KUALA LUMPUR: The writing was already on the wall for the national men's team at the Hangzhou Asian Games last October. They were just not good enough for this year's Paris Olympics.
The gloomy results in Hangzhou said so. Hockey followers could see that the Speedy Tigers were going nowhere.
That is exactly what happened. Malaysia failed at the Olympic Qualifier in Muscat, Oman, last week.
This has led to three-time Olympian Nor Saiful Zaini giving some stick to A. Arul Selvaraj's team of flops.
He said Hangzhou was already an indication that Malaysia would face problems in Muscat.
"In Hangzhou, they struggled against lower-ranked China and only managed a 4-4 draw. And Malaysia lost 5-2 to Pakistan.
"These were signs that the team were not up to the mark for the Olympic Qualifier.
"China were not much of a team but yet we lost to them 3-2 in Muscat. Our players struggled and gave China the space to create chances.
"We had the chance to beat Pakistan (in Muscat) as we took the lead three times, but we allowed them to come back and score three goals (for 3-3 draw)," said Saiful.
Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals while Malaysia, who lost to Britain 4-1, finished fourth and last in their Olympic qualifying group.
Saiful was a member of the Malaysian team that last qualified for the Olympics -in Sydney in 2000.
Saiful stressed that the national team need to be revamped, and players above the age of 30 should be dropped. There are seven players in the Muscat team aged 30 and above.
"The national team need young blood, and players in their early 20s should be retained and groomed for the 2028 Olympics.
"The new programme should start now. The MHC (Malaysia Hockey Confederation) needs to come up with a comprehensive programme for a real strong challenge in the next Olympic Qualifier.
"MHC also needs to have a KPI (Key Performance Index) for the national team every six months to see whether their programme is working."
Saiful said Malaysia must change their style of play as it is not working for them.
"The game of hockey has changed a lot. Look at the European teams, they have come with different tactics and styles which are working well for them."