Double champs KLHC waiting for Godot

MALAYSIA Hockey League (MHL) double champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) might just find their backs against the wall if a decision is taken today to bar national players from the league.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) council will meet today, and the most eagerly awaited decision is whether they are going to listen to coach Tai Beng Hai, or support the club structure.
MHF, due to an indecisive competitions committee, have placed MHL clubs in a dilemma as they keep them guessing about the tournament date, the availability of national players for club duty and the structure of the MHL.
“KLHC has not made any preparations for the MHL, as we are still waiting for a concrete answer on whether national players will be allowed to play for clubs or not.
“We also have not decided on the coach yet, as K. Dhar maraj is now fully involved with the Project 2013 squad,” said KLHC team manager George Koshy.
The champions have nine national players out of 22, and if the MHF decide to bar national players from the MHL, they will be left with only 13 players.
“We will be hard-pressed to defend our titles if the nine are not allowed to represent their club. That leaves us with nothing on the bench, and at this stage, it would be difficult to find replacements as well,” said Koshy.
Beng Hai is of the opinion that the MHL should be postponed to after the London Olympics Qualifier which is slated for March next year.
And if the MHF decide to hold the tournament this year, Beng Hai is of the opinion that national players should not be released to clubs as he fears fitness and injury problems.
The national team will play two tournaments this year, starting with the Inaugural Asian Champions Trophy next month and then the Champions Challenge in November.
Sapura and Yayasan Negri Sembilan have also expressed their disappointment on the inability of the competitions committee to come to a conclusion earlier in the year, because they were unable to sign on quality foreign players to beef up their challenge.