Hockey Ended 2013 As One Of The Most Successful Sports In Malaysia

SulurBidar

‘DHARM PAUL-LY' GOOD YEAR!
By Allan Netto

THE year 2013 will certainly be remembered by ‘hockey people’ more for the right reasons than wrong. For the ones involved – officials, players and fans alike – the year was filled with smiles as hockey ended 2013 as one of the most successful sports in Malaysia.

The biggest highlight was the National Junior squad’s remarkable achievement at the Junior World Cup in New Delhi, India where they finished fourth, equalling the achievement of our previous junior squads in 1979 and 1982.

They clearly stole the limelight from their senior counterparts, who had earlier in the year qualified for the 2014 World Cup after a 12-year hiatus. The women’s squad were also in the thick of action as they bagged their first significant medal – a bronze – at the Asian Champions Trophy in November. To top it all off, both the men and women’s team retained their SEA Games gold medals without breaking any sweat.

However, beneath all that success, there were also some minor hiccups along the way. Revington and national team manager George Koshy having a discussion outside the Shahzan House after the South African pulled back his resignation. Topping the charts would be national team head coach, Paul Revington’s decision to hand in his resignation in June. The South African however, made a U-turn a few days later and led the team to a fifth place finish at the World League Semifinals in Johor, which sealed their qualification to the 2014 World Cup.

Adding on to that, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) were throwing tournaments around throughout the year with no proper planning and as a result, some even clashed with big events.

For example, the National Under-21 Championship was held during the same time as the Junior World Cup, and this deprived the states of some players who travelled to India.

One thing the MHC should strongly look into next is the development of the sport. Yes, the national junior squad finished fourth in the world, but what is next in line for most of the youngsters? There will probably be five or at the most six players who will go on to join the senior squad, while the rest have no choice but to look at the possibility of ending their career.

World junior champions Germany for instance, are likely to go on and develop that same squad and dominate the world at senior level for years to come.

This situation can only be solved if Malaysia can come up with a similar development squad, just like how Germany, Australia and Holland have in their system, whereby the players left out will still have a chance to continue training at the highest level. In the local hockey scene, Selangor had one of their most fruitful years to date as the state grabbed the National Under-21 and Razak Cup Division Two titles. They were also crowned the National Indoor Under-16 champions.

All these without a single hockey pitch to train on in the state. Amidst all the ups and downs, Malaysia also lost a legend in the sport. Chua Boon Huat, the striker who made a return to the national squad under the guidance of Revington, lost his life in a car accident in August.

The pony-tailed forward was a warrior on the pitch and his demise was met with shock and horror by Malaysians. For his never-say-die attitude and charisma, Boon Huat will always be remembered by Malaysian hockey fans.

With the World Cup and Asian Games to come, 2014 will certainly have more to offer and here’s hoping the best for Malaysian hockey.

@lkick2113
@pyropura
@wana89
@MissNigga
@graxier06
@duri_durians
@MengkuduMasam
@Magika
@al-asil   
@paperchase
@myralupilato  
@shamsadis

any comment?

Magika

satu perkara yang tak best

Malaysia gagal terpilih jadi tuan rumah Piala Dunia Hoki Lelaki 2018 (dibagi pada India)

wana89

ot sikit..
hmmm...hari tu paul resign sebab ada campurtangan dharma kan???

graxier06

dengar2 citer yg dharmaraj nk join skuad senior sbg assistant coach..bg aku la kan yg tgk dia better bg dia stay ngan junir skuad...crk skuad junior yg terbaek sepelas dia bebetul wat skuad junior digeruni ngan skuad 2013..saper sangka under dia jer yg join jd head coach taun 2009 leh dptkan KPI yg terbaek cam juara n naib juara sultan johor cup, juara remaja asia n ke 4 junior world cup...

n aku tkt kalo darmaraj jd assistant coach paul reving jd plak cam bln 6 ari tu yg mana paul xpuas ati psl dharmaraj msk campur dlm urusan skuad senior...dh la world cup taun dpn xnak la jd camni laie,,ckp la skali...

