KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's long-awaited victory over India after 27 years at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil was undoubtedly a moment of celebration for many fans.
However, the joy of this historic win was marred by the dismal condition of the playing field.
In a ceremony held on Thursday, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, owner of Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT), officially re-opened the pitch.
However, the new zeon zoysia grass took a beating during the Merdeka Tournament match between Malaysia and India the very next day.
It's worth noting that Tunku Ismail had sponsored the zeon zoysia grass.
Following the match, Tunku Ismail, often referred to as TMJ, took to social media, revealing that he had cautioned about the grass needing more time to establish strong roots during the field handover ceremony.
However, this warning wasn't communicated to journalists during the press conference, which Tunku Ismail did not attend.
This incident prompted fans to question whether zeon zoysia grass was the right choice for Malaysia.
A quick search revealed that zeon zoysia is considered the most suitable warm-season turfgrass cultivar for use in sunbelt regions.
In an attempt to mitigate the damage, the Malaysia Stadium Corporation (PSM) issued a statement explaining that the patches of grass, which appeared to have been 'aerial bombed', had deteriorated due to insufficient sunlight in certain areas of the semi-covered stadium and the incessant rain over the past week.
To encourage grass growth, PSM had resorted to using 'grow lights' in specific areas, such as opposite the grandstand.
PSM also highlighted that it takes 12 months for grass roots to establish and become robust.
However, due to time constraints, they only had eight months to prepare the pitch for the Merdeka Tournament.
The question of why there was such a rush remained unanswered by the stakeholders.
National coach Kim Pan Gon added fuel to the fire by revealing that the grass had peeled off like "flying carpets" during an inspection session on Thursday, a clear indication that the grass was not adequately prepared for the match.
In conclusion, it's evident that PSM and its contractors were aware of the situation, and Kim Pan Gon had anticipated the problems with the grass.
Tunku Ismail had also issued a warning during the opening ceremony.
The day before the match, when asked if the new grass was ready for its first test, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh responded that the professional players from Malaysia and India would provide the answer after the match.
Unfortunately, the response from the Indian team was a strong indictment of the substandard pitch, placing the National Stadium in the hall of shame on its very first test.