PETALING JAYA: National hockey coach Sarjit Singh has delivered on his promise, and now he wants to be the man to lead Malaysia to the World Cup.
The Speedy Tigers secured their ticket to the World Cup in Holland and Belgium from Aug 14-30 after finishing as the highest-ranked fourth-placed team across the qualifiers in Egypt and Chile.
Sarjit had earlier put his job on the line if Malaysia failed to qualify for the tournament, but the team’s success means he can now put that chapter behind him as bigger challenges await.
“Of course, I’ll be leading the team for the World Cup,” said Sarjit.
“I was brought in to help Malaysia qualify for the Olympics; that was the main goal. But along the way the World Cup Qualifiers came up, and qualifying became our priority, and we achieved it.”
Sarjit, who took the reins in 2024, faced criticism following a string of poor results, prompting him to promise that Malaysia would qualify for the World Cup - or he would step down.
“When I joined, many asked me if two years was enough to build a team because they said it would take longer.
“Of course it does, but I know what needs to be done. If we don’t perform well and fail to qualify for the World Cup, I will resign.
“But I have kept to my word. Now we need everyone’s support for the team. This is not just my team, but our national team and our flag that will be at the World Cup,” he said.
Malaysia will be making their 10th appearance at the World Cup later this year, and it will be their fourth in a row since 2014. Their best result came at the 1975 edition in Kuala Lumpur, where they finished fourth.
Sarjit admitted that the team have their work cut out for them after a far-from-inspiring performance in Egypt.
“We could have done better, but it has shown us areas that we need to improve. There were chances we let slip when we could have capitalised.
“But throughout the competition, the players gave their best. Some results didn’t go our way, but we have the chance to bounce back in our upcoming tournaments,” he said.
The Speedy Tigers will have another big challenge waiting after their World Cup campaign in August, as the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya take place from Sept 19-Oct 4.
The Asian Games will be crucial for Malaysia as a gold medal will secure them a spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Malaysia last appeared at the Olympics in the 1992 edition in Barcelona, finishing ninth. Their best finish was eighth at the 1972 Munich edition.
“The priority is the Asian Games because we have not been in the Olympics for some time.
“So we want to try to at least get to the final. From there, we have a much better chance,” he said.
