FAIZAL'S RETIREMENT A BIG LOSS, BUT TEAM MUST MOVE ON – SARJIT

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- National hockey team head coach Sarjit Singh has described the retirement of the country's star forward, Faizal Saari, as a significant loss. Nevertheless, the Speedy Tigers must move on and adapt to the situation.

He said the 34-year-old player's decision to retire after earning 302 caps in his 15-year service with the national squad was unsurprising, as he had made his intention known since last year.

"He had decided last year but tried to play this year. Since returning from China last year, he had expressed his intention to take a break and said he would decide after the National League.

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"After the National League, he decided to retire. Although he was a great player, we need to move on. Our focus now is on the 2026 Asian Games. We only began preparations last March, so we still need time to develop. Hopefully, this year, the team will become stronger with the addition of young players," he said.

Sarjit said this during a press conference today announcing the 30 players who will train with the Speedy Tigers for the 2025 season at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Last Saturday (Feb 22), Faizal announced his retirement from the national squad after helping the Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) secure the treble in the 2025 Malaysia Hockey League (MHL). However, he will continue playing for Terengganu in the MHL and the Tun Abdul Razak Cup.

Meanwhile, Sarjit also revealed that five of the 30 players called up to the national squad are new faces. They will begin training on March 3, with night sessions only during Ramadan.

"We will play two matches against Western Australia, followed by four against Australian teams in Perth. All these matches are friendlies scheduled from April 20 to May 2," he said.

The team will participate in the Nations Cup from June 15 to 21, followed by six to eight weeks of training for the Asian Cup in India, scheduled from Aug 27 to Nov 29.

"For the Nations Cup, it is crucial for us to finish in the top four. According to the rankings, our group is expected to consist of France, Malaysia, Korea and Wales. The other group will have New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Japan", he added.

The national men's hockey squad will also participate in two other tournaments – the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup from Nov 22 to 29 and the SEA Games in Thailand from Dec 9 to 20.

The senior squad will represent the nation at the SEA Games as the junior team will be competing in the Junior World Cup, which will take place in the same month.

-- BERNAMA