SEPANG, Feb 2 — The Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) has applied for an additional allocation of RM3.9 million for the hockey five-a-side (5s) training and development programmes for the next five years.
Its minister Hannah Yeoh said the allocation will also be used to prepare the national squad to compete in the Hockey5s World Cup in 2028.
“KBS, together with the National Sports Council (NSC), has sent the application to the MOF (Finance Ministry) and is awaiting approval. This is for both the men’s and women’s hockey 5s teams, and they will be provided with everything they need to face the next World Cup tournament.
“The Cabinet is also very happy with their achievements, and the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) has also congratulated the team. I am confident that the government will provide support,” she said.
Yeoh was speaking to the press after welcoming the national men’s hockey 5s team who merged as runners-up in the Hockey5s World Cup in Muscat, Oman, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) this morning.
Malaysia emerged as the runner-up in the inaugural edition of the Hockey 5s World Cup on Wednesday (January 31) night (early yesterday morning in Malaysia) after losing 2-5 to Europe’s giants, the Netherlands, in the final held at the Oman Hockey Stadium.
Under the guidance of coach Wallace Tan, the team began their Group D campaign with a 3-3 draw against the host, Oman, before securing two victories against the United States (3-2) and Fiji (8-3) to confirm their spot in the quarter-finals.
The national squad, who were runners-up in Group D, then defeated Group C champions Trinidad and Tobago 5-4 in the quarter-finals before confirming their progress to the finals when they beat Poland 4-3 in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Yeoh said the men’s 5s hockey squad would receive the RM80,000 incentive under the National Sports Incentive Scheme (Shakam) for their excellent performance.
In fact, KBS will also reimburse the money spent by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) for the World Cup campaign.
— Bernama
