KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3: Malaysian field hockey has disbanded its national team after a disappointing performance at the Doha Asian Games, where it finished sixth.

The country's junior coach, Sarjit Singh, has been promoted as new national coach after Wallace Tan stepped down following the Doha Games, said Malaysian Hockey Federation secretary Hashim Mohamad Yusof on Wednesday.

The decision was made at the federation's management meeting on Jan. 2, he said.

“According to our federation deputy president, Abdul Majid Sultan Iskandar, Sarjit will call up 40 players for training. This may include the seniors. It's up to the new coach to pick the squad,” Hashim said.

“We are also looking at junior players, especially those who took part in the Rotterdam Junior World Cup. We believe a revamp will help to improve the performance of the national team.”

Sarjit is likely to select the new national squad only after the end of a Jan. 17-21 youth hockey championship in Sydney, in which the Malaysian junior team is participating, Hashim added.

The decision was greeted with shock by the government's National Sports Council, which is the main provider of funds for the national team, the New Straits Times reported.

It quoted NSC director-general Ramlan Abdul Aziz as saying that while he respected the decision of the MHF, he felt that disbanding the team was too drastic.

“We (the NSC) do not want to interfere in the decision of any association but personally, I believe that hockey's slide is not that bad,” he was quoted as saying.

He indicated that the decision might affect the funding for the team.

“As for the funding, the stand is very clear. Any federation that wishes to get funding from the government has to justify it with programs and targets,” he said.—AP