Unlike many sports associations in Malaysia, the transfer of power within the Selangor Hockey Association (SHA) on March 8 was smooth.
The two camps didn’t engage in a nasty war of words. Instead, they wished each other well and now, the association’s new president, Gurdip Singh, is planning to take the state to greater heights.
“One of our first initiatives is to organise a schools’ league in October,” said Gurdip, who is a former president of Synergy Hockey Club.
“We will also host district-level competitions, culminating in an inter-district tournament. The idea is to give children exposure to more playing time. Currently, they don’t get enough games.”
He said SHA is not in favour of the carnival-like format often seen during school competitions, adding: “We must do our part to ensure the future stars get enough competitive matches.”
The carnival-like format often adopted at grassroots tournaments has been a subject of debate. Schools claim they are pressed for time due to the tight academic calendar but sports officials insist the short duration of play will not help unearth and develop young talents.
SHA is also planning more programmes for its umpires, technical officers and coaches.
“It is similar to what KLHA announced last week. We need to upskill players and officials.
“We will be speaking to the state sports council and to the state education department to see how we can work together to ensure there is no overlap in our programmes.”
Gurdip and his team will also meet sponsors to see how they can fund their programmes.
“To execute our plans, we need financial assistance. We have existing partners, but we need more for all the programmes to take off. I’m lucky that I have a great team – many experienced administrators – who can help carry out SHA’s vision.”
Among those Gurdip is banking on are Brian Fernandez (competition and technical); Kuganeson Poologasingam (umpires board); and Nishel Kumar (coaching and development).
“The three of them have vast experience in hockey and even served the national body (Malaysian Hockey Confederation),” said Gurdip.
Separately, Gurdip said he hopes that with Selangor hosting next year’s Malaysia Games (Sukma), SHA will get a boost with the authorities helping to upgrade the Pandamaran and Petaling Jaya City Council stadiums. The two venues are likely to host the men’s and women’s hockey competitions.
“If we can get help from the state authorities to give these stadiums a facelift, it will help the game tremendously,” he added.
