KUALA LUMPUR: Sports analyst Datuk Dr. Pekan Ramli has branded the Speedy Tigers' lacklustre performance at the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) as both "shocking" and "disappointing."
Pekan even questioned whether world No. 13 Malaysia were still on their "honeymoon."
Being the second-highest ranked team in the ACT, fansexpected much more from Sarjit Singh's men, although the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) only set a modest top-four target.
Even that, however, eluded the team as they failed to qualify for the semi-finals in Inner Mongolia, China.
Malaysia will now face Japan, who finished at the bottom of the six-team round-robin standings, for fifth place tomorrow.
"It is a huge letdown. Malaysia, ranked 13th, could not even hit their top-four target in this tournament. Only world No. 5 India are ranked higher, yet they failed to deliver.
"Why? Are the Speedy Tigers still on honeymoon just because of the ongoing project to rebuild the national team?
"Based on their performance in Inner Mongolia, the team are not progressing. Everyone expected more, especially as they were finallists in last year's edition in Chennai.
"Instead, they managed only one win in five matches to finish fifth in the round-robin," said Pekan.
Malaysia opened their campaign with a 2-2 draw against world No. 16 Pakistan, followed by a 4-2 defeat to world No. 23 China.
They were hammered 8-1 by India but bounced back to edge world No. 15 Japan 5-4.
On Saturday, Malaysia were still in the running for a semi-final spot as they led 3-2 against world No. 14 South Korea, only to concede a late equaliser.
"No excuses. I believe Sarjit's men had enough high-quality matches leading up to the ACT.
"They played in the six-nation Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in May and the Nations Cup in June before heading to Europe for friendlies against Belgium, Germany, India, and the Netherlands.
"We cannot accept any excuses from the national team or the coach, as they had sufficient exposure.
"The coach must take full responsibility for the team's performance.
"With these results, I doubt this team will qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"MHC must conduct a post-mortem and find solutions. If the current coaching setup cannot improve the team, sweeping changes must be made quickly before the 2026 Nagoya Asian Games."
Pekan also compared Malaysia's rebuilding project to that of South Korea, who are faring better with new players after seven senior players retired.
"Why is Korea doing much better with young and inexperienced players? Their youngsters seem to adapt quickly to the demands of international hockey.
"Perhaps it's their mindset and hunger to learn."
Pekan added that MHC must also overhaul its development programmes to identify and groom quality backup players for the future.
NST has reached out to Sarjit for comment.