KUALA LUMPUR: The decision by Kuala Lumpur not to select Kirandeep Kaur, an up-and-coming star, has left national women's coach K. Dharmaraj puzzled.
On Saturday, he was caught off guard when told about Kirandeep’s absence in the ongoing National Under-16 hockey tournament at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
"What? Why didn’t KL select Kirandeep for the tournament?," was his initial response.
For a brief flashback, 15-year-old Kirandeep scored KL's winning goal in the Under-16 girls’ final last year. KL won with a slim 4-3 win over Sabah.
She also played in the recent Women's Malaysia League, an open tournament, for Universiti Teknoloji Mara (UiTM).
"A very talented player like her only comes out of the system once in many years and I hope she does not gets disheartened and stops playing hockey.
"We have been noticing Kirandeep for a few years now, and after her impressive outing with UiTM, Malaysian Hockey Confederation technical director Terry Walsh told me to include her for the recent four friendly matches against Japan’s Under-21 side.
"Even though she is only 15, even I felt she deserved a chance, but I had to say 'no' because the matches were used to prepare the other girls for next month’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
"I had to give my trainees playing time to be fair in selection.
"Kirandeep has been playing for KL in age-group tournaments for some time now, and I am shocked that they did not include her for the Under-16 event," said Dharmaraj.
KL coach A. Kannagi said Kirandeep did not show up for selection.
But checks with officials revealed that Kirandeep trained for three days with KL, under a different coach and manager, but was not called up for the final selection.
"There was a confusion in KL and the selection was done in a haphazard manner by different people at different periods and venues.
“And on the day that the players were named, Kirandeep was competing in the Malaysia Schools Sports Council (MSSM) athletics event.
"It's tragic, however, that she is not playing in this tournament," said the official.