KUALA LUMPUR: National hockey squad head coach, Stephen Van Huizen has revealed that he has a back-up plan, A ‘plan B’ in facing the situation involving national goalkeeper, S. Kumar who is temporarily suspended for two years after he tested positive in a doping test during the Asia Cup in Dhaka, Bangladesh last October.
Van Huizen explained that in Kumar’s absence, he hopes other goalkeepers like Hafizuddin Othman and Hairi Abdul Rahman will perform and are able to fill the void left by the 38-year-old veteran goalkeeper.
"As the coach, for sure I have a ‘plan B’ if anything shocking happens such as this.
"Kumar has contributed a lot to Malaysian hockey. If he was not implicated in the doping case, then for sure the time would come for him to retire anyway.
"So I had to be prepared to face any possibility that could arise,” he said.
Van Huizen added that goalkeepers such as Hafizuddin and Hairi need to seize such an opportunity as best they can when called upon to play at major tournaments and championships in Kumar’s absence.
"It’s not that we do not want Kumar, but at present with him being suspended, I hope Hafizuddin and Hairi will be ready for next year’s assignments such as the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
Van Huizen added that personally he was shocked with what has happened to Kumar.
"He is the most senior player in the team and acts as a mentor to the other younger players. Whatever it is, we respect the decision made by the International Hockey Federation (FIH)," he said.
Kumar does not want to challenge the findings by taking the B sample, instead he wants to proceed with the hearing which is scheduled to take place in January, to defend himself as he hopes for a lighter sentence so that he can return to action with the national squad as soon as possible.