Experienced coach Wallace Tan (pic) has been given the nod to helm the national men’s junior hockey squad.
The Melakan, who guided Malaysia to their first gold in the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2018, will be assisted by former international Megat Azrafiq Termizi.
Mohd Nasihin Nubli will be the goalkeepers’ coach while Tenaga Nasional coach Nor Saiful Zaini Nasiruddin has been named as team manager.
Meanwhile, former international Lailin Abu Hassan will coach the women’s juniors and he will be assisted by former international Siti Rahmah Othman while Roslan Jamaluddin will handle the goalkeepers.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal, who is also the coaching committee chairman, said the coaches would prepare the teams for the Asian Junior Championships, which is the qualifying tournaments for the 2021 Junior World Cups.
The women’s Asia Cup will be held in Kakamigahara, Japan (April 6-12) while the men’s Asia Cup is in Dhaka, Bangladesh (June 4-12).
“Wallace has a proven track record as he helped Malaysia win gold in the Youth Olympics. Nor Saiful is also an experienced coach and they will work together to prepare a solid team for the Junior Asia Cup.
“Lailin has coached the women’s junior team in the past and I am sure he will do a good job.”