KUALA LUMPUR: "Finishing last" are the two words associated with Malaysia's national hockey teams of late.
Last month, the national senior men's team finished sixth and last (with one win, two draws and three losses) in the Asian Champions Trophy in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia.
Last night, the national junior men's team finished sixth and last with six losses in the Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup.
The toothless Young Tigers failed to earn even a single point in the tournament, losing 3-2 to New Zealand, 4-1 to Japan, 4-2 to India, 2-1 to Great Britain and 9-3 to Australia in round robin matches.
In the fifth placing playoff against Japan, the Malaysians couldn't even score a goal in the penalty shootout - the team were that pathetic - and lost 3-0. The match had ended in a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
Malaysia had hoped to finish second last, but ended up last in the SoJC. Home ground advantage was also of no help to the Young Tigers.
Coach I. Vickneswaran and his boys were left feeling inferior as they couldn't find anyone to beat in the tournament.
Malaysian hockey officials were left with many soul-searching questions.
1) Why are our national teams doing badly at both senior and junior level?
2) Do we still have good players for international tournaments?
3) Are we selecting the right players?
4) Do our coaches have what it takes to to advance the national teams?
5) Are our grassroots development programmes effective?
In the SoJC, it was obvious that the Malaysian players' basic skills were lacking as they kept making mistakes in every match. They couldn't stop the ball well, their passing was poor and they lost possession easily.
The goalkeeping was bad as soft goals were conceded and the defenders were slow in clearing the ball.
Young Tigers scored only 11 goals and conceded 24 in six matches. Their penalty corner conversion rate was only 13.8% as they converted only five of 36 in six matches.
It has come to a situation that the other countries don't see Malaysia as a big threat.
The MHC must start questioning its coaching staff to find the answers and rectify the weaknesses of both the national senior and junior teams.
Results
Final: Great Britain 3 2 Australia
Third placing: India 2 2 New Zealand
2 (India win penalty shootout 3-2)
Fifth placing: Japan 2 Malaysia 2 (Japan win penalty shootout 3-0).