KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — Well-known national hockey goalkeeper, S. Kumar today announces his retirement from international hockey after serving the country for 20 years.
Kumar, 40, started with the national squad since 1999, collecting 321 caps, and helping the Malaysian team to win two silver medals at the Asian Games (Guangzhou 2010, Jakarta-Palembang 2018) and the silver medal at the 2017 Asia Cup in Dhaka.
Despite having announced his retirement from the national squad, he still continued his service to the Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) team.
"I wanted to retire since 2015 but I continue to be with the national team since my service might be needed if we qualified to the Olympic Games.
"But after Malaysia failed to qualify for Tokyo 2020, I thought it is better that I give the chance to young goalkeepers to hone their skills for long term development.
“If I continued with the national squad, I would already be 44-year-old by then. it is not something easy. Malaysia needs young goalkeepers," he told a media conference at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Upon the announcement of the retirement, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (KHM), through its president, Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal promptly appointed Kumar as coach for trainee goalkeepers for the Malaysian junior squad.
Commenting further on the offer made by KHM, Kumar said the opportunity given to him was something very significant and important to him.
He said he did not want to be stingy with his knowledge as a sportsman with 20 years of experience and wanted to share what he knew with the country’s younger generations.
He hoped he would be able to justify the faith of KHM in him by becoming the coach who could take the Malaysian hockey team to the Olympic Games. — Bernama
