New Indian Express: Familiar Name Plots Malaysia’s Emergence
By Swaroop Swaminathan
IPOH: It was the quarterfinals of the 2015 Hockey World League Semifinals. India, for whom all hell would break lose following a loss to Belgium in the last four, were trailing Malaysia 1-2 with 12 minutes left.
Enough time for the pendulum to swing but Malaysia were hoping to hammer it to a nail. A semifinal would mean nothing more than prestige and a couple of ranking points for India, for they had already qualified for the Olympics. But Malaysia needed to win this to book their Rio berth. And they were 12 minutes away from their first Olympics since Sydney 2000.
Surely they wouldn’t mess it up? When the Tigers, as the team is called back home, were beginning to dream, a few Malaysian journalists already knew what would unfold. India to win 3-2. And India did win 3-2.
It’s called the ‘Malaysian syndrome’, described as the hockey side’s world-class ability to adamantly snatch defeat from winning positions. Glorious failure, it seems, is part of their DNA. Here’s a sampler: In the junior Asia Cup in Kuantan last year, they were leading South Korea 3-1 with two minutes to go. Two minutes from the 2016 junior World Cup. But Korea scored once, then again to take the match into a shootout. That left Malaysia too scarred and they lost.
With regard to addressing issues of closing out games and to put Malaysia back on the world hockey map, the federation appointed one of the biggest names in the sport. Terry Walsh was back in the fold as Technical Director 21 years after he left the country.
Appointed in August 2015 to oversee the entire coaching programme, some 10 months after Hockey India sacked him, the 62-year-old talks passionately about his hopes for the island nation. “If you take all the facilities and the infrastructure that is here, Malaysia is well set,” Walsh says. “I would put them in the top three in the world with respect to those things.”
It’s fair to say the former Australian coach is impressed but he knows he has a big task in hand to bring ‘Harimau’ (Malaysian Tigers) into the upper echelons. “I have seen a lot of good things, but the reality is that many of the pieces of the puzzle don’t talk to each other in a metaphorical sense. So we are trying to realign the system a bit.”
He is under no illusion but believes the players are capable of producing decent finishes. “Are they going to be world champions in the next two to four years? I would say no. But the likelihood is that they could generate a top six or a top eight position over a period of time. The thing is they have around 30 million people the community of hockey followers is bigger than Australia, Great Britain and maybe even Netherlands. There is enormous opportunity to grow effectively.”
On the field, Malaysia have a shock lead against Australia. Thirty-six minutes later as the sound of the hooter cuts through the air, Australia win 5-1. Another lead. Another loss. But Walsh hopes to change the script.