Only once has Malaysia failed to strike gold in the history of the
South-east Asia (SEA) Games men's hockey competition, a blemish suffered
42 years ago in 1973, at the hands of Singapore, when the Republic
hosted the event for the first time.
Malaysia will field its national junior squad for the 28th SEA Games,
which will be held here from June 5 to 16, and the mission for the
Under-20 boys remains nothing less than gold.
Speaking to The New Paper recently, the team's head coach, A
Arulselvaraj, said: "Local (Malaysian) papers are saying that we're
taking part in the SEA Games with kids, but we've only ever lost the
gold medal once, and we're still going there to win it this time.
"We have sent older players in the past, even retired ones, to make
sure we win, but I'd rather put in junior boys - even take 18-year-olds
with me - and help the country develop more players for the talent pool.
"I will put my head on the chopping block, and accept the challenge."
The Singapore Hockey Federation believes the men's team can win the gold because they will face a Malaysian junior side.
Solomon Casoojee's Singapore side will get a preview of exactly what
they are in for when Arul and his charges travel here for a series of
friendlies from May 4 to 14.
Malaysia end their SEA Games preparations with a 10-day trip to Bangladesh from May 20 to 30.
The Singapore team have been forced to split up, after a group
travelled to Perth (one stint last month and another earlier this month)
while others remained in Singapore to train due to various commitments.
It is one of the reasons why Arul believes the sport here lags far
behind Malaysia, whose men's team are 12th in the world rankings, 26
rungs above Singapore.
"I feel very sad for Singapore hockey, the problems are well known.
The national team gather and some can't come because of school or work,
and then there is National Service to juggle with - it's difficult for
the coach to get the full team," he said.
"It's a waste, because you've got some good players. And when you add
the fact that the sport of hockey doesn't pay (players) very much, you
can see just how big the problem is."
Arul asserts that the situation is not helped by a low level domestic hockey league.
"Singapore is very far behind, and it's quite obvious, the national
team get stronger when the league is strong and players get to play at a
high level, week in, week out," he said.
"Maybe Singapore should join the Malaysian National League, like the
LionsXII (in football). It won't be too hard, we're just next door."
The Singapore men's team were humiliated by the senior Malaysia side
16-1 in a World League Round 2 match recently, and also lost to the same
opponents 8-2 at the Asian Games last year, but Arul did see positives
in Casoojee's young side.
"I saw the team at the Asian Games and I thought they did well in terms of performance.
"They had confidence, didn't hold back, and went out to play hockey.
They could've put 10 men in their own half to try and keep the score
down, but they didn't," he said.
Singapore finished last out of 10 teams at the Incheon Games. Malaysia were fourth.
Arul has seen enough to come out in defence of Casoojee and his boys.
"The public is always critical, even here in Malaysia. I think it's
perhaps the same situation there - some in Singapore may not have even
seen the game, but they come out with strong criticism," he said.
"What do they expect, Singapore to go to the World Cup and Olympics?
Some people are just delusional, and they go after coaches."
Arul believes that Malaysian hockey is also facing issues of its own and stands at a crossroads.
Elections for the Malaysian Hockey Confederation are on May 13, but he is focused on the SEA Games.
The four-team SEA Games tourney - also featuring Myanmar and Thailand
- is a stepping stone to the Junior Asia Cup (Nov 14 to 22), which is a
qualifier for the 2016 Junior World Cup in India.
"I'm definitely confident that we will win gold at the SEA Games,"
said Arul. "But it's really preparation for the Asia Cup, because we
want to make sure we get to the World Cup."
He has personally led training sessions at the Sengkang Stadium, and
has had a close-up look at the Singapore men's hockey players in
competitive fixtures when they were on a training stint in Perth last
month.
And Australia international Jamie Dwyer believes that Solomon
Casoojee's side have improved enough to launch a genuine challenge for
gold at the South-east Asia Games on home soil, even if they are up
against Malaysia, far and away the best team in the region.
Malaysia sit in 12th spot in the world rankings while Singapore are 38th.
"In their games (in Perth), I thought (the Singapore players) really
improved a lot, individually. In fact, that's what I told Mark (Knowles,
Australia captain) after I saw them," said Dwyer, at the sidelines of
Monday's press conference announcing the partnership between Hockey
Australia and Singapore-owned regional company, The Project Group
(TPG).
"They just need to put it together as a team, and if they can get
confidence, I don't think there will be much between them and Malaysia,"
added the five-time World Player of the Year.
As part of his work with TPG Academy - launched in December last year
and aimed at improving the standard of Singapore hockey - the
36-year-old Dwyer, along with Knowles and a few other Australian
internationals, led sessions with the men's national side.
Dwyer believes one key difference between average teams and the great ones, is consistency.
"The problem is this: in some matches, (the Singapore men) do brilliantly, but when they're bad, they're really poor.
"And that's the difference. Take Australia for instance: even when
we're bad, we're not that poor," said Dwyer, who won both the
Commonwealth Games and World Cup with Australia last year.
But he has seen enough grit among the Singapore men to tip them for bigger things.
"The bunch of players who were here were really dedicated, they
trained really hard and I believe all of them could play in the league
in Australia," said Dwyer.
"And if they did come over and play week in, week out, at this level
of hockey, at this intensity, it would really help them - and the
Singapore team - improve.
"Teams like Japan weren't that good a while ago, but they put in the
effort and have closed the gap with the rest of the world, just like
China did before the (2008 Beijing) Olympics.
"I think it's possible for Singapore to go out there and do the same."
Dwyer knows a thing or two about stepping it up to compete with the
best. Last year, he contemplated hanging up his stick, but a stint in
the India Hockey League proved that he still had what it takes, a point
he showed at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia earlier this month.
Australia finished second to New Zealand, but Dwyer topped the goalscorers' chart, with seven strikes.
"Last year I was unsure about my future, didn't know if I still had
enough to contribute, but I really enjoy the game, and being part of the
team, and I needed to prove to myself that I could still play," he
said.
"I think my touch on the ball is as good as the next guy. It's just a question of if my body can keep up.
"That's the problem - my age. I really need to be vigilant, with food, with what I drink, stretching, the works."
As a testament to his dedication to a professional athlete's
lifestyle, Dwyer finished near the top in fitness tests conducted by the
Kookaburras.
"I finished second (in the team) in the Beep Test, and I was second
fastest over a 10-metre sprint - that really gave me confidence," said
Dwyer.
Source: TNP / http://www.tnp.sg/sports/team-singapore/even-juniors-malaysia-confident-retaining-mens-hockey-gold-sea-games
THE national wushu team are progressing well in preparations for the upcoming 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore.
