PICTURES of Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) coach K. Dharmaraj helping to water the Tun Razak Stadium pitch, armed with plastic container, just before their match against Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) on Friday have been doing the rounds on social media and have earned the ire of netizens.
However, their anger was not directed at him but at the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) and the competitions committee for their sheer lack of competency in organising the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL).
Perhaps the netizens have jumped the gun a bit here, as what happened was totally beyond MHC’s control.
As MHL tournament director K. Ananthavale explained: ‘While the pitch was being watered (for the THT v UiTM game), the main pipe broke and some parts were left dry.
‘Some coaches and officials helped to water the dry parts and the match went on without any problems.
‘It was an old pipe and laid in 1982.
‘This is an old stadium and needs some minor repair work. Unfortunately, the pipe burst at the wrong moment.
‘The contractors spent half a day yesterday (Saturday) to repair it.
‘They even conducted a thorough test after that and the pipe worked fine.’
This is not the first time such a problem had occurred as even the once well-managed Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium in Jalan Pantai was plagued with water pump problems some time ago.
The MHC and State HAs do not have a stadium of their own and rent from the Stadium Board or state agencies, who are supposed to make sure everything is in working order before confirming bookings.