KUALA LUMPUR: Good news awaits the country's men's and women's 5-a-side (5s) hockey squads as the Youth and Sports Ministry will be allocating funds for them soon.
In a post on Facebook last night, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said allocations for the squads could not be given earlier as the 2024 Hockey5s World Cup in Muscat, Oman, was a new competition participated by the national hockey camp.
She said last year, the government had allocated RM5.63 million for the use of the national hockey team, including RM2,084,618 for the 20 players of the national men's hockey squad and RM1,129,990 for 20 players of the national women's squad.
Yeoh said the 20 players of the national back-up team received RM1,315,783 while the 36 players playing for the indoor hockey team enjoyed an allocation of RM1,105,749.
The men's 5s hockey squad is one step away from creating history in Muscat as they feature in the final of the inaugural Hockey5s World Cup against the Netherlands, at midnight last night (Feb 1).
The squad, coached by Wallace Tan, qualified for the final after defeating Poland 4-3 while the Netherlands defeated host Oman 5-3 in another semi-final.
In the women's competition, the national team finished sixth after losing 4-8 to Uruguay in the fifth-sixth place decider on Saturday (January 27). — Bernama