Supported by two dedicated National Sports School i.e. Bukit Jalil and Bandar Penawar.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

During the three (3) years, I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to the management and staff for their dedication and commitment to the MHF and MHC. 

My gratitude also goes to the Tuanku President, Government of Malaysia (GOM), Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Education, Olympic Council of Malaysia, International Hockey Federation (FIH), Asian Hockey Federation (AHF), National Sports Council (NSC), National Sports Institute, Task Force &; Project Secretariat of “1MAS HOKI”, business associates such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Air Asia Berhad, F&N Beverages Marketing Sdn Bhd (100Plus), Nestle Malaysia Berhad (MILO), Astro ARENA, DRB Hicom, SKYBUS, Chilis, QNet, Hyundai, Reebok, Kappa & ; Grays for attire sponsorship for the Senior and 2013 team.

I must specifically mention Tuanku President, Government of Malaysia, NSC and NSI, as they have been a source of invaluable advice to me and are willing to consider various proposals for the success of Malaysian hockey.

Also, special appreciation to the Media members’ includes the bloggers’ who have been keeping us on our toes and provides a check and balance on the ideas and actions taken for the betterment of hockey in Malaysia.

Last but not least, I wish to extend my personal thanks to my fellow Office Bearers, Council members, Committee members, staff of MHC & Shahzan House for their continued support and contributions during my tenure since 2009.

“For greater heights of Malaysian hockey, we must strive together”.

Thanking you.

Maninderjit Singh (Mike)

KRISHNAN SUFFERS HEART ATTACK

UPDATED

- He has been moved to IJN where he will receive further treatment. Am informed that his condition is stable. We hope that he recovers soon.

MHC staff Krishnan who handled competition and administration matters was rushed to the HUKM this morning by ambulance.

Checks with a doctor revealed that he is currently admitted in the ICU and will be moved to the CCU. He is believed to have suffered a heart attack and his condition is stable.

Let's extend our prayers to him and hope that he gets well soon.

More details on his condition later.

SMOKED OUT

Some 75% of the national hockey players are smokers and this was one of the reasons attributed by coach Tai Beng Hai as to why Malaysia failed to qualify for the London 2012 Olympics.

In a revelation that will surely make players sweat under their collar and seethe with anger, the coach also listed out the names of the players who virtually smoked out the chances Malaysia had in making it to the Olympics after a hiatus of 12 years.

Beng Hai listed several factors that led to the dismal performance in Dublin and amongst them were; anger management, killer instinct/decision making, tactical indiscipline, lack of match temperament, desire/hunger/winning culture, leadership, poor umpiring and smoking.

While all of these have often been highlighted , one notable entry in the report submitted to the Malaysian Hockey confederation was the fact that players from Ireland had sought exposure in the European leagues and that Ireland had secured at various times the services of Wouter Tazelaar, a former consultant to the Pakistan national team.

Beng Hai prevented players from Malaysia to play their trade in overseas leagues and was also presented with a chance to secure services of a consultant during a high powered meeting at Istana Perak in December.

So why harp on this as reasons attributing to us losing out to Ireland.

On the question of lacking of hunger, did Beng Hai at anytime chide the MHC for rewarding the players with wands of cash after finishing merely fifth in the Champions Challenge in South Africa in December last year?

The team had the services of a full time psychologist from January onwards and if anger management was the issue, then either the psychologist was not up to mark or the anger was directed at the coach, with indifferent performances probably a silent protest that the players concerned opted to use to send a message across.

Revealing such information in a report, and mind you there is so much in the report that one has to digest it properly, was not in the best interest of the players and MHC.

More on the report on coming postings but while Beng Hai may have wanted to be open about what he felt, the players probably will not look at it in such a manner especially since MHC announced today that Beng Hai will coach the team until the Azlan Shah Cup next month.

SHOCK, SHOCKER, SHOCKING

That will be the appropriate manner is describing the proceedings of the first Malaysian Hockey Confederation council meeting held today ( Tuesday ).

For there were startling revelations, ranging from disregard to the constitution, a fight for the war chest and accusations against players.

Shock

That the MHC deliberately chose to ignore its own constitution by appointing two personalities that are not Vice Presidents - in the likes of Col B. Muthukumar and Ken Periera as Chairpersons of the Umpiring and Development Committee respectively. This it clearly shows the inability of the 10 Vice Presidents and two Senior Vice Presidents of shouldering the responsibility of holding two key portfolios , akin to the cabinet where the Prime Minister has to appoint Senators as most of the Members of Parliament are not able to do the job.

Shocking

When the women decided to table their budget of RM1,569.495.00 to the MHC.

For when they were just MWHA, they just ran three tournaments a year but suddenly want to hold five domestic tournaments, an indoor tournament, a 4 Nation Junior Invitational and even requested for a cool RM120,000 a year for administrative matters.

SHOCKING

The report submitted by national coach Tai Beng Hai on the failure at Dublin when in his own words and I quote:

"thereafter in 2009 and 2010 it was a period of turbulence. It was a period of fire fighting to get the house in order. The problems ranged from: missing training, faking injury, financial problem ( owing loan shark), Internet gambling, skipping gym to play kuda machine, match fixing, coming to morning training drunk, skipping training after a night out drinking, clubbing into the wee hours ( 4-5 am and sleep in the car park to joint (sic) training at 7am ), poor injury management ( injured for 1-2 years ), poor training attitude/commitment, poor fitness and strength, and in 2011 recreation drugs.

Now if we had all these problems in 2010, how did we win the silver medal at the Asian Games?

More to come as I digest the report and the MHC Council Meeting disclosures in the next few days.