adakah dia takut badi bola bila Ong Kim Swee bila dia amik alih junior skuad menang jer match yg agak 'besar' trus drop cam taun ni..tp aku rs faktor skuad bawah 23 jatuh psl player bola sndiri yg ada perangai xsemenggah..so psl tu jd camtu.. lain plak bdk2 hoki yg trus down to earth psl xder coverage yg meluas cam bola n xder ganjaran lumayan yg leh wat dorg besar kepala...sikap tu mmg kena ada dlm skuad hoki malaysia baik junior atau senior n laki n pompuan...

taun 2014 mmg tahun terbaek utk hoki trus consisten dlm apa jua keadaan...xtau la apa kah akn ada laie sultan johor cup 2014 since xsilap aku (tlg betulkan) utk bg pendedahan skuad 2013 ngan pertandingan.. tp since skuad 2013 dah ibubarkan mana nk crk skuad pelapis / remaja yg leh compete utk next year...

xsabar nk tgk skuad hoki utk 2014 psl ada world cup, sukan asia (hope leh dpt emas sgt2) n sukan komanwel n skuad wanita trus consisten n dpt target top 20 dunia...n skuad laki leh dpt top 10 (mungkin)

aku akan tetap akan guna quote ni - Player Hoki akan main di World Cup 2014, tapi player bola akan tengok jer World Cup 2014..hhehehehe

yg pasti selection utk world cup akan memeningkan kpala Paul Revington psl dh terlalu rmi player yg terbaik dr skuad junior n senior...keadaan pening kpala yg positif sgt...
nk sgt tgk captain ms menang sultan johor 2011 tu come back psl xnmpak dh kt mana dia.. saper nama dia erk??anyone??

graxier06

Magika posted on 30-12-2013 07:43 AM
satu perkara yang tak best

Malaysia gagal terpilih jadi tuan rumah Piala Dunia Hoki Lelaki 2018 ( ...

alangkah suramnya world cup tu nnti...masa junior world cup dh ckp membuktikan dh...final pn xder penonton sgt kecuali france n germany pnya supporters..kalo kat malaysia mayb penuh la stadium kn psl masa sultan johor cup n sultan azlan shah cup even bkn malaysia main pn ttp ada penyokong walaupn bdk2 skolah yg dijdkan volunteer...

MengkuduMasam

Magika posted on 30-12-2013 07:43 AM
satu perkara yang tak best

Malaysia gagal terpilih jadi tuan rumah Piala Dunia Hoki Lelaki 2018 ( ...

Selain faktor facilities, local fan pun main peranan....
Bola still sport numero uno...

Aku rasa laaa

MissNigga

Undeniable...hockey was the most successful sport in year 2013 for both man n woman plus to the junior team as well... congrats to PHM.... other sports association must learn from PHM ...

lkick2113

dharma ni mcm OKS versi hockey la...dia memang not bad....lg aku rasa ni yg penting:

This situation can only be solved if Malaysia can come up with a similar development squad, just like how Germany, Australia and Holland have in their system, whereby the players left out will still have a chance to continue training at the highest level. In the local hockey scene, Selangor had one of their most fruitful years to date as the state grabbed the National Under-21 and Razak Cup Division Two titles. They were also crowned the National Indoor Under-16 champions.

pyropura

...yang pasti hoki tetap akan terima peruntukan kewangan jauh  lebih rendah dari bolasepak...kita mulayu suka syok sendiri, hanya kerana lebih sedap dengan bola & berfantasi dengan glory & glamour...dengan mentaliti yang tak berapa global...macam aku kata terdahulu, kita lebih hargai hasil keja Usop Haslam/Julie Dahlan yang haprak berbanding dgn hasil keja taraf doniya dari Yasmin ahmad/Kabir Bhatia/Bernard Chauly, ibaratnya lah...

peYno

Salah ni
kejayaan sebenar dalah tim bola JDT

sesuai dgn penyokongnya yg jadi diehard tak jadi since 2013
tim JDT ditubuh Thn 2013
dan tak menang apa2 pada thn 2013

jadi sesuai thn 2013 dinobat pada JDT