Malaysia disbands men's hockey team for failing to secure Paris Olympics berth

Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) has decided to disband the national men’s senior and junior teams after they failed to help the country qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics earlier this month. The step is part of a process MHC undertakes every four years.

The decision on the future of head coach A. Arul Selvaraj will be taken on Sunday while all other coaches’ contracts end.

Malaysia failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics ten days ago at FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers held in Oman, where they finished fifth— only the top three teams qualified for the Olympics.

Similarly, MHC is trying to make new plans for the junior team that could not achieve the target and finished 12th out of 16 teams under coach Amin Rahim in the Junior World Cup held at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil in November 2023.

MHC president Dato Seri Subahan Kamal said the national teams will be rebuilt after the end of the 2024 National League.

“We want to rebuild both the teams. A fresh set of players will be selected after the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL), which ends on March 9,” said Seri Subahan Kamal at a press conference.

“I will leave (the decision-making process) on the coaching committee chairman and its members, through a a meeting that will be organised soon. They will decide the mechanics of the selection process for who will lead the national teams." Subhan added.

“After that, they will inform the executive board, which will endorse the candidate recommended by the coaching committee,” Subahan told the media

Meanwhile, the Malaysian men's Hockey 5s team has made it to the historic final of the ongoing Hockey5s World Cup in Muscat, Oman. They will face the Netherlands in the final later tonight for the title clash.

Malaysian hockey’s best achievement came 49 years ago when they finished fourth at the home World Cup in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur.

The committee, however, decided to persist with the women's team as they are already under their own six-year programme.