Muralee calls it a day

NATIONAL Juniors coach V. Muraleedharan sent in a shock resignation letter to the Malaysian hockey Federation (MHF) on the eve of the Razak Cup which will be held at the Tun Razak Stadium from today.
And the MHF accepted his letter, and have appointed his assistant K. Rajan as an interim coach. The juniors will play as an outfit in Division One.
Muralee is a teacher with the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) in Kuala Lumpur.
"I received Muraleedharan’s resignation letter this morn ing (yesterday), and as an interim measure, we have ap pointed his assistant Rajan to handle the national juniors for the duration of the Razak Cup.
"The coaching committee will now make their recom mendation for a new juniors coach as soon as possible, and we will announce it after the council meets and endorses on Aug 16," said MHF secretary Sgt Hashim Yusoff.
Muralee, barely six months into the job, came under intense fire after the juniors fared miserably in the Kuala Lumpur eight-nation, the Poland four-nation, Europe friendlies and the final straw was when the drew 2-2 with Singapore in the recent Junior Asia Cup in Hyderabad, India.
Before Muralee, Tai Beng Hai had resigned after a short stint, as this same batch of players has lost more than 30 matches in friendlies and tournaments under him.
"Muralee did state his reason for quitting, but I can’t reveal the content of his letter. We will leave it in the hands of the coaching committee and the council to decide on that," said Hashim.
The national juniors are in training for the 2009 Junior World Cup, which Malaysia and Singapore will co-host in july next year. So, the MHF need a speedy replacement, as time is not on their side.