MHF president Tengku Abdullah (right) and Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors Sdn Bhd division vice president Datuk Lawrence Lee at the presentation of the three cars in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. — Pic: KHALID REDZA

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) has yet to find a suitable foreign coach, and the early indication is that Tai Beng Hai will hold the reins at least until the Asia Cup in Dubai.
MHF president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said yesterday: "I know we promised a foreign coach months ago, but have yet to sign one.
"The reason is because the top coach we wanted said he is going to retire from hockey soon, while the one we are negotiating with now has asked far more than what we expected."
MHF is said to have approached Australia's Terry Walsh, who had a stint in Malaysia in the 1980s, while its negotiations with another Aussie has almost reached a stalemate as his asking price plus benefits is too high for the MHF to consider.
The MHF council, after the elections in November, decided not renew the contracts of then national coach Sarjit Singh, assistant coach Gurmit Singh and goalkeepers coach Shahid Ali Khan which expired on Dec 31.
Instead, Tai Beng Hai and Nor Saiful Zaini were appointed caretaker coaches until a foreign replacement is found.
"We will make an announcement in a day or two on what we plan to do next. And if we can't get a foreign coach, we will look for the best in Malaysia.
"The caretaker coaches will also stay in the coaching group, as we will not sideline them but strengthen the coaching outfit instead, by adding more to the list," said Tengku Abdullah, who was speaking to the media after receiving three cars from Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors Sdn Bhd for MHF's official use in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The seniors have two major assignments this year, the Azlan Shah Cup on April 3-12 and the Asia Cup in Dubai on May 8-15.
The Asia Cup champions get a direct entry into the 2010 India World Cup.
Meanwhile, Junior World Cup organising committee chairman Tan Sri Admiral (Rtd) Anwar Mohd Nor said the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has given a 50 per cent discount on the 80,000 Swiss Francs (RM250,000) organising levy.
"And the 40,000 Swiss Francs will be equally shared by Singapore and Malaysia, thus bringing down the total organising cost."
Also, since visiting teams will be footing their own hotel and food bills, we are now looking at a much smaller budget," said Anwar.
While the local cost has yet to be finalised, the total shared cost with Singapore will come to about S$440,000 (RM1 million).
And a visit from FIH competitions committee chairman Dennis Meredith also brought more good news, as he returned happy with the progress of both pitches in Johor Baru.