Malaysian Hockey Confederation president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal (fifth right) with sponsors, officials and players in a ceremony yesterday. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) has received sponsorship of RM900,000 for the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy tournament to be held from Oct 20-30 in Kuantan, Pahang.
Its president, Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said main sponsor QNET is sponsoring RM500,000, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) with RM300,000 while Genting Malaysia and Waz Lian Group of Companies is each giving RM50,000.
“My goal is for Malaysia to emerge as the four best team, meaning a semi-final spot. I am hopeful of a podium finish although it is difficult,” he said after announcing the sponsors at a hotel here yesterday.
“The MHC is in a four-year rebranding plan.
“We want to see children and teenagers wear the Malaysian hockey jersey, just like the football team.
“We want Malaysians to watch hockey. About 350,000 hockey fans watched the Malaysian Hockey League final match live on television,” he added.
Subahan was confident the Malaysian team can jump from 14th to 8th best in the world based on their performance in the Australian Hockey League recently. The squad of head coach Stephen Van Huizen won sixth place out of 12 teams.
The MHC has set two main targets for the national squad, to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.
“The Asian Champions Trophy is important for the national team as it offers ranking points by the FIH (International Hockey Federation),” said Subahan.
The 4th Asian Champions Trophy features Asia’s six best teams: Pakistan, India, China, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, as host for the first time.
Subahan said leading Italian sports brand, Kappa will sponsor the Malaysian men’s and women’s team jerseys for two years, a sponsorship worth RM700,000. — Bernama