Pahang come out of coma

AFTER a lapse of about 10 years, the Pahang HA will finally organise a league in line with the aspirations of Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
Tengku Abdullah, in his maiden speech after becoming the president two months ago, had said that states must have an active league to nurture a bigger pool of talent.
And his home state, after being in a state of comatose for a decade, are now in the midst of planning for a league to commence in the middle of the year.
“I have been the Pahang HA secretary for close to five years, and even before me, there was no league here, but now, we will make sure players have an evenue to sharpen their skills,” said Pahang HA secretary Dr Aziz Hamid.
Pahang, said Aziz, is a geographical nightmare as the affiliates are far flung from Cameron Highlands right up to Kuantan, so they will start with clubsides instead of district teams.
“Pahang is a large state, so for a start, we will hold the league for clubs and it will run it for two months at the least.
“After that, we will slowly expand to include district teams as well,” said Dr Aziz.
Pahang will also kick-start development of tiny-tots, with hockey lessons arranged for those from the age of five to seven.
“We will start the five to seven age group training this month, and it will be held every Saturday where parents can bring their children, and the basics are taught.
“After a few months, we will hold a tournament for this group, so as not to make it too boring for the kids,” said Aziz.
Kuala Lumpur HA have the most active hockey league in the country, but the same can’t be said about the rest of MHF’s affiliates.
The majority of states are in as sorry a state as Pahang, but this is expected to change under the leadership of Tengku Abdullah.