PETALING JAYA: National hockey coach Sarjit Singh has fulfilled his promise and is now determined to guide Malaysia at the upcoming World Cup.
The Speedy Tigers secured their place in the tournament, set to take place in Holland and Belgium from Aug 14–30, after finishing as the highest-ranked fourth-placed team across the qualifiers held in Egypt and Chile.
Sarjit had earlier vowed to step down if Malaysia failed to qualify, but the team’s success has allowed him to move past that pressure and focus on the challenges ahead.
“Of course, I’ll be leading the team for the World Cup,” Sarjit said.
“I was brought in to help Malaysia qualify for the Olympics; that was the main goal. But along the way the World Cup qualifiers came up, and qualifying became our priority — and we achieved it.”
Sarjit, who took charge of the national side in 2024, had faced criticism after a string of disappointing results, prompting him to publicly promise that Malaysia would secure a place at the World Cup or he would resign.
“When I joined, many people asked if two years would be enough to build a team, because they believed it would take longer,” he added. (The Star)
