LEAVING ON A JET PLANE
FORMER national head coach for hockey A. Arul Selvaraj, Friday night returned to Dublin, Ireland, with mixed feelings and a heavy heart.
He left with thoughts lingering on his mind of an unfinished job and disappointed that the team had failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics on two occasions - the Hangzhou Asian Games last year and the final qualifier in Oman last month. He was also troubled by having to choose between keeping his promise to his family to return home at the end of his contract and whether to apply to stay on as an interim coach or for a new long-term contract.
“I am really not in a state of mind to make any decisions. I have all these mixed feelings I need to address to move forward,” said Arul before his departure on Friday.
The 49-year-old father of three daughters who had settled down in Ireland 15 years ago, took charge of the national team as head coach from Roelant Oltmans, of Holland, in August 2020. He had a two-year contract to end on December 31 last year but this was extended until the qualification (for the Paris Olympics) in Oman.
“But utmost on my mind now is to return to my wife and daughters to spend some quality time with them.
“I have already told my wife not to ask me anything about my future plans. I just want to have a week to relax my mind, spend time with them and just laze around.
“Maybe after that I will discuss with them what my plans are and also get their views before coming to any decision.”
But Arul does not have the luxury of time to make his decision, if he has any intention to continue working in Malaysia because Feb 16 is the deadline for applications to the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) for the post of national hockey coach.
Several applications have already come in and MHC president Datuk Subahan Kamal has clearly indicated that the coaching committee headed by Datuk Manjit Abdullah will be vetting the applications and announcing their final decision to the MHC executive committee for endorsement.
With the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Ipoh scheduled for May 4-11 and Nations Cup in Poland (May 31-June 9), it is important that the fresh coaching set-up for the national team is done urgently.
Whether a new coach will have enough time to select his players and mould the team for the two championships is a question the MHC coaching committee will have to give thought to.
Would they want time to finalise the coach, by naming an interim coach? A question only the coaching committee can answer.
Coming back to Arul, he expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to MHC president Datuk Subahan and team manager Datuk Ahmad Najmi Razak (national team chairman) and team manager Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi for their trust in him, their undivided support and a totally free hand in coaching the team.
“Our failure to make the Paris Olympics is the team’s responsibility headed by me, and definitely not MHC’s,” added the former national player who last played for Malaysia at the 1998 Utrecht World Cup.
“The entire management of MHC gave their fullest support.
“I feel sad that we have let them down but it was not for want of not giving our best.
“The players had been at their highest level of discipline, punctuality and dedication on and off the pitch.
“We were a family and gave everything.”
But Arul said he was only disappointed because they did not achieve their target to qualify for the Olympics.
“The team had achieved some creditable results along the way and they should be applauded and acknowledged for their efforts.
“If only the players had taken the chances that were created, like missing sitters and missing penalty strokes, things would have been totally different.”
He also asked: “Which player would want to skip an opportunity to play in the Olympics, more so since the last time we qualified was for the Sydney 2000 Olympics”
The achievements of the team included winning the Azlan Shah Cup (1st time after a 39-year wait), finished 2nd in Asia Cup(the second-place finish in Jakarta saw them qualify for the World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, India), second in the Asian Champions Trophy, and beating New Zealand and Spain in the World Cup.
And at the 2022 National Sports Awards, Arul was named the male coach of the year, while the Speedy Tigers won men's team of the year award.
“In conclusion, whatever happened in the end, I and the players take full responsibility and MHC cannot be blamed for anything because they wanted the best and gave the best to the national team.”
Arul admitted that he strongly feels that there are still unfinished tasks but declined to elaborate.
“I have spoken to the president and Datuk Najmi, and they know what is on my mind.
“But for now, I would rather leave that aside and enjoy my break with my family and cross the bridge when I need to.”
Bon voyage Arul, until we hear from you again.
