Lack of funds hamper teams' progress

19/03/2002

MONEY, or the lack of it, is the thorny issue that is haunting the
Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) which begins on March 29.
While some clubs have more than they need and have hired foreigners to
beef-up their challenge, others were forced to give it a miss because
their coffers are dry.
Last year the MHL was scrapped due to a hectic international schedule,
but this year's edition will go on, albeit on a sorry note because the
disparity between some teams is huge.
One needs a whopping RM50,000 to be able to compete in the home-and-away
league and this being the case, many interested clubs remain just that ...
interested.
While champions Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) have the means to hire
Pakistan's Sohail Abbas, the top scorer (10 goals) at the 2002 Kuala
Lumpur World Cup, and his teammate Kashif Jawad, lack of funds have
knocked out the Penang clubs even before the first whistle.
Arthur Anderson have hired ageing Indian star Dhanraj Pillay and
compatriot Len Ayyapa, who was dropped from India's World Cup squad, and
their presence in the team should take their employers the distance
because the opposition is very poor.
After 13 years in existance, the MHL is heading nowhere and is fast
becoming just another sideshow to be completed for the year.
The other teams in the league are Bank Bumiputra-Commerce, Tenaga
Nasional, Maybank, Sapura, newcomers Jolly Lads, Royal Malay Regiment
(RMR) and the Malaysian Navy.
Jolly Lads of Kuala Lumpur are the new kids on the block while RMR and
the Navy are making a comeback after skipping the League in 2000.
Penang Indians and Malacca MC were forced to stay away because they do
not have the funds while RMR and the Navy are in it only to make up the
numbers.
Is hockey a dying sport in Malaysia? How come there are only nine clubs
competing in the MHL? What is the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) and
their affiliates doing about it?
One will not be wrong to assume that club hockey is non-existent in most
States in the country. Hockey in Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah and
Sarawak has always been in the shadows, but what about Penang, Johor,
Negri Sembilan and Perak?
There are so many unanswered questions that hockey fans have nothing to
look forward to, other than a lop-sided three-month league.
Indeed, it was surprising when players from Pakistan and India agreed to
play in the MHL. Suprising because, besides picking up their paycheques,
they certainly will not be picking up any new skills or tricks.
After killing off the Razak Cup, the MHL is dying a slow death because
the quality and quantity of teams is being diluted with every new season.
Some will argue that 8,000 fans who turned out to watch the 2000 final
between Tenaga Nasional and BSN showed that that year's League was a huge
success. But what about the search for talent?
Malaysia were a big flop at the Junior World Cup. The rest of the world
could be ahead of us for the next five years at least.
The national team's perfromance in the recent World Cup was also not up
to mark. The country is in desperate need of new faces and fresh talent.
But if the MHL is going to be made up of only a handful of clubs from
the Klang Valley, then the game will be as popular as kite-flying in 10
year's time.
The recently concluded Champion Schools Tournament in Malacca showed
that the champions of one State could be the whipping boys for another.
Perlis got a drubbing of their lives during the tournament as all the
States they played against put double-digit score lines past them.
And the fact that Anderson of Ipoh retained the title does not say much
for the standard of hockey being played in the schools around the country.
The MHL and the Junior League that will soon follow must be taken
seriously if Malaysia want to maintain their consistency of qualifying for
the Olympics and the World Cup on a regular basis.
If not, it will be wise for MHF to close the offices of all their State
affiliates because they are doing nothing to help the game in the country.
jugjet@nstp.com.my
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