SEA Games crucial for hockey development in ASEAN – Subahan

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) will write to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to appeal for the reinstatement of hockey in the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines.

MHC President Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said, hosting hockey in the SEA Games is crucial for the development of the sport in the South East Asia, as countries in the region are still left far behind world class teams.

“Malaysia are the top team in ASEAN, we have high chances of winning the two (men’s and women’s) gold medals if hockey is contested. But what is more important is the development of hockey in the region. Hosting hockey in SEA Games will be a great avenue for the member countries to have competitive matches and playing time against each other.

“They can gain a lot of experience and exposure, especially from Malaysia as we are one of the top teams in the world to improve. We are really hoping Philippines will consider to host hockey SEA Games,” he said when contacted by Bernama.

Hockey is among the sports that were axed in the first list of 30 sports by the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) on Thursday. Table tennis, rugby, petanque, lawn bowls, netball, cricket, water ski as well as track events in cycling, hosted by Malaysia in 2017 edition, were also excluded.

According to the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) ranking, Malaysian men’s squad is ranked 12th in the world, while Singapore is ranked 40th, Thailand (47), Brunei (86), followed by Myanmar and Vietnam (shares 89th place).

In the women’s category, Malaysia ranked 22nd, followed by Thailand in 28th place, Singapore (35), Cambodia (55), Indonesia (65), Brunei (72), Myanmar (75.)

For record, during the 2017 SEA Games, host Malaysia claimed three gold medals via men’s and women’s outdoor and men’s indoor events, while Thailand bagged the women’s indoor gold from the four golds at stake.

Meanwhile, Table Tennis Association of Malaysia (TTAM) secretary, Chan Foong Keong said, the association would be writing to OCM as well as the Table Tennis Association of the Philippines (TTAP) for the inclusion of the sport.