Dharmaraj among candidates for Speedy Tigers coaching job
KUALA LUMPUR: Former national coach Muhammad Dharmaraj Abdullah is among four candidates shortlisted by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) for the post of the new National head coach for Speedy Tigers, which is expected to be announced by end of the month.
MHC Coaching Committee Chairman Datuk Majid Manjit Abdullah said the four, including Dharmaraj, were shortlisted from 23 candidates and will go through the final interview that will be conducted by the national body’s committee this week.
“We have gone through the applicants list and shortlisted four, comprising two locals and two foreigners.
“The locals are Sarjit Singh and Dharmaraj while the foreign candidates are Brendon Carolan from South Africa and Glenn Turner from Australia.
“Carolan and Turner have been assistant coaches to former national coach A. Arul Selvaraj,” he said during a press conference held at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil, here yesterday.
He added that the MHC would support the selected candidate who will be offered a two-year contract with option for another two-year extension, while the main target for the national squad is to qualify for the 2028 Olympics.
Dharmaraj, 54, who is currently the Technical Director for the Indonesian National squad, was reported to have applied for the post of the national men’s hockey squad head coach.
He was appointed as the head coach of the national men’s hockey squad in early 2014 before being rested after the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and later decided to move to Indonesia to coach the Indonesian women’s team until the end of his contract in 2019.
Dharmaraj later joined the Jawa Barat hockey team in 2020 before being offered the post of head coach of the Indonesian men’s team in March 2021.
He rose to recognition when the Indonesian National Junior squad qualified for the semifinals of the 2013 Junior World Cup.