KUALA LUMPUR: The National Sports Council (NSC) is surprised that the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) did not set any Key Performance Index (KPI) for national coach Sarjit Singh at the recent Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia.
And the NSC wants to know why the MHC did not do so.
Malaysia finished sixth and last in the tournament, much to the ire of fans.
Sarjit, 61, who was a national coach from 2007-2008, was rehired by MHC in March to take charge of the Speedy Tigers.
NSC athletes division director Azrul Hisyam Abdul Jalil said they were surprised that MHC did not set any KPI for Sarjit at the ACT.
"NSC gives MHC a (financial) grant for hockey and we want them to set a KPI for Sarjit in tournaments next year.
"How are we going to evaluate Sarjit's performance if there is no KPI?
"The national hockey team are in the Podium Programme and we will be having a joint working committee meeting with MHC at the end of this year. We want MHC to set KPI for Sarjit for tournaments in 2025," said Azrul.
Among the tournaments Malaysia will be playing in next year are the Four Nations in New Zealand in February, the Asia Cup (dates and venue yet to be decided), Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Sea Games in Bangkok in December.
In Hulunbuir, MHC set a target of a top four finish at the ACT, but world No. 13 Malaysia, who were the second highest ranked team in the tournament after world No. 5 India, performed poorly.
Malaysia lost 8-1 to India and 4-2 to China, drew 2-2 with Pakistan and 3-3 with South Korea. Sarjit's team edged Japan 5-4 in a round robin match, but lost 4-2 to Japan (penalty shootout) in a classification match.
Azrul said everyone was unhappy with Malaysia's dismal performance in the ACT.
"Never in the history of the ACT, have we finished last in the tournament.
"Malaysia had won bronze five times and last year we reached the final (lost 4-3 to India)," said Azrul.
Sarjit's team have failed to show progress this year. In the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh in May, Malaysia finished fourth among six teams and in the Nations Cup in Poland, failed to meet MHC's semi-final target after finishing seventh out of nine teams.