KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — After Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal announced his stand that he would resign if the national men’s hockey squad failed to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, his deputy, Prof Datuk Dr Shamala Subramaniam has followed suit.

Shamala said she felt she needed to do the same as she had worked with Subahan at MHC for the past three years, with the highest level of commitment.

"For me, this is my commitment to hockey. I think our country deserves to go to Tokyo 2020 (Olympics) and most importantly, I want everyone to know that we really take this (qualification) seriously.

"We need to take this responsibility with the hope that we can bring glory to the country at the highest level, and the main objective is qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics,” she told reporters after MHC’s 65th Annual General Meeting here today.

At the event, the MHC also feted the national women’s hockey squad that won the Singapore Open Series champions in July.

Meanwhile, Shamala denied the stand taken by her and Subahan would put extra pressure on the men’s hockey team to win the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang which begins on Aug 18.

"I do not think there is any pressure on the team, because we are all very optimistic on our preparations for the Asian Games.

"It is the commitment of players to chase an achievement that has not been done in the past 20 years,” he said.

Earlier, Subahan, who has led MHC since 2015, reiterated his stand to retire if he failed to bring the Malaysian hockey team to the 2020 Olympics, however, he was confident that the squad would be able to qualify automatically.

The Speedy Tigers last made an appearance at the Olympics in the 2000 edition in Sydney.

Malaysia has two ways to qualify for the Olympics, that is by winning the Asian Games gold medal in Indonesia, this August, or through the World Hockey Series qualifying campaign. — Bernama