BUKIT JALIL – The Malaysia Hockey Confederation (MHC) today announced that they will be sending in two teams, consisting of grassroot players, to participate in the TNB Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) happening on February 18.
The men’s National Development Team (NDT) will be managed by hockey star and three-time Olympian Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi, while Megat Azrafiq Termizi has been appointed as the head coach.
He will be assisted by three assistant coaches, namely Mohd Sufian Mohamad, Baljit Singh Charun Singh and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil.
“These figures are all former national and international players, and they are idols to our young athletes,” MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said at a press conference earlier.
“Having these experienced professionals on the pitch would give players valuable knowledge and the extra boost to perform well.”
Meanwhile, MHC has also appointed Siti Rahmah Othman as NDT women’s team manager, where she will be assisted by Wan Mohd Azli Wan Ismail.
A. Kannagi was appointed as head coach and will be assisted by Mohamad Sabri Mohamad.
The NDT men’s and women’s teams will be fully sponsored by the confederation.
Subahan added that although the NDT teams may not possess high playing quality yet, MHC is all about giving them the best platform to play against top players in the country.
“Although we are not here to win cups, we are looking forward to give as much exposure as we could to our grassroots players,” he said.
When asked about future plans for the NDT teams, Subahan said MHC is “preparing them for the Junior World Cup (JWC) 2023 that will be held in Kuala Lumpur.”
“This is actually heading towards a long-term development programme that we have in mind,” he said.
Subahan added that they plan to streamline programmes under the National Development Hockey Programme (NHDP) with the National Sports Council and create a pool of the best players, whom they will try to send out to play in various tournaments.
One of the programmes in the pipeline is forming several international age group tournaments in the country.
He said, “with enough exposure given to the (grassroot) players in the next one to two years, it will make them ready to play in any (major) tournaments.”
The grassroot players consist of about 50 under-20s who have no experience playing in any leagues but could be considered for selection to play in JWC 2023. Coming from different states, the players will be playing as a team for the first time in the MHL.
Mirnawan acknowledges MHC’s bold move
Mirnawan, meanwhile told The Vibes, that “MHC’s bold decision to include development teams in the league will benefit the players as well as harness their skills towards becoming professional players.
“As for JWC 2023, technical development director Paul Revington and head coach Megat Azrafiq had selected about 50 under-20 players from the Malaysia Junior Hockey League 2021 and the Razak Cup.
“By forming a national development team, 22 players will have the opportunity to gain experience and impress Megat and the coaches, while the other half will play for TNB Thunderbolt, Maybank and THT (Terengganu Hockey Team).” – The Vibes, February 12, 2022
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