KUALA LUMPUR: Is national coach Sarjit Singh the right man to take Malaysian hockey to the next level?
At this point, the former international hardly seems like the ideal figure to rebuild the national men's hockey team.
Today marked a low point for Malaysian hockey as the Speedy Tigers finished rock bottom in the six-team Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in Inner Mongolia, China.
Sarjit's men were already under fire from fans after failing to meet the Malaysian Hockey Confederation's (MHC) top-four target.
But things went from bad to worse, with a 4-2 shootout loss to Japan following a 4-4 draw in the classification match for fifth place.
In the tournament overall, Malaysia managed just one win from six matches, scoring 17 goals but leaking 25.
Their most humiliating defeat came at the hands of India, an 8-1 drubbing.
As the world's No. 13 team and Asia's second-highest ranked behind India (No. 5), Malaysia's last-place finish, even below South Korea, China, Japan, and Pakistan, is a shocking outcome.
Sarjit must take full responsibility for his team's abysmal performance.
The MHC now faces a crucial decision on whether to implement sweeping changes before it's too late.
Sarjit, appointed in March to rebuild the national team ahead of the 2026 Nagoya Asian Games – a qualifier for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics – admitted his side ended their ACT campaign on a disappointing note.
"We had chances to score but weren't clinical in Japan's semi-circle. We also gave away soft goals and allowed Japan to come back into the game," said Sarjit.
"My players worked hard but made silly mistakes that cost us the win. We never expected the match to go to a shootout as we were confident of sealing it in regulation time," he added.
Reflecting on the overall campaign, Sarjit said: "We played well except against China (lost 4-2) and India (lost 8-1). We must fix our weaknesses and work on composure, as we conceded many late goals here."
But the fans are unlikely to be sympathetic, with many placing the blame squarely on Sarjit and his players for the disastrous showing.
This was Sarjit's third tournament in charge, but his players have shown no signs of improvement.
In fact, their performances have dipped below average. Malaysia finished fourth in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in May and seventh in the Nations Cup in June.
Signs of trouble were apparent when the Speedy Tigers were hammered 10-1 by Germany in a friendly in July.
Olympian Nor Saiful Zaini recently claimed that Malaysia has only three quality players – Faizal, Fitri Saari, and Marhan Jalil – and suggested some national players even lack basic ball-stopping skills.