Olak will be sorely missed in MJHL
KUALA LUMPUR: Old La Sallians Association of Klang (Olak) are one of the pioneer teams that have featured in the Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL) since its inception in 1995.
But the Klang team that have produced some quality national players in the last two decades will no longer feature in the Under19 national league.
Long-serving team manager Joseph de Silva said they decided to stop competing in the MJHL after 23 years as the Olak committee members don’t support the team any more.
“They say that I spent a lot of money for the junior league. There were times when I used to fork out my own money for the team.
“It’s sad that Olak, who have won six titles in the MJHL and produced national players, will stop competing in all tournaments.
“Olak was a platform for hockey players as we had players from all over Malaysia playing for us in the Junior league.
“We’re also proud to produce some talented players who went on to represent Malaysia in tournaments,” said the 64-year-old Joseph.
Olak won their first title in 1997 when they became the league champions.
In 1998 and 1999, they bagged the double (league and overall titles).
In 2000, Olak won the overall title and finished as league runners-up.
Among the national players who have played for Olak are defender and penalty corner specialist Mohd Amin Rahim, goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin, former national captain Mohd Madzli Ikmar, Redzuan Ponirin, B. Namasivayam and Mohd Badrul Hisham.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) competitions committee manager Brian Fernandez said the MJHL will begin on June 21 and only 14 teams will feature in Division One.
“There will be no second division as we want to focus on quality,” said Brian.
Last year, 30 teams featured in the MJHL and 10 featured in Division One and 20 in Division Two.