KUALA LUMPUR – Despite the recent surge of Covid-19 cases, the 2022 Malaysia Hockey League will proceed as scheduled on February 18 unless the federal government says otherwise.
Malaysia Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said “as far as we are concerned, we are excited about the league and have been rigorously making the necessary preparations.
“Although it will commence as scheduled, we will defer to the government if they decide to cancel or postpone the games,” he said.
“We are so thankful to Tenaga Nasional Berhad, who have been very supportive of MHC, and for awarding us a five-year contract.
“Their belief in us have helped us get underway – one of the main reasons the league is able to continue is because of their continuous support,” commented Subahan at a press conference held to symbolically handover sportswear and equipment (pictured above) to the National Hockey Development Programme (NHDP).
Subahan added that the NHDP had successfully secured additional funding of RM2 million annually from the government to support MHC’s continuous efforts to develop hockey at the grassroots level.
“I believe this long-term funding will be of great benefit to the hockey fraternity as it helps us to develop the sport further at the grassroots level,” said Subahan.
“It’s also important to note that we must be prudent with the budget. We will make sure that we don’t overspend and try to save, so that we can use it to buy equipment for our players at the grassroots level.
“It (the budget) should be more than enough. We believe in developing talents from grassroots because anyone could be the next hockey star and someday, they might be playing in the Olympics.”
Subahan said that for the NHDP to be successful, individual state hockey associations would need to support the programme, adding that MHC deputy president Prof. Datuk Dr. Shamala Subramaniam was the person responsible for establishing the programme with the help of the National Sports Council and Education Ministry.
“Now that we have received the funding, it’s our responsibility to prove that we can sustain our teams so that they will never run short of backup players.
“It is important for us to get the league going and provide as many opportunities as we can for young athletes to participate and excel in competitive matches,” he said. – The Vibes, February 10, 2022
.jpg)
